Gums, Resins, 



202 



[March 1908. 



and prepared, and for this they obtain 

 the full local price. I happened to be 

 in the neighbourhood of the Serra Nova 

 at the time when a number of people 

 employed on a rubber estate there were 

 being paid ; and at my desire I was 

 shown a slip of paper with the account. 

 According to this account ten labourers 

 had gathered 95'7 k.g. of caoutchouc in 

 seven days which comes to 1*367 k.g. per 

 person per day. the value of winch was 

 6 Milreis 180 Reis (reckoning 4 Milreis 

 5U0 Reis to the Kilo), so that each 

 worker got 2 Milreis 60 Reis (about 2 

 shillings). It must be remembered, too, 

 that the workers included women and 

 children, and that the plantation was 

 quite a young one. Still a daily wage of 

 over 2 Milreis is a high one for an adult 

 labourer under the conditions there 

 existing. 



The small threads of rubber which 

 always represent the result of a single 

 tapping, have been shown me in quanti- 

 ties and weighed on the average 25 and 

 sometimes 50 g. The tree may be tapped 

 one hundred times in a year. But if it is 

 cut only forty or twenty times, this 

 represents always a yearly crop of half to 

 2 k.g., that is to say, 1 k.g. of caoutchouc 

 per tree on the average. One Hectare, 

 on which up to 2,500 trees may be 

 planted, will therefore yield 2k tons of 

 rubber a year.' 



Experiments still require to be made 

 with regard to the time of planting, the 

 distance of planting, and the cultivation 

 of the intervening spaces ; it is possible 

 that the trees yield better and last 

 longer at wider intervals apart. The 

 methods of tapping and gathering the 

 rubber may also certainly be improved 

 upon. Experiments have already been 

 made with regard to the gathering ot 

 the rubber into vessels ; but this is not 

 yet carried out as a general practice, 

 because so far a higher price has not 

 been obtained for rubber prepared in 

 this way, and because a difficulty is 

 found in introducing the vessels into the 

 holes. The stem is often thickened at 

 this spot, or stones may be present, 

 which makes the hollowing of the 

 ground a matter of difficulty. These 

 unfavourable conditions may undoub- 

 tedly be overcome by rational manage- 

 ment. 



The system of labour in particular 

 may be improved in many ways. Atten- 

 tion will have to be paid to considerably 

 increasing the amount collected and 



* 1 k.g.=2£ lbs., a hectare=2£ acres, so that 

 this represents a ton of rubber a year from 1,000 

 trees planted on one acre. Such figures are 

 scarcely to be accepted without further evi- 

 dence. — Ed. 



reducing the proportion earned by 

 the labourers to 25 or 20 per cent. 

 In the case of a proper division 

 of labour a definite area would be attach- 

 ed to each labourer and an overseer or 

 fiscal appointed to each ten or twelve 

 labourers, and he again would receive a 

 definite percentage of the yield. 



In the choice of land suitable for the 

 cultivation of Manitoba species, prefer- 

 ence should first of all be given to those 

 which correspond most nearly with the 

 natural conditions of the wild habitat, 

 aud if possible they should be in the 

 actual district. In the second place 

 lauds may be used for this cultivation 

 which lie at a distance from the Manitoba 

 district but possess a similar soil and 

 climatic conditions. In the third place 

 may be considered land lying in Foreign 

 countries, and from this point of view it 

 is important to inquire how far these 

 Manihot species can adapt themselves to 

 different conditions under cultivation. 



The culture of Manihot species from 

 Bahia is decidedly superior to that of 

 Manihot glaziovii. Many years' experi- 

 ence in India, the African colonies and in 

 Brazil itself has demonstrated a number 

 of disadvantages connected with the 

 planting of Manihot glaziovii. If the 

 trees are not protected they are liable 

 to be broken down by strong winds. On 

 account of the hard bark, moreover, 

 tapping is very difficult and wounds due 

 to want of skill may cause serious 

 damage ; and finally the crop of rubber 

 is not a very high one. If one puts the 

 yield of rubber from Manihot glaziovii 

 at 250 g, a year on an average, this 

 amounts to only 100 k. g. to the hectare 

 when planted at a distance of 5 metres. 



The Manitoba species of Bahia are not 

 liable to damage by wind, as they do not 

 grow so tall, whilst some are quite low 

 growing. The tapping, too, offers no 

 serious difficulty. 



But the yearly yield of rubber per 

 hectare is very much larger, and will still 

 surpass that of Manihot glaziovii even if 

 it is found that wider planting ought to 

 be adopted. 



In future the cultivation of Manihot 

 glaziovii will have to be replaced by that 

 of the Manihot species from Bahia where- 

 ever the conditions permit. 



The question which of the three 

 Manihot species is to be preferred de- 

 pends chiefly upon the nature of the soil, 

 the climatic conditions being pretty 

 uniform. On a heavy clay soil Manihot 

 dichotoma is best planted, and on a light 

 sandy soil Manihot heptaphylla and 

 Manihot piauhyensis. 



