The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-03

tare included. the tale might be made
IthTeefOld, but for practical purposes only
four great species are recognized The
EuphOrblaceae contain the Hevea and
1.-THE ManihOt; the Ulmaceae, the CastillOa
and the Ficus; the ApOcynaceae, the
HancOrnia and the Landolphia; the AS
lclepiadeae. Cynanchum. The six I'M
Eportant trees are those under the first
three varieties.
Hevea Great Rubber Tree.
Hevea is the rubber tree par excellence
It is indigenous to the region Of the river
Amazon, and Is therefore found through
out that immense watershed in the trfbu-
tary areas OF Peru. Bolivia. Ecuador
/ Colombia, and Venezuela. Hevea IS a
large tree. OF comparatively slow growth
but on that account Of long life From
the fourth year on It will yield its milk,
and may be systematically tapped for
twenty years or longer. It is often found
/ twelve feet IN circumference, and the
scattered trees IN the tropie jungle VIII
/ constitute a forest by themselves. The
Hevea requires a lOw-iying, rich, deep soil
I with such abundant moisture as only the
! equatorial neighborhood can give. Hevea
does not need 10 be overlooked: in fact,
those trees that are subject 10 periodic
I floods near the great rivers are not nee
essarily the best stock or the largest pro-
ducers. Hevea also Is wen adapted 20
cultivation wherever the soil and climate
are suitable
Rubber Producing Area
/ Considering the immense and increas-
I ing use Of rubber in modern life, II is q
fascinating problem to estimate how great
may be the rubber-producing area OF the
world Il can be assumed that the genu-
] inc rubber tree viii not repay the cost of
cultivation outside Of a zone lying about
/ 800 miles on either side Of the equator.
( This includes all the Amazon basin in
/ Brazil. the greater portion Of Peru, the
+ northern section Of Bolivia. all OF Ecua-
I dor, Colombia. Venezuela. Panama Cen
I tral America. and the southern section OF
1 Mexico.
/ In Africa II includes the Congo basin
and the Sudan on the west, and the ana
Joyous portion on the east: in Asia the
7 larger part OF India. the northern tip OF
I Australia. the intervening archipelagoes.
and the Philippine Islands. No one can
/ calculate with precision the prOduc-
I tive extent OF these regions, because the
/ deciding factors Of soil, rainfall eeva-
| ton, drainage. moisture and tempera-
I ture are not enough known. nevertheless.
! the area absolutely available IS so well
! understood that any fear OF q rubber
T famine, so far as natures ability IS con-
/ cerued. is unfounded-
Rubber cultivation has already extended
over 150Cl0 acres in CeyIon: in the Fed
Grated Malay States are 10000 acres;
elsewhere in the East are at least $1,000
more. so that. even where Il has been ar
tifciaIly introduced into an alien land. al
told perhaps $4,000 acres. the tree itself
is doing its duty IN supplying the wants
Of mankind In the western continent.
Mexico and Central America are extend
ing the cultivated territory for the plant
while experiments are making III other
parts Of the world IN Cuba and the
PHILIPPINES there are extensive sections
adapted 70 ire propagation Of rubber.
Must Resort to Cultivation.
Cultivation. therefore. If conducted
scientifically. can furnish the supply i
is not intended 20 ignore the future pro-
T ductive possibilities Of the native forests.
. In Mexico ana Central America the rubber
zone is. from the confguration OF the
country, within reach; but iu the Amazon
Valley thousands OF square miles are hid
den beneath the virgin forest. and how
ever iuexhaus5ible the growth OF the
tree. the acquisition 90 the rubber. diff
cult Ar present. viii become more and
more so as time goes on
That this Is the natural habitat q the
Hevea cannot be doubted, but that q
viii continue 10 remain the principal
source OF supply has been questioned by
students and observers ever since Ceylon
made a successful plantation Of this tree
IN lS7.- The Brazilian and other govern
u1euts are earnestly striving 20 conserve
the rubber forests, 90 ,Tectify earlier mis-
takes IN the way Of unTestrained robbery,
and 20 encourage not only the entrance
Of more capital into the Industry. but To
bring into cultivation and make more ac-
cessib.e the area already exploited
Nevertheless. 70 is not beyond possibility
that in this Instance the same result may
happen as old happen with cinchoua
This IS stil known 90 the pharmacopoeia
as Peruvian bark but the industry has
moved thousands OF miles away from
its native birthplace. and the supply Of
QUirine. as far as the commercial market
IS concerned. comes from India
Brazil Dominates Trade.
Be al this as It may. Brazn-ManaoS.
Para. Ceara-cc1tinues 70 dominate the
i1dia-rubber world. Assuming the world
last annual crop 70 be I50olO.O0O pounds
her exports in 1877 were over sa003.0o0
pounds Add 10 this the Peruvian and
Bolivian crops coming down the Amazon.
and considering that fine Para sets the
price. Il will be seen that many years
must pass before the predominance can
be overcome This product was sent TO
the United States. Great Britain. France
Germany. Uruguay. Belgium. and Argen-
tina. in this order. Il IS easy 10 under
stand that Belgium ranks low in impOr-
tatiOn from Brazil. because the output
from the Congo has its chief entrep9t in
Antwerp. The markets for the worlds
crop may be arranged as follows: The
United States. Great Britain. Germany.
France. and Belgium.
GUayule IS a shrub containing rubber
IN its branches. but this rubber is pure
and can be used for every purpose to
which the lateX Of the Hevea IS applied
GUayule therefore conJradicts the state
ment made that no rubber could he pro-
duced outside the tropIc zone GuayuIe
is q native Of Mexico. but its habitat
stretches also well into Texas The shrub
must be destroyed before the juice Is ex-
tracted, and coaguIation must be con
Quoted by a different method. but in the
end the outcome IS rubber. The business
Of gathering the plant has become quite
successful and It Is probable that efforts
20 cultivate It viii turn out likewise.
Gutta Percha Not Rubber.
Gutta Pereha IS not rubber. it was at
first confused with the latter although
It had no sUppleness or elasticity, aa1
its source Of origin IS a tree related to
the india-rubber genus. but physically It
has different properties, and in the arts
it has different uses. About all the gutta
percha Of commerce comes from the FAR
East Balata is an American eutta