Gums, Resins 



294 



[October, 1909. 



and by the consequent contraction in 

 stocks of the commodity, but as the sub- 

 sequent course of the market showed it 

 was carried too far. From March 1906, 

 to February, 1908, the course of the mar- 

 ket was downwards. There were fluctu- 

 ations, but from August, 1907, the fall 

 was almost unabated, until in February 

 of last year the low level quoted above 

 was recorded. From that point the 

 recovery was continuous to October, 

 when plantation rubber reached 5s. 9d.; 

 there was then a fall of 6d. by the end 

 of last year, and since then the market 

 has practically never receded. 



In the light of past experience it can 

 be safely said that while prices may 

 have been pushed too high in 1906, they 

 would not have fallen as low as they did 

 in 1908, had it not been for the financial 

 crisis in America, and its effects on trade 

 in general and upon such industries as 

 require large quantities of rubber. The 

 American demand last year was not so 

 important a factor as it had been in the 

 three preceding years, and enlarged sup- 

 plies were left for absorption by other 

 countries. This demand, however, has 

 revived during the past nine months, 

 being persistently pushed at a time 

 when the season was drawing to a close 

 and supplies falling away, has been a 

 material factor in bringing about the 

 present high prices. 



Increased Production. 



The production of rubber has increased 

 even when prices were low, the world's 

 output in 1908 having reached 70,000 tons 

 which was an increase of 1,000 tons over 

 the output of 1907, and with such high 

 values as have now been reached and 

 seem likely to prevail in view of the 

 growing trade requirements, unusual 

 efforts will probably be made to bring 

 rubber to the market. Last year there 

 was an increase of about 850 tons in the 

 production of plantation rubber (from 

 Ceylon, Malaya, etc,), bringing the total 

 up to 2,100 tons from an area of about 

 500,000 acres. This year a larger increase 

 is expected, but it is evident that any 

 material addition in the near future to 

 the world's supply of rubber must come 

 from South America where the produc- 

 tion is in a large degree regulated by 

 the returns upon the cost of gathering. 

 It is said that with fine Para marketing 

 at 3s a. lb. the South American supply 

 could be counted upon as steady ; with 

 fine Para at about 6s. it is certain that 

 extraordinary efforts will be made to 

 extend the limits from which supplies 

 are drawn, and in this connexion it is 

 noteworthy that there is now a propo- 

 sition before the Brazilian Government 

 to order the construction of a railway 



which would open up a vast extent of 

 rubber country that, owing to the diffi- 

 culties of navigation in the upper reaches 

 of the Amazon river during part of the 

 year, is now but partially utilized. It is 

 difficult to say how far production may 

 expand in Brazil under the stimulus of 

 high prices, but an increase may safely 

 be counted upon. The growth in the 

 output of plantation rubber must neces- 

 sarily be slow, as rubber-growing in 

 Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago is a 

 comparatively new industry ; but the 

 number of new rubber companies which 

 are being floated would indicate that 

 the industry will be worked for all it is 

 worth. 



Meanwhile the comparative scarcity 

 of rubber here and in America is unde- 

 niable. Reports from America say that 

 stocks there are practically exhausted, 

 while the stocks in London and Liver- 

 pool at the end of May were only 2,187 

 tons, as against 4,614 tons at the end of 

 May, 1908. In May, 1908, the market 

 was slow ; at the present time it is strong 

 with a keen demand. 



A TWISTED HEVEA STEM. 



By T. Petch. 



The accompanying photographs show 

 the stem of a two-year old Hevea, 

 two inches in diameter. At a height of 

 six inches from the ground, the stem 

 makes three complete turns, and above 

 these it is marked by a spiral groove for 

 a length of nine inches. It will be seen 

 from the photographs, that this spiral 

 groove begins near the upper edge of the 

 last coil. The specimen had been broken 

 before it came into my possession, and 

 the fracture is shown by the line across 

 the middle coil, where some of the bark 

 has been broken off in the attempt to 

 fit the two pieces together. The coils 

 are quite free from one another, that is, 

 they are in contact but not fused to- 

 gether. The stem has undoubtedly been 

 coiled completely round, three times ; 

 it is not merely grooved. 



When the stem is broken across the 

 middle turn it is seen to be coiled round a 

 much thinner dead stem. This is evident 

 in the second photograph, which shows 

 the upper part ot'i the stem inverted, 

 From this, the explanation of the pheno- 

 menon is fairly simple. When the young 

 tree was planted out in the field, it was, 

 as usual, " stumped." The stem then 

 died back to the next node, and the new 

 leading shoot sprang from the bud at 

 that node. But instead of growing 

 straight up by the side of the dead 

 stem, it coiled round it three times. The 

 cause of this coiling is revealed iu the 



