V05 T OVERSIZE \ (?orneU IttinerHttg ffiibrara n . A . V^Rvv 1 Cornell University Library HD9161.W25 Memorandum on the rubber industry. 3 1924 013 772 300 HS' Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013772300 nDemotanbum ON THE RUBBER INDUSTRY FRBPARBD BT THS WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE U. S. A. MEMORANDUM ON . THE RUBBER INDUSTRY TO SHOW THE NECESSITY OF INSURING AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF CRUDE RUBBER FOR THE MANUFACTURERS OF RUBBER GOODS IN THE UNITED STATES ON EQUAL TERMS WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. This memorandum is prepared by the War Service Com- AuDEurnM. ^ '^ •' page loUo mittee of the Eubber Industry of the U. S. A. appointed by - „ „ The Eubber Association of America, an organization representing every concern in the United States engaged in the manufacture of rubber goods, and having a membership which includes manufac- turers whose annual output is at least ninety per cent, of the total. In the interest of orderly presentation only the salient facts and figures are given herein, the source of such facts and figures being printed in an " Addendum ", the particular sections of the Adden- dum supporting the statements herein made being indicated by corresponding reference symbols in the margin. The purpose of this memorandum is to show that this industry of rubber manufacturing in the United States is almost entirely de- pendent upon British and Dutch possessions for its supply of crude rubber ; and its expansion, its possibility of competing in the export trade of the world, entirely at the mercy of the economic policy of the British and Dutch Governments. In a word, if these govern- ments should impose an export tax on crude rubber discriminating against the United States, it would cripple its rubber manufacturing industry and wholly exclude the United States from competing in the export trade of the world. The Rubber Manufacturing Industry of the United States. The United States has always led the world in the industry of manufacturing articles of rubber. The industry had its inception here. The great discovery of the vulcanization of rubber was made by an American — Dr. Charles Goodyear. This gi-eat industry is approximately seven times as large as that of the next largest rubber manufacturing nation. It is essential that it shall have the fullest opportunity to achieve its complete development and expansion. On the first of January, 1918, the industry in the United States comprised 500 concerns giving employment to 207,714 persons. j g The value of the rubber goods manufactured and sold during the year 1917 was $895,816,248, the export trade being nearly thirty- five millions. g 27 The world's production of crude rubber for the year 1917 was 256,976 tons, of which the United States imported 177,088 tons, or ^ o-, 69% of the total production. The next largest consumers were the United Kingdom with 25,983 tons, France 17,000 tons, Italy 6,946 7 35 tons, Eussia 7,500 and Canada 6,287. The enormous growth of the industry is shown by the fact that in 1906 the United States consumed 24,113 tons as against 13,838 7 35 pt^^louo *o^8 for Great Britain, the nfext latgest consumer, while in 1917 the 7 35 United States cousumption had grown to 177,088 tons as against 25,983 tons for Great Britain, or an increased consumption in the United States of 152,975 tons since 1906, while the next largest consumer. Great Britain, increased only 12,145 tons. But the future growth of the business in the Unitfed States gives promise of going ahead d,t even a greater rate than has obtained in the past. The one great feeld of use for rubber goods — 2 9 automobile tires — would seem to have a tremendous future in the vast possibilities of expansion of the manufacture of motor cars, especially for commercial purposes. To maintain our position and to make possible the future growth of ttie business it is imperativie that the industry shall be able to obtain its supplies of crude rubber on terms as favorable as the rest of the world. Crude Riibber. Thbre are many kinds of crude rubber, but the backbone of the rubber industry is the rubber dbtained from the Ilevea JBrazUitlisia. This is the treb whidh is now almost exclusively cultivated on the plantations of the British and Dutch possessions in the East. Of tlie rubbbr produced in 1917, over 90% came from these hev^a trees, 204,000 tons bieing produced on the Eastern plantations (79%) and 39,000 tons (15%) frotn the wild trees in South America land 6% frdni ^ild trees and shrubs in Africsi, and Mexicd. In thb present cdhsiddration of the supjily of crude tubber all kinds of rubber other than hevea may be neglected, fot thie reason that hevea can be produced as cheaply as any dthet kind and is iiHsom- parably better. In fact it may be said that Without keveidt riibfafer the industry could not exist. This hevea tree, and in fact all other rubber-producing trees, will grow only in the tropica^ and, g&netally speaking, only within a 2one 10° north and south df the equator. This belt includes the „ „_ northern portion df South America including the river Amazon and its tributaries, the central portidn df Africa, Ceylon and thte most southerly? point of India, the British and Dutch East Indies and the inost southerly pbrtiohs of thie Philippine Islands. 8 37 7 31 Wild Rubber. '(hevea) All wild hevea comes from South America and ptaetieally all from the bahks df the Amazon and its tributaries. Th6 gathering 'of this wild rubber is now and always haS been dangerous, difficult 9 43 and expensive; dangerous, because of the extrenifely unhealthy 15 72 ''^'™^*® ' ^i'ffic^lt, because of the absence of means of transpfrtttd- 12 56 *^°° ^°^ because the rubber trees are widely separated in dense jungle through which paths must be cut ; and expensive because of ADDBHDUU. page louo 9 44 13 62 11 51 the foregoing reasons plus the fact that labor is very scarce and what there is must be imported, and further because of the neces- sity for carrying into the far interior jungles all things necessary to maintain human existence. It is a common saying that on the Amazon every ton of rubber costs a human life. It would seem, therefore, that South American wild rubber cannot be produced at a cost less than about from fifty to sixty cents per pound, and that the quantity produced, no matter what the selling price may be, cannot \)e materially increased. The figures seem to conclusively prove this. In 1906 the production was 36,000 tons, 7 31 being MA% of the world's production, while in 1917 it was only 39,370 tons, being only 15.3% of the world's production. The largest production ever obtained from South America was 42,410 tons in 1912, which was 42.9% of the world's total. Notwithstanding the tremendous increase in consumption the production of wild rubber has steadily decreased during the past ten years. Wild Rubber Other Than Hevea. Little need be said of wild rubber other than hevea. There 12 59 are many kinds whose botanical names we need not trouble , about. They are referred to in detail in the Addendum. The chief source of supply is the equatorial portions of Africa. Some small quantity is produced in Mexico. All these rubbers are very much inferior to hevea in quality ; all re- quire a tropical climate and none can be produced any more cheaply than the cultivated hevea. In 1906 the output of these wild rub- bers was 29,700 tons or 44.9% of the world's production, while in 1917 the production was 13,258 tons, or only 5.2% of the total crop. 7 32 Plantation Rubber. In 1900 the production of plantation rubber was 4 tons. In 1917 the production of plantation rubber was 204,348 tons. 7 gj In 1905 the planted area was 93,205 acres. In 1917 the planted area was 1,911,171 acres. 18 88 With the exception of 10,000 acres in Cochin China and 5,000 acres in S. S. Islands, this entire area of rubber plantations is located in British and Dutch possessions. In British possessions the planted area is 1,294,786 acres or 67.75% of the total, while the 17 85 planted area in the Dutch possessions is 601,385 acres or 31.47% of ^^ ^^ the total, British and Dutch together having 99.22% ! The present and future of the rubber industry of the United States depends upon this planted area. The only other portions of the world in which it is possible to cultivate hevea rubber are certain portions of the African equa- torial belt and the Island of Mindanao in the Philippine Islands. Practically, however, neither of these territories can be availed of for many years to come. In the first place, the hevea me™K)Uo' ^^^^ <5o^s ^°^ y^®^*^ ^^^ rubber before the fifth year after planting, j^3 g^ and then in the early years the yield is very small. So far, nothing has been done, either in Africa or in the Philippine Islands, in the cultivation of rubber trees except in an ex- perimental way. It may be asserted, therefore, that the crude rubber supply of the world will be furnished by the planta- tions located in the British and Dutch colonies, where labor is abundant, the climate ideal and means of transportation ample. It is to be remembered that these plantations, which in 1917 pro- duced 204,000 tons, are very largely plantations of comparatively young trees, and that the output from these plantations, even with- out any extension of the planted area, will largely increase in the 18 89 future, the estimated production for the year 1920 being 380,000 tons, the estimated average cost of production of this rubber 7 34 throughout all the territories being roughly twenty-five cents per pound. No rubber can be produced at a cost of production so low in any other part of the world, and this entirely disregarding the question of quality. It is clear, therefore, that this Dutch and British rubber-pro- ducing tei-ritory is the crux of the rubber manufacturing industry of the world, and it is easy to conceive that this control of the crude supply might be availed of to increase the manufacture of rubber goods in the countries subject to the British and Dutch Governments and to the corresponding prejudice of the industry in the United States. That this possibility is present in the minds of the plantation owners in the East is evidenced by the fact that all the British colonies have passed laws prohibiting the alienation of rubber- bearing lands during the war and for six months thereafter. In an article commenting on this legislation, the " Straits Times " of De- cember 19, 1917, states : " It is, of course, highly desirable that British capital should predominate in the industry, but, as we pointed out in one of our earlier comments, the essential thing is our sovereign powers over the whole rubber industry, no matter who may be owners of the capital. As long as the planta- tions are inside British territory we have unlimited control over the product, because we can commandeer the whole of it at prices fixed by ourselves, and can make such regulations as we please about the ports to which it may be shipped." It may well be that both the British and Dutch Governments may impose an export duty on crude rubber ; and in fact such pro- cedure is quite likely as one of many measures which may be neces- sary to create the large revenues which will be required to take care of the burden of the enormous national indebtedness resulting from the world war. Presumably the imposition of such a tax, and, if imposed, the amount of such tax, would be governed by economic considerations and so adjusted as to permit of the greatest possible increase of the rubber-manufacturing industry, since the producing of crude rubber and the success and development of the rubber- manufacturing industry are inseparably connected. But if the British and Dutch Governments should have the object of forcing the development and expansion of the nibber- mannfaoturing industry within their own territories, legis- lation might be enacted which would establish a preferential in favor of rubber exported from the rubber-growing territories to the rubber-manufacturing territories under the British and Dutch Governments. Such a preferential export duty would work great harm to the rubber-manufacturing industry of the United States and would probably completely destroy its export business. It is, therefore, respectfully submitted that in the settle- ment of international questions of commerce which must necessarily be involved, in the final terms of peace, in ■which both belligerent and neutral countries will be in- terested and represented, some guaranty shall be given by the British and Dutch Governments that manufacturers of rubber goods in the United States shall be able to obtain their supplies of crude rubber from territories within con- trol of the British and Dutch Governments upon as favor- able terms as the manufacturers of any country. WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE or THE EUBBEE INDUSTRY OF THE U. S. A. B G. WoBK, Chairman, H. E. Sawyer, Vice-Chairman, E. H. Bkoadwell, H. S. Firestone, J. N. GUNN, G. B. HODGMAN, W. J. Kelly, P. W. Litchfield, E. S. Williams, C. T. Wilson. [17893] Hbbenbum OP Authorities for Statements Made in Memorandum ON THE RUBBBR INDUSTRY FREPARiJSD BY THB WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE U. S. A. ADDENDUM OF Authorities for Statements Made in Memorandum ON 2 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY. THE NECESSITY OF INSURING AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF CRUDE RUBBER FOR THE MANUFACTURERS OF RUBBER GOODS IN THE UNITED STATES ON EQUAL TERMS WITH THE REST OP THE WORLD. THE RUBBER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Incoepobated 17 Battery Place, New York June 15th, 1918. To ALL MeMBEBS op THE EUBBEB InDDSTEY WhO AnSWEBED WaB Seevice Committee Questionnaiee No. 3 : Answers have now been received from all of the principal rubber mannfacturing companies to War Service Committee Questionnaire No. 3, which was*-sent out to the trade last March, asking all com- panies for the number of employees at their peak daring the year 1917 and the aggregate value of their production during the same year. These replies have now been tabulated by Mr, Irving B; Fergu- son, C. P. A., 61 Broadway, New York, with the following results : Number of companies replying 452 Total number of employees at their peak during the year 1917 _ 207,714 Total value of production during the year 1917 $895,816,248 This information is now given to those who have answered the questionnaire by authority of our Executive Committee. Very truly yours, H. S. VOOEHIS Secretary. THE RUBBER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INCORPORATED. 17 Battery Place, New York. Apbil 15th, 1918. CBUDE RDBBEE CONSUMED IN THE VARIOUS RUBBER INDUSTRIES. To THE Rubber Trade : We are pleased to enclose herewith in totals the replies re- ceived from 448 manufacturers to the War Service Committee Questionnaire No. 1 out of 503 copies sent out. The 55 manufac- turers failing to respond, in the aggregate, used very little rubber. This report is considered substantially correct and represents the amount of rubber used in various rubber industries. In addition thereto the production of eighteen manufacturers of reclaimed rubber is noted, together with the total amount of sul- phuric acid consumed by manufacturers and reclaimers. Tours very truly, H, S. VOORHIS, Secretary. SUMMARY OP 448 REPLIES OUT OF 503 QUESTION- NAIRES SENT OUT MARCH 5, 1918. Schedule No. 1. Amount op Rubber (Crude and Reclaimed) Used in the Produc- tion OF Specified Classes of Goods. Class. Pounds used during calendar year ending Dec. 31, 1917. 9 Crude. Beclaimed. Tires and Tubes Automobile pneumatic casings Automobile pneumatic tubes Motor and bicycle tires and tire sundries 160,527,867 32,315,758 6,305,449 26,176,513 19,673,218 2,022,428 31,920,927 211,696 6,199427 6,789,200 Solid Tires Casings & tubes combined Casings, tires & tubes combined. . 1,848;438 83,481 Total 247,021,233 47,765,284 28,377,019 5,953,205 8,359,937 3,562,838 1,310,694 2.610,544 3,275,676 4,031,341 407,282 47,053,169 75,338,450 35,342,989 18,974,503 394,004 11,694,326 999,28^ 4,845,968 18,663 4,533,447 542,980 1^ Mechanical Rubber Goods Boots and shoes Insulated wire & Insulating com- pounds _. Druggists' and stationers' sundries and surgical rubber goods Waterproof Clothing, including carriage cloth and rubber sheet- ing . __ Waterproof Cloth, including single and double texture Hard Rubber Goods Rubber Cement Miscellaneous, not included in any of the above schedul es Boots & Shoes & Insulated wire combined Total of Schedule No. 1.. 352,675,053 199,737,788 CIRCULAR ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL CITY BANK 11 OF NEW YORK, APRIL 1, 1918. Foreign Trade Record. O0B Increasing Demand fob India Eubbee— The United States Now Consumes 70 Pee Cent, of the World's Rubbeb Supply. Rubber conaumption in the United States in 1917 was 50% greater than in 1916, double that of 1915, three times as much in 1914, and six times as much a decade ago. The demands of Amer- ican manufacturers have more than kept pace with the rapid in- crease in world production. A compilation by The National City Bank of New Yark dis- cussing world and United States consumption of India rubber in the last decade shows that while world production increased from 69,000 tons in 1907 to 257,000 tons in 1917, United States consumption grew from 30,000 tons in 1907 to 182,000 tons in 1917. World production quadrupled in the ten-year period and United States consumption sextupled in the same time. In 1917 the United States took 44% of the world's output, and in 1917, 71%. A billion dollars of ^^ American money has been sent to other parts of the world in the decade ending with 1917 for the purchase of the 700,000 tons of rubber brought into the United States in that period, in part from Brazil, but chiefly in recent years from the Orient. The Bank's statement shows that in the world's output of " plantation " rubber has increased from 1,000 tons in 1907 to 204,000 tons in 1917, while meantime the " wild " rubber output of the world decreased some 68,000 tons in 1907 to 58,000 tons in 1917. It was only a decade ago that the rubber plantations estab- lished in the Orient by European capital about 1900, came into 1^ " bearing " condition, the world's output of plantation rubber having been in 1900 but 4 tons ; in 1905, 145 tons ; 1907, 1,000 tons, and from that on a very rapid increase showing for 1917, 204,348 tons according to the latest estimates of the highest world authorities. Meantime Brazilian rubber pro- duced from forests, showed little change iu the quantity pro- duced, the production in 1907 having been 38,000 tons and in 1917 39,870 tons, according to the estimate of the highest authorities. The other producers of forest rubber, chiefly Central America, Mexico and the Congo Valley, have reduced their output from 15 about 30,000 tons in 1907 to 13,000 tons in 1917, leaving the United States more and more dependent upon the plantations of the Orient. As a result the importation into the United States of plantation rubber from the Orient has grown from about 33,000 tons in 1914 to approximately 150,000 tons in 1917, although we have in the meantime continued to take a very large proportion of the rubber output of our South and Central American neighbors. Plantation rubber now forms about 80% of the world's rubber output. Even the very rapid increase in world production of rubber 16 from 69,000 tons in 1907 to 257,000 in 1917, has not kept pace with the demand of the United States, for while our imports of rubber in 1907 from 41% of the world's output, they were in 1912, 51%, in 1916, 58% and in 1917, 71% of the entire rubber product of the world. Eubber imports into the United States in the calendar year 1917 were the largest in the history of that trade, both in quantity and value, the quantity imported for consumption having been approxi- mately 182,000 tons against 117,000 tons in 1916, the former high 17 record year, and the value in 1917, $233,000,000 against $160,000,- 000 in 1916. Meantime our exportation of manufactures of rubber has grown from $7,000,000 a decade ago to $35,000,000 in 1917, while we also re-exported in crude form nearly $6,000,000 worth of rubber imported in 1917. Practically all of the plantation rubber produced in the world is thus far grown in the Orient. The plantations occupy about two million acres, of which approximately one million are in the Malayan Peninsula, a half million in the Dutch East Indies and the remainder distributed through Ceylon, India, Burma, Cochin 18 China and Borneo, and a comparatively small acreage in the Philippine Islands, where experimental work has given reason to believe that the rubber producing possibilities are very great. The amount of capital invested in the rubber plantations of the Orient is estimated at approximately $300,000,000, chiefly British, except that in the Dutch East Indies, which is largely from the Nether- lands. 19 20 FIGURES PROM "FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES." (ISSUED BY THE U. S. GOV.) 21 Impoetb ot Rubbke and Substittjtbs into the United States. India rubber Balata Guayule gum Gutta-joolatong Gutta-percha Ind. rubber scrap Total India rubber and substitutes, lbs. $ lbs. lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs, $ lbs, 1913. Fiscal year ending June 30, 1914. 1915. 113,884,359 90,170,316 1.318,598 766,772 10,318,191 4,345,088 45,345,348 2,147,441 480,863 167,313 43,885,456 3,709,238 101,333,168 181,995,742 71,219,851 1,533,024 793,126 1,475,804 607,076 24,936,571 1,555,407 1,846,109 323,567 35,958,261 2,068,198 76,162,220 172,068,428 83,030,269 3,472,234 963,384 5,111,849 1,441,367 14,850,264 731,995 1,618,214 230,750 11,006,928 726,914 87,124,679 1916. Tear Ending Dec. 31, 1917. 267,775,557 155,044,790 2,544,405 996,102 2,816,068 880,813 27,858,335 1,822,262 3,188,449 842,226 16,371,573 1,271,903 159,858,096 405,638,278 233,320,904 3,193,387 1,607.343 4,852;581 1,487,978 24,774,867 1,144,140 1,476,426 289,803 33,357,173 1,717,368 Pbinoipal Cottnteibs feom which Impoeted. Fiscal year ending June 30. Belgium France Germany Netherlands Portugal United Kingdom .. Canada Cen. Amer. States Mexico Brazil Colombia Ecuador Peru., Venezuela East Indies— British., British India Sts. Settlements Other British Dutch E. Indies Other Countries , Total , )bs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs. '« lbs. i lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs, $ lbs. $ lbs. $ lbs, $ lbs, f lbs $ lbs, $ lbs i lbs. 5,917,440 11,005,346 1,902,370 5,412,895 6,481,901 950,872 2,968,332 3,629,287 685,699 509,675 656,076 2,584,677 1,124,629 284,862 812,144 327,998 7,790,742 7,052,767 789,105 5,943,871 3,595,869 858,931 405,807 3,046,440 313,407 479,382 65,484 883,68U 1,134,060 161,548 363,826 87,866 873,349 556,560 4,130,624 2,778,656 8,740,415 643,304 177,687 1,374,526 1,094,841 1,476,891 34,164,008 48,379,639 75,168,236 72,459,408 71,466,789 33,.586,908 31,153,311 39,188,519 48,144,416 48,517,761 193,241 159,868 4,973,436 9,040 193,362 117,936 2,788,824 5,403 974,180 555,001 787,280 1,813,454 1,253,354 656,089 393,119 857,966 595,937 555,707 2,033,791 641,039 1,837,912 3,361,507 1,263,559 1,329,021 383,433 706,350 1,363,391 520,512 43,518,861 40,641,305 48,753,670 54,968,227 56,983,470 25,905,641 16,319,048 20,788,776 25,150,498 23,678,755 635,530 383,305 436,005 750,126 * 434,662 175,870 182,458 327,023 * 890,217 314,583 866,139 661,448 * 568,187 75,941 136,903 274,924 « 352.347 1,016,566 3,154,310 3,476,294 3,991,474 808.292 427,002 1,834,363 1,703,581 1,840,514 388,941 333,051 469,790 796,064 * 334,457 138,063 308,357 300,017 ** * 195,325,015 ** 113,480,370 92,304 7,336 87,804 186,071 *** 100,464 3,360 48,089 74,888 *** 5,688,854 9,085,508 13,325,775 78,891,439 ♦♦* 5,162,873 5,122,318 6,645,079 47,093,914 *** 6,443,503 7,091,146 10,549,113 36,313,604 ••* 6,559,637 4,263,594 5,249,188 16,319,353 *«* 80,840 463,230 4,085,991 30,291,963 59,689,895 65,480 386,437 3,114,347 11,605,793 36,671,226 33,373 13,100 471,863 785,314 7,180,255 15,917 7,784 210,521 417,968 4,320,789 . 113,384,359 131,995,742 172,068,428 267,775,557 405,638,278 90,170,316 71,219,851 88,080,269 155,044,790 233,220,904 22 239,468,836 Year ending Dec. 81. 23 24 25 of * Other S. A. lbs. 4,023,489 vlaued at $1,793,515. ** Includes British India, Straits Settlements and other British East Indies. *** Included in British East Indies. Fiscal year 1914 covers the full year immediately preceding the war : fiscal year 1915 represents the first year the war ; the figures for the calendar year 1917 cover the latest available year of the war period. 26 INDIA RUBBER MANUFACTURES. Exports from thb United States 1913-1917, Exports of Auto tires - All other tires Rubber boots 27 Rubber shoes Belting, hose, &c Scrap, etc Reclaimed All other Mfrs Total India rubber and Mfrs. of prs I prs $ lbs. $ lbs. Auto Tires Exported to Belgium Denmark France , 28 Italy Netherlands Norway Portugal Russia in Europe Spain Sweden United Kingdom .... Canada , Mexico Cuba Argentina Brazil Uruguay British India Dutch East Indies ... Japan Australia on New Zealan3 ^'^ Philippine Islands.... British South Africa All other countries .. Fiscal year ending June 30 1913 1914 1915 3,943,220 611,458 109,538 374,380 2,231,467 1,163,953 2,605,551 7,369,465 880,442 5,413,247 982,904 3,918,086 14,324,894 3,505,267 568,373 101.361 379,306 1,634,258 884,389 3,873,887 6,307,672 598.287 5,583,860 834,440 3,453,472 12,441,230 4,963,270 576,602 318,737 726,765 2,219,900 2,053,560 1,807,848 2,433,091 391,421 5,970,880 832,561 3,525,486 14,767,513 Fiscal year ending June 30. $12,388 3,728 11,740 1,907 7,894 1,434 6,480 2,408 26,707 2,655,844 773,574 106,083 193,355 34,096 77,435 11,836 15,4« 7,683 13,744 245,340 301,379 350,832 33,832 368,443 $401,900 $15,750 16,611 11,414 20,205 5,448 1,150 915 434 2,386 456 5,649 382 157 729 1,168 567 1,595 5,301 77,537 1,125,716 1,503,776 1,334,459 981,937 203,883 111,948 12,322 55,236 8,153 21,920 47,537 11,889 1,990 17,987 883 8,5»5 860 2,677 29,975 18,629 58,068 94,321 26,270 35,695 100,476 141,205 17,057 27,090 537,945 375,538 1916 17,936,237 3,003,077 730,130 1,619,260 1,976,896 1,046,102 2,986,953 3,904,715 400,148 6,406,946 871,263 7,390,345 Year ending Dec. 31 1917 35.153,374 80,423 338,437 36,548 10,001 25,990 1,125,783 82,984 35,850 9,293,483 1,176,836 236,811 547,410 488,329 295,479 76,608 119,942 201,287 20,045 1,551,154 944,008 391,634 291,318 604,829 13,948,234 2,192,259 1,323,169 3,868,351 2,048,491 1,218,483 4,171,599 3,155,010 361,263 4,526.901 763,210 8,265,107 34,788,506 Tear ending Dec. 31. $505,482 163,314 1,789,007 1,936,284 509,648 1,340,729 1,902,585 657,183 318,551 492,282 454,155 691,880 465,871 716,439 2,005,974 Fiscal year 1914 covers the full year immediately preceding the war ; fiscal year 1915 represents the first year of the war ; the figures for the calendar year 1917 cover the latest available year of the war period. 30 6 PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION. 31 " The World's Rubber Position." Published by W. H. Rickinson & Son, London. World's Production, Percentage of inc. (+) or dec. ( — ) Plantation Production. Percentage of World's Production Brazilian Production Percentage of World's Production Wild Eubber Produc^ tion Percentage of World's Production Retaiiied in U. S. A. Retained in Gt. Britain Plantat'a Rub. (Acres in Bearing) Plantat'n fiub. (Aver- age Price) Pine Hard Para (Aver- age Price) 1906. 66,210 + 6.5% 510 0.7% 36,000 54.4% 39,700 44.9% 38,483 18,838 1907. 1908. 69,000 + 4.3% 1,000 1.4% 88,000 55.1% 30,000 43.5% 28,634 15,913 5/lOi 5/2f 4/lli 4/6 65,400 -5.3% 1,800 3.8% 39,000 59.6% 24,600 37.6% 38,050 10,838 1909. 4/3| 4/OJ 69,600 + 6.4% 3,600 5.3% 43,000 60.3% 24,000 34.5% 30,669 15,107 7/1 6/11 1910. 70.500 + 1.3% 8,200 11.6% 40,800 57.9% 21,500 30.5% 31,576 20,455 93,205 8/9 8/10 1911. 75,149 + 6.5% 14,419 19.2% 37,730 50.2% 23,000 80.6% 29,235 16,736 337,240 5/5J 5/0 1912. 98,928 + 31.6% 38,518 38.8% 43,410 43.9% 38,000 28.3% 50,348 18,724 403,912 4/9 4/10 1913. 108,440 + 9.6% 47,618 43.9% 39,370 86.8% 21,452 19.8% 49,851 25,376 545,385 3/Oi 3/8 1914. 130,880 + 11.0% 71,380 59.3% 37,000 30.7% 12,000 10.0% 61,351 18,549 681,355 2/^ 3/lOJ 1915. 158,703 + 31.8% 107,867 67.9% 37,330 33.5% 13,615 8.6% 96,792 15,072 885,079 2/6 2/7 1916. 201,598 + 27.0% 152,6.50 75.7% 36,500 18.1% 12,448 6.3% 116,475 26,760 1,200,407 3/lOi 1917. 356,976* + 27.4% 304,348* 79.5% 89,870* 15.3% 13,358* 5.3% 175,000* 25,983 1,448,033 2/9i 3/l| 32 * Estimated, pending final OfiBcial Statistics. Cost of production on various plantations in British and Dutch Bast Indies taken from annual reports for year 1917-18, as published in " The Statist." All in Name of Co. cost per lb. Mount Austin (Johore) 1/4 = 33 cents. Seaport (Selangor) 1/3 = 28 Malacca Rubber Plantations 1/2 = 3S Manchester North Borneo 1/4 = 33 Sumatra Consolidated 1/ = 24 Ghangkat Salak (Perak) 1/ = 24 Langkat (Sumatra) 1/2 = 28 Jugra Estate (Selangor) 1/1 = 36 Sungei Krian (Perak) 1/3 = 38 Batu Tiga (Selangor) 1/1 = 36 Rim (Malacca) 1/1 = 36 Bagan Serai (Perak) 1/1 = 26 CRUDE RUBBER. Consumption. (Long Tons.) Year. CTnited States. Great Britain. France. Germany. Italy. 1Q0R 34,113 a 33,477 a 35,948 a 37,753 a 42,210 a 88,475 a 52,964 a 52,179 a 61,251 a 96,792 a 116,477 a 177,088 a 18,838 6 15,918 b 10,838 b 15,107 b 30,455 6 16,736 b 18,724 6 25,276 b 18,549 6 15,072 b 36,760 b 35,988 b 4,524 e 5,151 « 4,121 e 4,332 « 3,799 c 5,398 e 4,633 e 6,500 b 5,000 b 10,770 b 14,685 6 17,000 b 'ir,b45"« 10,371 c 11,484 e 13,775 d 15,231 d 15,648 d 15,500 b 11,000 b 6,000 6 3,000 6 2,000 b 1007 1908 ianQ 1910 2,201 (i 1911 1912 2,691 6 3,872 6 1913 1914 3,000 6 4,000 6 1915 1916 1917 6,580 b 8,553 b 6,946 b a U 8 OflBeial Government, Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the United States, 1917 ; Published by Bureau of Foreign & Domestic Commerce, Washing- ' & The World's Rubber Position ; Published by W. H. Rickinson & Son, °° « Rubber, Its Sources, Cultivation & Preparation ; Published by John Murray, London, 1914, by Harold Brown. „ ,. „ d Rubber Reoueil ; Series of Papers about Rubber, Its Botany, Culture, Prepara- tion & Commerce; Edited on behalf of the Congress Committee, International Congress & Exhibition, Batavia, September, 1914. Published by J. H. de Bussy, Amsterdam. 83 34 35 36 HBVEA RUBBER IN SOUTH AMERICA. " In its native home, the Para tree grows from the sea level up to a fair elevation on the highlands. The rainfall is usually between 80 and 120 inches, and the mean temperature between 76° and 81° F. Although the Para tree has shown itself to be adaptable to a considerable degree, it is only a comparatively limited area of Ceylon that seems to be suitable for its cultivation, as elevation and rainfall has to be taken into account." " India Rubber and Outta Percha." By T. Seeligmann, Q. L. Torrilhon <& H. Falconnet, published in 1910, page 80, " The species is indigenous over large tracts of South America, principally in the areas watered by the Amazon and its tributaries, namely, in the States of Para and Amazonas, Brazil. It is almost unnecessary to add that it has been employed practically to the exclusion of all other species on the Eastern plantations. In its natural state the H. brasiliensis is a large tree growing to a height of 100 feet, with a diameter up to 40 inches. It has been frequently stated that so far no more than a small proportion of the trees in 38 the vast forests bordering the Amazon, the Eio Negro, the Rio Madeira, etc., has been exploited, but however that may be, there can be no doubt that the number of trees is very great. To what extent it will be possible to open up and make accessible the great " Hinterlands " of the forests fringing the rivers of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, is a problem which the future alone can decide, but the construction of the Madeira-Mamore railway has formed a promising beginning, and is an indication that the diflBculties are not altogether insuperable." " Rubber." Philip Schidrowitz, pub- lished 1916, page £6. 6y a rjijjQ foregoing accounts of the climatic conditions in the native home of Hevea brasiliensis should be closely studied by those who intend to cultivate this tree. The rainfall of 80 to 120 inches and temperature of 75° to 81° F., though characteristic of the forests where this species grows luxuriantly, should not, however, be ac- cepted as strictly defining the limits under which Para trees can be grown. But even if the adaptability of the tree were insignificant, it is obvious that in the ti'opics there are many areas which might reasonably be expected to give good results with this species of rubber. Already the cultivation has aroused considerable interest ^^ in Africa, Fiji, Java, Queensland, Seychelles, Borneo, Samoa, Sumatra ; and in many of these areas where the climatic factors are approximately similar to those of the Amazon, the industry promises to become as important as in Malaya, Ceylon, and India. " The combination of rainfall, temperature and elevation required for the cultivation of IJevea brasiliensis eliminates many parts of the tropics for this species. In Ceylon, India, and the Straits the large tracts of land in the hilly districts cannot be included in the Para zone on account of low temperatures or unfavorable moisture conditions. In Ceylon an elevation of 2,000 feet in the Central Province, and 3,000 feet in the Uva Province, is considered to be 8 near the maximum and a rainfall of 70 inches near the minimum for 41 the cultivation of this species. There are trees, planted in 1899, measuring 18 to 26 inches in girth and 22 to 33 feet in height, growing on Weweltalawa, Halgolle estate, on the borders of the Kelani Valley and Yakdessa districts, at an elevation of 3,300 feet. It is being tried in districts having 200 inches of rain per year and also in dry irrigable areas, but reliable results cannot be obtained for many years." " Hevea Brasiliensis or Para Ruhher." By Herbert Wright, published 1908, pages W-M. 42 " Outside the more important towns social life can hardly be said to exist. The distances between the various homesteads on the rubber- producing properties are too great to admit of any constant inter- change of friendly courtesies, and as a consequence the life on the rivers is dull and monotonous to an extreme degree. During the an- nual floods from March to May, in the great majority of localities, the only means of moving aboat when leaving the dwelling-house is by canoe or flat-bottomed boat, and the effect is that for all intents and purposes the inhabitants are marooned for several months in the year. The isolation under such conditions is one of the most trying features of the situation for all concerned, while for educated Brazilians or foreigners it is a hardship of the most severe description. Work is impossible during this epoch of the inundations, and, to add to the general misery, swarms of insects are a continuous source of irritation by day and night. In view of these circumstances it is not surprising that a large proportion of the owners of rubber-producing properties abandon their estates for six months in the year, and migrate to Manaos or Para, leaving the administration of their affairs in charge of managers who, for the most part, are lacking in any high standard of intellgence or sense of responsibility." " The Rubber Industry in Brazil and the Orient." By 0. E. Akers, published in 1914, •page 2^.. " The labour-supply is one of the most important questions con- fronting the rubber producers of the Amazon Valley at the present time. No practical solution has been offered by the Federal or State Governments to afford relief to the industry in the direction of a more plentiful provision of hands at a wage rate proportionate to the severe decline in rubber values throughout the markets of Europe and America. The suggestions put forward from time to .g time for the encouragement of immigration from Portugual, Italy, and Spain, met with little support, for the climatic and sanitary conditions of the Amazon Valley are not conducive to the employ- ment of full-blooded white men in field and forest. The proposal to introduce Chinese coolies was rejected on the grounds of the initial expense connected with recruiting and transport, a fear that the control of any large number of Orientals woidd prove to be a diflScult matter, and, finally, on account of a sentimental feeling that Chinese labourers, by greater industry and thrift, would make the position of Brazilian workmen untenable in the northern States of Brazil. While academic discussion has been busy with this 9 46 crucial question of an adequate labour-supply, the present acute crisis has overtaken the rubber industry without the adoption of any practical measures to safeguard the individual or national in- terests involved. " The most prolific recruiting-ground for the labour-supply of the Amazon Valley in recent years has been in the States of Oeard, and to a lesser degree Eio Grande de Norte, Parahyba, and Maranhao. Local circumstances in Ceara, where constant droughts led to a shortage of food-supplies, made life diflScult for the agricultural 47 population, and a large proportion of the able-bodied men were attracted by the high rate of earnings prevalent in the rubber dis- tricts. A small percentage of these immigrants brought their families with them, although as a general rule their intention was to work for a season, and then return to their homes. So long as • rubber prices remained high this annual migation was a common practice, but since the fall in values began, two years ago, the custom has been abandoned to a large extent, in consequence of the reduced profits and the expense of transportation by river and sea. These immigrants from CearA and the other northern States are 48 descendants of Portuguese settlers, negroes, mulattoes, and half- caste Indians. They live in a poverty-stricken condition in their own country, gaining only a bare pittance whether they work small farms for their own account or hire themselves out for a daily wage. During the last two years, however, the situation in Geara has undergone a decided change, and the construction of railways, irrigation reservoirs and canals, and other public works, has created a certain local demand for labour, and raised serious obstacles in the way of obtaining recruits freely for the rubber industry. " The Rvhher Industry in Brazil and the Orient." By G. 49 E. Akers— published in 19 M, pages 51-53. " The country which produces Para rubber lies in the States of Amazonas, Para and Acre. The pioneers of the industry are con- stantly pushing further afield up the different tributaries of the Amazon. When the country has been explored and the presence of a suitable number of Hevea trees ascertained, a grant of land is obtained from the Government of the State, and after the payment of certain taxes, the land becomes private property. " The owner of the property is usually not himself a large cap- italist. In order to finance his enterprise, he obtains a loan at a high rate of interest from a trader or rubber merchant. Labour is chiefly imported from the barren region of Ceard. The labourers often arrive at the base of the expedition in a practically destitute con- dition, and provision has to be made in advance for food supplies, tools and transport. All supplies have to be obtained from traders — naturally at high prices — and all must be carried long distances by steamer to the scene of operations. For working a seringal, or estate, of 200 estrades, an advance of 180,000 milreis, or nearly £10,000 including interest, may be required. " The paths of the seringal are practically sublet to the individual seringueiros, who have to pay for their food, tools, transport, etc. 10 50 at high prices, together with interest on the loan advanced to them 61 for incidental expenses, ont of the value of the rubber which they obtain. Since the rubber must be sold by the owner to the trader, and by the trader to the exporting firm, very little profit is generally left for the individual collector. The inland freights, moreover, are very high, and an export tax has to bo paid on the rubber at the rate of nearly 20 per cent, ad valorem. " The successful competition of the plantation industry in other parts of the world has recently led to active legislation on the part of the Brazilian Government, with a view to removing as far as 52 possible the handicaps laboured. These fall mainly under the heads of expensive labour, heavy transport rates and high export duty. So long as the price of rubber remains high, the Brazilian capitalist is able to pay for the high cost of production plus the high freights and taxes, but as soon as the price of rubber falls below three shillings a' pound, the pinch will be severely felt, not only by the individual owner but also by the country in general, for the latter depends largely upon the export of rubber for its revenue." " jRuiber Planting." By II. Lock— published 1913, pages 21-^3. 53 A Comparison of the Brazilian and Oriental Rubber Industries. " In the Orient an abundant and cheap labour-supply permits the employment of large bodies of workmen, under efficient superin- tendence, for the daily performance of any manual labour required for plantation or other purposes. In Brazil the high wage rate practically prohibits the use of collective force, and all enterprise is dependent on the result of individual energy, with little or no supervision over the work in hand. In the former case the man is g^ paid a specified sum and a fixed amount of work is exacted from him ; in the latter the individual devotes as much or as little of his time to the task as he pleases, and receives payment for results only. " With collective force methodical practices become an absolute necessity ; with individual energy the line of least resistance is followed by instinct, and the outcome is often slovenly and uneven. If the work on the plantations of the Orient is compared with the exploitation of the lubber-trees in the Amazon Valley, the truth of this definition becomes apparent at once, and it is to the fundamental principles thereby involved that the great differ- gg ence in the conditions of the rubber industry in Brazil and the East is due. It is more convenient to contrast the general physical features of the two centres of production to illustrate clearly the dissimilarity in existing conditions. " In the Orient the rubber-trees are carefully and systematically cultivated, and all possible assistance extended to foster rapid development and afford protection against disease. In Brazil the tree is a natural product of the forest, and no effort whatever is made to aid its growth or check the spread of pests of any kind. In the East the seed is selected with care, planted in specially pre- 11 5i6 pared nurseries, and the young trees transferred subsequently to properly prepared land where the conditions afford every possible chance for both branch and root growth. " In Brazil the trees are self-sown, and only a very limited pro- portion of those germinating come to maturity in the dense shade of the surrounding forest. The acreage of planted trees in the Amazon Valley is of such limited extent that it does not affect the general conditions, and calls for no special consideration. " The planted area in the East may be taken approximately as 57 1,500,000 acres, containing from 180,000,000 to 200,000,000 trees. In the Amazon Valley no secure basis exists for an accurate esti- mate of the number of trees, but there is no reason to suppose that the figure of 200,000,000 constantly put forward in oflficial state- ments is an exaggeration. Indeed, many well-informed persons are of opinion that the total greatly exceeds that number. " In the East the industry was founded from seed- taken by Mr. Wickham from the Eiver Tapajoz in 1876, resulting in the repro- duction of the white variety, and yielding rubber classified as " weak " (fraca) in the markets of Mandos and Pari. In the 58 Amazon Valley the species principally utilized are the black (preta) the white (branca), the red (vermelha), and the Itapuru (Hevea, Guayanensis). The first of these stands out pre-eminently for the resilient quality of the rubber it yields, while the product of the remaining three species is designated as " weak " (fraca), and sold on the Brazilian markets for 20 per cent, less value than that of the black (preta) variety. " It is needless to refer to the yield of rabber from the castilloa, always designated in Brazil as caucho, for it exists in such small quantities in the East that it is not a factor of any importance when 59 discussing the comparative production of Brazil and the Orient ; moreover, the exportation of this rubber from the Amazon Valley will be a thing of the past in the course of a few years, for reasons explained in the section dealing with the general conditions of the Brazilian industry. " In the East the rubber-tree is planted upon many different classes of soil, and with the aid of careful cultivation it thrives in a surprising manner in nearly all localities selected with reasonable foresight in regard to the avoidance of undrained swampy lands or those exposed to strong prevailing winds. Throughout the 60 Amazon Valley the soil is alluvial deposit on yellow or red clay, and rich in vegetable matter brought down by the rivers and dis- tributed over the land by the annual floods. In many districts of the Lower Amazon the trees have their roots permanently below the water-level, and are flourishing under such circumstances in direct contrast to the result of all experience in the Orient. " In the matter of rainfall, there is no great difference between the Amazon Valley and the Malay Peninsula. Both receive an average quantity of a little over 100 inches annually ; but in Malay the dis- tribution is more even than in Brazil, where a dry season, beginning in June and ending in October, is a regular occurrence. The 12 temperature records show uo very great variation, although they 61 are slightly lower in the Amazon Valley. The heat, however, is less trying in Brazil than in Malaysia, for during the dry season there is only a comparatively small amount of moisture in the atmosphere. " The labour for working the rubber plantations in the Orient is drawn from China, India, or local sources, and it is sufficiently abundant to insure large numbers being available at a comparatively low cost for all classes of work in the fields or factories. Skilled mechanics are also cheap and plentiful, and the supply of domestic servants is ample. 62 " In the Amazon Valley the labourers are brought from the States of Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhao, and Parahyba, where the bulk of the population is of negro or half caste blood. Skilled labour is scarce and expensive, no matter whether Brazilians or Europeans are employed, and trained household servants are not obtainable. " In the Orient the average daily wage rate is under one shilling, without rations, for able-bodied men, and women and children re- ceive a much smaller remuneration. In the rubber districts of Brazil the average rate is six shillings and eightpence per day, 63 with rations, together nearly eight shillings when allowance is made for the price of the food. " The rubber collector receives no money wage, but is a partner with the owner of the estate, and is entitled to 50 per cent, of the rubber he delivers during the season. " In the East the coolie lives on rice and curry, at a cost of a few pence a day. In the Amazon Valley the labourers cannot buy the necessities of life for a less expenditure than two shillings and six- pence per day. " Throughout the Orient large numbers of competent men 64 experienced in the management of agricultural and plantation enterprises, are always to be found, while in the rubber districts of Brazil it is seldom that the services of any capable administrators or managers are available. In the East a modest salary suffices for such men ; in the Amazon Valley a princely income is de- manded for the indiflferent performance of the duties essential to any responsible post. " In the Orient rubber- trees begin to produce when four years old. In Brazil young trees are left untouched at this period, and the generally accepted theory is that they cannot be tapped without 65 injurious effects until they are twelve or fifteen years of age. " In the East a rubber-tree 75 feet high with a girth of 100 inches at 3 feet from the ground is looked upon as a giant. In the Ama- zon Valley a tree of 150 feet high and 200 inches in girth is not con- sidered anything out of the common. " On account of the lack of reliable records in the past, it is prac- tically impossible to compare the yield of forest trees in Brazil with those cultivated in the plantations of the Orient. In the districts of the Eiver Madeira and the Eiver Purus, the average return for thoroughly mature trees works out appropriately at 5 pounds per 13 66 tree ; in the country adjoining the upper rivers, where the trees have been tapped only in recent years, the average yield is higher, and reaches nearly 7 pounds per tree. This would correspond to a crop in Malay from good trees of from twelve to fifteen years of age. " In the districts of the Lower Amazon, where the trees have been damaged severely by bad tapping extending over half a century, the average return does not exceed 3 pounds per tree. " In the Orient the excision system of herring-bone tapping, with occasional modifications, has become the basis for the extraction 67 of latex from all trees of the Hevea species. It has been reduced to something approaching perfection by expert tappers under com- petent and vigilant superintendence, and it has been so far devel- oped as to allow of thirty cuts to the inch of bark without injury to the cambium. An average of twenty to twenty-three cuts to the inch is expected from tappers on the majority of the estates, and this is done with gouge, farrier's or Burgess knife, or other tools constructed on like principles. " In the Amazon Valley the incision method is universal, and the implement used is the small axe known as the machadinho, with 68 which a triangular gash is made. Every cut so inflicted penetrates to the cambium, and in a large proportion of cases renders the trees open to the ravages of the borer and white ant. The result of this ruthless slashing of the trunk is that in a few years the tree is cov- ered with warts, over which the bark grows very slowly, and tap- ping becomes extremely difficult and uncertain. Sometimes over- head tapping is resorted to ; more often the tree is abandoned for several years, until Nature repairs the damage done. The work is left entirely in the bands of the ignorant freguez (collector), who cares nothing about the welfare of the trees, and looks only to the 69 amount of latex he can obtain to repay him for his work of collec- tion and preparation. " On the Eiver Madeira a little supervision has been attempted, but elsewhere the proprietors have regarded with apathy in the past the practical destruction of their trees, owing in great part to the fact that the number untouched in the forest was so great that fresh sources of supply could be opened up when those in tapping became worthless. " In the East the preparation of latex takes place in systematic- ally-arranged factories where cleanliness is always kept in view. 70 Coagulation is attained generally by acids, and efi'ective machinery is employed to prepare and dry the rubber for the market. Economy is practiced in all details from the time of the collection of the latex and scrap in the field to the date of shipment for exportation. In Brazil the latex is carried to a temporary shack and coagulated with the smoke of the Urucury nut. No effort of cleanliness is attempted, and grit, sand, and other foreign matter from the dirty surround- ings, invariably find their way into the rnbber to more or less ex- tent. No systematic effort is made to dry the rnbber before ship- ment, and it contains as a rule not less than 20 per cent, of moist- 14 tire, and not infrequently over 25 per cent. Very little of the tree ?1 scrap is collected, and the cup coagulations brought in are thrown on the mud floor of the hut, there to remain until the accumulated quantity is sufficient for delivery. This scrap is shipped to the market in a semi putrid condition, and in that state finds its way to Europe or the United States. Economical methods are unknown on a Brazilian rubber property, and condequently the loss in value on the quality of fine rubber and quantity in the scrap from the time the latex is extracted from the tree to the date of sale is cer- tainly not less than 10 per cent., and is often very much greater. "^2 " In the East transport to the port of shipment is easy and inex- pensive, no matter whether the production be in Ceylon, Malay, Java, or Sumatra. In the Amazon Valley the rubber properties are for the most part situated on rivers far distant from Manaos or Para, and the cost of steamer freight to one or other of those ports is a considerable item in the cost of production." " Buhher Indus- try in Brazil and the Orient," by G. E. A/cers — Published in 1914 — pages 118 to 125. 73 PLANTATION RTJBBBR INDUSTRY. London " Times Trade Supplement." " Plea for Census and Control." By J. S. M. Bennie. " In the year 1911 the present writer first agitated in the local Press in Singapore for a compulsory census of all rubber planta- tions in respect of which the control was held by British subjects, _ . either by reason of location of the plantation or domicile of the ownpr. " Since then he has repeatedly urged the vital necessity of gath- ering together such statistical data in order that some controlling authority should be in a position, in times of stress and possible over-production, so to control outputs as to prevent a collapse in the price of the commodity and the opportunity which any such crisis would offer to powerful cliques (probably " alien ") to buy up a controlling interest. OOMPULSOBT EeTUBNS. '^ " Absolutely accurate statistical data of this kind can only be compiled as the result of legislation making it compulsory for every owner of a rubber plantation domiciled in the British Empire, no matter where located, and of every rubber estate in British Malaya, Borneo, British South Sea Islands, South India, Ceylon, and Burma, no matter where domiciled, to furnish to a central authority an annual return as to areas planted, date of planting, and past year'^s crop. " The respective Home and Colonial Governments, however, 15 76 have not so far made any visible move in this direction, and for this reason the writer has during the past 15 months, by means of a close scrutiny of all the available hand-books issued in Singapore, Sourabaya, Medan, Colombo, Hong-kong, &c., gathered together the following statistical data with regard to the location and domicile of all the known rubber plantations : Domiciled in United Kingdom. Acres. Situate in F. M. S _ 586,883 S. S 109,500 Ceylon _ 179,695 South India 41,820 British Borneo 29,880 British Burmah 24,620 South Sea Islands 5,000 7g " Sumatra 98,000 Java _ 108,830 Dutch Borneo ., 5,100 1,189,328 Domiciled in Straits Settlements. Situate in F. M. S i 20,270 S. S 40,000 Burmah 1,770 Sumatra 6,055 S. S. (Private Owners) „ 10.000 79 " F. M. S. (do.) 20,000 98,095 Domiciled in Fedebated Malay States. Situate in F. M. S 13,348 " F. M. S. (Private Owners) 105,000 118,348 Domiciled in Ceylon. 80 Situate in Ceylon 40,000 Ceylon (Private) ._.. 10,000 F. M. S 7,000 57,000 Domiciled in Shanghai (British). Situate in F. M. S 30000 16 Domiciled in Holland And N. I. I. 81 Situate in F. M.S... _ gOOo ^'i^atra 120,000 Java 100,000 Sumatra (Private) _ 10 000 Java (Private) , 20,000 Dutch Borneo 5 qqo 260,000 Domiciled in Feanoe and Belgium. 82 Situate in F. M. S _ 20 000 Sumatra _ 60,000 Java _ 10,000 " Cochin China 10,000 100,000 Domiciled in U. S. A. Situate in Sumatra ,_„ 55,000 Domiciled in Germany. Situate in Sumatra 3.400 83 Total planted area _ 1,911,171 " It will be seen from the above table that based on " domicile " the British Empire holds control in its power of very nearly 80 per cent, of the whole planted area as follows : Acres. British Domicile... 1,492,771 Dutch Domicile 260,000 French and Belgian Domicile. 100,000 U. S. A. Domicile... _ 55,000 German Domicile 3,400 >er cent or 79 It m (C H ti 24 it i 84 Total 1,911,171 100 "If we are to rely, however, on " Situ " or place where planted, the control will be vested as follows : — British. Acres. 85 F. M. S. and Johore 807,501 S.S... .— — - - 159,500 . Ceylon - - 229.695 South India -- - 41,820 B. Borneo - - - - 29,880 B. Burmah - ~- 26,390 South Sea Islands... 5,000 1,299,786 (or 67 per