August i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



377 



PROGRESS IN RUBBER PLANTING. 



REPORT OF THE MALAY STATES PLANTERS. 



THE latest annual report of the United Planters' Associa- 

 tion of the Federated Malay States devotes special at- 

 tention to the cultivation of Para rubber, which con- 

 tinues uppermost in the interest of the planters in that 

 region. A favorable rate of growth is reported and the absence 

 of pests and disease among trees. The year covered by the re- 

 port was the first in which tapping had been done on a large 

 scale, and the result was a better yield from the young trees 

 than had been expected, and the prices realized equal to if not 

 better than those for the finest of rubber from Ceylon. More 

 new rubber estates were opened than in any former year and 

 the extension of rubber acreage on the old estates was also 

 larger. The total acreage planted with rubber in the Far East 

 is estimated in the report as follows : 



Acres. 

 Federated Malay States and the remainder of the Malay penin- 

 sula ... 30,000 



Sumatra 5,000 



Java 5,000 



Ceylon 25.000 



India and Burma S.ooo 



Total 70,000 



The report savs : " We will take it for granted that this 70,000 

 acres is all good and that it will give a good yield of 200 pounds 

 per acre =14,000,000 pounds. This cannot all be in full bear- 

 ing until the end of igii.and no more than this 70,000 acres 

 can be in bearing at the end of 191 1 for it is not planted." 

 In view of the growing demand for rubber, while the exports 

 from Para remain practically constant, the report takes the 

 position that there is no reason to fear overproduction of rub- 

 ber, since even the maximum output of Asia by 191 1 would be 

 hardly more than 10 percent. of the present world's consumption. 

 But even if rubber should be overproduced some day, it is felt 

 that Brazil cannot compete with Asia with rubber at 2s. 6ii. per 

 pound, at which price Straits and Ceylon rubber can be sold at 

 a profit. 



While most of the rubber above referred to is Hevea, ram- 

 bong (Ficus e/astica) continues to receive increasing attention 

 and favorable results are anticipated, though little rubber of 

 this species has yet come into bearing. The amount of planta- 

 tion rubber exported thus far from the Straits is not stated, 

 but a much larger yield is expected this year, owing to more 

 trees now being ready for tapping. 



"CASTILLOA ELASTICA " IN THE DUTCH EAST INDIES. 



Experimental planting of various rubber species has been 

 carried on for some time by the forestry department in the 

 Dutch East Indies, and particularly in Java. De Indische Mer- 

 cicur contains a resume of the progress made, derived mainly 

 from the latest annual report of the forestry department. It 

 appears that total area planted with Caoutchouc yielding spe- 

 cies under the auspices of the department to the end of March 

 1904, was 2476 hectares [ = 6118 acres], of w hich 992 hectares 

 had been planted after January i, 1903. The average per acre 

 is small as compared with planting statistics in other localities, 

 but this is due to the fact probably that the greater part is 

 planted has been of Ficus, which requires more space than 

 some other species. The number of young trees mentioned as 

 having been planted is as follows : Ficus elastica. 317.000 ; He- 

 vea Brasiliensis. 32,000; and Castilloa elastica. 36,000; t tal 

 385,000. Regarding Castilloa the report says that the condi- 



tions of cultivation are favorable in many places, although in 

 Japara many of the plants died when young, owing to the lack 

 of experience of the planters. In the same district the plants 

 suffered two years ago from severe storms. Given good 

 soil and clean cultivation and a sufficient amount of light, 

 the tree is reported to develop splendidly. In some localities 

 a fungus appearing at the roots has caused the entire plant to 

 dry out, though a small proportion of the trees appears to have 

 been affected. ,A.t Genggeng some 10 year old Castilloasvitxe. 

 reported to have died after the appearance of numerous small 

 larv;e {Bostrichidai). This may have been a secondary cause, 

 however, the real trouble perhaps being in an unfavorable loca- 

 tion and soil. In Bodja the Castilloa was not injured by the 

 porcupines, while the Ilei'ea plants growing nearby suffered 

 great damage from them. 



SAN GABRIEL CO. 



[Plantation at San Gabriel, near Playa Vicente, slate o! V'era Cruz. Mexico. 

 Olllce: No. 181^ La Salle street, Chicago, Illinois.] 



Incori'or..\ted November 3, 1903, under Illinois laws, to ac- 

 quire the " San Gabriel " sugar plantation, which had been de- 

 veloped by several citizens of Chicago for five or six years. 

 They have 2650 acres near where the Vera Cruz and Pacific 

 railway crosses the rio Tesechoacan. There are now on the 

 estate some 4000 rubber trees which have grown so well that, 

 while sugar planting will continue to be the chief interest of the 

 company, they advise The India Rubber World: "We will 

 each year put out some rubber, doing the work slowly and care- 

 fully taking advantage of the experience of other rubber plant- 

 ers and not looking for returns for say perhaps 8 or 10 years. 

 Some may think we are a little too conservative, but we be- 

 lieve it is best to be on the safe side." Officers: Elmer J. 

 Adams, president; Chesley R. Perry, vice president: Robert 

 J. Kerr, secretary and treasurer. 



GOOD RUBBER LANDS IN TABASCO (MEXICO). 



To THE Editor of The India Rubber Wcjri.d: As a sub- 

 scriber to your paper I beg to draw your attention and of all 

 those who are interested in rubber culture to a certain part of 

 the state of Tabasco, till now completely neglected, but which 

 contains the finest lands imaginable for the culture of the Cas- 

 tilloa elastica. It is on the right bank of the Mezcalapa river, 

 in the southern part of the state, and includes all the lands be- 

 tween the boundary of this state and the foothills of the moun- 

 tains of the state of Chiapas. Thousands of wild rubber trees 

 growing in this section are annually tapped by the natives, who, 

 employing their destructive methods, kill or injure many trees. 

 However, their number does not decrease, but on the contrary 

 it seems to augment. 



American capital has not invaded this territory, probably be- 

 cause it has few and bad roads, and hence has seldom been 

 visited. Still the success obtainable in any kind of culture de- 

 pends greatly upon the soil, and if there is any part of the state 

 of Tabasco suitable for rubber culture, nature's finger points to 

 this tract of land. It is about 150-200 feet above sea level, 

 hilly, and well drained. Transport facilities are limited, and 

 while this is a drawback for any plantation, it is not so much 

 so for rubber culture. The lands I am specially referring to 

 can be reached in the rainy season by water from San Juan 

 Bantista, but in the dry season a trip of about 40 miles over 

 land must be made to get to them. William c. de wit. 



Cardenai. Tabasco, Mexico. March 14, 1905. 



