332 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July i, 1903. 



COMPARISON 

 OF SEEDS. 



WATER FRONT AT MANITITLAN. 

 1 opyrighted Photo bj C B. Waite, Mexico.] 



serve of seed saved for failures, either from drought, washouts, 

 or lack of germination. 



On one of the plantations I was shown the result of a very 

 interesting experiment, which was designed to show why of 

 two seeds, planted near each other in apparently 

 equally favorable positions, one produced a vigor- 

 ous tree, while the othei produced a weakling. To 

 determine this, the planter selected three sizes of seeds and 

 planted them under equal conditions, supposing naturally that 

 the largest seed would produce the most vigorous plant. He 

 learned, however, that size had nothing to do with it, as in some 

 cases the smallest seeds produced gave the best result. The 

 real difference seems to be, therefore, in the inherent vitality 

 of the seed itself. There are a great many ideas regarding the 

 best way of planting the Castilloa, and there is no doubt but 

 different methods are adapted for difference of situations. I 

 am firmly convinced, however, that in the region I visited, by 

 far the best method of planting is at the stake, backed up by a 

 small nursery, in order that the failures may be made good. 

 Any one who has seen two year old seedlings as against two 

 year old nursery plants will, I think, agree with me. 



Again and again was it impressed upon me how alert and 

 careful the planter must be in preparing his ground, and espec- 

 ially in getting his seed at the right time, and getting it into 

 the ground so that it shall have the proper start. And their 

 knowltdge has come through acknowledged failures. One 

 good friend of mine bought a ton of seed at $1 a pound, and 

 was unlucky enough to have 

 it all spoil. Another cleared 

 hundreds of acres for which 

 he failed to get any seed, the 

 clearing having to lie over 

 until the year following, and 

 these are but two of many in- 

 stances which would discour- 

 age any but the most determ- 

 ined men. But such happen- 

 ings do not reach the same 

 man twice. 



On our arrival at " La Ven- 

 tura." mine host found a letter 

 from a large 

 planter down 

 near Coatza- 

 coalcos, inviting him to visit 

 his place, and as that was just 

 the direction in which I had 

 planned to go, I resolved to " RUBIO.' 



START FOR 

 COATZACOALCOS 



HOTEL PALOMARES. MANITITLAN. 

 [Copyrighted Photo by C. B. Waite, Mexico] 



embrace the chance to go with the best of guides. It therefore 

 happened that early morning found us in the saddle, bound 

 for Santa Rosa, but not over the trail by which I had come 

 in. This time it was over a clear path, through the planted 

 lubber trees, dipping down into the forest, and over a road 

 with a soft carpet of matted leaves two or three feet deep, and 

 as springy as if made of rubber — a new trail and all on " La 

 Ventura" land. On reaching the railroad we sent the horses 

 back, and after waiting a while, hoping for a train which 

 might, or might not, run that day, we started to walk to- 

 wards Santa Lucretia, where the new road joins the National 

 Tehuantepec railroad. Walking a railroad track under any 

 circumstances is hard work, but that track was certainly not 

 made for tramps or actors. It had been hastily laid in the 

 rainy season, so as to make connection at Santa Lucretia, and 

 infrequent and slow though the trains were, it was already a 

 godsend to the planters and travelers. We knew also that as 

 soon as the dry season came it would be straightened, bal- 

 lasted, and put in shape. But its prospective virtues did not 

 make the walking any easier. It was not altogether because the 

 sleepers were laid at uneven distances, and often not spiked to 

 the rails, or that the grass had grown up and covered both with 

 a slippery tangle, nor was it the clayey mud that often rose 

 flush with the rail tops, but it was the combination of all these 

 that tired us out ere we had gone very far. Still, we had no 

 thought of backing out, and so plodded steadily on, our 

 feet clogged with mud, our packs on our shoulders, wondering 



if luck would send the con- 

 struction train to our assist- 

 ance. Not that the trip was 

 without its compensations. 

 The day was gorgeous, and 

 my companion, botanist and 

 enthusiast as he is, talked of 

 the trees and plants in a way 

 that would make one forget 

 any sort of hardship. 



Speaking of the forest, one 

 of the most conspicuous trees 

 is a sort of a ban- 

 yan, which has all 

 the idiosyncrasies 

 of thar tree of many trunks, 

 and grows to a great size. It 

 is a species of Finis which has 

 not as yet been identified, but 

 is probably the Ficus Benja- 

 mina. On tapping it gives a 



FOREST 



TREES- 



INTERIOR OF TEMPORARY OFFICE. 



