650 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



I SEPTEMBER 1, 1916. 



tlie narrow strip of gray soil which marks the first elevation from 

 the delta-lands and flood-plains of which lower Cochin China is 

 composed. Above this graj- strip lies a wider strip of red soil of 

 \olcanic origin and of remarkable fertility and depth, reaching 

 in some places 20 or 30 feel. This strip, about 35 miles wide, 

 begins in the upper end of the province of Baria and extendf^ 

 60 or 70 miles north-northwest across the provinces of Bieii Hoa 

 and Thudaumot and into the protectorate of Cambodia. 



In 1907 and 1908 two companies were organized to make more 

 ambitious attempts to cultivate Hcvca Brasiliensis on plantations 

 located within the red soil area. In the former year the Societc 

 .\gricole dc Suzannah was organized with a capital stock of 

 2,500,000 francs, divided into 10,000 shares of 250 francs each. 

 The same year this company planted 700 trees on their plantation 

 near the station of Dau Giay on the Saigon-Nha Trang railway in 

 the province of Bien Hoa, about 45 miles east of Saigon. The 

 number of trees was increased to 45,000 in 1907, 140,000 in 1909 

 to 300,000 in 1910. The first tapping took place in 1912, when 

 the production amounted to 4,480 kilos. In 1913 this plantation 

 produced over 24,000 kilos of rubber. Since tliat time it has 

 been, next to XaTrach, the most productive rubber plantation in 

 Cochin China. 



In 1908 the Societe Anonyme des Plantations d'Heveas de 

 XaTrach was formed virith a capital stock of 2,300,000 francs 

 and purchased a plantation at XaTrach, about 65 miles north 

 of Saigon, in the province of Thudaumot. The first year 100,000 

 trees were planted. This number was increased to 200,000 in 

 1909 and 250,000 by 1915. In 1911, 540 trees were tapped; in 

 1912, 15,300, and in 1913, 54,000. The production of this planta- 

 tion during the latter year was 25,170 kilos. It has since remained 

 the most productive of the Cochin China rubber estates. 



The years 1908 and 1909 witnessed the creation of two large 

 plantations on the gray soil strip near Saigon. In the former 

 year the Societe des Heveas de Tay Ninh planted about 8,500 

 trees in the province of the same name, about 40 miles west of 

 Saigon. In the latter year the Societe des Heveas de Tan-thanh- 

 dong planted about 55,000 trees on their plantation in the province 

 Giadinh, a few miles distant from the capital. Although the 

 development of these plantations has been slower than that of 

 those in the red-clay strip, the figures given in later pages of this 

 report show them to be among the most important plantations 

 of the colony. 



The four following years (1909-1913, inclusive) saw the forma- 

 tion of many companies and the rapid absorption of the best 

 available lands for rubber cultivation. The most important of 

 the companies formed at this time is the Societe des Caoutchoucs 

 de rindochine. This company, controlled by the Banque de 

 rindochine. has a capital of 4,500,000 francs and its headquarters 

 at Paris. Its plantation is located at Loc Ninh in the red-soil 

 district, a few miles beyond Xa Trach. Besides being consider- 

 ably the most ambitious attempt at rubber cultivation in Cochin 

 China, this plantation is notable as being the first successful at- 

 tempt to interest, on a large scale, the capital of the mother- 

 rountry, the earlier plantations being controlled almost entireh' 

 oy local capital. 



By the year 1S13 the rubber industry can be said to have become 

 firmly established in Cochin China. By this time the total sur- 

 face planted to rubber trees amounted to about 14,000 hectares, 

 the number of trees planted was over 4,000,000 and the capital 

 invested not less than $5,000,000. In this year the older estates 

 were beginning to yield and the exportation rose to about 85,000 

 kilograms. 



The next three years, 1913-1915, inclusive, saw the development 

 of old plantations rather than the creation of new ones. This 

 was partly due at first to the decline in the price of rubber, partly 

 to the fact that the most available lands had been taken up and 

 partly, later, to the war. But the productivity of the later large 

 estates is just begmning to assert itself. On January 1, 1916, 

 there were in Cochin China and adjacent territory in Annam and 



Caml)odia over 70,000 iicctares in rubber plantations, of which 

 over 17,000 hectares were planted to over 5,000,000 trees. Over 

 400,000 trees had been tapped, about 440,000 more were to be 

 tapped during 1916 and the production fur 1916 was estimated at 

 over 700,000 kilos. The amount of capital invested is placed at 

 more than $6,000,000. 



niOO.?lNG A RUIiBEU PLANTATION IN COCHIN CHINA: 

 CLIMATE, SOIL. 



In beginning a rubber plantation the first step is to choose a 

 location, the second to get possession of the land. In choosing a 

 location the primary questions are those of climate and soil. 

 Transportation, difficulty of clearing the land and the labor prob- 

 lem are questions to be solved later. 



The. question of the right amount of water is an important one 

 in Cochin China. The plantation must have sufficient elevation 

 to avoid the annual floods of the delta region and to afford quick 

 drainage alter the annual rains. Many of the trees first planted 

 at Ong-Yem were drowned out during the wet season. On the 

 other hand, the extreme dryness of the years 1911 and 1912 

 wrought serious handicap to those plantations where irrigation 

 was impossible or insufficient. Then, temperature seems to count 

 for something. There is a point along the coast of Indo-China 

 above which the rubber tree cannot be successfully cultivated. 

 This point seems to be about the 13th parallel north latitude, just 

 north of Nha Trang. The only plantations above this line are 

 those of Delignon Freres near Qui Nhon, in Annam, about 14 

 degrees north, and still in the experimental stage. Another peril 

 along the coast of Annam is tlTe typhoon. The typhoons of 1909 

 and 1912 seriously damaged and plantation of Suoi Giao near 

 Nha Trang. 



Experiments show the soil of Cochin China to be well adapted 

 to the growth of the rubber tree. A physical analysis made in 

 the laboratory of the Saigon Botanical Gardens of the red lands 

 of Bien Hoa at 100 degrees shows the following compositions : 



Sand 478.40 



Clay 438.19 



Organic matter 67.72 



Ferruginous gravel 7.15 



Carbonate of lime 6.16 



Vegetable mould 2.38 



1,000.00 



Chemical analysis of this soil made at the same time and under 

 the same conditions shows the chemical composition indicated in 

 the first column of the following table. The other columns show 

 the composition of red soil taken from plantations in the province 

 of Thudaumot (Xa Trach) and Baria (ArciUon) and an average 

 of reven analyses taken from various parts of Cochin China : 



Average of 

 r.ien Hoa. Tbudaumot. Baria, 7 Analyses. 



Azote 1.81 1.33 .92 1.01 



Phosphoric ncid 6.70 1.65 5.21 7.22 



Potash 1.02 1.10 .59 .62 



Lime 3.44 .50 .25 .75 



Magnesi: 2.49 .35 .59 .39 



An analysis under the same conditions of the gray sandy soil 

 of the older plantations shows the following composition : 



^—Province of Giadinh.—., 



Plantation Thudaumot. 



Josselme. Thuduc. Ong-Yem. 



Azote 557 9.310 .404 



Phosphoric acid 159 .107 .347 



Potash 5in .796 .510 



Lime 420 .644 .196 



Magnesi.-i 550 .350 .100 



These analyses show the red soil to be very rich in phosphoric 

 acid, above the average in azote, but sometimes slightly deficient 

 in potash, lime and magnesia. These deficiencies may be supplied 

 by the occasional use of a small amount of artificial fertilizers. 

 The gray solids, on the other hand, have an abundance of potash, 

 lime and magnesia, but are wanting in azote and phosphoric acid. 

 The lacking substances have been supplied by the application of 

 stable manure and oil cakes. 



In practice the red soil has proven richer in the elements nec- 

 essary for the development of the rubber tree, and colonists who 

 are able to choose are locating their plantations in the red soil 

 strip. (To be continued.) 



