46 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1901. 



rubber trees have already been planted, with the idea of increas- 

 ing the number to 1,000,000. The Rev. Mr. Howard is said to 

 have been aided in forming his rubber company— reported to 

 have §500,000 capital — by the United States consul general in 

 Guatemala, James C. McNally, a Pittsburg man. Meanwhile the 

 church debt is embarrassing, no profits having been derived 

 from the pastor's rubber plantation, and an investigation has 

 been started. ="=In June last Consul General McNally, while 

 visiting Boston, was quoted by the press of that city as being 

 favorable to rubber planting, saying : " Gentlemen here in Bos- 

 ton I know have interested themselves in 10,000 acres of rub- 

 ber lands in Guatemala," but he didn't refer to any church-debt- 

 raising annex to the enterprise. 



RUBBER LANDS AS AN INVESTMENT. 

 A GROUP of capitalists of Indianapolis and Pittsburgh have 

 purchased a tract of 18,000 acres of rubber lands in the state 

 of Oaxaca, Mexico, about three miles distant from the property 

 of the Obispo Rubber Plantation Co. The parties referred to 

 are understood not to be planning to plant rubber, but they 

 have bought the lands as an investment, with the idea of not 

 offering the same for sale within four years. Evidently their 

 idea is that a substantial advance is in prospect for lands suited 

 for rubber planting. 



RUBBER TREES IN CUBA. 

 The Havana Post states that Jose Gabriel del Castillo has 

 growing on his plantation in Cuba hundreds of rubber trees, in- 

 troduced from different countries, some of which are 65 years 

 old. Also, that Martinez Castro, son in law of the proprietor 

 of the Inglaterra Hotel, in Havana, who is interested in the 

 plantation above named, is prepared to fill orders for young 

 rubber plants.— =The India Rubber World has received an 

 inquiry for the addresses of persons who may be prepared to 

 supply young rubber trees for planting in Cuba. 



PARA RUBBER IN NORTH BORNEO. 

 Henry Walker, writing to \\ie. British North Borneo Herald, 

 states that on May 28 he visited a plantation of Para rubber 

 trees, started in 1898 by W. E. Roberts, general manager of the 

 North Borneo Trading Co., on the company's account. About 

 40,000 plants had been imported, of which 30,000 were living. 

 The importation of seed had not been successful. Trees a little 

 over zyi years old were T^ inches in circumference, 3 feet 

 above the ground, and some of them 20 to 25 feet high. A 

 plantation of 4000 Kalapei Gutta-percha plants has been made 

 by the same company. Their location is in the Seekong valley. 



THE SAN PABLO CO. 



[Estate near San Pablo, Mexico, on the railway to the Gulf coast. Offices ; 

 Marquette building, Chicago.] 



This company has acquired a large tract of land, containing 

 mahogany, cedar, and logwood, the marketing of which will be 

 the first interest of the company. They expect later to plant 

 various crops, and engage largely in grazing. They expect also 

 to develop a rubber interest, beginning with the extraction of 

 the native rubber and Chicle on their lands. Hilton M. Letts 

 is the manager at San Pablo. 



RUBBER PLANTING COMPANY PUBLICATIONS. 



Tabasco Plantation Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota=[Prospectus] 32 

 pp.+map. 



Tehuantepec Rubber and Commercial Co. , Chicago= Caslilha elastica. 

 28 pp. 



Aztec Plantation Co., Chicago=Quarterly Bulletin, No. 2 — April, 

 1901. 4 pp. 



The San Pablo Co., Marquette building, Chicago.^Report of H. M. 

 Letts, Manager (on a visit to the company's lands in Mexico.) 



YIELD OF THE PARA RUBBER TREE. 



COMMENT was made in the last issue of The India 

 Rubber World, on the paucity of data bearing upon the 

 normal yield of rubber from the Amazon valley species which 

 yield the so-called Pard grades. There have since come to 

 hand some figures, compiled by a recent observer, which ap- 

 pear to be trustworthy, though they tend rather to confuse the 

 matter, since they settle nothing beyond the fact that the 

 rubber yield per tree in the Amazon country is most variable. 



By the way, in the article published last month, the rubber 

 tapping season was given at about 180 working days, and the 

 calculations made in the article were based upon the idea that 

 the trees were tapped daily during the season. The later in- 

 formation, however, brought from the upriver districts, is to 

 the effect that the general practice is to tap the trees only on 

 alternate days, so that each tree will be bled only about 90 

 to 100 times per season. 



Figures collected on three important rubber estates give the 

 following average yield of rubber per day, per estrada of 100 

 trees : 



No. I — On the Jurua 5 pounds. 



No. 2 — On the Acre 10 " 



No. 3 — On the Purus 16 " 



Assuming that this average was maintained for 90 days, the 

 annual yield per tree would be, according to the above figures, 

 A% pounds, 9 pounds, and x^y^ pounds, respectively. This 

 wide difference in yield is accounted for by the fact that the 

 estate first on the list has been closely " worked " for several 

 years, the second for a shorter period, while the last men- 

 tioned has only been recently opened and the trees are still 

 fresh. On the estate yielding only 5 pounds per day per 

 estrada, it is now difficult to hire seringueiros, while on the 

 more prolific properties all the help needed can be had without 

 trouble. 



We have also a report from an estate on the Purus, where 10 

 men collected last year 20,170 pounds of rubber, or 2017 pounds 

 per man. The number of trees is not mentioned, or the length 

 of the working season, but with 100 trees per estrada,\.s.'^\ftA on 

 alternate days, 90 times each per year, the result would be 22.4 

 pounds daily per man, and 10 pounds yearly per tree. Our in- 

 formant insists that no business in gathering rubber could be 

 carried on, based on a yield so small as estimated by the British 

 vice consul at Manaos — Mr. Temple — of i.i to 'i.'}, pounds of 

 cured rubber per tree per season. 



"CASTILLOA ELASTICA" FROM CUTTINGS. 



TO THE Editor of The India Rubber World : I have 

 heard various opinions as to whether Castilloa elastica will 

 grow from cuttings. My own experience is that planting from 

 cuttings will be successful, though I have not planted from cut- 

 tings more than in an experimental way. A specimen is sub- 

 mitted herewith — the stalk of a six months' rubber seedling 

 which was broken by accident and thrown down between the 

 rows at the nursery in Jamaica, belonging to the South American 

 Land and Exploration Co., Limited. The stalk took root with- 

 out any further care — very strong evidence that Castilloa elas- 

 tica can be established from cuttings where the conditions are 

 favorable and moisture abundant. FRANCIS C. NICHOLAS. 



New York, October 25, lyoi. 



[The specimen referred to is well rooted, and apparently was 

 as vigorous when finally taken up as a plant of the same age 

 grown from the seed. — The Editor.] 



