May 1, lyoo.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, iU 
value of the rubber which they have to dispose of in 
the Para market. The expen-es at Para have beea 
large, and the cost of management at the London end 
has also been so heavy that retrenchment in the latter 
respect has already been agreed upon. 
The statement made to the shareholders in April 
last as to the number of collectors at wsrli was by no 
means fulfilled. It was based upon estimates made 
by the manager on the estate, who said at that time 
there were at least 650 men working, but that figure 
was subsequently reduced to ioQ, afterwards to 328 
and finally to 290. Then it was estimated that it 
would require £12,000 to equip these 650 workers, 
whereas £23,000 was actually spent in equipping the 
•mailer number. This sum is partially offset by the 
stores on hand at the end of the season ending June 30. 
The report was adopted, subject to an investigation 
by a committee of shareholders. 
The estate referred to, on the island of Marajo, 
consisting of 284 square miles, was purchased in 1893 
from the Visconde Sao Doraiiigos who was reported to 
have derived from it as much as 250 tons of rubber 
per year. On account of delays in making the trans- 
fer, the company were unable to collect any rubber 
during the first crop season. During ihe second 
season the company received 58 tons (eqaal to 255,390 
pounds) as a result of using up £2.^.000 of their work- 
ing capital. Naturally there have been no dividends 
on the company's £350,000 in shares. 
The India Bubbcr Tror?cZhas obtained some points 
from Mr. Henry A Cowles who for some time past 
has been in charge of a rubber escate in Peru, owned 
by New York capitalists. The company pay for rub- 
ber collected on their own lands about 35 sols per 
arroba of 33 pounds, or in the neighborhood of 50 
cents per pound. The rubber is sold in the Iqiiifcos 
narket at a certain advance, after which it passes, 
as a rule through several hands before reaching the 
manufacturer. There is no such thing as paying 
wages to the collectors ; they keep closely informed 
as to the prices ruling in Iquitos, and with every ad- 
vance in the market they demand a higher price. On 
account of the great scarcity of laborers throughout 
the Amazonian rubber districts, they are abla prac- 
tically to make their own terms. The company make 
a certain profit on the supplies furnished to the col- 
lectors, but tVie prices which can be charged is limited 
by prices in the Iquitos market, with which the rub- 
ber workers also ksep well acquainted. The laborers 
are always in debt to the company, and the death or 
desertion of one^ot their number means a clear loss 
to the company. In answer to a questijn as who' 
has profited by the rise in rubber which has been 
steady since the middle of 1895, Mr. Oowles says 
that the greater part of the advance has gone to th* 
rubber collectors. Moreover, there is no hope of a 
lower scale of payment for their w jrk for the reason 
that, having become accustomed to high wages, it will 
be difficult in future to get the men to go into the 
forest for less money. Good profits have also been 
made by the traders who explore every part of the^ 
rubber country, buying rubber in small lots for all 
kinds of goods, and selling the rubber collected to 
the exporting houses along the Amazon. Mr. Cowles; 
is of the opinion, however, that manufacturers might 
profit by buying rubber nearer the sources of supply^ 
than is now the rule. He mentioned the case of one 
New York manufacturer who, within a year, has 
arranged for the purchase of rubber for direct ship- 
ment from Manaos, with very satisfactory results. 
He is convinced that the greater part of the Ama- 
zonian rubber resources have not yet been touched,, 
but as new districts are gone into the labor supply 
becomes worse rather than better, with the result of 
pointing to higher costs of collection. — India lliibher 
World, March 1. 
A FARMER'S EVERYDAY LIFE. 
No. III. 
(By CosniopolUc.) 
March came not in like the proverbial iiou,- 
but like Mary's little pet lamb, and it has con- 
tinued to provide us witli cxuiet, mild and 
summer-like days, which materially help 
farmers to overtake the work that fell into 
arrears daring the snowstorm of February. 
The ploughs are rapidly tvirning over the soil 
and the appearance of March dust— a peck of 
which is said to be worth a king's ransom- 
gives indication of an early sowing season. 
The microbe of influenza has taken its de- 
parture from our mid.st, and the late sufferers 
from tbis dire disease have begun to prance 
around on their bicycles, thereby hiying the 
seeds of Kyphosis bicyclvitarium, which is, I 
understand, the scientific term of bicj^cle 
rider's stoop. In a late number of the 
Tropical AgriculUirist, I read an article to the 
effect that Eucalyptus Globulus is a preven- 
tative against influenza, but, although I have 
a healthy plant of some 8 feet in height, in 
my own special study, it yet failed to keep me 
in a state of immunity from the plague; indeed, 
on the contrary, I think, I had a more severe 
attack this year than ever I had before, and 
so another of our cherished beliefs in the bene- 
ficial influence of the Blue Gimi is thus ruth- 
lessly destroyed. 
It is not every couple who can expect to live 
to see the 
SPIRITS AND BEER • 
has been announced by the Chancellor of the 
Exchequer", in his budget speech, has filled 
with consternation, the drinking men of our 
Parish — and I regrettosay theirname is legion. 
Strong efforts have been made during the 
past two years to convert the "drunkf5"of our 
village to the paths of sobrietj^ but with very 
indifferent residts. Let us hope that the extra 
duty on spirits may prove more successful. 
I was told that one of the most capable 
drinkers of our community had declared his 
intention of giving up the habit r.ither than 
pay the extra duty, and this augur.s well, for 
he was about the last man that I would 
have expected it of. He speaks with a Scotch 
accent, so broad that one oould cut it with 
a spade, and drinks whisky and water strong 
enough to float a marlinespikej; but when I 
asked a neighbour if it was true that this 
dissipated member of society hnd given up 
spirits entirely, he replied Well, I would 
not exactly say that, although it is quite 
true that he does not drink whisky since he 
took the pledge : he only soaks his bread in 
it." After that I am inclined to think his 
conversion to teetotalism will take place 
as the bumper coffee crop of Ceylon was 
always expected — rtext year — " nalek'i "! 
I am surprised to find that so many 
of my neighbours are shareholders in wild- 
cat 
AFRICAN MINING SCHEMES. 
Hardly a day passes without my getting 
prospectuses of companies to be floated in 
Westralia, Africa, South America or some 
other outlandish place ; but these prospectuses 
quickly find their way to the back of the 
tire. My astonishment therefore was great 
when I learned that the reason whv so 
many residents in this parish are taking 
£i lively interest in the war in Africa is 
because of the shares they own in the 
mines of Johannesburg, etc, Faith, after all 
is the lever that moves the world. The 
German-Jewish miner of Africa in his lonely 
hut knows this full well, and so he digs a 
-hole and sends up specimens, and tlien, lils'e 
