We have received a "Guide to Shanghai Rubber Companies," which has been compiled by Mr. David Arakie and is published by "Capital Trade." It is a quarto public tion of 45 pages with stiff paper cover, and in the matter of dividends paid and the like has been brought to date.
Following @ preface on the gen-feral position of the industry, forecast of thg rubber situation given from the pen of Mr, W. W. England oe. (of the British-American Tobacco Ca.) whose picture is also reproduced. A further picture gallery occupies the two succeeding pages, the portraits including directors of companies and others who have rubber interests. This has induced one male ready from members of the public who have seen this work—that in a book of statistics such extraneous matter is out of place, if it does not actually detract from the value lof the publication, A very large number of figures {is given for each company as indicat Ing its position for the past five years. The opinion may be expressed that there are altogether too many of such statistics to suit the average investigator into the position of any company, as in some cases he is faced with rainfall, book value of office furniture, swamp Tand, and two or 300 taels of sundry debtors and unclaimed dividends, The essential information could be compressed into smaller bulk and at the same time be arranged to show much more clearly the posi= tion of the company.
The price of the book is not stated con the copy sent to us,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.