^ftE TROPICAL AGHICTJLTTJRIST. [Jtft* 1, 1902. 
To the Editor. 
RUBBER PLANTING IN COSTA RICA 
April 25. 
Dear Sir,— As far back as January last I pro- 
mised to write you an article on Rubber-planting 
in the San Carlos Valley, and intended at that 
time to have made a trip over there, and to fur- 
nish some newer information and experiences 
acquired personally. This I have not been able to 
do: when we got through with the handling of the 
past coffee crop about the middle of March, I was 
taken with acute neuralgia in the head, and 
from this I am still suflering. I had, therefore, to 
avail myself of the kindness of Mr. Alfred Long an 
American, who is settled in the Saji Carlos Valley 
on quite a large sca'e, for most of the infornm- 
tionthat follows. Mr. Long returned a fevv days 
ago, after spending about two weeks, visiting the 
niore settled parts of the Valley. 
Mr. Theodore Koschney, well-known to you and 
to the readers of the Tropical Agriculturist, is 
without dunbt the oldest living of foreign settlers 
in the San Carlos Valley, as well as the most 
practical of Rubber planters, his experience running 
back over some 25 years in the district. Strange to 
say that, though at all times interested in Rubber 
for the purposes of trade, his own plantation 
should consist of Rubber trees not over two years 
old, which he has planted and kept up in a way 
dictated to him by his own observations, atid all 
his plantation is so far of very good promise. 
Mr. Koschney's method of planting calls for the 
preparation of a seed bed six or eight months 
previous to planting, and as handy as possible to 
the plantatioti, and the felling of the virgin forest 
to admit of a liberal amount of sunshine on the 
ground, leaving it under what is termed "light 
shade." This felling is quite a matter of judgment 
wich the planter, and he varies it according to the 
kind of timber, and the dryness er humidity of the 
soil, these being the principal things to consider. At 
the time of planting the six-or-eight-iDoriih seed- 
liniT is between 18 and 30 inches high ; and though 
some have planted the seeds themselves 2 or 3 
to eacli stake, there is nearly always a heavy loss 
from the small liz\rds orchirbalas, and replanting 
never ends. A cleaning is given to the young 
Rubber about 3 months after planting. This is not 
more than a rough chop-down 4 or 5 feet on each 
side of the 
ROW.S OV PLA.NTS 
(which are set about 18 or 20 feet apart 
both ways) and is repeated 5 or 6 months later, 
and kept on pretty much in this manner 
once or twice a year to ensure the Rubber tree 
good freedom from the scrub or undergrowth, 
while at the same time it is being shaded overhead 
by the trees of the virgin fore t left standing. 
The style of Rubber tree thus obtained is similar 
in "rowth to the forest Rubber tree, a long straight 
trulik with but few extending branches. In the 
preceding manner Mr- Koschney planted about 6 
hectares (15 acres) for his neighbours, Messrs. Kotel- 
mann and Heynsohn, about 6 years ago, and so far 
tlie plan'-ation leaves nothing to be desired. Mr. 
Ko-cbney has several rubber trees of long standing 
in bis r).i»tures and other cleared ground, quite 
siitTictent to prove tlia,t, alone in tihe o])en the Rubber 
tree cannot tlouiisli, a large numVer of lateral 
branches being developed ; the flow of late is very 
small and of poorer quality, and the tree often die« 
after a few tappings. The only known advantage 
of the Rubber tree grown in the open is that for 
production of seed it is more prolific. In past 
years Mr. Koschney experimented unsuccessfully 
by adopting another method — that of felling all 
the timber after scattering Rubber seed broadcast. 
Bananas were planted also at the same time. Ab 
first the Kubber came up like corn, every seed 
seemed to have sprouted, but in a few montiis 
many died, and the increasing growth of the bana- 
nas affected the balance unfavourably. 
Mr. Carl Grutzmacher, a settler in Cairo Negro, 
is a strong advocate of another system in 
RUBBER PLANTING, 
differing considerably from the "light shade" 
method, and though his experience does not 
cover many years, his hopes of success are very 
bright at the present time. It calls for the seed-bed 
6 or 8 months old, but the felling of all the trees 
in the forest for planting, the young plants being 
set out in rows 18 or 20 feet apart both ways. 
Three months later a cleaning is done, about 4 feet 
on each side of the rows of plants, and so on at 
regular intervals of 3 months uutil the plantation 
is 1-year old, when everything is cutdown again, 
and the rubber trees stand alone in the open, bub 
only for a short time. In about 3 months the 
soft-wood or charral growth is up again almost 
equal to the small Rubber trees, and another cut 
down in the rows is given, and repeated ak gradu- 
ally increasing intervals, serving to fi;ive at all 
times an advantage in height to the Rubber tree 
above the charral, the latter serving as perpetual 
and regulated shade to the trunk of the tree, but 
with no large forest trees to phade its crown. The 
growth of the tree is also similar to that of the wild 
Rubber tree. A little observation is needed to see 
that this is a tree grown precisely under the same 
conditions as the forest Rubber tree, which is 
always found among charrals or shrub growth 
There is a disadvantage in the first cost of this 
metliod, it being more expensive to fell all the 
virgin forest than <a part of it, and at the same 
time leaving the ground more encumbered : and 
the clearings for the first 2 jears are more fre- 
quent than in the "light shade" method, after 
which time they run about equal. Time is needed 
to show which of the two systems is the be ter: iu 
results the "heavy shade" and " in thet open" 
Rubber trees have both turned out failures, andare 
not being repeated where they have onee been 
tried. 
The only kind of Rubber planted in the Valley 
is the Gastilloa Elastica, and most of it on the 
fiats at an altitude of 400 feet and less above sea- 
level, though one of the newer plantations — that of 
Mercedes Quesada is somewhere about the 1,500 
feet level. 
Many of the foreign settlers are at present 
hanging fire to see what the U. S. Govern- 
ment determines on the Isthmian Canal question. 
Should the Niearaguan route be voted for, hun- 
dreds of families would be down in a short time 
from the States ; in the other case many will draw 
out and abandon what they have invested in. 
The following is a list of settlers who have made 
Rubber Planting their business in San Carlos 
Valley :— 
1— Messrs. Umfried and Schoch at the hefad of 
Tabla Grande with 40 hectares (109 acres) whWi 
they started to plant 4 years ago. 
