and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



gives some 1,500,000^ worth of rubber annu- 

 ally to the State of Amazonas, a production 

 due to the greater extent of navigable water- 

 way this river offers, although by no means 

 the largest of the affluents of the Amazon. 

 Accessibility means produce throughout the 

 Amazon "Valley, and with facilities of trans- 

 port increased, and it is to be hoped also 

 cheapened, the production of this unrivalled 

 region must year by year develop. Today it 

 is rubber alone, but there are so many other 

 natural products of the soil that could be 

 turned to profitable account were labour more 

 plentiful and cheaper, that it cannot be doubted 

 that Bolivia, where these more favourable 

 conditions already exist, will develop her 

 natural resources with surprising rapidity once 

 the waterways of the Upper Madeira are con- 

 nected with the lower reaches of that river. 



All this shews how enormous are the resources 

 of this vast and exceptionally rich South 

 American region and how serious must be the 

 struggle before it gives up its pre-eminence 

 in respect of the chief supply of rubber for 

 the world's use. 



In conclusion it is well to put on record, 

 for reference in the Tropical Agriculturist Supple- 

 ment, two tables which are appended to the Con- 

 sular Report :— Table 1.— Receipts of Rubber at 

 Para during the Year 1907. 



Direct 

 from 





Islands 



Month. 



and 





Cameta. 





Kilos. 



Jan. 



997,784 



Feb. 



752,441 



March 



629,856 



April 



526,122 



» May 



436,173 



June 



462,077 



July 



613,078 



Aug 



618,'JSi 



Sept. 



782,238 



Oct. 



1,012,446 



Nov. 



854,782 



Dec. 



907,543 



Itaituba. 

 Kilos. 

 110,479 

 154,296 

 102,162 

 49,004 

 25,337 

 43,747 

 76,795 

 95,498 

 99.017 

 90,413 

 62,552 

 59,613 



Kilos. 

 1,595,806 

 1,685,455 



374,015 

 379,110 

 1,091,852 

 1,^-8,741 

 1,364,919 

 812,370 



Madeira 

 River. 

 Kilos. 



Jurua 

 River. 

 Kilos 



132,218 

 635,775 

 '.15.521 



3,913 



,.v.uy 







Peruvian 







Month. 



Purus 



and Javary 



Caucho. 



Total. 



River. 



River. 









Kilos. 



Kilos. 



Kilos. 



Kilos. 



Jan. 



258,147 



164,159 



448,000 



3,780,000 



Feb. 



549,120 



468,765 



699,000 



5,025,000 



March 



1,112,520 



111,411 



1,295,000 



5,920,000 



April 

 May 



582,108 



73,792 



1,090,000 



4,500,000 



195,267 



19,190 



870,000 



2,600,000 



June 



22,248 



120,445 



115,000 



1,450,000 



July 



7,092 





240,000 



1,320,0'M) 



Aug. 



44,204 



142,740 



230,000 



1,600,000 



Sept. 



91,650 



183,929 



156,01)0 



2,430,000 



Oct. 



272,444 



192,837 



270,000 



3,00",000 

 3,100,000 



Nov. 



239,434 



811,004 

 289,914 



192,000 



Dec. 



26,174 



275.00J 



2,500,000 



Total 



3,4C0,408 



2,078,186 



6,480,000 



37,525, C00 



Rubber Exports during the Year 1907. 



Para 

 Manaos 

 Iquitos 

 Itacoatiara 



Rubber. 



Caucho. 



America. 



Europe. 



America. 



Kilos. 



Kilos. 



Kilos. 



8,034,787 



: ,299,085 



521,159 



6,708,224 



6.614,790 



1,010,147 



20,224 



2,048,357 



531 





63,299 





14,763,235 



16,025,531 



1,561,837 



Para 

 Manaos 

 Iquitos 

 Itacoatiar;: 



Caucho. 

 Europe. 

 Kilos. 



1,353,504 

 ',162,306 

 1,051,061 



America. 

 Kilos. 



8,555,946 

 7,748,371 

 20,755 



Europe. 

 Kilos. 



8,6 2,689 

 0,077,106 

 3,09'l,418 

 65,137 



,072 20,894,210 



Note.— The foregoing table is compiled from 

 figures supplied by one of the chief exporting 

 firms of Para and Manaos. In a Government 

 return giving the crop figures for the " Safra " 

 or crop year July 1st, 1906, to June 30th, 1907, 

 the total quantity is stated at 37,835 000 kilos. 



RUBBER-TANNED LEATHER. 



Mr JAR Clark writes : — 



"C/o Messrs Henry S King & Co., 65, Cornhill 

 London, 11th Dec— By Mr S Baynard Smith, 

 of West Haputale, I have sent out some 

 Rubber Tanned-Leather 



SAMPLES FOE THE COLOMBO MUSEUM 



and I have asked him to show you the Leather 

 first. 



" As this Rubber-Leather Tanning briugs a 

 new use for the rubber, the planters of Ceylon 

 should be greatly interested. Many of the old 

 Ceylon planters are interested with me in the 

 Syndicate and early in January we are br nging 

 out a large Company [Capital £250,000. — A. M. 

 & J. F.] as you will see by the enclosed draft of 

 our prospectus. The Board is not yet fixed, 

 but we shall have some of the best business 

 men in Mincing Lane interested in Rubber and 

 in Leather. 



" I also enclose particulars for which our 

 Rubber-Tanned Leather will be used. I think 

 it will be most valuable for Planters' Boots, 

 Capes, Trunks, Leggings, &c, being perfectly 

 waterproof and I doubt if the White Ant will 

 touch it. I enclose you a piece which I would 

 be greatly obliged if you would test and see if 

 the White Ant will attack our Leather. 



" You will remember me as the son of the late 

 Robert Colvin Clark of Colombo, and I was for 

 some time in the early 60 s with John Martin on 

 Mount Vernon. Should any of your friends take 

 shares, they might send applications through 

 me. Over 60,000 are already subscribed for." 



RUBBER ASPHALTE AT MARSEILLES. 



Sir Henry Blake's view about the use of rub- 

 ber for paving purposes finds confirmation in the 

 report of the American Consul-General at Mar- 

 seilles, who states that rubber asphalte paviti» 

 must be regarded very seriously as a substitute 

 for the more usual form of asphalte paving. 



Experiments with a rubber asphalte pave- 

 ment, covering periods of six years, have been 

 completed in several cities throughout France 

 including Paris and Lyons, and as far as can be 

 ascertained, good results have been obtained. 

 The observations of this form of pavement 

 according to the Consul General, satisfy those 

 interested in the subject that its completed 

 surface resists ordinary wear more satisfactorily 

 nient is covered by a patent.— H. ds C. Mail 

 Dec. 25, 



