116 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^^^ORLD 



[January i, 1907. 



\' 



6 MONTHS OLD, FEBRUARY, 1901. 



GROWTH OF "CASTILLOA" 

 RUBBER IN MEXICO. 



j HE series of views on this page, based 

 upon photographs taken at various 

 limes of the same tree, illustrate graphic- 

 ally the rapid rate of j;ro\vth of the Mexican 

 rubber tree Oislilloa e/aslita) under cultiva- 

 tion in favorable circumstances. The pic- 

 ture at the upper left hand corner represents 

 a Castilloa seedling photographed at 6 

 months of age It will be seen that the plant 

 is not taller than the man standing in the 

 l)ackgrouud. The picture beneath it shows 

 the tree at the age of 2|i years The view 

 at the top of the ne.\t column represents the 

 tree at 3)2 years and the fourth and last jiic- 

 ture the same tree at 5^ years of age. In 

 this a large tree is shown — nearly a foot in 

 diameter, with a height that can easily be 

 estimated. The fact that such development 

 is possible in five years goes far to explain 

 the enthusiasm of the planters who have se- 

 lected good soil and good locations for rub- 

 Ijer, and have seen their trees growing at a 

 rate which would seem like magic to those 

 whose knowledge of tree growth has been 

 confined to the temperate zones. 



The trees referred to were photographed 

 on the " Del Corte " estate of the Isthmus 

 Plantation Association of Mexico, at Palo- 

 inares, state of Oaxaca, Mexico, the heail- 

 quarters of which are at Milwaukee, Wiscon- 

 sin. This is one of the earlier plantations of 

 rubber in Mexico. 



2 1-2 YEARS OLD, FEBRUARY, 1903. 



TAPPING "CASTILLOA.- 



I N writing of a visit made by Mr. .\. 1! 

 Luther, a well known rubber plantation 

 manager in Mexico, to " La Zacualpa " rub- 

 ber plantation, he says : 



" We there saw in use a tapping knife that 

 gave extraordinarily satisfactory results. 

 The wound it makes is clean, uniform, of 

 rounded shape, and consequently of quick 

 and easy healing. Its efficacious gage thor- 

 oughly prevents the incision penetrating the 

 "cambium" or the wood of the tree, and 

 the late.x flows down the gash made without 

 a drop overflowing and running down the 

 side of the tree, the same dropping nicely 

 into a lichela or whatever other receptacle 

 may be attached to the bark or placed at 

 the base of the tree. 



"While at La Zacualjja we demonstraied 

 beyond doubt that lapping from day to day 

 is impossible on the Coslilloa ; that this spe- 

 cies can be tapped with favorable results 

 every three or four months ; that it is not 

 practicable to tap during the dry season, the 

 ])roduclion being very small at such times ; 

 ihat the entire trunk of the tree and its large 

 branches can be milked through tappings 

 two feet apart without injury to the tree ; 

 and that the task of tapping and harvesting 

 of rubber milk is destined to be easy and 

 simple," 





3 1-2 YEARS OLD, FEBRUARY, 1904. 



5 1-2 YEARS OLD, FEBRUARY, 1906. 



