Evening star., 1925-05-26

has experimental with only a few
| acres in trees.
A suggestion has been made in both
England and France that the United
States might be interested in taking
over British and French Guiana in
settlement Of the war loans and that
Americans might there develop great
rubber plantations. Agricultural scien-
lists familiar with rubber and with
conditions in the Guianas laugh at the
naivete of our European debtors in
making such a proposal, since, If the
Guiana region were suitable for rub
Der production those great rubber mo-
nopolists would not part with the ter
ritory already possessed, so important
| for increasing their monopoly. On
| the contrary, the rubber-leaf disease
makes it impossible to grow the trees
in either British or French Guiana.
The future consumption of rubber
| holds possibilities without limit. Two
| years ago the English Rubber Grow
ers' Association offered prizes of $780,
600 for suggestions of new ways Of
using rubber. 1t was found that al.
ready there are more than 10000 such
uses. For example, the use Of sponge
! rubber for upholstery was proposed by
80 contestants; bookbinding, roofing.
| flooring. surfacine streets and roads.
horseshoes, mixing rubber milk" ia.
tex) in paper, waterproofing-all these
| are familiar uses.
At the International Rubber Confer.
ence, held In Brussels in April, 1924. a
leading expert, discussing rubber soies
| OF shoes, said: THE past has shown
US an increase from a few pairs of
| soles IN 1871 to some $500 tons In
| 1923, all or which has been used. and
| estimate some 500 to 500 tons of the
/ 1924 crop has already been sold.
!t was In 1921 that the first "crepe
| ruoper Soles were shown in the rub.
Der exhibit in London, and in the 1924
! conference a rubber manufacturer
! cies: ro-A
"On crepe rubber soles I am one ne
the 'antis, being interested in mann.
| 1acturing. 1t is rather interesting IN
be told. as I have just been told hv
| somebody, that the crepe rubber sole
Will outwear three good reputabja
manufactured rubber soles."
win such a sudden addition IN
the rubber uses calling for three tom
! more per year, just for shoe soles, 1t
Is not possible to forecast the future
with any maximum limit.
David NJ. Figert, special statistic;a ~
OF the Department of Commerce. esti.
mates the world production for 1923
at $4,000 tons, increasing yearly IN
900 tons in 1890. The world con.
sumption by 1880 will exceed 7O3 600
! tons, so that the shortage of so o00
tons per annum will reduce world
stocks on hand by the end Of that
year to four months supply and the
actual crisis will paralyze automobiIe
| industry and its related interests.
even though no new uses develop.
| Synthetic rubber cannot be produced
as cheaply as natural ''latex' rubber
! from trees. South America produces
rubber trees in abundance, of which
the products are not yet put upon
the market. Their inaccessibility
/ puts them beyond use. The Indians
Of Brazil were accustomed to cut
down the rubber tree to get all it's
latex at once-a method reminding
one of Charles Lambs story of how
the Chinese learned to roast pigs
| by burning down their homes while
the pigs were inSide-but plantations
I! have long since practiced conserva-
tion to the limit, by tapping the trees
as our sugar maple trees are tapped,
without destroying the tree for a
single harvest. improvements are
being bred into the trees by seed Sc
/ lection and bud grating, but the in
crease Of latex is not great.
kcopyrixht. 1926. by Paul Y. Collinsl