372 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1912. 



immense Ficus Elastica, 19 years old, which had been tapped for 

 the first time some three years ago, and had given about three 

 pounds of excellent rubber. The department has distributed many 

 thousands of Caslilloas to the planters on the island, and there 

 were numbers of fine plantations in embryo. We happened into 

 the Botanic Gardens just as Mr. Jones, the curator, was over- 

 seeing the tapping of some Caslilloas. This was accomplished by 



ever, as the top of the mountain, where the crater wrought so 

 much damage, is almost always hidden by heavy rain clouds. 

 Several times I had passed it close in shore without a view of 

 the summit. One never-to-be-forgotten time, however, the clouds 

 suddenly lifted and drifted away and the cinnamon brown peak 

 with the obelisk outlined clearly against the sky was startlingly 

 apparent. It was in the afternoon, and the light was just right. 



A 1)0MINIC.\N ViLL.AGE. 



horizontal chisel cuts, the latex flowing down into a palm leaf 

 apron, caught around the base of the tree, and draining from that 

 into a pan. Coagulation was effected by boiling. 



There were also Heveas, 20 to 30 feet high, eight months 

 old and 6 inches in diameter; some Sapium Jenmani and Sapiiiin 

 Acupariuvi, eight years old ; a fine Ficus Vogelii, nine years old ; 

 a Mascarenhasia Elastica, 20 feet high; Landolphias, Futitumias, 

 Mimusops and other rubber and gutta producers. Indeed, in no 

 botanic gardens that I had visited was there such a variety of 

 thrifty, full-grown rubber producers as was fouitd there. Of 

 course many of these trees have only a problematic value, and 

 the planters were not planting them. But many plantations 

 throughout the island were planting Hevea, and with cheaper 

 labor, good soil and an ideal climate should do well with it. 

 There is the possibility of hurricanes, but the island has not had 

 one for fifty years, and insurance companies give very fair odds 

 against the appearance of one. 



A fine State highway, 18 miles long, from Roseau to the fer- 

 tile interior of the island, traversing some of the most pictur- 

 esque and beautiful valleys in the world, is projected and will 

 soon be an accomplished fact. With land at $2.50 per acre, and 



AfARKET Street, Roseau, Dominica. 



so that even without the aid of glasses we could plainly see the 

 seamed and riven slopes scored by piolten lava and torrential 

 rains, the whole upper half suggesting a convulsion of nature sud- 

 denly petrified. Before the eruption the mountain was clothed 

 with a tropical jungle almost to its top. After it, everything, 

 green had disappeared from the mountain and the slopes that 

 led down to St. Pierre. The undaunted tropical growths, how- 

 ever, are again struggling up the scarred rocks, choking the 

 ravines and blotting out all trace of the disaster. The hardy 

 native fishermen have also returned, and their little settlements- 

 are scattered along the shore, even in the shadow of the moun- 

 tain. St. Pierre, however, still lies in ruins. The wrecks of its 

 beautiful buildings are covered with tropical growth, the home 

 of the Fer-de-Lance, avoided by all but the most intrepid of 

 tourists. 



The port of call for the steamboats is Fort de France, with a 

 magnificent harbor well protected and plenty of deep water. 

 Three French men-of-war anchored there were indulging in 

 target practice, using Maxims, while we were there, and they 

 made wonderful scores, counting tlie times they niissei!. The 



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BOT.^NK.il. .^1-1] 



bu:-ii.Ni 



labor at 30 to 36 cents per day, the country thus made acces- 

 sible is sure to be turned into plantations, and rubber is equally 

 sure to be one of the products. 



M.\RTINIQUE. 

 Everyone is interested in Martinique, and those who can, have 

 a look at Mont Pelee. The view is apt to be unsatisfactorj', how- 



RuiNs OF St. Pierre, MARiixiguE. 



city is not particularly safe after nightfall, and the boatmen un- 

 trustworthy and surly. A Baltimore negro served as guide and 

 showed us the big market, the best we had yet seen, and the 

 regulation city sights. 



There is some rubber in Martinique and there is no reason why 

 there should not be a great deal, as much of the land is suitable 



