El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-09-29
BY
Frank G. Carpenter

600 capital The Dutch have many
plantations in Sumartra and Java, and
I they have large ira cts Of land in Bor-
Heo and other islands which viii grow
excellent rubber
How Brazil Lost Valuable Industry.
The story Of how the rubber indus
try was freed from the domination OF
Brazil Is Interesting. The manufac-
ture or rubber goods on a more or less
extensive scale is so years old. and
Tor 40 and more of these years Brazil
controlled the markets OF the world.
The prices went up and I'D. and when
the automobiles came in with their
great demand for tires there was a
rubber famine and the price OF crude
rubber rose to more than So a. pound
When / was IN the Amazon valley IL
was something like a dollar a pound,
and the difference between this and
the cost Of plantation rubber may be
known when as I have said. one Of
our companies can now produce it in
Sumatra for II cents a pound
The Brazilians appreciated that they
had good thing in their rubber trees
and for a long time they prevented the
seeds of these trees being taken out
Of the country. An agent Of the gov
eminent of India was sent TO Brazil.
and he tried 10 report them He failed
twice, but was finally able TO ship a
large quantity in especially designed
baskets by labelling them as rare bo-
lanlcal SpeclmentS. The seeds were
sent TO Ceylon and there planted by
thousands The most OF them failed TO
sprout and only three matured and
grew into HeVea trees. From those
three seeds came the rubber estates
which now produce three-fOurths of
All the worlds product The amount
last year was more than 500. 90. 900
pounds. and it can be so increased that
II can supply all the demands of the
world Of the future. The development
Of the plantations was slow. The
seeds were taken from Brazil so years
ago and ii was not until 1900 that
1000 acres had been planted. Five
years later the number of acres was
$4,000 and this has now risen TO al
most 100000.
Grow anywhere Along Equator.
Today it is known that rubber can
be grown successfully almost any
where along the equator where there
is as much as one hundred of rainfall
T. has been found that the best soil
for it IS Malaysia and Sumatra. .and
that the trees can be tapped there
within five OF six years after planting.
They are now setting out from so
TO 125 trees to the acre, and the yield
averages about two to three-fourths
pounds of rubber per tree every year. 7
The cultivation is scientifically car
ried on and the tapping is so done
that il does not affect the life OF the
tree The Taper uses a knife espe- I
cially adapted 10 the work. and at
each tapping he shaves off slice of I
the bark so thin that IL would take .
30 Of them TO equal an inch He cuts .
his off day by day throughout the I
month. and that in such a way that I
il takes three years to 20 round the .
rec. At the end Of this time the bark /
II the starting place has been re-
leWed and IL is ready for tapping
gain. The trees are tapped every day
q the year. and the rubber milk is so /
'arefully treated that it comes out in
lean sheets. which look like layers of {
.ream colored Japanese crepe. On 9TH
IT estates. the rubber Is smoked and
Z comes into the market as smoked
heets. II has the color Of glue. and
s put up in bundles much like news
lapers.
In the factories here I have seen
rude rubber Of every description The
anger establishments have acres of
pace filled with 10 from floor to roof.
some is from the rubber camps of the
vilds in the shape Of hams and balls
angling I'm size from a football TO that
II a bushel basket These balls are
ark brown or black They are Of the
Crest Para rubber, and they bounce
nto the air as they drop on the floor.
saw cords OF what is known as crepe
ubber, which comes from the planta-
ions Of South Asia. The best Of it Is
rom the tops Of the trees. and il is
ured by the coolies with acetic aid.
-hich is something like vinegar.
Seventy Different Kinds
There are altogether 20 different {