THE HEVEA RUBBER TREE IN THE AMAZON VALLEY 9 
another species worthy of mention is H. foxii, which is the principal 
source of commercial rubber of the Putumayo district. 
Some other species are known to yield fairly good rubber, but it 
is doubtful whether any of them are exploited to any extent at the 
present time. 
None of the species of Hevea except H. brasHiensis have been 
considered promising for plantation culture, and none of the other 
species have been given extensive plantation trials. 
STATUS OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN THE AMAZON VALLEY 
There is no denying the fact that the rubber industry of the Amazon 
Valley is in a serious, even a precarious, situation at the present time. 3 
The price of rubber has declined to such a degree that it is almost 
impossible for the industry to continue at all. True, it is likely 
that a certain quantity of rubber will be produced for an indefinite 
number of years, because a few people who five in areas rich in rubber 
trees and have no other employment will continue to collect rubber, 
even though -a very low return for their lab6r is realized. But no 
new supply of labor will go into the rubber country as in times 
past; on the contrary, every boat from such rubber areas as those 
drained by the Purus and the Acre Rivers descends with a load 
of laborers returning to the south, especially to Ceara, where the 
developing cotton plantations offer better remuneration for their 
labor. 
The crisis here, of course, has been brought about by the over- 
production of rubber by the oriental plantations. In former years, 
when rubber was " black gold" almost literally as well as figuratively, 
its high price justified any sort of production, however expensive. 
When plantation rubber began to enter the market in an acceptable 
quality and in quantity sufficient to supply the demands the price 
began to decline. As this decline progressed the planters learned 
to reduce the costs of production more and more, until they are now 
lower than the exploiters of the Amazonian forests or even the pioneer 
planters could have believed they ever would be. The rubber 
collectors of South America were slow to adapt themselves to the 
new conditions and were much less successful in reducing their produc- 
tion costs, partly because they are very different folk from the pro- 
gressive planters and partly because the conditions under which they 
work are more difficult to control. 
When the seriousness of this state of affairs became apparent, 
the Brazilian Government appointed a group of officials under the 
direction of the Minister of Agriculture to aid in the "defesa do 
borracha, " the defense of rubber. A commission (12) was sent into 
the rubber country to study the conditions of production and to 
make suggestions for their improvement, and a long series of acts 
relating to the encouragement of the industry was passed (37). 
In addition to the activities of the Brazilian Government, a group 
of commercial organizations interested in the welfare and develop- 
ment of the industry sent a commission to the Amazon Valley to 
study rubber production. The findings of this commission were 
published in the extensive report by Akers (1), which also contained 
3 Since this section was written the price of rubber has increased considerably, and it is probable that 
tl.is has led to a general improvement in conditions. 
