‘174 
hers.  This  is  all  the  more  gratifying,  as  these  results  are  obtained 
at  quite  a trifling  addition  to  the  cost  of  production,  which  addition, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  compensated  for  by  an  increased  value  of  the 
final  product  by  at  least  40  per  cent. 
Cost  of  Rubber. — From  what  I have  shown  in  an  earlier  section 
of  this  article  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Castilloa  tree  should  not  be 
tapped  until  it  is  8 years  of  age.  The  cost  of  clearing  the  land  for 
planting,  transplanting  the  seedlings,  and  keeping  the  planted  plots 
for  seven  years  clear  from  undergrowth,  is  astonishingly  small,  and 
does  not  exceed,  at  the  utmost,  £2^  per  1,000  trees  for  the  whole 
period  until  they  are  8 years  old.  If,  therefore,  at  the  end  of  the 
seventh  year  the  trees  are  tapped  for  the  first  time,  and  only  half  a 
pound  of  rubber  taken  per  tree,  we  obtain  from  these  1,000  trees 
500  lbs.  of  rubber,  which  at  the  very  lowest  estimate  would  be 
worth  at  least  3-v.  per  lb.  in  Liverpool.  Deducting,  therefore,  the 
cost  of  collection,  preparation  and  shipment  of  the  rubber,  a return 
of  about  100  per  cent,  would  be  obtained  in  the  eighth  year.  This, 
with  careful  management,  would  steadily  increase  for  a number  of 
years. 
Cost  of  Land. — Of  course,  the  cost  of  the  land  will  play  a not 
unimportant  part  in  such  a calculation.  I do  not  know  under  what 
conditions  and  at  what  price  land  suitable  for  rubber  cultivation 
may  be  obtained  in  the  various  Central  American  States.  In  Co- 
lombia, at  any  rate  in  the  territories  adjoining  the  Isthmus,  land  is 
obtained  on  the  old  Roman  principle,  res  nullius  cedit  prius  occu- 
pant!, or,  in  elementary  English,  “ first  come,  first  served.”  That 
is  to  say,  any  land  not  in  private  occupation  may  be  taken  legal 
possession  of  by  “denouncing”  it  before  a land  commissioner,  a 
very  simple  procedure  involving  merely  payment  of  a nominal  re- 
gistration fee.  For  the  maintenance  of  the  title  it  is  sufficient  to 
prove  the  working  of  the  grant.  Labour  to  any  amount  is  easily 
obtainable  from  Jamaica,  and  if  the  steady  influx  from  this  Island 
should  not  suffice,  the  authorities  of  Barbados  would  be  only  too 
glad  to  grant  facilities  for  the  drafting  of  labour  into  Colombia  from 
their  enormous  coloured  surplus  population,  from  whom  no  work 
can  be  found  in  Barbados.  Wages  for  plantation  workers  (machete 
men)  range  at  about  $[.20  per  day  (Colombian  money),  equal  to 
l$o.50  gold,  say,  2s.,  the  men  finding  their  own  food. 
Planting. — In  planting  Castilloa,  it  would  appear  that  great 
care  is  required  to  make  quite  sure  that  the  seeds  used,  or  the  seed- 
lings obtained,  are  really  those  of  the  best  variety  of  Castilloa 
elastica.  It  appears  that  there  are  at  least  three  varieties  of  this 
Castilloa,  which  are  respectively  distinguished  as  Castilloa  alba, 
Castilloa  negra,  and  Castilloa  rubra.  There  is  not  the  slighest 
difference  between  these  three  varieties  as  regards  the  general  form 
of  the  tree  and  its  branches,  and  also  the  flowers  and  seeds  are  in 
all  three  apparently  identical.  4'he  above  descriptions  refer  to  the 
colour  of  the. bark.  The  difference  even  there  is,  however,  so  small 
that  it  requires  a practised  eye  to  recognise  the  different  varieties. 
These,  differ  nevertheless,  very  greatly  in  their  value  to  the  rubber 
planter. 
