390 UnMa*1Rubber Culture in /IDejico, 



of the vegetation ; and the principal expense is that of the frequent 

 weedings which are necessary to prevent the underbrush and vines 

 from destroying the grove, or causing the trees to grow slowly and to 

 become stunted. 



In the lands that are much higher than those favorable to the rub- 

 ber-tree, but less fertile, being less hot and damp, like those that are 

 suited to the coffee-plant, it is necessary to make as many as six weed- 

 ings every year; one every sixty days, in order that the saplings may 

 not be injured or destroyed by the undergrowth and parasites. 



The rubber-tree has the great advantage of possessing a vitality 

 superior to that of the weeds or of any other kind of vegetation, and 

 for that reason it does not require the heavy expense of frequent weed- 

 ings. The tree which, without any help from man, can grow in woods 

 full of vines, briers, and other wild plants, can certainly outlive the 

 weeds, for they will not grow more rapidly than it does. 



There is no doubt that a grove of rubber-trees requiring to be 

 weeded out only once after having been planted, will grow without 

 that indispensable requirement in the low and fertile lands of the coast; 

 but in that case, the growth of the tree will be slower, because the 

 weeds will share with it the nourishment drawn from the soil ; it would 

 therefore be cheaper to weed the grove twice a year, according to the 

 rapidity of the growth of the brush and the means of the owner. 



In proportion as the tree grows larger weedings will become less 

 necessary, because its foliage will cover a larger area of ground; and 

 the larger the surface not exposed to the sun the less luxuriant will be 

 the undergrowth. Viewed in this light, a rubber plantation with shade 

 will be more profitable since it will require fewer weedings. 



6. TIME REQUIRED FOR THE TREE TO PRODUCE RUBBER. 



It is not possible to fix, with any degree of certainty, the time re- 

 quired by the tree before it will yield rubber, which is an important 

 question, for supposing it to be fifteen or twenty years, the enterprise 

 will not offer the same inducement as if it were but five or six years. 

 Six years is a comparatively short period in a man's lifetime, and this 

 is the time required by the coffee- and cocoa-plants to bear fruit. It is 

 safe to say that were it perfectly certain that five or six years were 

 sufficient for the rubber-tree to produce, the number of groves would 

 increase considerably. The importance of this point has led me to 

 give it particular attention. 



Superficial observers, in the regions where the rubber-tree is found, 

 believe that the time necessary for its development is not less than 

 from twelve to twenty years. Those who are more experienced and 

 closer observers fix a shorter term. After having heard many and 

 widely differing opinions on this point from agriculturists and studied 



