forests millions of rubber trees of the finest quality, has been
forced by unfavorable conditions to permit the Far East to sweep
from her in this short time the crude rubber supremacy of the
world is one of the most unusual chapters in modern industrial
history.





CHAPTER 4

WICKHAM'S IDEA


The story of the success of the East Indies in wresting the crude
rubber supremacy from Brazil, begins with an Englishman named
Wickham, who might be called the father of plantation rubber.

Wickham, who had spent some years in South America, understood the
difficulties of gathering rubber in the jungles. He believed that
if rubber could be cultivated it might prove a good crop on the
coffee plantations in India which a blight had recently rendered
valueless for coffee. What a strange fact it is that this blight
gave Brazil a chance to go into coffee growing, and that while
Brazil was losing the rubber supremacy to the Far East, the Far
East at about the same time was surrendering the leadership in
coffee to Brazil. The latter now holds first place in coffee
growing as firmly as does the Far East in rubber growing.