RUBBER CULTURE IN THE PHILIP- 

 PINE ISLANDS 



BY. 

 W. I. HUTCHINSON 



Forester, Philippine Bureau of Forestry. 



/^\NE of the great problems to be 

 ^ solved in the development of 

 every new country, apart from the 

 principles of government, is, what 

 products are best suited to the climatic 

 and soil conditions at hand. 



So important is this matter that 

 every civilized nation maintains num- 

 erous agricultural stations and farms, 

 not only at home but throughout its 

 foreign possessions, in order that by 

 careful experiments some light may 

 be cast on this all important subject. 



To the business man and the farmer 

 of the Philippine Islands, this question 

 is a very vital one. A considerable 

 amount of capital is usually required 

 to further a large farming project, and 

 it is but natural that the first question 

 that those whose money is involved 

 should ask, is, what returns may we 

 expect, and how long will it be neces- 

 sary to wait before the first crop can 

 be gathered? 



Cocoanuts, hemp, and sugar cane 

 have been planted in these islands for 

 many years, so that the profit that may 

 be secured from these products is gen- 

 erally well known. One reads daily, 

 however, of the large returns received 

 from cultivation in the East, of trop- 

 ical crops other than those mentioned, 

 and on comparing their gross proceeds 

 with those from cocoanuts or hemp, is 

 surprised to find that the crops planted 

 to the greatest extent in any country, 

 are not always the ones that yield the 

 largest income. 



It was undoubtedly on this account 

 that rubber was first introduced into 

 the Philippines, or perhaps it would 

 be more accurate to say, into the Island 

 of Mindanao, as it is in this section of 

 the Archipelago that the greatest 

 amount of planting has been done, 

 through official channels. 



Up to the present time Para rubber 

 seed has been secured either from San- 

 dakan, Borneo ; or Singapore, through 

 the Bureau of Forestry at Manila, 

 and the Government of the Moro 

 Province, Island of Mindanao. A few 

 private ranch owners have also ob- 

 tained small shipments of Ceara and 

 Castilloa from Ceylon. 



On account of the different methods 

 of treatment, growth, etc., of these 

 various species, they will be considered 

 separately. 



Para Rubber, (Hevea brasiliensis). 



During 1905 several small lots of 

 Para seed were received in the Phil- 

 ippines. Eary in the year the Moro 

 Government obtained 1,000 seed from 

 Sandakan, Borneo, which were dis- 

 tributed among ranch owners and gev- 

 ernment officials throughout Min- 

 danao ; but of these seed few germi- 

 nated, due without doubt to their in- 

 fertility, and the lack of knowledge 

 as to the proper methods of planting. 



In October, 1905, the Bureau of 

 Forestry, at Manila, received 5,000 

 seed from Singapore, 2,500 of which 

 were sent to the Island of Mindanao, 

 where they were planted in seed-beds 

 at the Moro Government Experimen- 

 tal Farm, located on the Zamboanga 

 Peninsula. Although every care pos- 

 sible was given the seed, which were 

 planted within a month from the date 

 of shipment, only about 400 of the 

 total number sprouted. The average 

 rate of growth of these nursery plants 

 was about 18 inches in 50 days, seeds 

 unfiled when planted. 



In January of the present year the 

 Moro Government again made a pur- 

 chase of 6,000 seedlings, which had 

 been raised from seed at the Lamao 

 Forest Reserve, Bataan Province, by 

 the Bureau of Agriculture. One 



