Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-11
|cULT|VATIoN OF RUBBER
PLANTATIONS ABE INCREASING IN
.,.o' MEXICO. AND AFRICA.
The Man Who Fere.aw the Great
Possibilities Of the Industry
World Slow to See It's Uses.
H. f. Armstrong in Ainslee's Magazine.

II. +. Armstrong in Ainslee's Magazine.
The cultivation Of rubber. prompted by
the wasteful methods Of the natives on the
upper Amazon. in Central America, and
the East Indies. who chop down trees to
drain the milk quickly-a foolish notion
promises to be an important industry some
day. and planters already derive a profit
from It. The oldest plantation in the world
Is on the Pamanukan-Tjiassem estate, in
the Residence Krawang in Java. It was
started in 1884 from plants Of the Fiscus
eiastica. In 1888 its seventy-two acres. as
many trees to the acre. produced 6,731
pounds of pure rubber of value Of $4,213
above expenses. Importers of crude rub
Der from Para make light of the Nicarag-
uan and Mexican plantations. why cul-
tiVate rubber, they say, when you can
60 into the forest and get it?' They declare
tnat millions of trees in the Amazon basin
and the Congo Free State have never been
tapped and will endure for generations
Nevertheless, the Congo government. by a
decree of February %, 1899, requires that
1or every ton of rubber taken out annually
$50 trees shall be planted Nicaragua offers
premium for the cultivation Of rubber,
and has interdicted the gathering of 1t in
the national forests for expectation. In
Peru the "caucheros" have destroyed so
many trees that imports from Iuuiuue have
greatly declined. In the East Indies re-
strlctive legislation is general. But. after
all, the question with the planter Is wheth-
er cultivation will pay. Such Is the de-
mand that he can sell every pound he pro-
duces. The uses of rubber are illimitable.
In Mexico and Central America the tree
grown Is the Castilloa elastica of the nat
I've forest. which f1ourishes in a rich. but
no not wet soil. like the smaller Hevea
Drasllensls OF AmaZonaS. Senior Jose Hor-
ia OF the city of Guatemala, an expert
enced agriculturist, calculates that a ten
year-old plantation will produce double
tne amount expended during that time. -
taxing into account that for seven years
there Is no yield Of milk He saws that the
net annual product will be incomparabIy
more remunerative than that which coffee
under the best and most favorable circum-
stances can yield. During the seven years
OF waiting. he advises the cultivation of
vanlda simultaneouslY A plantation in
Mexico produced in 1882 80. 600 pounds of
rubber. In the neighborhood of Bluefelds,
nicaragua, there are some promising plan
tations. Current expenses are light. for
LABOR IS cheap and the trees require little
care. but cash and patience are needful
i =, success Our Department Of Agriculture.
- H. Is woItny OF note, iA preparing to give
It's attention to the, cultivation Of rubber
IN the philippines. rs5 an -
Saw HaytiaAk sPlaying Ball.
The world was a long time learning the
uses and value OF, rubber. For two cen
turtles after the Spariards saw the gum In
the hands Of natives ufsthe new world it
was little more thar Curiosity. Old Her
rea' who went with Columbus on his second
voyage. made note Of an elastic ball
which was nodded fromI the gum Of a tree.
At their games thesnudS Haytians made it
bound high in the ali. [fhe Aztecs were ia
mliiar with the gum and called 1t ule, and
from them the SpaAfiArdsa learned to smear
It on their coats to keep out the wet They
had crossed the seas for gold, and never
dreamed of a time HaAexathe sticky milk tina
uncouth Indians drew from strange trees
would be worth more than all the treasure
OF the hills. ION February %, 1899, ship
carrying cargo Of ,167 tons of rubber,
valued at s$2.210,0O0 sailed, from Para for
New York, leaving 200 tons behind on the
Wharf) Jose. King of Portugal In 1865,
comes down to US as the Wearer of pair
OF boots sent out to Para to be covered
with waterproof gum Yet three hundred
years were to elapse before q Connecticut
Yankee should make q pair OF boots of rub
Der which would not, decompose. DIR. Priest
ley. author of a work on Perspective, NOW
forgotten. recorded that caoutchouc (pfo-
nounced 'kachook' -awas useful In small
cubes for rubbing out pencil marks-hence
the name. rubber. The India linked with
u refers to the savages who gathered 1t In
the Amazon wilderness DR. Priestley's
cubes were half an inch long and sold for
three shiliings, or 70 cents apiece. A stiff
price, for the finest rubber today Is q dol
lar pound. It's price for ten years has
ranged from 62 cents to $l.00 The CONVEX
sion Of the gum to useful purnoano made