Norwich bulletin., 1913-06-10
AGRICULTURE IN PERU
Luther K Zabriske Formerly of Norwich Tells What Crop.
 Excel in That South American Country

contrul an acreage of 1b 900 and up- wards. about half of which is in oul- | tivation
 1 Cotton is produced in Peru under the most favorable conditions known, and as result the industry ia a very fourishing one. In Peru are obtained the greatest cotton harvests in the world per unit of area Some of the cotton grown here cannot be found elsewnere in the world except on the Peruvian coast.
 There are 5 cotton factories in Lima l In Arequipa and 1 in lea, having a | total of l.725 spindles and 8 capacity ,, or 2e.5o0.000 yards of cloth per annum which is mainly used for national wear Win win portion being exported to Bo- hVia. Their combined capital is, ap- preximately $1.500,o0d. and they pay wages amounting to over $200,000 per annum. The value of their products may be taken as S1, 100000 annually
 Ihere are factories devoted to the extraction of cotton seed oil, 3 in Lima, and at other points
 The Government conducts a Cot ton Experimental Station in connec- tlon with the School of Agriculture Peru has been counted among tire principal rubber producing countries Tor many years, the bulk of the gum originating in the humid lands along the tributaries of the Amazon river. or which there are 50,000 l1ilom ters Wlthin the Republic of sufficient size 10 float canoes and light craft.
 The rubber is usually extracted by tapping the trees periodically, felling being strictly prohibited by law, tnough 1t Is sometimes induIged in Nhe distant interior. Scientific tap- ping gives about 24 pounds a year for many years against twice that amount once once only of inferior grades from Telling the trees The trees are worked by estfa deS, of usually 100 trees cat tered over something like 100 acres, the number of trees and area depend ing upon their distance apart and the diH1cultles of communication. They are tapped and the collecting cups elnptied daily during the season and the latex.' or sap, is treated the same night. Tapping is usually done about feet from the ground, though some and tap as high as ten feet.
 The coagulation of the "tebe", or one class of rubber, is brought about by rotating stick dipped in the la tex over q fire made in a special oven from a hardwood which gives gum to harden. The stick is dipped again and turned until a large ball re- suits, which is cut off and the process repeated. The 'scaueho'' or another kind of rubber, is coagulated by run ming into hole dug in the ground
 
 or in the Juice of the "ventilla'' Ca na- tive planO and is exported in blanks"
 The laborers are paid by their out put, as a rule, receiving about $20 for 100 pounds of first class ''jebe,'' and S10 for the "sernamby', or the dirtier second class rubber. They are main ly satisfied lot of natives. but in some of the distant concessions Indi- ans have been forced to work, and even taken from their native vilIiges and transported against their will to places where labor is scarce. and there have been, as all who have read about the Putumayo atrocities which have been talked of of late in the daily newspapers. authenticated re- ports of inhurnan treatment which Peru, the United States and Great Britain are now trying to eradicate
 En Peru several kinds of coffee are grown, all being of superior quality and comparing favorably with the most famous produced in other coun- tries, as it possesses aroma, color, and exquisite flavor. In the regions into which the Republic is Geographically divided coffee is produced with great success: but where its cultivation has reached the largest development is in the Montana districts.
 The usual method of culture is 500 plants to the hectare, about 21-2 acres. and after the third year the yield from each coffee plant is about