Vol. X. No. 236 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



155 



RUBBER-PLANTING IN MARTINIQUE. 



Eubbei- plantations, subsidized by the Government, liave 

 been established in Martinique, ou the .Military 'L'erritory, at 

 Balata, in the Cadoret Ravine and in the forest of La Tracee. 

 An account of the exijeriments that are being made in rubber 

 cultivation, in these places, is given in L'A<:iri culture Ptatique 

 des -Prty.s C/i'iuds, for February 1911, and it is from this that 

 the following information is taken. 



At Balata, the main cultivation is in Fantumia elastica, 

 as the other species introduced, name)}' llevea hrasiliensis 

 and Caslilloa elastica, have been gradually replaced by that 

 species — the former on account of its susceptibility to fungus 

 diseases, and the latter because it is not suited for growing 

 under the wild forest conditions that obtain. C'astilloa 

 elastica has, however, been found to make reasonable growth, 

 requiring practically the same cultural attention as cacao; it 

 is noted to be subject to attacks by scale insects, but these 

 have only affected the decayed lower branches, without reach- 

 ing the upper and younger parts of the plants. Its inferior- 

 ity to Funtumia, under the special conditions, has been found 

 to arise from its more delicate nature and its suitability to 

 certain soils alone. In consequence of these circumstances, 

 the work with rubber plants in Martinique is concerned 

 mainly with investigations in relation to Fantumia elastica. 

 Planting in Martinique is effected in two ways: either in 

 cleared land, or in the forest where the introduced plants are 

 shaded by trees existing already. The plantation at Balata 

 has been made according to the first scheme; it presents a heal- 

 thy appearance, with trees free from disease placed about 12 

 feet apart, in clear rows, running according to the contour of 

 the hill. The plantations contain 8,000 plants; these show 

 a tendency to branch from the lower part — a property that 

 is common to forest trees raised in the open; in the particu- 

 lar case, the fault has been remedied by the removal of the 

 lower branches. 



In the Cadoret ravine, the plants are being raised under 

 forest conditions, and in this way the expenses in connexion 

 with cultivation have been reduced to a minimum. Here, 

 about 1,100 plants have been put in, and these have shown 

 little tendency to branch low down; their whole appearance 

 indicates that Funtumia elastica is, above all, a forest tree. 

 This is an important matter, for it shows that the species is 

 particularly adapted for increasing the forest cover, under 

 conditions that are most suitable to its development. 



A particular incident has demonstrated the power of 

 Fantumia elastica to regenerate itself by putting out new 

 branches. In the garden of La Tracee, an area has been 

 planted for seven years in the three species mentioned; the 

 trees are 30 to 36 feet high, and 5 to 7 inches in diameter, 

 and are sheltered by tall borders of pois doux {Inga laurina) 

 and galba {Cnlopliylluni, Calaha); the species are growing 

 separately, and this permits comparisons between them to be 

 made easily. In the block reserved for Funtumia, one of 

 the trees was blown over; a short time after this took place, 

 buds began to develop near the collar. This property of 

 easily branching after injury suggests a method of exploita- 

 tion that is particularly adaptable to Fantumia elastica; that 

 is to say, it may be used for the production of rubber, and 

 felled for firewood when exhausted, with the certainty that 

 it will grow readily from the part left in the ground. The 

 other advantages, to which reference has been made, are its 

 adaptation to rough cultivation in forests, and the small 

 expense of its culture under such conditions. These make it 

 .superior, in the special circumstances, to Hevea and Castilloa, 



even though its yield of rubber is inferior to that of these 

 species. In regard to this matter, the plantations in Marti- 

 nique are too young for definite experiments to be made at 

 present. There exist, however, several mature trees in the 

 garden of La Tracee, which have enabled comparisons of the 

 latices of the three kinds to be made. 



Attention will be given to the latex of Funtumia, more 

 particularly. It was collected by means of herring-bone tap- 

 ping, and coagulated with boiling water. The rubber was 

 found to be very strong and elastic, and of good quality. Its 

 analysis gave the following figures: — 



Per cent. 

 , Ash 1-00 



Resins 8 '6 4 



Caoutchouc 71 "40 



Water 1566 



Organic matter 3'30 



Further figures are given to show that this latex exhibits 

 some superiority to that of Castilloa elastica, though it is 

 inferior to the latex from Hevea Itrasilieiisis. In the latter 

 regard, however, there is adequate compensation in the 

 adaptability of Funtumia elastica to the conditions, the 

 remarkable ease with which the plants can repair serious 

 damage by throwing out new branches and can recover from 

 the operations of tapping, and the resistance which this 

 species shows to pests and diseases. 



Coagulation by boiling water has been found to be the 

 most satisfactory method under the conditions. In the same 

 way, herring-bone tapping appears to give the best results, 

 although further experiments are required in order to find 

 out the proper times for tapping. 



With the object of extending the cultivation of 

 Fantumia elastica in Martinique, nurseries have been made 

 which contain at the present time more than 60,000 plants, 

 and seeds are to be distributed as soon as they are avail- 

 able again. The seeds are sown in sheltered beds, and the 

 seedlings are removed to bamboo pots when they have pro- 

 duced two or three leaves, being planted out about three 

 months later. In the forest, it is advised that the seeds be 

 sown at stake. 



A summary of the conclusions reached, given at the end 

 of the article, shows that work in the field and laboratory 

 indicates that the conditions in Martinique are favourable to 

 the growing of Funtumia elastica. From all accounts, it seems 

 that this plant will provide a useful means of reafforesta- 

 tion, at the .same time giving a valuable product, while 

 requiring little expense in connexion with cultivation. 



A bonus of £20 is being offered by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for the importation of a stallion horse 

 into Dominica before March 1, 1912, under certain conditions. 

 These include: satisfaction as to the suitability of the animal 

 for the purpose for which it is intended; an undertaking that 

 the animal shall not be exported from the island for at least 

 five j'ears; and an agreement to make provision for not less 

 than twenty services a year, at a fee of not more than 15.s. 

 for each service. Any person desiring to import an animal 

 under the grant of the bonus should communicate with His 

 Honour the Administrator before making arrangements for 

 such importation. A bonus not exceeding £50 is being offered 

 in Antigua, for the importation of a jack donkey, under some- 

 what similar conditions. 



