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a department to control the rubber industry in the Federal territory 
of the Acre, than from the governments of the States concerned. 
Owing to the defective methods of tapping and coagulating in Brazil, 
only 45 per cent, of the rubber collected is “ fine,” the rest being of 
the inferior grades fetching often only half the price of “fine” rubber. 
During 1909 a process was invented by Dr. Pinto for preparing crude 
rubber, and to test the value of this preparation, a ton of hevea and a 
ton of caucho prepared by this system are to be sold on the open 
market in New York. Dr. Pinto received a premium of 2,500 Is, from 
the Federal Government for his invention. 
The Brazilian Government favours measures to encourage the 
plantation of hevea on a large scale, and the Governor of Par£ has 
also recommended measures to stimulate plantations, but little seems 
to have been done in the way of protecting the forests from which the 
States of Para and Amazonas draw some 70 per cent, of their revenues. 
The export taxes on rubber from Ceara and Bahia are less than those 
of Para, but it is feared that those of Bahia will be very greatly 
increased. A rubber factory is to be established in Bahia. 
The difficulty of supervising rubber estates is general throughout 
Brazil, though the plantations do not suffer in the same way as -the 
forests do. 
In August, 1909, a congress of proprietors of rubber estates was 
held in the Acre territory to discuss the best means of maintaining 
prices and^developing the rubber industry. The message whic 1, on 
the conclusion of their sittings, they forwarded to the President of the 
Republic, states the chief difficulties under which the rubber industry 
labours not only in the Acre but throughout the Republic. The 
remedies they propose fall roughly under the following heads : 
Legislation to confirm actual proprietors of estates in their 
possession. 
Communications. Roads (especially in Alto Purus and Alto 
Yaco to connect the estates). 
Railway (from frontier of Peru to Bocca do Acre). 
Steamships, snbvention to. 
Colonisation, further Government aids to. 
Commission to study rubber plantations in Ceylon, &c. 
Taxation, reduction of, especially of export taxes. 
The State of Amazonas, which, begin an agricultural State, is 
suffering from the gradual rise in exchange and the gradual me : 
of tariff duties, addressed a petition to the Federal ^e™menh pom 
ing out the alarming increase of duties on artic es P . g ^ 
such as rice, potatoes, beans, dried meat and clothe ’ P C ent. in 
clothes of the simplest description having risen so 5 
the last 10 years. 
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