The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1904-09-03
nave grown up in dense tropical

The eacao (chocolate} plant, or tree,
| which is of very much smaller and
| less rapid growth, requires great
| deal of shade always, and thrives
! splendidly on the very best rubber
| lands
The experienced planter, therefore,
sets out from a hundred to a hundred
and twenty-five rubber trees per acre,
and places between them from two
| hundred to two hundred and fifty
| bear at the end of the fifth year and
are in full bearing at the end of the
seventh year, at which age they yield
about one hundred and twenty-five
pounds of dry cacao or chocolate
beans per acre, per annum. No eulti-
walton whatever is required beyond
keeping them reasonably free from
such weeds and grasses as thrive
there, even in that much shade The
gathering of the bean pods, which are
J about the size of very large cucum-
Der, and the opening thereof and dry
ing and sacking of the beans for ship
ment, are extremely simple and cheap
operations. Two valuable products
are thus secured from the same acre
age, and the two groves being com
bined in one, the expense of caring for
each is reduced to a minimum. One
variety of the CastilIoa Elastiea land
possibly more1 sheds a great number
Of its smaller branches each year.
These frequently fall with sufficient
force to knock off the blossoms of
chocolate trees, and, therefore, wher-
ever the two crops are grown to-
gether, care should be taken to secure
seed or seedlings of the proper va
riety.
The native planters Of Tabaseo are
practically unit in expressing the
opinion that much better results in
variab1y ensue if their trees are not
tapped until after they have reached
the age of eight years. The growth
Of the young rubber tree is extremely
rapid, and it would seem to be a
short-sighted policy which would draw
upon its immature vitality during a
period when the tree is still tender
and it's powers Of recuperation not
fully developed. Trees should also be
tapped only once a year, and not
drawn upon at any one tapping to an
extent which will cause a disappoint-
ing yield when the harvest season
again comes round.
The yield of the rubber tree, per
annum, at any given age, having in
view always the idea that it should
be so tapped as to quickly recover and
give still more 1atex each succeeding
year. depends so much upon the age
at which tapping was first begun, the
time Of year, the extent to which the
tree has been drawn upon at each tap
ping, and the care or negligence with
which the missions have been made,
etc, that it is practically impossible
at this time to make an entirely salts
factory estimate on this point ! think
it would be perfectly safe, however, to
take a half pound Of rubber, each,
from trees eight years old, and ealcu-
late upon securing a gradually increas-
ing yield each year thereafter, which
would probably reach pound per tree
when they are twelve years old. 1t
is also stated that trees not previously
tapped yield a pound of rubber, each,
at ten years of age. The still-used
primitive method of tapping with the
machete is Wasteful and expensive.
The wages of the expert "sangrador'
amount to about ten cents per pound,
and the latex, or milk, lost by squirting
from the incision made by the sharp
blow of the machete is sufficient to
make material difference in the sea-
sons profits. It is only reasonable to
suppose that Yankee ingenuity will
vastly improve upon this crude means
Of reaping the harvest, as well as the
slow and imperfect method still en-
ployed for evaporating the water con-
tanned in the latex and coagulating it
into crude rubber ready for delivery
to the manufacturer. A number of eX-
perienced minds are now at work on
the problem, and | have understood
that one or two machines have already
been evolved which promise a sub
stantial saving of time, labor and
product.
| am particularly indebted for de-
tailed Information and minute expiana-
tons to such experienced men as
Seniors Condo Hermanos Whose fin
ca on Tacotalpa river, near Tacota1-
pa, is model onel Senior Eraclio
Perez Moreno, Hacienda Gran Poder,
Puscatan river, Tacotalpa District;
Senior Antonino Saury and Doctor NAL
donado, Hacienda Santa Ana, near
Teapa. and Senior Pedro Bustamente
Hacienda La Sultana, Piehucalco, Chi
apas Hacienda Santa Ana and Haci-
enda La Morelia (the latter just across
the river from Teapa) are probably not
excelled by any other cacao and rub
her plantations of like extent in that
part of the country The country trib-
utary to Pichucalco is Of older deyel
opment, in a general way, and has a
larger number of fine plantations.
All these people have their planta-
lions in what experience has proven
to be the heart of Tropical Mexico's
natural rubber zone, and their figures
are with reference to what rubber
trees will do under the most favorable
conditions of soil, temperature, and
we'll distributed and abundant rainfall
OF course, it Is very easy to take more
latex from the trees at a given age,
if one is careless of the future and
willing to have them stunted and
played OUT long before the time
when they should be yielding their
greatest revenue.
1t is a well-known fact that rubber
trees grow beautifully in many 1oca-
tons where the various conditions
above mentioned are not to be had in
such perfection, but it is necessary
for them to attain greater age to
yield the results obtained from trees
grown under ideal conditions It is
also mistake to suppose that the
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