July i, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



333 



PL \\TA rio> 



I I: \ R PLANTING, AFTER THE 



IUR.V. 



certain amount of latex, but of a very sticky nature, and prob- 

 ably of no value. There are also a great many mahogany trees, 

 but in the former lumbering operations the larger of them have 

 been cut out, and while there are many of them that would 

 square perhaps twelve or fourteen inches, there are not so many 

 which would go up to eighteen inches, which used to be the old 

 time test. At the same time, mahogany is so plentiful that many 

 of the bridges across the streams on the forest trails are made 

 of squared mahogany logs, one or two of them laid side by side, 

 and mahogany furniture is very common in the planters' home 

 furnishings. There is also considerable lignum vitce, and on 

 the track we were then walking, it was often used for ties. 

 Spanish cedar is also quite abundant, and is one of the valuable 

 woods. 



In regard to trees, the old resident, and sometimes the semi- 

 old one, is very apt to point 

 out the rubber tree in its nat- 

 ural state as you ride with him 

 through the forest, and if he 

 knows anything about rubber, 

 he never makes any mistake. 

 If he doesn't, he is very apt to 

 point out a tree which the 

 planters call the " Boston rub- 

 ber tree," and which the na- 

 tives call the " chankarro." It 

 really looks very much like the 

 1 asiilloa, but is apt to prove a 

 surprise to those who try to 

 tap it. The trunk is only a 

 hollow shell, and the interior 

 is invariably filled with what 

 are known as the fire ants, of 

 whose presence the tapper is 

 instantly apprised when his 

 machete cuts through the thin 

 film of bark. 



There are also many beauti- 

 ful trees, such as the " royal " 



and other palms, and an infinite variety of vines and climbers. 

 Perhaps the most abundant vine down in that part of the coun- 

 try is the morning glory, which is not an annual as it is with us, 

 but is a perennial, and which swarms up over the tree trunks, 

 and covers acres of forest with its dense foliage, and its beauti- 

 ful bloom. To those who insist that the trunk of a rubber tree 

 should not be exposed to the sun, I would suggest that they 

 allow the morning glory vines to cover it, as they will shade it 

 perfectly, and do the tree no harm. At the same time, I am 

 personally convinced that the tree needs no such shading. 



I must not forget one vine that we noted on our journey, as 

 it had a blossom that for size put in the shade anything that I 

 had ever seen. I do not recall the botanical name, but it is of 

 the family that produces what is known as the " dutchman's 

 pipe." We saw several of them, and finally secured a blossom. 



In size it was as large as an 

 old fashioned Shaker bonnet, 

 and must have weighed a 

 pound and a half. It was not 

 pretty, except in a bizarre trop- 

 ical sense, but was simply a 

 type of what the richest of 

 soil, plenty of moisture, and 

 constant warmth can produce. 

 There seems to be few pois- 

 onous plants, the most com- 

 mon being a luxuriant shrub 

 with a crown of handsome 

 white flowers, which acts like 

 a gigantic nettle, instantly par- 

 alyzing the hand that grasped 

 it. This is very plentiful, and 

 its Spanish name means " the 

 evil woman plant." 



None of the forest through 

 which we passed would be 

 called primeval, as there were 

 no trees that were over 150 

 years old. Just why this is so, 



[ \XTED RUBBER. 



