Oct. 1, 1900.] 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTUEIST. 
229 
THE RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE 
AMAZON VALLEY. 
A very important factor, from the merchant's 
point of view, in the rubber trade, is the loss of 
weight that is constantly taking place in raw rubber. 
This loss is extremely variable, and a consignee has 
to place the greatest faith in the consignor that the 
invoiced weight of rubber has really been shipped 
as more or less shortage invariably takes place. 
Moreover, the shrinkage in weight is so variable that 
no exact figures can be quoted by which it may be 
calculated. The cause being the evaporation of the 
water contained, it varies according to the quality, 
being greater in the case of the porous " Seruamby " 
than in the firmer '' ?ine " rubber. The longer rubber 
is kept and the larger the pieces the less it loses in 
weight. Dry " Sortao " rubber coming from distant 
parts, whence shipments are only made once a year, 
will lose only about 1 per cent, between the estates 
and Manaos; whereas newly-made rubber coming 
from close at hand will lose as much as 10 per cent. 
As the means of communication get more rapid, and 
the rubber reaches Manaos sooner after being 
manufactured, the tendency to lose in weight becomes 
larger. Between Manaos and foreign markets a loss 
of 4 per cent, may be taken as an approximation 
of the average loss of weight. 
A machine, designed on the principal of a cream 
separator, to separate the caoutchouc from the watery 
part has been tried, but has not proved successful 
as regards the latex of the hevea, though good results 
have been stated to have been attained with the 
latex of the "castilloa." 
Another means of separating the caoutchouc is to 
add chemical re-agents which cause the latex to coagu- 
late. Of these acetic acid and corrosive sublimate 
have being found to give the best results. The latter 
owing to its antiseptic properties would appear parti- 
cularly suitable. A solution of alum is used to a 
small extent in the State of Matto Grosso.. to prepare 
rubber from the latex of the hevea. 
The following analysis of the latei of the Hevea 
Braziliensis is given by Seeligman : — 
Analysis. 
Per cent. 
Caoutchouc .. .. 32 
Nitrogenous matter.. .. 2'3 
Salts .. .. 9-7 
Resinous matter . . . . traces 
Water . . . . .. 55 to 56 
The rubber having been prepared, it is shipped 
from the estates in " balls " or '' pellets " to merchants 
in Manaos, and by them sold to one or other of the 
export merchants in the same condition as received. 
By the export merchant it is out up into small pieces, 
the "Fine" separated from the "Entretine," and 
then packed in wooden cases, each case holding 
about 170 or 160 kilos. It is then shipped to Europe 
or the United States, as the case may be. Owing 
to the loss of weight already mentioned, each merchant 
is obliged to have his own store, as no warehouseman 
could give a receipt for a quantity of produce the 
weight of which is constantly varying. For the same 
reason rubber is rarely sold by auction. 
' The commercial system by means of which the 
\vorking of rubber estates is effected is somewhat 
complicated. Goods are in the first place imported 
from abroad by one class of merchants named 
" Importadores." In Manaos and Para most of these 
are at present Portuguese houses. They usually buy 
on ninety days' credit. The goods are then sold on 
the Manaos market to another class of merchants 
named " Aviadores, '' who generally buy on a twelve 
months' credit. These "Aviadores" then ship the 
•goods up-country to the estate owners. The "Aviador" 
business is chiefly in the hands of Brazilian and 
Portuguese firms. The estate owners then barter 
these goods to the men working their estates, who 
are not so much labourers as small tenants, the 
rubber trees being leased to them for the rubber 
^hioh they extract, paying them any difference that 
may remain to their credit, over and above the 
value of the goods supplied to them, in cash. This 
rubber is then shipped by the estate owners to the 
" Aviadores " in payment of the goods that hava 
been consigned to them. The "Aviadores," on 
receipt of the rubber, sell it without delay to avoid 
loss in weight, to one of the exporting firms, receiving 
payment at once, in cash. With this the " viadores " 
pay the " Importadores." The exporting houses cut, 
pack, and ship the rubber drawing against shipments, 
generally on London credits, at ninety days' sight, 
and selling their bills to bankers at Para. Shipping 
documents have generally to accompany the draft, 
and in case of shipments to the United States, a 
certified Consular invoice. Manaos being without 
telegraphic communication, and consequently without 
foreign bank?, the exporting houses which buy rubber 
on this market are obliged to keep a supply of cash 
in hand to pay for rubber bought, which as has been 
already stated, has to be paid for at once in cash. 
Such is the so-called "Aviador" system, and so far 
it has been found to answer better than other methods 
of doing business. Suggestions have been made 
whereby it is proposed to eliminate some of these 
middlemen, and to bring the consumer into closer 
contact with the producer. In order to study this 
question it is necessary to consider the conditions 
under which the rubber estates are at present being 
explored and worked. 
The Havea Braziliensis is, as has already been stated, 
scattered through the Amazonian forests. In some 
places it is much more frequently met with than 
in others. Nothing but actual exploration and trial 
will enable the most experienced person to form any 
reliable opinion as to the value o£ a block of forest. 
The manner in which explorations are conducted is 
as follows:— An individual who enjoys a certain 
amount of credit in Manaos chatters a small launch 
and freights her with a cargo of food, clothing, and 
implements necessary. He then pioceeds to search 
in the low-class hotels and boarding-houses at Manaos 
and Para, or perhaps he may even go to the State 
of Ceara, whence the labouring classes are chiefly 
recruited, for a number of men with whom he intends 
to work his estate. These he engages, not on wages, 
but on the condition that he will barter his goods 
for the rubber they extract. Most of these labourers 
draw a considerable advance before they can be 
persuaded to go up-country. With this cargo and 
crew he proceeds to the district where he intends 
to work. Having arrived at a place which he considers 
promising, he despatches some of the most practised 
labourers, or " seriugueiros," as they are here named 
to explore the forest, find the rubber trees and open 
the paths between them. With the remainder he 
builds a store, known as the "Barracao," in which 
he stores his goods, and which becomes a rendezvous 
or nucleus for the calony. The men all this time 
are living at their own expense, the price of supplies 
given to them being debited to their account, to be 
paid for in rubber later on. The forest having been 
explored, the trees located and connected by paths, 
known as "Estradas," the men select which they 
are going to work. Bach " Estrada " makes a loop, 
visiting generally some 100 or 150 trees, and returning 
to the starting point, generally on the bank of a 
river or stream navigable for canoes. Each man 
builds his own small hut, or "Baraoa," where he 
lives and from which he works the two "Estradas" 
which he has selected. From time to time he pays 
.visits to the central store to obtain goods, and deliver 
the rubber he has collected. This the owner of the 
store, or the "patron," as he is termed, buys from 
him at a price, generally fixed by the "patron" 
himself, and credits him with the amount as a set- 
off against the goods that have been supplied to 
him. As the " seringueiros" can, as a rule, neither 
read nor write, the opportunities of an unscrupulous 
" patron " are great. At the end of the season, that 
is to say, in January, most of these men return to 
Manaos. A fresh lot is generally taken up by the 
" patron " each year, 
