168 



tion, at first in the more sheltered and humid ravines and valleys and 

 then over the whole area At low elevations the trumpet tree and 

 Castilloa form a part of ihe vanguard of the new growth, and the At- 

 talea palm is its most striking species. But it is only a question of 

 enough time for these and their accompanying species to be overcome 

 and well nigh exterminated by what may be termed the permanent 

 forest. 



When one sees the Indians of to-day clearing, burning, and planting 

 precipitous and scarcely accessible cliffs it becomes easy to believe that 

 little fertile land in Central America, if any, is occupied by truly prime- 

 val forest, and easy also to understand that the abundance and wise dis- 

 tribution of Castilloa may depend upon human activity even more than 

 upon natural agencies. Arguments based upon the assumpti m that 

 Oasiillaisa genuine forest tree may accordingly be dismissed as of 

 little agricultural significance 



Mr. 0. H Harrison, manager of the rubber estate at La Zacualpa, 

 was much interested in this view of the place of Castilloa in nature, be- 

 cause he had all eidy noticed that clusters of wild Castilloa are met with 

 in the forests only where some natural or artificial cleaiing had been 

 made Moreover, an examination of the littrature of rubber shows 

 that the facts are not new, though their significance has been concealed 

 by the explanation which accompanies the following original account of 

 the details learned from the rubber gathei ers of Nic iragua : 



The trees prefer humid and warm soils, but not marshy, clayey, or gravelly 

 ground, and the presence of these trees is looked upon as an indication of a fer- 

 tile soil. It is not distributed irregularly through the forests, but sometimes in 

 little groups, more or less isolated, such a group being termed a mancha (spot). 

 This grouping is the normal state, and is believed to be caused by monkeys drop- 

 ping the seeds near an isolated tree, as they are very fond of the pulp by which 

 the seeds are surrounded. The trees are distributed in vetas (veins) or bands, 

 either in a north-to-south or east-to-west direction, the first probably caused by 

 monkeys, by the trees being on a declivity, or by water, and the second by 

 the wind, which daily blows in that direction. This irregular distribution has led 

 M. Levy to the opinion that in cultivation they should be interspersed between 

 other trees rather than form separate plantations, as he thinks that this sympa- 

 thetic and antipathetic tendency should not be lost sight of. The hule is often 

 near water courses, and nearly always on the banks. Trees of small groups give 

 a better net produce than those composing large groups'. 



From the scientific standpoint these explanations appear quite inade- 

 quate, since the causes which they suggest are those which are in con- 

 tinuous operation, and if effective in spreading Castilloa at the expense 

 of other forest trees would have given it a general preponderance long 

 since. All the facts are, however, comprehensible on the supposition 

 that the growth of Castilloa dejjends upon opp ^rtunities which are rela- 

 tively infrequent in undisturbed forests, as compared with regions in- 

 habited by the Indians and subject to their primiiive agriculture. 



♦Collins, Report on Caoutchouc, pp. 14 and 15. 



(To be continued.) 



[Issued 20ih July, 1904.] 

 Printed at the Govt. Printing Office, Kingston, Jam,., 



