<auantit of IRubber HJtelfcefc b a Uree. 391 



the question very carefully myself, I am inclined to think that six 

 years, counting from the time the seed was planted, is the period re- 

 quired for the rubber-tree to yield its product, in the soil best suited to 

 its development; for it is quite evident that in less favorable soil, it 

 would need a longer time. 



During my recent stay in Soconusco, I was able to satisfy myself 

 by facts of the correctness of the opinion fixing six years for the devel- 

 opment of the rubber-tree. 



I frequently found trees whose age, owing to their being in a well- 

 known spot, such as the courtyard of a farm, could be ascertained by 

 asking it of the persons who had seen them planted or growing from 

 the seed. This was sometimes difficult, but the difficulty could be re- 

 moved in every case, and then it appeared that trees from six to eight 

 metres high, with a trunk from six to eight inches in diameter, were 

 three or four years old. This seemed to me conclusive evidence that 

 a tree six years old would have attained the necessary growth to begin 

 bearing without suffering any injury, provided always that it were 

 situated in the best conditions of climate, soil, and cultivation. 



Practical and experienced persons in the State of Veracruz have 

 assured me that along its coast, bordering on the Gulf, six years are 

 considered a sufficient period for the development of the rubber-tree. 



7. QUANTITY OF RUBBER THAT EACH TREE CAN YIELD. 



There is another question not less important than the preceding 

 one; it relates to the quantity of rubber that each tree can yield 

 yearly. There is also a great variety of opinions upon this subject. 

 Many experienced agriculturists are of opinion that the trees can be 

 tapped every two months without injury to them, yielding each time 

 six pounds of rubber, which, in one year, would amount to thirty-six 

 pounds; while there are others who think it imprudent to make more 

 than one extraction every year, and from which not more than six 

 pounds can be obtained. Between these two opinions, there are others 

 differing both as to the number of tappings and the quantity of the yield. 

 Finally, there are some who believe that extracting the sap every two 

 years would give the same quantity as two tappings annually, but the 

 proportion of rubber would be greater. 



The information obtained from workmen who, for two years, have 

 been engaged in Soconusco in extracting rubber, to the extent of de- 

 stroying all the large trees, does not bear upon the question ; for, in 

 the first place, the trees used are much older, a great many of them 

 being centenarians; and, in the second place, because they are cut 

 down to obtain the sap. Their statements, moreover, refer to measures 

 of capacity and not of weight, as will be shown later; for they first 

 collect the rubber in gourds and afterwards pour it into jars. But 



