THECUBAREVIEW 17 



DOES TREE PLANTING IN TROPICAL AMERICA PAY? 



By C. H. Pearson 



This is a question which w ill sooner or later engross the minds of a good many land owners 

 m tropical America. It is one of those problems which concerns the public as well as the pri- 

 vate owner in the more densely populated islands like Cuba, Jamaica and Porto Rico. What 

 is to be done with the ])oor and waste land from which the useful trees have been removed is a 

 difficult problem. It will not pay to clear, drain, manure, and cultivate as arable land and in 

 many cases it is equally imsuitable for pasturage. The advice commonly given to owners of 

 such areas in Europe and the United States is to plant trees. The idea of planting trses for 

 profit in Cuba and other West Indian islands has seldom been seriously considered. There is 

 almost no published information extant on what and how to plant, except perhaps that dealing 

 with the propagation of eucalyptus. A few suggestions on the planting of one of the most 

 valuable native trees may, therefore, be of interest to a numlierof land owners in tropical 

 America. 



There are already a number of plantations in the West Indies, some of which are sufficient 

 to satisfy one of the profitableness of planting; there are others, however, which cannot l^e 

 classed as successful. The chief consideration in the planting of young trees for profit is to 

 occupy the ground with valuable instead of worthless species. 



Forests pay oi- do not pay according to the kinds of trees they are composed of, but, of 

 course, it cannot be assumed that all the results are uniform, for there are variations m the 

 character of the soil and climate. Certainly there is no other tree native or foreign, which 

 possesses the adaptability to as great a variation of conditions as the cigar-box cedar iCedrela 

 odorata), or, £s it is known in the markets, Spanish cedar. Cook & Collins of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, in theii- book entitled "Economic Plants of Porto Rico," 

 write about Spanish cedar as follows: "Planted, this tree would be a source of wealth, and al- 

 ready plantations exist in Cuba, an example that should be followed in the other Antilles, for 

 it not only grows with greater rapidity than mahogany, but is also much less delicate and will 

 prosper in all localities. The tree, how^ever, prefers a clean, light soil on the top of hills or on 

 plains. It is not injured by moisture, except when the soil is suljmerged. It is propagated liy 

 seeds or cuttings, and reaches its growth in forty years." 



Spanish cedar may be placed at the head of the list of timl)er trees of tropical America for 

 l)lanting. It has always been generally recognized as the most important economic species in 

 Cuba and without doubt will greatly increase in the estimation of j^lanters regardmg its suit- 

 ability for cultivation for profit. The possibilities of its production for planting have been 

 demonstrated in parts of Cuba, where it has been planted for shade and ornament. 



The examples in a number of gardens show a remarkable growth for their age. Individual 

 trees only about sixteen years old have attained a height of fifty to sLxty feet and a diameter 

 of fifteen or twenty inches four feet from the ground. Its rapid growth makes it eminently 

 suitable for the purpose of reforestation. It produces great quantities of seed at a compara- 

 tively earh' age. Considering all these qualities, Spanish cedar promises to he the most val- 

 uable species for planting. 



Spanish cedar is a native of the West Indies and of the main land of ^Mexico, Central 

 America and nothern part of South America. It is found over an area greater than that of its 

 closely allied tree, the mahogany, and is perhaps the most widely distributed of all tropical 

 American species. It is found in Mexico as far north as Tampico and extends southward 

 through Central .Ainerica and into South America as far as the territory drained by the Parana 

 River. It grows in the high mountains of Cuba and Mexico where it is said to thrive at an 

 altitude of 3,000 ft. At its northern limits of growth the climate is comparatively cool with 

 only a moderate amount of rainfall, while at its southern extremity the climate is very hot and 

 the rainfall very heavy. It reaches its best development in point of size and rate of growth in 

 the lowlands of INIexico and in parts of the .Amazon River Valley where specimens 150 feet in 

 height and 30 feet in circumference have been found. Wood of the best quality is produced in 



