Sept. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRtCULTUMST. 183 
estimates are based upon an impossible yearly product. 
The Diice of land is another important item, since 
profitable planting may be ont of the question with 
too great an initial outlay. Pricrs of land generally 
speaking are much higher in our new possessious in 
the West Indies, thin in Spanish- AmeriOiin countries, 
and certainly it is far too early to speculate^ on the 
oppoi'tanities. in the Philippines, besides which the 
CastiUoa is ilot indiatenous share and we must natur- 
ally look to Government experimentntioa to determine 
its adaptability to thoBo'islaadg. The labor supply and 
the cost ihsreof should be considered, in comparing 
one country with another. 
No doubt it may ba found practicable to plant rubber 
in some countries where it is not now found native, 
but thi^ should be attempsed cautiously. Even within 
such limits of latitude, altitude, climate, etc., as are 
found to favor the CastiUoa elastica ia Mexico it 
might not be possible to grow this species in another 
country, owing to some subtle difference ia the soil, 
which would prevent the trees from yieldiag rubber, 
even should they grow freely. It is interesting to note 
that tlie United States government is planning a series 
of experiments in the West Indies and the Philippine 
group to demoustate to the world whether rubber cin 
be produced in these islands. 
San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua, Deo. 21, 1899. 
To the Editor of the India Ruhber World: — Your 
letter was duly received. I failed to reply on receipt 
of same, as 1 wished to get all the information possible 
regarding rubber planting. Prom what 1 have heard 
from several friends who have tried this business, and 
spent a gre ^t dea,l of time and money, I would not 
advise any one to start into the planting of rubber, 
at least in Nicaragua, as I am convinced that rubber 
is " no good." A friend of mine started three years 
ago and planted 12,003 rubber trees in the woods, 
uuderbrushing and thinning out the woods, the same 
as the natives do. They are now about as thick as a 
lead peucil and from two to three feat high, and ha 
writes that it will take; at the rate of growth, a 
hundred years to produce anything. 
If the ground is thoroughly cleaned the trees grow 
rapidly and will begin to produce in seven or eight 
years, but will it last ? The rubber cannot be tapped 
with a bit, as the wood of the rubber tree is soft and 
spongy like the balsa tree ; it immediately sv^-ells and 
fills the hole, and scarcely a drop of milk exudes. The 
tree must be tapped by entirely removing a piece of 
the bark with a sharp instrument, so as to obviate the 
filling of the wound by the wood swelling, and, further- 
more, a small cat will only drain the miik from a very 
small distance on either side of it, so that to get any 
rubber from a rubber tree it will have to lie badly 
mutilated, and the milk is the very lite blood of the 
tree. Will the tree stand constant bleeding, healing, 
and wounding, long enough to pay the interest on the 
money invested for the seven or eight years one has to 
wait, to say nothing of the principal ? I am sure not. 
I have been looking into this carefully, and find that 
after a tree has beea cut three or four times, no 
matter how carefully, it shows signs of decay, The 
rainwater gets into the wound and finds its way under 
the bark, fermentation sets in, wood ants and beetles 
get in their work, and then good-by rubber tree. To 
plant rubber properly costs just as much in the first 
instance as to nlant cacao, which produces a crop in 
the natural maiiaer as fruit, which can be gatherel 
without any damage to the tree ; it is only a qnestion 
of fertility of soil, and a little care to m iko the cacao 
tree a constant prodnoer foi- an indefinite time, or 
comparatively so. You will probably hear from me 
again on this subject.— Ohakles D. Scott. 
Apropos of the slow growth of rubber plants, 
Thomas Christy, of London, contributes to The Tro- 
pical Agriculturist some notes on pUviting CastiUoa, 
elastica in iVIe.Kico. Plants t;om. seeds sown m the 
Bun measured at one year 53 iuches in diameter, and 
4 feet 2 inches high. Plants from seed sown in the 
forest at the same time measured only 12 to 1-1 inches 
high. Oertainly the experience of the planters men- 
tioned by Mr. Scott, does not agree with that of several 
g^rKSsgoudeata of The India BWqMv JFfpl'ZcJ, 
A VETERAN PLANTER. 
Mr, J. M. Vermont, of Province Wellesley, 
Penang, in wi-itin^ to us about his "T.A.," 
refers to a paragTapIi in which Datu Meldrum 
mentioned his great age as a pioneer. Mr. 
Vermont writes: — "The paragraph that 
appeared in the Ceylon Observer a month or 
two ago with reference to myself as to my 
age is an error. I am entering my 74th year ; 
but although much troubled wltli rheiimatic 
gout, probably brought on by exposure in 
developing the three estates, I am still able 
to knock about, but of course not as active 
as in my youth." 
ZANZIBAR CLOVES. 
An American consular report on the trade of Zanzi- 
b ir during 1899 says thit the crop of cloves last year 
was the largest ever produced, being 8,061,259 lb. in 
excess of that of 1898. Notwithstanding this large 
crop, the Consul says that the clove plantation, parti- 
cularly in Z.xnzibar Island, are not being cultivated ia 
a way to keep them up to the past standard, for since 
the prohibition of the importation of slaves the supply 
of labour has diminished with increasing rapidity each 
year, and since the decree of 1897, granting freedom 
to the slaves, the labour supply has been quite in- 
adequate to meet the demands. How this state- 
ment is reconciled with the fact that a much larger 
crop was gathered last year in spite of the labour- 
scarcity we are at a loss to understand. — Chemist 
and Druggist. 
• «> 
THE STATE OF AMAZONAS, BRAZIL, 
AND RUBBER. 
Consular Report for 1900. 
Last year the British Consular agency in Brazil 
was strengthened by the appointment of a Vice- 
Consul at Manaos in the Amazonas. The first 
result o£ this arrangement is the presentation 
of a really capital report by the new Vice-Consul, 
Mr. Charles Lindsay Temple. This paper, which 
has been printed by the l<^oreign-office among its 
Consular Keports for 1900, is very interesting 
and instructive reading from a geographical point 
of view, with much graphic and descriptive 
merits also. It indicates the physical geography 
of this river-kingdom, which is the upper, or 
more properly speaking, the middle basin of the 
Amazon — the almost entire submergence of the 
area, when the mighty floods are out and the 
waters cover not so much the earth as the forest 
— the rapid subsidence of the all pervading in- 
undation, owing to the natural drainage and to 
the sun's rays. 
One special feature is the preparation of 
caoutchouc or india-rubber, which is the main 
product of this forest-clad country. This article 
has always been largely used in Britain for 
waterproof clothing. i5ut of late years the use 
for it has multiplied owing to the demand for 
the wheel-tyres of bicycles. Evidently the Vice- 
Consul has expert knowledge of all that relates 
to this valuable article, and this experience is 
embodied in the report with scientific accuracy 
and practical lucidity. Such an exposition must 
be important to those who are interested in this 
branch of trade. 
Apart from this staple, there is a careful 
analysis of every item of export and import. 
Inasmuch as this vast territory of 600,000 square 
miles has its scanty population of 600,000 soul's, 
largely engaged in j)roducing certain things which 
the nations need across the seas, it follows that 
the people must largely depend on those nations 
for their food, their clothing, and the needs of 
their civilisation, though it must be admitted 
that thi^ givilisaUvn is fpr t^h^ jnost garlj 
