CULTIVATION OF RHIZOPHORA 103 
Cultivation consists principally in keeping the plantation clear 
of vines. It is said that it is sometimes necessary to cut out 
the vines each year. Usually there is very little of this to do; 
and, in many cases, there is no occasion to do it at all. The 
cost of this weeding is hard to estimate, because the man who 
does the work usually devotes only a part of his time to it. 
A man is able to do all the weeding for a large plantation, guard 
the plantation from thieves, and still have a considerable part 
of his time to spend in fishing. It seems that the cost of weed- 
ing is never a large item. 
In some cases, where it is considered that the plants are too 
far apart, the terminal bud is split during the second year. 
This is said to cause the plants to form two or more trunks, thus 
filling up the space more completely. 
During the first year, a plant produces from two to four pairs 
of leaves and does not grow much more than half a meter in 
height. At this time rather fleshy underground roots are formed 
and the whole plant is more herbaceous than woody in texture. 
In the second year the plant begins to branch at the top and 
to send out prop roots, while the stem become partly woody. 
During the third year the plant becomes stout and woody, while 
in succeeding years it makes height growth and thickens more 
symmetrically. 
With the very close planting which is the rule, the plants 
grow very slender and straight. The dense shade produced, 
in time, causes self-pruning. Self-pruning is regarded as in- 
dicating that the bakauan is ready for cutting. Self-pruning 
takes place seven to twelve or more years after planting, accord- 
ing to the character of the soil. 
Only small firewood sizes: are grown. Material large enough 
for rajas‘! is very rarely seen. 
Hacenderos all agree that the individual tree will grow more 
rapidly and will reach a larger size, if it is given more room. 
They feel confident, however, that they would lose money if 
they planted at a greater interval; as they would have fewer 
trees. However, planting at an interval at least twice as wide 
as is commonly used would probably be a profitable experiment. 
Bakauan-babae is said to grow more rapidly than does baka- 

1Rajas are sticks of firewoods split from sections of trunks 8 to 15 
centimeters in diameter and 80 to 100 centimeters in length. Trunks 
10 centimeters in diameter are split into four pieces; those 20 centimeters 
in diameter into six or eight pieces. Rajitas are smaller and are split 
from sections of trunks, branches, and roots ranging from 1 to 3 centi- 
meters in diameter and from 60 to 70 centimeters in length. Three centi- 
meter sticks are split into two or four pieces. 
