The Greeley tribune., 1906-07-19
OLD MAN
WAS POSTED

twenty years ola ne knew ihoie li'"ii
his father: when he was from twen-
ty to thirty he knew as much as MS
father and when he was thirty ana
over he came to his father for ad-
vice. l am now about twenty-four
and while l do not concede you
know . any more than L 90 may
change my mind if you can answer
me few questions. In all OF my
reading l have never got full un-
derstanding of what rubber is. can
you tell me?
My son Rubber is product OF
Nature that is produced from the
sap of trees that are native OF the
tropics. They are found wild in
A frica, South America and the
southern part of Mexico.
Are the trees difficult to grow2
No my son, they are not, they are
as easy to grow as oui cottonwoods
and grow much more rapidly. Where
they are native the rainfall
is plentiful and temperature tropical.
They grow every day in the year
Father, if these trees are so hardy
and easy to grow why is rubber SO
high priced? l have read that the
crude rubber is worth $3.50 per
pound in New York.
My son, the price OF rubber is
out of of all proportion to its actual
cost to produce. Rubber from the
cultivated trees in Mexico can be
produced at profit at % cents per
pound. The reason of the high
price is because of the extraordinary
demand for it. The supply now de-
pended on is from the wild trees
which are being rapidly diminished
by the natives of the countries,
where the rubber tree grows, cutting
down the trees because that way
they can get more at less trouble
than by tapping it standing.
Why do you mention cultivated
trees 10 Mexico, is there no other
countries where they can be culti-
yated?
Yes, son, they can be cultivated
in any country where they grow wild
but Mexico is the only country
where they are native that has
staple government sufficient to war
rant capital investing.
Is there any effort being made
to cultivate the Rubber producing
tree?
Yes, son, there is beginning to be
an interest taken in the business in
the last few years. There are some
cultivated trees now sufficiently
large to show there is not the least
difficulty in growing them. Simply
by planting them and keeping other
vegetation down until the trees get
fairly rooted they will take care Of
Of themselves.
Father: How long is it before
they produce aud how much will
they yield per tree?
My son. where climatic conditions
are favorable for growth they will
bear at five years and according to the
recent experimental tapping yield
from two to three pounds per tree,
and increase annually up to thirty
years.
How many trees will an acre of
ground maintain?
My son, an acre Of ground will
maintain 800 trees until they get to
be from 10 to Is years old when they
are thinned to 200 as permanent
number.
Father: II these figures are true
an acre Of ground will produce 1900
pounds of rubber at five or six
years which If it could be marketed
now would yield gross revenue OF
$500. This IL an enormous sum of
money to be produced on an acre Of
ground. Would you think price of
rubber would be any lower in six
years from now when trees planted
now would begin to produce?
My son. there are lot of people
who are posted on the rupbber out
look who predict that In six years
it will lie higher than now they say.
The demand for rubber is getting to
be enormous and the wild trees are
being exterminated. For these rea-
SONS they believe there will not be
cultivated trees enough planted to
keep pace with the demand, conse-
quently the law of supply and de-
mand will fix prices.
F. ther. with such prospect in
sight why not you and 1 go down
there and get few acres of land
apiece, plant 1t to rubber trees and in
few years after they begin bearing
retire with fortune?
My son, there is wisdom in your
suggestion but after living in this
Colorado climate all these years it