i6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
rjULY T, 1897, 
MEXICAN INDIA-EUBBEU. 
The popularity of the cycle and the intro- 
duction of electric motor ears has caused such a 
“ I'un ” upon India-rubber that those engaged 
in the manufacture of tyres liave begun to real- 
ize the great risk there is id siipidies becoming 
exhausted. The formation of the India-Hubher 
(Mexico) Cov. Etd., will therefore be hailed vvitli 
satisfaction/byilic “trade,” and wesliouldfancy that 
the promoters will iia\'e no difficulty in disposing 
ol all the available shares. The Company has been 
formed to acipiire plantations in Me.xico (known 
as “La Esmer.alUa” and “ Llano do Juarez ”) of 
over 410 sipiare miles of freehold land witli 
.JoO 000 Indiambher trees already available for 
tapping. The estates also carry a great deal of 
valuabTe timber, and certain portions of them 
appear to he .adaptable lo the purpose of grow- 
ino cacao trees and coll'ee idants. There are 
also large plant.ations of chick gum trees, whcih 
produce "'the chewing gum so popular in America. 
The share capital is £406,000, diviued into 
400,000 ordinary shares of £1, and 6,000 defei i cd 
shares of £1 each. The latter will not be be en- 
titled to participate in the profits of any year 
until fifteen per cent, for that year has been 
paid on the ordinary shaics, when they will be 
entitled to one half of the remaining profits dis- 
tributed as dividend. There is also an issue of 
£t>00 000 seven per cent, first mortgage deben. 
tures of £50 each, redeemable after five years 
bv annual drawings at £60 each, at the option 
of ti e directors. A working capital of £50,000 
is provided for, and the vendors take £556,000 
for the properties, payable as to £150,000 in 
cash and as to the balance in cash or shares, 
or partly in both, at the option of tlie directors. 
Turning to the details given in the prospetcus 
we find it st.ated ; 
The consumption of india-rubber by six countries 
now exceeds 100,000,00:) lb. per annum, worth about 
iJiO 000 000, and during the last few years the demand 
for 'it has increased enormously, and is still increas- 
ine- whilst hitherto pcactically no steps have been 
taken to meet this growing demand, or to provide 
for the world’s future requirements. Up to the pre- 
sent time nearlv all india-rubber has been obtained 
from wild trees,' but it is admitted by those most 
competent to give an opinion that such a soiu-ce is 
barely adequate to meet the present demand, and 
that the supply of the future will have to come lai|ely 
from trees properly planted and cultivated This 
view is- corroborated by the following extract trom a 
recent "report to the Foreign ^Oilice:-“ Jii^dicious 
‘tapping,’ with due regard to the life of the tree 
and its future usefulness, is the exception; rubber- 
bearing trees are ruthlessly sacrificed by irresponsi- 
ble seekers after wealth, and dead trunks are be- 
comiim a too familiar feature m the landscape 
of the productive districts. Sooner or later a purely 
destructive policy or this kind must etxhaust the 
richest country.” 
Subsidy to Plant Eubbeu Teees.-A subsidy Ins 
been granted to the owners of the ‘ Llane de 
Inarel’ bv the Mexican Government, providing for 
a Treasury payment of Scents for evpy india-rubber 
tree planted which attains a certain growth up to 
a lim t of 15,000,000 trees ; equal to about ££000 
per million trees, the trees to be planted at olie 
rate of 1,0.50,000 per annum. The first year s yield 
1 ,1905 horn the million trees to be planted this ye^r 
shoMd be £250.000 rising in 1908 to £.500,000. The 
vear’s vield in 1906 of the million trees to be 
Slantid next year should be £250,000 rising in 1909 
to £500,000, and so on. Under the concession grant- 
ing the subsidy, tlie Government has the right 
of ^pre-emption at the end of 99 years of the lanas 
planted (with the buildings and utensils) at a valua- 
tion less an amount equal to double the amount paid 
by way of subsidy under the concession. 
If from any unforeseeu causes the estimates of 
revenue contained in the prospectus, and upon which 
the directors are proceeding, should not be realised 
in their entirety, there is an ample margin sho.vn in 
the estimates to provide for every c.jiuingency, 
after payment of handsome and yearly increasing 
dividens. 
Demand. — India-rubber has become absolutely in' 
dispensable to the cycle tyre, electrical motar cars, 
cab, and imininerable other manufacturing industries- 
It is a matter of common knowledge that they con- 
sumption of india-iTU'ber in the manufacture of cycle 
tyres alone has grown by leaps and bounds. In 1886 
there were 68 cycle factories in England — there s.ie 
now more than ten times that number. lu France, 
America, Germany, Australia, and other couuiries there 
has also been a large development of the cycle tmd-'. 
In 1896 no less than 262 undertakings dealing with 
the cycle and motor industries wore registered in 
London alone, with a total capital of t’l'.),s9H 464 
The increasing demand for India-rubber has caused 
manufactiivers to awake to the problem of a threat- 
ened exhaustion of supplies ; it is, therefore, lieiond 
question that this Company will supply a want 
distinctly felt by all manufacturers using iudia rubber 
and that it has every reasonable prospect of richly 
rewarding its shareholders. 
Theatment of Rubbeh. — It is intended Hhat the 
rubber shall be collected and treated under the care of a 
resident rubber expert on the most approved scienti- 
fic principles, so as to command the highest market 
price quoted for the best samples of raw rubber. 
Such rubber on the market is worth about 3s 6d 
per lb, and its superiority over other rubbers is due 
to the scientific methods' employed in its collection 
ensuring freedom from dirt and impurities. It is 
anticipated that by the adoption of similar means 
in gathering the product of this Company’s estates 
it will, instead of realising Is 8d per lb net, find a 
ready sale at 2s 6d per lb net. Hitherto there has 
been but a comparatively small output of india- 
rubber from Mexico, collected in a most primitive 
fashion, and although in addition to the Company’s 
plantations wild rubber trees grow in great numbers 
upon their lands, no organised efforts have been 
made to exploit the industry. No comparison, there- 
fore, can be justified between the raw rubber which 
tills Company proposes to put upon the market, 
and that of any other rubber which has ever come out 
of Mexico. 
Tea .and CoffI'-.e in Ceylon.— A colonist of 
the “forty-fifties” writing from London liy a 
recent mail, gives some advice to planters : — 
Tea Company forming, I notice, still goes on and 
large prices continue to be given for estates. 
I met Mr. Tom Gray just before his last visit to 
your side, and was glad to find his great confidence 
in the tea enterprise. There will be ups and downs 
as in all enterprises, There will be those who have 
paid too much for their whistle ; many who have 
cultivated without proper regard for economy ; and 
wiser men who worked cautiously, careful of ex- 
penditure, avoiding as much as possible loading their 
properties with debts for advances from capitalists. 
The same varying fortune will characterise the 
tea as formerly the coffee enterprise. 
When I arrived at Colombo in 1811 in Messrs. 
Tindall’s ship “Achilles,” there was another ship, 
the “Euphrates,” also owned hy Mr. Tindall, des- 
tined for China, with one more vessel, a charter 
for oil by Wilson & Co., afterwards Wilson, Eilchie 
& Co.,; 3 ships in all! How many now'? The reply 
will show the advance Ce5'lon has made 
In the present day, our harbour lia.s often, 18 
or more large ocean-going steamers at once within 
its bounds at anchorage. 
