Sept. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. 1^5 
COST OF PLANTING RUBBER. 
(To the Eaitor of the India nuhher 'ilorld:) 
In your issne of July 1, nuder tho heading of " An 
Experiment in Costa Rico," you state that "nowhere 
exist to our knowledge, data to justify any parti- 
cular calculation of the cost of planting and bring- 
ing to a productive age rubber trees. It might be 
more or less than ,^40 per acre." I will give you 
figures from actual experience. Planting trees fifteen 
feet apart each way or 196 to the acre, the cost 
of planting would be per aci e : 
Underbrushing land 2 
Thinning out timber 4 
Transplanting 2 
Costs of plants from nursery 1 
Total 9 
To bring the trees to a productive age, viz. eight 
years old, all thst will be r. quired is to keep out the 
undergrowth. To this, I think, all who understand 
anything of the nature of the growlh of rubber will 
agree. This cleaning will not be as much work as 
the first underbrushing, as the growth will not be 
as heavy at first. But, allowing it to cost the same 
as the first underbrushing, or P per acre, there 
will be one cleaning the first year, sis months after 
planting ; and after that two cleanings a year for 
four years, then one cleaning per year for two 
years, a total of seven yeari?, bringing the trees 
to their eighth year, when there will be a product 
of one to three pounds of rubber per tree, from which 
expenses can be paid. 
The total cost cost of planting and bringing trees 
to production is, per acre : 
Planting - 2 
First year, one cleaning 2 
Second year, two cleanings 4 
Third year, two cleanings 4 
Fourth year, two cleanings 4 
Fifth year, tvi-o cleanings 4 
Sixth year, one cleaning 2 
Seventh year, one cleaning 2 
Total for planting and 
bringing to production 31 
My reason for cleaning but once the sixth and 
seventh years is, that the trees are so large that 
the light undergrowth will l ave no effect, if 
the cleaning is done once a year. Believing that 
this will be of value to you with reference to the 
cost of producing rubber, I remain, yours very truly, 
Assistant Managris, The Indiana Rubber Lo. 
Goshen, Ind., 21st July, 1900. 
— ^_ 
A Bishop on Digging.— After distributing the 
prizes to the successful scholars of the Hanipton 
Graniiiiar School on Wednesday, the Bishop of 
London said he always thought it vv-ould be 
a good thing that every boy .should have some 
definite manual work. He was not sure that 
digging would not be a good thing— digging hard 
for one hour. Our firsi; parents had to pertonn 
that very primitive pursuit. It was one that had 
to be done in the priinaiy tussle with Nature, 
in which, after all, we \vere engr.ged, and which 
civilisaiion had produced. Everyone ought to 
know what hard manual labour meant, and he 
should be glad to see its application take a place 
side by side -vith the more highly developed 
curriculum of which we were so proud. — Journal 
of Horticulture, August IGtli. 
ST. HELIER'S TEA COMPANY, LIMITED. 
The eighth annual ordinary general meeting of 
the shareholders of the St. Helier's Tea Company, 
Limited, was held today in the office of Messrs. 
Bois BiO;. & Company, agents and secretaries, 
when the following report by the directors was 
submitted : — 
ACREAGE. 
250 acres in bearing. 
29 do planted in 18:^6. 
34 do do 1898. 
?>13 acre?. 
114 do Junglr, &c. 
Total 427 acres. 
The Directors have now the pleasure to submit their 
Eighth Annual Report to the 30th June last, which 
they trust will be considerel fairly satisfaitory by the 
Shareholders. 
The crop, whieh was estimated at 9.5,000 lb. of made 
tea to the 30th June, has turned out 108,110 1b., but 
has realised an average price of 3 5-'29 cents per lb. 
opiy, as against 38-69 last year. 
The cost of the tea in Colombo, exclusive of the 
sum of R2,6(37'53 expended on Capital Account, works 
out at 24'G5 cen;s per lb-, as against 25 56 cents per 
lb. last season. 
The balance at credit of Profit and Loss Account, 
after writing off the sum of lll,.'i72'61 for depreciation 
of buildings and machinery, but including the sum of 
B705'42 brought forward from last year, amounts to 
R2,784T0 : and out of this sum the Directors recom- 
mend tliat a final dividend of .'jg per cent be declared, 
absorbing R2,750 00, leaving the sum of R34'10 to bo 
carried forward to next year. 
Mr. W Sandys Thomas retires from the board by 
rotation, but being eligible offers himself for re- 
election. 
The Shareholders will have to elect an Auditor for 
season 1900 01. 
There were present : Messrs. W Sandys 
Thomas (Chairman), Stanley Bois, W Cros's 
Buchanan, (by his attorney, W Sandys riiorr.as) 
Percy lioh, H C Buchanan, Miss S j Buchanan 
and Miss M A Buchanan, (by iheiv attorney 
(Mr. Stanley Bois). 
The report was adopted, and a final uividend 
of 5g per cent declared, making eight per cent for 
the year. 
Mr. Sandys Thomas was re-elected Director. 
Mr. O T MacDerniott was re-elected Auditor. 
4. . 
South America when it comes to be systemati- 
cally opened up by the great capitalists of the 
world, as will surely happen in this century, — says 
Bradstreets' — and the union of the fluvial systems 
of the Amazon and the Orinoco, will absorb the at- 
tention of the world's best colonists and engineers, 
A great empire is destined to grow up in that conti- 
nent, and from the Andes down to the Atlantic and 
the Caribbean Sea will be witnessed the most tre- 
mendous activity. A rich soil, great grazing plains 
and gold mines of immense resources will be ex- 
ploited by a new breed of men, the result of an 
intermingling of the hardiest einigrants from old 
Euro|)e and North America. South America is a 
continent that will not be long neglected by the 
entpire-niakers of civilisation. 
