April i, 1903] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



225 



RUBBER PLANUM, AND EXPLOITATION. 



RESULTS OK RUBBER I M'I'ING AT SAN Mil, I II. 



AN exact record was kept of the results of sonic recent 

 tapping of rubber trees {Caslilloa elastica) on the " S.m 

 Miguel " plantation, owned by the Tabasco Plantation 

 Co. (Minneapolis, Minnesota), located on the Macus 

 pana river, in the state of Tabasco. Mexico, which are summa 

 nzed below. There are on this estate about 400 large rubbei 

 trees, which were planted in the shade of cacao and coffee. 

 These trees were not only grown in cacao and coffee, but un- 

 der the shade of "mother" trees (not rubber) planted (or 

 shading the coffee while the rubber was getting a start. The 

 secretary of the company. Mr. fames C. Fi field, in communi- 

 cating these results to The India Rubber World, writes : 

 ■' A fact well known to the rubber planters is that trees planted 

 in the shade require a much longer time to attain their matur- 

 ity and full size than those planted in the sun. In fact, the 

 most casual observer could not lail to notice the astonishing 

 difference in size between the trees grown in the sun and those 

 in the shade. It is believed that the size of a rubber tree has 

 more to do with the amount of rubbei which it will produce 

 than its age." In the table which follows is given the age ol 

 the trees, except that the age of those placed at to and 12 years 

 is not accurately known; the circumference of the trees three 

 (eet from ,the ground ; the weight in ounces of the latex se- 

 cured ; and the average yield per tree of dry rubber (including 

 a small amount of scrap pulled from the trunk of the tree after 

 tapping). The details follow: 



7 years. . 

 S years. . 

 q yeais. 

 10 years. 

 12 years. 



Based upon the above figures, the rubber product from an 

 acre of land containing 200 trees seven years old would be 1 1 2 

 pounds ; at eight years old, 174 pounds ; at nine years old, 240 

 pounds; and at twelve years old, 314 pounds. 



The following account of the rubber tapping at San Miguel 

 was prepared by Mr. Boyer, the plantation manager : 



" We were very fortunate in securing for the plantation a na- 

 tive rubber tapper who has been raised in the rubber district, 

 and for many years has successfully tapped both wild and cul- 

 tivated rubber trees in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco. 

 With this experience he was able to obtain the best results 

 without injury to the trees. 



" The first step in tapping a rubber tree is to clean a small 

 place around the tree, a small gash then being made 111 the bark 

 with the point of a machete and a leaf inserted therein, which 

 serves as a spout to run the milk into pails. This leaf is placed 

 about fifteen inches from the ground. From this point the 

 cuts are made upwards at an angle of 45 degrees and extending 

 in each direction a sufficient distance to include three-fourths 

 of the circumference of the tree. Directly above this, a distance 

 of one meter, another cut is made exactly like the first, the 

 milk flowing down the side of the tree into the first cut and on 

 into the pail. These cuts are repeated on the entire body of 

 the tree, or until the branches are encountered. You will at 

 once see that all the milk has not been secured, but a sufficient 

 amount left to maintain the tree in good condition for another 



,.u. The next tapping, which will be made in a year from 

 now, will be made on the same side of the tree, three inches 

 a'jove the cut made this year, and the following year three 

 inches above that, so that it will be possible to make thirteen 

 .1 i,iings on one side, or twenty-six on both sides ; or in othei 

 w nds, a tree can be tapped twenty-six years without retapping 

 ill:: old cuts. The instrument used by the natives is a machete, 

 or long knife The bark of .1 leu year old rubber tree is about 

 three-fourths of an inch thick. 



"The rubber trees on San Miguel are ol the variety known 

 throughout Mexico and Central America as Caslilloa elastica. 

 This variety is divided into two classes, the first of which is 

 known as the yellow rubber tree, or ' hule amanllo,' this being 

 the male. The milk from these trees Hows very freely, having 

 a rich yellowish color. It Hows so freely that there is scarcely 

 any left in the cuts after tapping. The other variety is known 

 as the white rubber tree or ' hule bianco,' this being the female. 

 The cuts made in these trees are not made at a 45 degree angle, 

 but horizontally, a sullicieiil distance to include three-fourths 

 ol the circumference of the tree. The milk from this tree 

 oozes into and fills the cuts, (lowing down the tree several 

 inches. The milk is very thick, requiring several days for it to 

 dry so that it can be gathered. Of the two varieties the yellow 

 is regarded as superior. 



"The milk, gathered in pails, is taken to the rubber drying 

 house, where it may be converted into rubber through either of 

 the lollowing processes, both of which we have used : First, it 

 is spread on a cement fi lor to a depth of three-fourths of an 

 inch, this 11 >or being so situated that the milk is constantly in 

 contact with the sun's rays, thus drying very rapidly. After it 

 is dry the sheets are rolled up into convenient sizes for ship- 

 ment. The second process is through coagulation with a na- 

 tive vine known as ' bejuco de necta.' During the coagulation 

 the rubber is left porous, and as it contains more or less water 

 it is necessary to remove the same by using a press. It requires 

 more time to prepare rubber by the first process. The average 

 shrinkage in converting milk into solid rubber is 2.3. or in other 

 words, 2.3 pounds of rubber milk will produce one pound of 

 rubber. I have personally attended to the tapping and the fig- 

 ures herein given are absolutely correct." 



LA ZACUALPA RUBBER PLANTATION CO. 



[Plantation near Tapachula, slate ol Chiapas, Mexico. Offices : San Fran- 

 cisco, California.] 



A neat brochure published by this company reproduces 

 letters from twenty five of their shareholders, expressing satis- 

 faction with 1 he management of the company. The writers of 

 the letters are stated to hold 50^ shares, representing an invest- 

 ment o( $62 875= The price of La Zacualpa shares was ad- 

 vanced on March 1 from $123 to $150. 



YAVEO PLANTATION I 

 [Plantation near San Juan Evangelista, stale of Oaxaca, Mexico. Office : Si. 



lb, Missouri.) 



INCORPORATED in October, 1902, under the laws of South 

 Dakota, tocullivate rubber in Mexico ; capital, $250,000. Prop- 

 erty, loooacreson the Colorado river, adjoining the Pan Amer- 

 ican Planters' Co. (Chicago) tract and the private plantation of 

 Maxwell Riddle; near the Vera Cruz and Pacific and National 

 Tehuantepec railways. Stock is offered in $250 shares — one for 

 each acre to be developed —payable in installments. It is 

 planned at present to plant rubber alone, and dividends from 

 other sources are not promised. IV. True Davis, president; 



