68 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[NUVEMIIKR !, 1911 . 



Rubber Growing in the Temperate Zone. 



Can Rubber Trees Be Successfully Cultivated in the 

 United -States? 



IN all the magazines published in the west the pages are filled 

 with glowing accounts of the phenomenal opportunities of 

 making a fortune in a few years by planting fruit trees. For 

 example one instance is cited where a party reached a certain 

 fruit section with but $650 to his name. In twelve years he has 

 managed to secure thirty acres and plant same in apple trees. 

 He now claims that his orchard is worth at least $100,000, as 

 he realizes $300 to $500 per acre annually. Such examples are 

 held up before the public as being within the reach of all, so 

 that many are tempted to try their luck at the same game. Hav- 

 ing myself passed through many such orchards I must confess 

 that this field does seem to offer a comfortable competence to 



prospectuses of companies developing rubber plantations in Mex- 

 ico. These compare very favorably with similar documents issued 

 by promoters of fruit lands. Of course they are overdrawn as, 

 for example, the claim made by one of these rubber promoters 

 that two hundred Castilloa trees can be planted to the acre, that 

 a conservative estimate would be to count on at least four pounds 

 of rubber per tree annually, worth at least one dollar per pound. 

 A gross income of eight hundred dollars per acre, from which 

 the cost of gathering, namely two hundred dollars, is deducted 

 to secure a net income of six hundred dollars, would compare 

 rather favorably with three to five hundred dollars from an 

 acre of fruit trees. Any one at all conversant with rubber plant- 

 mg knows that the above figures could not be secured except 

 under most phenomenal conditions, and then only in isolated 



Plate No. 1. Ficus Elastica in Front of Hotel Coronado, Coronaho Beach, San Diego, Cal. 



many a man of limited means. It is indeed a beautiful sight 

 to see a well kept orange grove in full bearing. Throughout 

 the fruit section everything has a distinct appearance of pros- 

 perity. Naturally the world hears of the successful ones only. 

 It never is reminded of the hundreds of clerks who have lost 

 their all in trying to become fruit growers. 



In Santa Barbara and San Diego I have seen splendid speci- 

 mens of Ficus Elastica that must be many years old. Some of 

 these must have been planted thirty or more years ago, but 

 strange to say, nobody seems to have taken notice of the fact 

 that these are actual rubber producing trees. Where our western 

 people are so keen to take advantage to exploit anything and 

 everything it does seem remarkable that some live promoter has 

 not seen the golden opportunity to make a fortune out of rub- 

 ber produced in his own country. At various times I have seen 



cases. But if we cut the promoter's figures in half we are not 

 so far away from actual facts. Then compare these figures 

 with what is done with fruit lands. The results are pretty much 

 the same, with the advantage on the side of the rubber grower, 

 for he does not have to lose any part of his crop as the fruit 

 grower does when he cannot pick the fruit in time ; for if the 

 rubber tree cannot be tapped today it is perfectly safe to wait 

 until tomorrow. 



Practically all the fruit grown in California is on irrigated 

 lands. The same would probably have to be done with rubber, 

 although all the trees I have seen were in parks or private 

 grounds where no irrigation was in evidence. 



As regards the climatic conditions the following figures secured 

 from the climalological service of the weather bureau. United 

 States Department of Agriculture, covering an average year, give 



