Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-03-19
PROFITS IN RUBBER GROWING.

PROFITS IN RUBBER GROWING.
Wells Of the LltchvilIe Bulletin Almost
Tempted to Give Up His Newspaper
and 90 Into the Rubber Business.
Special correspondent to the Itch
willie Bulletin: In Mexico silver min
ing ~ mighty uncertain, coffee grow
ing IT, not so very profitable; cattle
raising is a good thing same as in
North Dakota, sugar is a winner, but
rubber! It's like getting money from
home, so everybody said down here,
and while there may be liars in Mexi-
co, found most Americans reasonably
truthful. 49,. , ,,.::.-. go. ,,. >,...+
In the states Of Tabasco and Vera
Cruz rubber trees are naturally adapt
ed to the soil and grow wild. It may
be said in passing that sugar does
best in these states also. The soil is
so rich from decayed vegetation it is
almost pure manure and 20 feet
thick. The rainfall is about 1875 inches
a year. In Dakota we get rs inches
rainfall year. Think what place
for ducks this tropical Mexico, must
be! Then, too, it never frosts. Vege-
tation grows every hour Of the year.
The country untouched by man is al
most an impossible jungle. Bert
Watson, a Mexico newspaper man,
told me he recently made trip
through the entire rubber growing
portion of Mexico looking for de-
sirable plantation and found along
the Coatzacoalcos river the finest body
of land for rubber growing in the
Republic. One of the plantations is
in high state of productivity owned
by ]. c. Harvey; another near there,
the Tabasco Plantation Company, of
Minneapolis. has $4,000 acres of the
finest land he had ever seen in one
body in Mexico, AMI practically every
acre Of it is especially adopted for
rubber or sugar. l mention this par
ticular plantation because it is one of
the most promising in Mexico and is
| owned by Minnesota men of -promi-
nence, and is one of the best managed
in the Republic. It is located on q
large navigable river, with direct
water connections to the sea port,
Coatzacoalcos. and with two railroads
touching its boundaries. Tourists and
investors who have seen It say it
shows evidences Of northern energy,
thrift and progressiveness and bids
fair to become one of the noted planta.
tons in Mexico. Among those I met
and talked with were DR.. Swan and
Mr.. Rose, capitalists Of Chicago, who
purchased a rubber plantation last
year, and were making a second trip
for the purpose Of increasing their
holdings and were enthusiastic over
their prospects. 800 rubber trees will
grow on one acre Of ground and when
trees are z or 8 years old will produce
a pound of rubber per tree. and tits
rubber is worth dollar per pound.
I've always thought that running
funny paper in: Dakota paid about as
much clear money for the effort ex-
pended as anything on earth, but
growing rubber certainly knocks news
papering into cooked hat.
Down here, a company like the
Tabasco Plantation company gets a
big chunk Of land; It has some wild
rubber trees and lot of great mahoe-
any trees to start with. They will hire
natives at Is cents a day to clear the
land. The mahogany they win float
down the river to the sea coast at
practically no expense and get a
princely, price for every log. They
Will turn several thousand head of
cattle into the meadows and fatten
them at NO cost whatever for feed.
they Will plant sugar cane. corn and
coffee, using some Of these staples as
nurse crop in the rubber grove.
They will make money. and big money
too. from the very first, while waiting
for the rubber trees to grow big
enough to tap. It's the geatest
scheme for a man to get rich quick /
ever saw, and If Sam Lockerby or
any other Valley City fellow thinks
OF getting into the rubber business
they best move quick for Mexico is
full OF level headed hustling Yankees.
hunting out desirable spots for grow.
ing It. Rubber land has doubled in
price within the past, year and bids
fair to get as high as Litchville land
| in, 1,AA ~ 1 - b