The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-05
MANY USES TO
 WHICH RUBBER IS PUT
MOTOR GAR TIRES RAPIDLY ADDING TO THE DEMAND
 FOR THE FAST DISAPPEARING GUM

The great demand for rubber, which is rapidly getting ahead of the supply has stimulated capitalists to cultivate this wonderful product of nature, ana great success has already been obtain ed on many plantations in different parts of the world. says a writer i.i The San Francisco Chronicle.
 As early as three years ago automo- bile rubber orders in advance were sufficient for more than six times the possible rubber output. The ruopeI famine was foreseen years ago, ana was the cause of these plantations De- ing formed. The demand for automo- bile rubber, however. has exceeded the original prediction, and Is likely to still further increass-
 Rubber, once a luxury, has now pe- come one of the necessaries Of lire, and all those who have conscientous- ly formed and handled plantations in business like manner will reap a rich reward.
 Those who have never lived In the tropics can have but little idea or what A luxuriant tropical forest looks lKe' and what 1t means to subdue It, Keep 1t under subjection. and plant ana maintain in its plaee another forest of cultivated rubber trees.
 Imagine a vast mass of tangled trees and vines stretching for miles on elth- CT hand, giant trunks and knottea limbs fighting for lite asd light, with countless parasites which have grown from small beginnings to dominate ana finally destroy the victim. only In turn to be strangled and destroyed Tn tnis wild rush of vegetation. Many Varle- ties of palm thrust their slender trunks skyward, that their feathery tops may aF hlaSgAd sunlight that they are all struggling to reach Vines and creepers, woven and twist- ed into great cords and ropes. run III every direction, binding all together III one vast network of tangled groWth and decay. Overhead groups of chat tering monkeys swing along from vine to bough, and far above-near the lis i,' of day-one can catch the flash or prll- liant plumage, and hear the discoruah' cry of some startled bird or the tIop- ics. Under foot the fallen vegetation is knee deep, soft, slimy and decay ing. holding the waters of the over. flowing rivers, and forming the SOIL that alone can make possible such lux uriance of growth.
 The cultivation of rubber IS neN l enterprise. calling for the most care I full study and is a notable addition to | the worlds varied industries. Consequently the questloh ol soIi rainfall and climatic conditions must enter largely into the calculations oi ! those contemplating Its future
 The rubber tree requires rich loam
 soil, warm, moist climate. low alti- ! tude, a large and evenly distributed rainfall and perfect drainage.
 Cultivated trees ale raised from the
 seed, and begin to yield milk during ! the sixth year from date of planting.
 Tn their wild state they grow tail and lank. reaching a height of over fifty feet and a diameter or from twelve to fifteen inches.
 Some one has called rubber the
 "handmaid of civilization, but 1t Is more than that, 1t is mans best friend
 for every profession that ministers tc and relieves the suffering ones of the earth has enlisted 1t in its service. and
 in a thousand ways uses it to assuage | pain and make surgical operations easier and at the same time lessening the chances of contagion.