from two to three hours. After this it can be packed without risk of putrefying, all germs having been destroyed by the ammonia and alcohol. TESTING THE GUM. The method of testing is as follows: From each of the trees to be tested, a little of the gum is taken, coagulated, and strained. From each quantity a round ball, about the size of a lemon, is molded, and, when dried, the balls are dropped from a height upon a hard surface; the rebound determines the elasticity and quality of the rubber. GRADE, ETC. The best class of rubber is pure white and elastic, and the demand seems ever to be increasing. In some parts of Colombia a rubber tree is grown producing an abundance of caoutchouc-as much as 25 pounds or more. It is known as black gum, from its dark color, and will thrive at as low a temperature as 58° F. RUBBER FROM LEAVES. Gum is obtained by passing the freshly plucked leaves through rollers and expressing the juice. The leaves are also exported after being well dried. By recently discovered methods they can be dissolved and about 25 per cent of rubber of good quality obtained. REMARKS. The thousand and one uses to which rubber is now applied renders it one of the most valuable products of these countries, and offers a tempting field for United States investment. The barbarous methods referred to, in use by ignorant "Cholos" and semisavage. Indians, will undoubtedly be replaced by civilized and intelligent processes. There are immense tracts of land in Ecuador suitable for rubber cultivation which can be had for a mere song, and I am satisfied that President Alfaro would warmly welcome American capitalists and settlers. The latter should have sufficient means to support themselves until the tree reaches maturity. Living in this country is very cheap, nearly everything growing spontaneously. Food is inexpensive and but little clothing is necessary. Should the pro'jected railroad to Quito become a reality, immense tracts of rubber forests will be rendered available for exploitation which at present are too remote to be utilized. I should state that I can not personally vouch for the accuracy of the descriptions of rubber cultivation, etc., which are given above. The verbal accounts which I have been able to obtain conflict somewhat with newspaper articles on the subject. It seems to me that land in Florida is adapted to the cultivation of rubber. After several years' residence in that State, I think that conditions are favorable for this industry, as well as for the cultivation of camphor and olive trees. DANGERS OF THE YUKON REGION. The Federated Mining Institute of the Dominion of Canada is now in session in this city. At the session last evening, two experienced, practical miners, who have spent several years in the Yukon gold regions, were present and gave expression to views in regard to affairs in that country that may be of interest to people who contemplate going there. Mr. Christie, the principal speaker, declared that under present conditions there were too many people in the district now, and those who were physically and intellectually unfitted to cope with the hardships of pioneer life should not venture their chances in the wild scramble. He gave it as his opinion, based on his own experience and personal observation at Dawson, that many of the glowing reports which reach civilization in regard to the finds of gold are largely exaggerated. He had passed into the country over the Skagway trail, and the difficulties were so great as to be almost insurmountable to many. There were crevices and holes in which the pack horses got stuck, and he had seen them go down out of sight, packs and all, in the mud. He knew of something like three thousand horses being lost there, and had himself contributed thirty of that number. He said he had known many men who had started out altogether unprovided and yet had managed to make their way to the gold fields, while, on the other hand, some of those who had set out supplied with everything that seemed necessary for the journey had. failed to get through and had abandoned the undertaking. To seek gold in the Klondike, he declared, men of hardy physique were needed. Professional men and clerks he regarded as unfit to endure the hardships of the trip to, and the life in, the Klondike region. In conclusion, Mr. Christie said that the pictures of the Klondike wealth had been largely overcolored, and many of the reports regarding rich finds had been sent out by parties in order to enhance the price of their claims. He did not believe they would ship $70,000,000 in gold out of that country this year, or anything like that sum. The production of gold there, he said, was bound to be more or less limited, owing to the natural disadvantages attending mining operations. Mr. Fred. Hyde, who represented what is called the "first three hundred" of 1886, and who had been associated with Joseph Ladue and other well-known pioneers of the Yukon, corroborated the views expressed by Mr. Christie, and said that the immense rush of gold seekers to that country was a great mistake and must result in disaster to thousands. The number of people going from the eastern Provinces of Canada to the Klondike region is considerable, but apparently is not nearly so large as the inflow from the United States. Mr. L. A. Phillips, agent of the Alaska Exploration Company of San Francisco, who has been here for a month, has purchased of Canadian merchants $500,000 worth of goods, including, clothing, canned goods, condensed goods, liquors, and other supplies, which are to be shipped from here to San Francisco, and thence by the company's vessels by way of St. Michaels to Dawson and other points on the Yukon River. MONTREAL, March 3, 1898. JOHN L. BITTINGER, Consul-General. CANADIAN DUTIES ON MINERS' OUTFITS.* In answer to a request for information as to duty charged on personal effects of miners purchased in the United States and going to the Klondike region, I have the honor to give below a copy of instructions issued to customs officers on these matters: To Collector of Customs, Port of MINERS' OUTFITS TO KLONDIKE REGION. Re free entry of travelers' baggage under memorandum No. 9626, as follows: (1) Wearing apparel, articles of personal adornment, toilet articles, and similar personal effects of persons arriving in Canada may be passed free, without entry at customs, as travelers' baggage, under the provisions of the customs tariff; but this provision shall only include such articles as actually accompany and are in the use of, and as are necessary and appropriate for the wear and use of, such persons for the immediate purpose of the journey and present comfort and convenience, and shall not be held to apply to merchandise or articles intended for other persons or for sale. In the absence of rulings by the board of customs as to articles included in the foregoing regulation, customs officers at the port of *This information was obtained at the request of a transportation company of New York, to which ADVANCE SHEETS of the report have been sent. entry are to decide the class and quantity of the wearing apparel and like articles in use entitled to be passed free, under the above provision, having due regard to the length of the journey and to the reasonable requirements of the traveler for his comfort and convenience on the journey. Articles of personal adornment, however, may be held to include one watch and the jewelry ordinarily in use by the traveler. For a traveler to the Klondike region, a pair of blankets and a fur robe, and changes of apparel for use on the journey, may be passed free. Miners' gold pans are free under tariff item No. 555 as separators. The duties on goods imported into the Klondike region (Yukon district) are the same as are payable on the goods imported into any other part of Canada. The following articles are subject to duty at the rate undermentioned, as per customs tariff:* Tents Articles. Stoves Blankets (excess baggage or merchandise)... Woolen clothing (excess baggage or merchandise).......... Rubber clothing (excess baggage or merchandise)............. Rubber and other boots and shoes (excess baggage or merchandise).... Tools: Adzes, cleavers. hatchets, saws, wedges, sledges, hammers, crowbars, 30 per cent. picks, mattocks, anvils, and vises. Axes Shovels and spades, iron or steel........ Lamps and lanterns........... Guns, rifles, revolvers, cartridges, primers, percussion caps, wads, cartridge cases, loading tools, and cartridge belts of any material. Cutlery. Steam engines, boilers, and other machinery.... Provisions, etc.: Meats, salted or dried 25 per cent. 35 per cent. 30 per cent. Do. Do. 25 per cent. 2 cents per pound. Canned meats and canned poultry and game, extracts of meats and fluid 25 per cent. Condensed coffee with milk, milk foods, and all similar preparations.. Cornmeal. Oatmeal...................................... Rice............. Rice and sago flour, and sago and tapioca..... 2 cents per pound. 25 per cent. 30 per cent. I cent per pound. 2 cents per pound. 35 per cent. 30 per cent. 4 cents per pound. 3 cents per pound. 30 per cent. 25 cents per barrel. 14 cents per pound. *The Canadian tariff was printed in CONSULAR REPORTS No. 205 (October, 1897), p. 151. Drugs and medicines of more than one substance, nonalcoholic......... Drugs and medicines, alcoholic....... Sugar Sirup and molasses........... Cigars and cigarettes.... Cut tobacco.... ................ Other manufactures of tobacco and snuff.. OTTAWA, March 15, 1898. Duty. 25 per cent. 60 cents per barrel. 11⁄2 cents per pound. 25 per cent. 24 cents per pound. 10 per cent. 2 cents per pound 3 cents per pound. 25 per cent. 20 per cent. 25 per cent. I cent per pound. $3 per pound and 25 per cent. 55 cents per pound. 50 cents per pound. CHARLES E. TURNER, FISHING INDUSTRIES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. I have recently visited one of the three sturgeon fisheries on the Fraser River. This fishery is located at Bon Accord, on the south bank of the river, about 12 miles above New Westminster, which is 12 miles from here. On the morning of my visit, I found thirty-six fish, weighing 125 pounds for the smallest, up to 400 and 500 pounds each for the largest. One fish was taken at Bon Accord in January that weighed 916 pounds. These fish are dressed, packed in ice, and shipped to Chicago and other points in the Eastern States. The other two sturgeon fisheries are located at New Westminster, on the north bank of the Fraser River. I am told that one of them has the best cold-storage plant in the Province. It is estimated that from 800,000 to 1,500,000 pounds of sturgeon will be exported during the present season-which ends in May next-from these fisheries to the United States. With each carload of sturgeon (amounting to about 20,000 pounds), |