388 *|[n&ia*1Rubber Culture in 



of the Pacific, seeds and trees somewhat grown are to be found in 

 sufficient quantities to form extensive plantations. 



3. THE RUBBER-TREE MUST BE PLANTED IN THE SUN. 



As the rubber-tree, so far, grows wild, and is found in the forests of 

 the most fertile lands, where vegetation is very luxuriant, and always 

 in the shade of larger trees, the general opinion of agriculturists in 

 those localities is that, like coffee, it needs shade to grow well. Ob- 

 servation shows, however, that this opinion is inexact. The most 

 superficial observer cannot fail to notice the great difference which 

 there is between rubber-trees growing in the sun and those that are in 

 the shade. The latter have but few leaves, are stunted, and appear 

 withered; while the former have thick foliage, a brighter color, and 

 look much more vigorous. The most careful cultivators in Soconusco, 

 and the very ones who were before of opinion that the rubber-tree re- 

 quired shade for its development, acknowledged before my return 

 from that district that they grew better in the sun. 



In this opinion I was soon afterwards confirmed. I deem it proper 

 to state here, however, what Senor Don Jos M. Chacon told me. Senor 

 Chacon is a very experienced agriculturist, the same who made the 

 plantation of Zanjon Seco. His opinion is that the tree planted in 

 the sun develops more rapidly than it would in the shade, and yields a 

 larger quantity of sap ; but this is very soon exhausted, owing to the 

 ardent rays of the sun, which prevent the soil from retaining the neces- 

 sary moisture. He believes that a tree planted in the sun would yield 

 sap only for two or three years, and would then die for want of suffi- 

 cient humidity. 



With much hesitation, I express the opinion that the reason why 

 some plants require shade to grow better, is that the shade serves to 

 temper the rays of the sun, for I have observed that the lower the 

 temperature of the place where coffee is planted, the less shade it re- 

 quires, and that it grows better without any shade at all where the 

 temperature is moderate. The rubber-tree being of a kind requiring 

 a very high temperature, it seems to me that the more heat it receives 

 the better will be its development. The humidity of the soil would 

 remain when the trees attained a certain size, for their branches would 

 then meet and give sufficient shade to prevent the rapid evaporation of 

 the ground. 



The short time I stayed at Tapachula did not permit me to observe 

 any difference between the growth and luxuriance of the saplings 

 planted in the sun and those that were in the shade. The mere fact 

 that none of the trees planted in the sun had perished, was, in my 

 opinion, a sufficient proof that the rubber-tree requires a sunny ex- 

 posure, and should be planted without shade. 



