March 1907.] 



133 



Saps and Exudations. 



of this produce, the old system was to cut down all the trees, young or full grown, 

 that were met with in the woods, and extract from them such rubber as might natu- 

 rally exude from the trunks and boughs of the trees— but without any artificial 

 means to secure the full supply that each tree should properly yield :— so that, added 

 to the wilful and wasteful destruction of the rubber forests, there was the addi- 

 tional loss of a large proportion of the rubber left unextracted for want of proper 

 care and appliances. This system still holds good, in many parts of the wilder and 

 more distant forests— especially in those belonging to the Government; but in the 

 cultivated districts, or lands belonging to private owners, a more careful system is 

 now adopted, the trees being only bled every year in the proper season. 



Cultivation Methods. 



Within the last ten to twelve years, property oAvners have begun to plant 

 the Castilloa elastica, on the grounds found to be suitable for the trees ; and there 

 are now considerable plantations in the country especially round the Balzar and 

 Fenguel districts and in some parts of the provinces of Manabi and. Esmeraldas. A 

 moderate calculation of the number of trees under cultivation at present (though 

 not yet all of an age to yield any result) would be about one million of trees. At the 

 commencement, it was the custom to start these plantations in cleared grounds, and 

 under the shade of banana trees — thus reducing the cost of the work ; since, whilst 

 the rubber trees were growing, the banana would be giving fruit, the sale of which 

 would repay the expenses of the plantation ; but it was found that these banana 

 fields attracted enormous numbers of ants, which ate up and destroyed the young 

 rubber trees and moreover, the shade of the bananas was not found to be sufficient 

 to protect the young trees, and to allow them to grow up robust and healthy. It 

 has been found preferable to plant the young trees in partially cleared forest land 

 in " mangueos " or long avenues opened in a straight line through the woods, leaving 

 corpulent high timber trees on either side, and the natural undergrowth beneath, 

 thus preserving shade and moisture to stimulate the growth of the rubber trees. 



The seeds are first planted in small nurseries at suitable places in the woods 

 and when about eight months or a year old, they are transplanted at a distance of 

 about six yards between each plant in straight rows, and under the shelter of the 

 virgin forest, as above described. When the young trees have attained a height of 

 about two metres, the surrounding shade trees are gradually thinned out or have 

 their branches lopped off, so as to allow the rays of the sun to reach the young 

 plants : and this system must be continued year by year for about fifteen years at 

 which time the rubber tree will have attained its full growth, and be as tall and 

 strong as the surrounding forest timber. These surrounding trees must not be 

 destroyed, as experience has demonstrated that their presence and the shade, etc., 

 they afford, are necessary to preserve the vitality of the rubber trees. The extrac- 

 tion of the rubber can be commenced about the tenth year after planting. The 

 quantity obtained depends upon the age of the tree and its more or less robust 

 development. The method of the extraction being the same as in other countries, 

 does not require any explanation. Yield say i to 1 lb. per tree per year. 



Rats, " grillos " (crickets, and a kind of locust) and a black bee are great 

 enemies to the young plants of rubber, and destroy many of these : care has to be 

 taken to replant such as may be destroyed by these means. Congress in 1904 passed 

 a law to pay all planters a bounty of ten cents (2k pence) for each plant of upwards 

 of five years of age, which might be planted throughout the Republic : but, so far, it 

 is believed that only one planter from the Tenguel district has applied to the 

 Goverment to appoint an appraiser to count a plantation of upwards of three-hun- 

 dred-thousand, trees ; but, up to the present, no steps have been taken by Govern- 

 ment to comply with his request. 



