46 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1910. 



An American Planting on the Amazon. 



By D. B. Riker. 



TO THE Editor of the India Rubber World : In response to 

 your request for some details regarding my rubber planta- 

 tion in the Amazon valley, I am pleased to comply. First, 

 as to its history, .^t the breaking out of the Civil War in the 

 United States, my father, Robert H. Riker, resided in Charleston, 

 South Carolina, with his family. He being a native of that state, 

 was employed at Fort Sumter, Charleston, during the war. Af- 

 ter the war, things beinp; in bad condition generally, he came out 

 here to Santartm, bringing his family. That was in 1867. He 

 selected Diamantino, the place I am going to describe, had it sur- 

 veyed, and bought it of the government, and for many years 

 worked in sugar cane. Having mounted a large mill bought of 

 George L. Squire, New York, he built a dam across the Diaman- 

 tino creek, and in that way developed power for the water wheel 

 to run the cane and also a sawmill. The creek comes from the 

 foot of the Brazilian tablelands, said mountain being about a 

 half mile from our dwelling house. Some of the rubber shown 

 in one of the accompanying photographs is on the mountain 

 slope. 



Diamantino. and Maica, whicli arc adjoining properties, belong 

 to David B. Riker and Herbert A. Riker, lie seven miles south of 

 the city of Santarem, which is located near the mouth of the 

 river Tapajos, in sight of the Amazon, about 500 miles above 

 Para. There is a fine wagon road for all transportation and a 



creek called Maica navigable all the time for large launches go- 

 ing by the place. Our tracts of land have been increased lately 

 to quite an extensive area. The land is fertile and especially 

 adapted to the cultivation of rubber, sugar cane and cacao, and on 

 the Maica stream cattle thrive and the African water buffalo 

 grows to perfection. There are planted on the place 80,000 Para 

 rubber trees (Hei'ca BrasiUensis) . The principal laborers are 

 Indians. The locality is healthy, game and fish abound, a fine 

 breeze keeps the temperature very agreeable, and the best hard 

 woods cover the tablelands. 



In the course of time my parents died and the sister returned to 

 Tennessee, in the United States. My brother and I continued 

 on the place, growing sugar cane and raising cattle, .\bout 1883 

 rubber rose in price and continued to rise. We planted a few 

 thousand trees, and we were put down as fools. Everybody, in- 

 cluding the rubber men, who claimed to know, said planted 

 rubber would not give milk, for many reasons, they argued. Well, 

 things jogged on as usual, and our little rubber patch was about 

 ten years old. 



We commenced to tap the trees first for the sake of doing so, 

 or to become fully convinced whether planting the trees was 

 really a loss of time and capital. To our surprise and satisfaction 

 we found the yield to be quite an item, and after continuing for 

 a while we became convinced that the cultivation of the rubber 



TnK Riker Plantation at Santarem. 



[Young Hc'ca rubber on the mountain slope.] 



The Riker Plantation at Santarem. 



[Herring bone tapping of an old Hevea tree.] 



