RUBBER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13299, 7 February 1914, Page 9

RUBBER.

♦ EXPERT ON PRODUCT AND PRICES. NO MORE 325 PER CENT. DIVIDENDS. SYDNEY, January 25. "The rubber industry is now on a lir* basis. The days of 325 per cent. di\™ dends have gone." < This was said yesterday by Mr W. H. Jefferson, formerly of Sydney,' avlio has had several years' experience m rubber planting. Ho is associated with the Port Dixon-Lukut Rubber Estate, m the Federated Malay States. The holding comprises 4000 acres, 3000 of Avhich arc cultivated with the Amazon species of Para rubber known as Hevea-Brasillien-sis, which has proved m Malaya to be tho heaviest A-ielder and tho most suitable for its ciimate and soil. "Tlie company," said Mr Jefferson, "was originally floated m 1906 as the Straits Settlements Co., which bought up a few native holdings. In 1910 they increased to about 500 acres, and m May of the folloAving. year the company Avas floated m London, Avhen another 200 C acres of jungle land were added, and the Lukut estate taken over from the Linggi Plantations, Ltd. Since theii the area has been increased to 3000 acres cultivated, and of this area about 550 acres aro bearing rubber. "We have 700 acres of trees live years old and upAvards; the balance Avas planted since May, 1911. Tho averago time taken by rubber trees m Malaya to come into bearing is between four and five years.. This is about one year earlier than m Ceylon and m the majority of other rnbber-prpducine countries. The output varies according to age, but the usual estimate is, for the first year of tapping, 1001 b per acre oi dry rubber. That is a loav estimate. It increases year by year, until about the eighth or "ninth year, when the yield will be about 3001 b per acre. Yields up to 9001 b per acre have been kmnvn m Malaya from old matured trees. THE RUBBER BOOM. "Tho price of rubber when I left Singapore Avas 2s 3d per lb on the London .market. It Avent up to 12s 8d pel lb during the recent boom. At that time there was a shortage of the Amazon variety of the real hard Para rubber, and there was an extreme demand from the American and English trade on account of the enormous expansion of the motor industry m 1910. This caused s temporary and artificial shortage. Ever} bit of rubber coming on the market Avas snapped up at famine prices. The Americans' future demand at the time, tooj was outrageously over-estimated. Instead of a steady increase of 20 pei cent, per annum, -as they e-xpected, their increased consumption m 191k amounted to about 1000"* tons extra. Lt was ' anticipated that their requirements would be 12,000 tons. In the meantime the extensive plantings m the East had been going on owing to the boom prices. The -natural' result Avas a rapid increase m production, Avhich has nearly, overtaken the consumption. The rubber m dustry is now getting on ,a firm basis. The days of 325 per cent, dividends have gone. I should not think it likely, considering the enormous area that has been planted m Malaya, that the demand will cause a shortage again. Catch crops are nfcfc cultivated m the rubber plantations, as it has been found to throAV back the time of the maturity of tbe trees. Tapioc„ was tried m the Malacca territory, with the result that the rubber there is most backward. HOW LABOR IS PROCURED. "The labor on the plantations is equally divided between Tamils — native* of Southern India/ and 'Chinese. Th< Tamils are mostly , recruited . from the Madras Presidency. Labor is not indentured, . bejt tho coolies are recruitod at the employers' expense/ .They cosl about 12 rupees per head, paiel to the recruiters. The coolies are brought te Malaya by tho British India Co., undei contract to th* Malaya Government The company is paid out of. an immigration fund inaugurated by a loan from the Government for' the purpose. This is being gradually .redeemed. b\ an assessment per head of labor employed, and paid by the planters to the Government. The recruiting estate Te ceives a rebate for each neAv coolie imported. Coolies must be landed free ii the country, and they are at liberty t< leave at any time by giving a month* notice. The usual Avage paid is aboul lOd per day for men and 8d per day foi women, -and they keep 'themselves oui of that. The States are bound to pro vide medical attention for them. The Chinese coolies are, for tho most part genuine immigrants, and his rate of paj is considerably higher — about double that of the Tamils."