The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-08-25

rapidly, reaching height OF nifty feet
with a trunk one foot In diameter In
six years It viii grow at a higher ele-
walton than coffee. The rubber is OF
very excellent quality. This is GER
tainly promising variety for intro
duction into Hawaii.
! Sapium verum Hemsl. A forest tree
co TO Is feet high with a trunk 3 feet
in diameter, natives to Ecuador and
) southern Colombia. 1t reaches its best
development at an elevation of $500 to
! 1900 feet and grows UP to 10000 feet.
This tree is the principal source of the
"caucho blanca" of Ecuador.
I Sapium stylare Muell. Arg. A large
forest tree occurring at an elevation OF
from 5000 to 5000 feet on the wet
mountain slopes from Venezuela to
eastern Ecuador The mean temper
allure of the region where 1t grows
ranges from Sc deg. to 81 deg. F.
| Other species of Sapium growing
under truly tropical conditions at
lower elevations are s. tapuri Ule., S.
eglandulosum Ule, 5. utile Preuss, and
| s. Marmieri Huber. The milky sap of
the latter is poisonous. These species
all require higher temperatures and
greater degree of humidity than is
found IN Hawaii.
| Black Rubber or Central American
Rubber.-The chief source of this rub
Der is Castilloa elastica Cerv. It is
native of the western slope of the An
des of Peru and Ecuador UP through
! Central America to Mexico. The tree
grows to the height of 40 to 60 feet
| In the open, but often reaches 120 to
40 feet in height and feet in diameter
| H. the dense and hot tropical forests.
Unlike Hevea. 1t will not stand wet
! feet. but requires good drainage. 1t is
never found in wet or swampy locali-
ties and grows best at the lower eleva-
lions in hot. sheltered inland valleys.
| In the equatorial belt Castilloa occurs
up TO $500 feet, but at IS deg. either
side of the equator does not grow well
above 1900. 1t requires rich alluvial
well-drained soils, high temperatures
and shelter from winds. The optimum
mean annual temperatures for the
growth of this tree range from II deg.
to 50 deg. F. 1t grows IN Mexico where
the mean yearly temperature is ~ deg.
F. and will stand a much lower one,
but as the temperature and humidity
decrease the growth of the tree is
slower and the yield of rubber rapidly
diminishes.
The leaves of CastiIioa elastica are
heart-shaped at the base, entire,
bright-green and shining, those of
young trees 90 inches long by inches
wide, those of old trees to ~ inches
long by 2 l-2 to inches wide. The
trunk of the tree is wing buttressed
at the base. Rubber collectors dstin-
guish varieties depending on the
color of the bark and twigs, but botan-
ically all are considered one species.
Castilloa elastica has been widely
planted, Five hundred thousand trees
of this variety has been planted in the
vicinity of Bluefields, Nicaragua, dur
ing the last seven years. The first of
the planted Castilloa forests in Near
aqua has been tapped this year. six
thousand seven-year-old trees yielded
53f pounds of rubber, an average of
l 1-3 ounces per. tree. A few of the
largest were tapped repeatedly at q
week intervals without injury and
yielded an average equal to that Sc
cured al the first tapping. In the
regions Climatically suited to it Casti-
loa is considered one of the surest and
most reliable species in the cultiva-
ton of which it is safe to invest the
large capital required to plant and care
for an artificial forest up to the time
when dividends may be expected. How
ever, it is doubtful whether its Guilt
walton should be attempted on more
than an experimental scale in Hawaii
Our mean annual temperatures and
mean humidity are too low, and also
the islands lie within the zone of the
trade-winds, and lack the tropical cli-
mate of other island groups in equal
ATTITUDES.
Ceara rubber is derived from a small
tree usually lin HawaiD not exceed
ing 25 to 80 feet in height Manihot
Glaziowii Muell. Arg. This tree Is
native of southern Brazil. 1t grows on
hot desert-like sandy plains and along
the granite ridges in region devoid
of running streams and with only a
sparse cover of desert shrubs and low
trees. The mean annual temperature
of this region ranges from 50 to 80 de-
grees F. The rainly season resembles
'iit'N Va IldNill III wat NiicIc Oilly
occasional rains during the wet months
from November to May, or June, but
differs from Hawaii in that the rainy
season comes in summer. Although
the tree is at its best in this hot desert
country 1t extends inland to the foot
hills, where the rainfall averages about
100 inches and where the night temper
atures often fall TO so degrees F. or
less. Like Castilloa elastica, the Ceara
tree requires good drainage aud never
thrivee in wet or swampy soils.
Ceara rubber trees will grow in
very wide range of situations. 1t
makes an extremely rapid growth in
Hawaii thriving from sea level up to
25oO feet on both the dry and wet sides
OF all the islands.
The tree is being largely planted in
all tropical and subtropcal countries
The seeds are about the size of small
plum pits and notified like castor bean
seeds When planted they take long
time 70 terminate, unless the hard.
stony outer coating is filed or abraded
Plant the seed where the tree is to
grow either at irregular intervals II