These “vendas” or supply-stores are stocked by the merchant-trader of Belém and Manáos, who send them periodically in steamers or steam launches, the necessary merchandise. According to the season of the year, the rainy or the dry season, the greater or less the distance to be navigated, in short, in accordance with the condition of navigability of the rivers, the trips are made fortnightly, quarterly or perhaps only twice a year. The merchandise dispatched is debited to the owner of the “seringal” at the invoice price, augmented by the high expenses for insurance, freight and a commission which varies from 20 to 30 per cent according to the time-term stipulated for the payment in cash or the delivery of the rubber. The owner of the “seringal” in his turn re-sells in retail the merchandise received, putting on a high profit to its original price; the seringueiros who already pay interest at the rate of 20 per cent upon the advance of the 350$000 which is made to them at the time of their being contracted, are obliged to supply their needs exclusively in the store of the proprietor of the “seringal” and to hand him the rubber which they may have gathered in payment thereof. The initial supplying of the utensils amounting to 200$000 added to the cost of the journey which runs for account of the seringueiro himself, absorb the 350$000 of the advance; and his expenses, whilst the extraction of the rubber is proceeding—which lasts for 6 or 7 months—totals up to about 1:000$000, so that when he comes to hand over the rubber, he is already responsible to the proprietor of the “seringal” for an amount of about 350$000 including the payment for the renting of the road explored. His production being on an average of about 400 kilos (in certain regions it is much greater), the worker finishes his enterprise with a very small profit and it is not a rare case that he is not able to satisfy all his indebtedness, a circumstance, this latter, which keeps him continually dependent upon the owner of the “seringal.” On handing over the rubber, the conditions of payment are adjusted and these are generally made in one of the two following ways: either the seringueiro sells the rubber directly to the proprietor of the “seringal” at a reduction of one-third upon the prices ruling in the markets of Belém or Manáos; or he encharges him to sell it in the referred-to market with a discount of 35 kilos of rubber or with a discount of from 10 to 15 per cent of the net price of such sale, given in payment of the renting of the road exploited. This defective economic organization of the exploitation of rubber has, as its consequence, the high costs of production which to-day oscillate between 3$000 to 3$500 per kilo. This disadvantageous situation, however, is not a permanent one and may be remedied.