RUBBER CULTIVATION 



Is a new industry, and is becoming one of the 

 leading industries of the world. 



At no period has there been a greater 

 demand for rubber than at present, and new 

 fields are constantly opening for the consump- 

 tion of this wonderful product of nature. 



As the supply obtained from wild trees is 

 decreasing, the cultivation of rubber is a ne- 

 cessity, and the subject is attracting the atten- 

 tion of scientific minds as well as those of a 

 practical business nature. 



It was not until many years after the discov- 

 ery of rubber that its great value and many 

 uses were realized. For two centuries the 

 people of Europe regarded the elastic sub- 

 stance used in games among the natives of 

 tropical America as a curiosity and nothing 

 more. From the Aztec, however, the Span- 

 iards learned to smear it on their coats to keep 

 out dampness, little dreaming that in time it 

 would become as valuable as the gold they had 

 crossed the seas and undergone hardships to 

 obtain. 



