Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-29

mated as follows: For 1915 10000 tons;
1916 $1,000 tons, 1914 $4,000 tons; 1918. 49,
Oo0 tons. This means that in 1918 the
worlds production OF rubber will have
doubled, or more. The resulting effect
on the price of rubber is quite clear as
to tho direction OF change. The price
may fall to less than 30 cents pound
a change that would he of decided prac-
tical interest to all civilized peoples. In
the midst of an era of steadily rising
general price levels such change would
have a very peculiar interest.
BRAZIL WORKS on CREDIT.
The superiority of the plantation pro-
duction of rubber seems 4 very simple
and obvious thing when its costs and
methods are contrasted with the Bra
lillian industry.
In Brazil the whole business is done on
credit and it has so overshadowed all
other use OF natural resources in North
ern Brazil that food supplies are eXtrava-
Gant!y costly. Tic big exporting houses
Of Fara and of Manaos halfway up the
Amazon, finance the patron. who has
from two to three hundred natives under
him as rubber Satherers. These gather
trs, or "seringuieros." with their fami-
lies and supplies go iGto the forest for
season lasting from May to October. and
establish round of rubber trees, much
as q New England country boy cstab-
HSntS Il IOulu OF UIuplt trees III sap l!lip''
\ hundred and fifty trees are about all
cne Eathcrer can attend to. The trees
are Considera bly, scattered, and he has
to cut paths through the brush to CON
meet them.
The trees are tapped by making in
cisions IN the outer bark and hanging
small cup below each cut to collect the
"latex." or liquid rubber. The "late&" is
not the sap of the tree. but n different
product formed in the outer bark, and
containing a varying percentage of veGe-
table resin. In best Para rubber this
resin is about one-half Of ono per cent:
while in some other wild ruhbers il may
reach 50 per cent 1T Is interesting to
note in passing. that the presence or
some vegetable resin in natural rubbers
has furnished a check ON the many al
legged "synthetic' rIuhers. In the numer-
Gus synthetic" rubbors produced by Eng
lish cXpcrinlenters Il Is said that Aneri-
can chemical analysis has always de-
tected the presence Of a vegetable resin
this fact strongly suggesting that tho
synthetic" rubber contained at least
some natural RUBBER In collecting the
latex from tho rubber tree-the best Para
comes from the hevea-the inclusion of
sap is avoided as far as possible, since it
simply adds undesirable moisture; some
docs creep in.
Tho gathered latcX is CoaEulatod and
hardened by a slow and laburiouS process.
The seringuierO dips wooden paddle into
tho lateX and then holds this over fire
Of special materials, the smoke from
which cOagulates the rubber. Then he
makes another dip, and coagulatcs the
second coating Of lateX, and so on and 50
on until he has built up big ball or
biscuit of rubber that may weigh all
the way from To % pounds Many of us
have stopped to gaze AT these rubber
balls. split open, and displayed to urban
curiosity in store windows
THE PLANTATION RUBBER.
quite different is the story of planta-
ton rubber The trees are planted near
together. and while tie rubber trees are
growing to producing size other and
ouickcv-ErowinS trees, mainly palms, are
planted among them, to be cut out
when the rubber trees begin to produce
later and TO need more room for growth
Cheap and efficient cOolie labor Is en-
Moved and il does not have to drag
families and supplies into wilderness
and there chop lanes in a tropical un-
dergrowth to find the trees. The trees
are right there, near together. The lateX
as II ia collected, is poured into squaTish
metal boxes, perhaps foot square, and
coapuIated with acetc acid, the latcN
finally accommodating as a hardened cake
som, three or four inches thick at the
bottom OF the pan.
In this form the coaRulated rubber is
taken through the mills where II is
heated, pa ssed between corrugated rollers
which reduce II 10 a thinnsh, porous
sheet and washed with a stream OF wa
ter. The washing takes out practically
all the dirt The resulting sheet, which
may be as much as a foot wide and two
or three feet long Is called crepe he
cause il has the familiar wrlnkled ana
somewhat porous appearance that We as
sociate with that word The crepe may
be also hardened TO some extent by
smoking.
A more advanced form is the Smoked
sheets" which are made from the crep"
by special smoking TO secure greater
hardening and BY further rolling. The
smoked sheets come to the market, here
in the United States. for instance, In
small sheets varying from a sixteenth to
an eighth Of an inch in thickness, Tn"
color. when the sheet is held up TO IN"
light is OF various shades OF rather deep
reddish amber. Each plantation has it,
own individual pattern in the corruga-
tions OF the rollers, which form the
smoked sheets. Most of the sheets com"
indented with patterns OF diamond
shaped indentations.
There are all sorts OF variations IN lhe
form of the separate indentations and va
tho apolps YT thp CTiEg-gIJ=S