August, 1908.] 107 



It seems safe to conclude that the 

 requirements of modern life will not 

 permit the demand for rubber to become 

 diminished. The point is whether the 

 supply will be altogether unequal to this 

 demand. Varying opinious are ex- 

 pressed in this regard. Some maintain 

 that the natural propagation of the 

 rubber tree is sufficient to keep the 

 supply up to its natural limits. There 

 is, however, no evidence at hand to 

 show that such a statement was based 

 on true facts or on a right understand- 

 ing of the situation. Others hold that 

 the natural sources of wild rubber are 

 rapidly being exhausted. Such an asser- 

 tion is more logical, but even here we 

 lack sufficient knowledge to be able to 

 form a positively correct opinion. It 

 may be safer to say that the limit of pro- 

 duction will soon be reached, if we are 

 not so far already, and if the demand is 

 growing in the same proportion as 

 hitherto, there must come a shortage in 

 the supply. 



The prices have been steadily advanc- 

 ing for the last ten years and longer. It 

 is possible that some of the rise in value 

 is due to the general prosperity, which 

 has caused an increase in the value of 

 almost all raw material. But it is not 

 likely that even a financial or industrial 

 panic would very materially influence the 

 rubber market. 



Ever since Charles Goodyear's dis- 

 covery rendered the rubber of practical 

 use to mankind, the tropical forests have 

 been scoured by the natives and by 

 white men searching for rubber produc- 

 ing trees. In Central America the indi- 

 genous rubber tree, Castilloa etastica, 

 Cerv. and related species, have been the 

 object of a diligent search and subse- 

 quent destructive treatment. The des- 

 truction of the wild tree is usually given 

 as the strongest argumeut in favour of 

 rubber culture. I doubt if this is the 

 raison d'etre of rubber cultivation. 



Very few business men go into busi- 

 ness from fear. Nor is rubber planting 

 a matter of philanthropy. We do not 

 plant rubber because we know that the 

 supply from previous sources will one 

 day become exhausted and humanity 

 needs rubber for industrial purposes. 

 We plant rubber because we have every 

 reason to believe that it is a profitable 

 industry. We plant rubber simply for 

 the sake of profit and not for other 

 reasons. Is then rubber culture after all 

 a profitable industry ? There are many 

 who say no, but those who have investi- 

 gated the matter, and most of those who 

 have invested in rubber, that has been 

 taken care of properly, know for certain 

 that it is not only profitable but very 



Saps and Exudations. 



profitable. It has been claimed that it is 

 impossible to cultivate the rubber tree. 

 There is no necessity to refute such a 

 statement. How it has been able to 

 gain credence is hard to understand. It 

 shows a complete ignorance in regard to 

 agriculture. In the history of human 

 progress, there is not a single instance 

 where domestication of a plaut has not 

 been possible. There is, of course, a 

 great difference in different plants, but 

 by employing proper methods we have 

 been able to overcome the greatest diffi- 

 culties. As regards the rubber trees, 

 there are hardly any plants that are 

 better adapted for cultivation. 



The many conflicting statements as to 

 the commercial feasibility of rubber 

 planting nave been cleared up now and 

 again by disinterested parties who have 

 devoted much time to the study of this 

 question in all its details. There are 

 still those who are doubtful, either on ac- 

 count of personal failure in the undertak- 

 ing or because they have entertained pre- 

 couceived notions upon the question and 

 are not willing to admit that their con- 

 clusions are wrong. Observations ex- 

 tended over a somewhat wide field 

 covering most countries where rubber is 

 planted have given me conclusive evi- 

 dence that rubber, when cultivated right, 

 is not only a possibility but a decided 

 commercial success. Anyone who de- 

 votes intelligeno attention to this ques- 

 tion cannot fail to find that, when he 

 acquires more concrete knowledge about 

 the matter, there are actual 1 esults at 

 hand which prove to be indisputable, 

 and which show beyond a shade of doubt 

 that the rubber planting industry is a 

 profitable venture. 



The thousands of trees now planted and 

 the hundreds of plantations producing 

 rubber on a commercial scale demon- 

 strate that rubber culture is an industry 

 which has come to stay. Fears are ex- 

 pressed that we will have an over- 

 production of rubber if the planting 

 industry increases at the rate it has 

 done for the last few years. This leads 

 us into the question of the present and 

 the future supply and demand of rubber. 

 The annual output of rubber has been 

 rapidly increasing, and for the last seven 

 years the production and consumption 

 are represented by the following figures : — 

 Year. Production Consumption- 



Metric tons. Metric tons. 



1900 ... 53,348 ... 48,352 



1901 ... 52,864 ... 51,13(3 



1902 ... 53,877 ... 51,110 



1903 ... 55,003 ... 52,276 



1904 ... 61,759 ... 59,666 



1905 ... 68,879 ... 65,083 



1906 ... 67,999 62,751 



