and Magazine of the Oeylon Agricultural Society, 



479 



TAPPING RUBBER TREES IN BRAZIL. 



In the Magazine of Commerce for this month 

 appears an article on " The Cultivation of Para 

 Rubber." In the course of this we are 

 given something of methods in Brazil. There 

 the trees are tapped during the dry season, 

 which varies in different districts. The rubber 

 collectors, or " soringueiros," search th9 forests 

 for suitable trees, about two feet in girth. An 

 incision is made in the bark with a special tool, 

 and the latex begins to run at once. A few 

 hours after the contents of all the cups are 

 transferred to a larger vessel. The next step 

 is to convert the still liquid latex into solid 

 rubber. A fire is lighted, and on it are placed 

 nuts of various species of palms. These pro- 

 duce a dense smoke, containing acetic acid and 

 creosote, which rapidly coagulates any latex 

 exposed to it. A kind of paddle is dipped in 

 the latex and held in the stroke. The rubber 

 coagulates, forming a thin layer on the paddle, 

 which is then dipped into the latex and again 

 smoked. Another layer is deposited on the 

 first, and the process is continued until a suffi- 

 ciently large mass of solid rubber has been 

 collected on the paddle. It is then removed 

 and is ready for sale and export,— L. & C. 

 Express, Oct. 15. 



PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 

 OF RUBBER. 



(To the Editor, " India-Rubber Journal.") 

 Sir,— Is the present high price of rubber 

 owing to speculation ? — or is it the result of de- 

 mand overtaking supply ? As I am interested 

 in a number of plantations, 1 have endeavoured 

 by an examination of availablo statistics to 

 arrive at a safe conclusion upon this question. 

 Your issue of September 6th contains a report 

 from Mr Carruthers, in which he says that in 

 Ceylon 184,000 acres have been planted, and 

 estimates that there are 175 trees to the acre, or 

 a tctal of 37,440,000 trees, and that in Malaya 

 there are 241,138 acres planted with 37,440,000 

 trees. The total number of trees is therefore 

 about sixty-nine millions. On the assumption 

 that sixty million trees bear one pound each of 

 rubber five years from now, there will be in 1914 

 about 27,000 tons of plantation rubber put upon 

 the market. 



The world's consumption in 1907 was 69,000 

 tons, and it is generally believed that the de- 

 mand increases at the rate of 10 per cent, per 

 annum. In 1914 it would, therefore, amount to 

 about 130,000 tons, though the existing high 

 prices may possibly check the yearly demand. 

 If the production of wild rubber remains as in 

 recent years, though it may be less, the posi- 

 tion in 1914 onwards may be as follows : — 



Wild. Plantation. Total. Consumption. 



1914 60,000, say, 27,000, say, 87,000 130.UOO tons. 



1915 60,000 „ 60,000 ,, 120,000 145,000 tons. 



1916 60,000 „ 120,100 „ 180,000 160,000 tons. 



This estimate of the production of plantation 

 rubber includes Ceylon and Malaya only. If 

 these figures be fairly correct, it would appear : 

 (1) That the present high price of rubber is the 

 result of demand overtaking supply, as the 

 former, with a 10 per cent, yearly increase on 



1907, will be over 80,000 tons in 1909, and the 

 supply of wild rubber, with the present small 

 production of plantation rubber, will be much 

 less than this ; and (2) that until 1914 or 1915 

 there will be no danger of prices falling to 3s or 

 4s per lb. Carefully managed estates costing 

 not: more than £25, or even £30, an acre to bring 

 to the producing stage, will therefore remain a 

 sound and profitable investment ; but the same 

 cannot be said of many of the schemes now 

 being introduced, though their shares may for a 

 time go to a premium. — Yours, etc., 



Wm. O'Hanlom. 



Dale Street, Manchester. 



[An estimate of 300 lb. per acre for 500,000 

 acres may be relied upon when present planted 

 acreages are in bearing. A yearly increase of 10 

 percent, in demand is conjecture only. — Ed., 

 " I.R. J."]— India- Rubber Journal, Oct. 4. 



MEXICAN RUBBER PLANTERS AND 

 THE STATE. 



The rubber planters of the northern part of 

 the republic have held two meetings for the 

 general advance of the rubber interests. In the 

 last session a committee was named to approach 

 the secretary of fomento and obtain government 

 assistance. The association, represented by the 

 committee, made several requests of the minis- 

 ter. They desire that a central body be formed 

 in Mexico City for the investigation of questions 

 relating to the subject of rubber producing and 

 that eleven experiment stations be established 

 in various parts of the republic tor the purpose. 

 An appropriation of $10,000 is asked for the 

 maintenance of the central body and its labora- 

 tory. A further appropriation of $35,000 is re- 

 quested for the publication of works relating to 

 the subject, giving results achieved by the ex- 

 periment stations. The secretary of fomento has 

 not yet taken any action with regard to these 

 requests. He may, in place of authorising this 

 association to pursue investigations at the ex- 

 pense of the government, order greater emphasis 

 on the subject in the work of the agricultural 

 stations already established. — Mexican Herald. 



THE COPRA TRADE. 



The mercantile community in Java show in- 

 creasing uneasiness at the fact that the copra 

 produced in that island is fast losing its good 

 name. For all that, the increasing demand 

 for copra-oil raises the price of the Java 

 article. The heavy demand leads dealers to 

 set quantity above quality with the result 

 that the latter is steadily falling off. The 

 native growers are only anxious to make money, 

 and have no scruples about utilising young 

 nuts for copra, or of slovenly handling the 

 product of the market. Young nuts never yield 

 good copra, and drying the Tatter over a lire, 

 as too many natives do, deteriorates quality. 

 An agitation for Government inspection of 

 copra, has been set on foot, and against its 

 exportation unless under official certificates. 

 The European export merchants are divided 

 on this point. Most of them see only harm 

 in official meddling, and the cry has come to 

 nothing. — Straits Times, Oct. 14. 



