518 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
(Feb. 1, 1904. 
English (only the latter is as yet not printed), and at 
last obtained from the proprietor of the Snanlaraba 
plantation the lease of this concern. — Indian Planters' 
Qazette, 
Castillo A rubber tree in cultiyation. 
All the wild Castilloa trees seen in the forests of 
Guatemala and southern Mexico might be described 
as of medium rather than of large size and of slender 
habit. The largest vras near Tapacbula, with an 
estimated height of 80 ft. and a ciroumfsrenca of 
7 ft. at 5 ft. from tha ground. There can be no 
doubt, says the /. R. Journal in an article on Oastilloa, 
the Central American Rubber tree, that in some of 
the drier districts of the lathmuB of Tehuantepeo and 
northward Oastilloa shares the reduoed size and aome- 
■what stunted growth of the tropical vegetation, which 
is here approaching the limit of its natural range. 
On the other hand, it can scarcely be doubted that 
in the more southern of the Central American Re- 
publics trees of Castilloa attain a size unknown in 
Mexico. Thus, in Nicaragua, Belt speaks of 
TREES 5 FT. IN DIAMETER, 
which yield as high as 50 lb. of rubber when tapped 
for the first time. Such a tree would, of course, be 
a veritable prize for the rubber gatherer, and it ia 
easy to understand that in most localities they have 
all been destroyed, and with little prospect of being 
replaced aa long as the rubber gatherer remains vigi- 
lant and the forests are unprotected. Whether the 
Castilloa of Nicaragua and Costa Rica ia the same 
species as that of Mexico is not yet known, but 
there ia every probability that differences of some 
kind exist, and there are quite aa likely to be dffer- 
ences of yield or of quality of rubber as discrepancies 
in shape of leaves or other merely botanical " 
characters. Aa soon as planters realise that a paying 
quantity of rubber is not, aa so many have supposed, 
a necesssary part of the economy of a tree, they will 
better appreciate the fact that the production of 
rnbber is a cultural problem as truly aa the production 
of ooflee or sugar and aa dependent upon the same 
general factors. The conditions must be suitable 
for the plants and the plants suitable for the con- 
ditions. No plant variety will do equally well under 
all conditions, and it is almost aa universally true that 
no two varieties will do equally well under the same 
conditions. 
HABITS OF THE CASTILLOA IN THE WILD STATE. 
There is a popular impression that in order to 
domesticate the plant, it is necessary to place it under 
the same conditions as in the wild state, but as a 
matter of fact, our cultivated planta generally have 
much better conditions than their wild relatives. 
It is easy, however, to overlook some eaaential require- 
menta of a new culture, and it is a distinct advan- 
tage to understand as thoroughly as possible the 
habita of a wild plant which it is desired to domesti- 
cate. The tamarack and the cypress, for example, 
are in nature confined to swampa, but they grow aa 
^ell or better when planted on dry ground. The 
difficulty ia that without human assistance they are 
unable to establish themselves on dry ground. Simi- 
larly, it has been inferred regarding Oastilloa that 
it is' a shade-loving plant, because it ia found wild 
only in the forest. It is known, however, that it is 
thua limited in nature, because the seed is so thin- 
skinned and short-lived that there ia no possibility 
of its surviving exposure to the open sun on dry 
ground, and it is abundantly proved that young trees 
planted by man in the open are able not only to resist 
exposure to the sun, but that they actually thrive 
better than those planted by natural agencies in 
the forest. 
This fact should be sufficient for the purposes of 
practical agriculture, unless there are reasons for 
believing that more rubber can be produced in the 
forest. This is sometimes argued on the ground that 
Castilloa is a native of dense foresta and cannot be 
expected to yield as much rubber under conditions. 
If, hoAvever, it is true that Castilloa, or at least 
Castilloa elastica, is not a forest tiee in any extreme 
sense of the words, other reasons will be needed to 
justify shade planting. I'^z.Z:: 
PINEAPPLE CULTIVATION AS PRAC- 
TISED IN THE WEST INDIES. 
The cultivation of the pine-apple is a matter of 
much practical interest ; it requires the constant 
attention of the cultivator, but the necessary attentions 
are of much interest from the responsive nature of 
the plant. It responds freely in fact to good cultiva- 
tion, and will not thrive except under good cultivation. 
It must be kept free from weeds, constant tillage and 
a free loosening of the soil being of obvious advantage 
in the steady and useful growth of the foliage, which 
is a necessarjpreliminary to the growth of the fruit. 
BEPRODUCTION. 
The native sorts of pines lend themselves readily 
to a rapid mode of reproduction, by the growth of 
slips and offsets ; even the small slips often formed at 
the base of the crown of the fruit known aa cockscombs 
may be used for multiplication, and they will come 
true to the mother-plant, but these modes are not 
advisable from the practical point of 7iew. The best 
mode of reproduction is to make use of the offsets 
which spring mostly from the lower foliage of the 
plant, but vphich also sometimes spring up through 
the soil from the roots and are then known as 
" suckers." An offset or sucker should be taken and 
set out when it is about ten to twelve inches in length ; 
it taken later it will be almost sure to give a plsnt 
which will mature too soon and give an imperfect 
fruit that will be of no value, whereas i£ taken at the 
proper period mentioned, the result will be a plant 
that will attain full maturity and yield in due season 
a good marketable fruit. When an overgrown offset 
or sucker baa to be set out, it will he better to 
stop its flowering at the first moment and so obtain 
a good multiplication of better plants. 
Besides the native sorts, chief amongst which are 
the three Ripleya, Green, Red, and the Queen 
Ripley, the Smooth Cayenne ranks best as a " fancy 
pine." This sort has gained its excellent qualities 
chi( fly by long cultivation under glass, at first, it ia 
believed, in Bogland. but latter in the Azores. In 
Jamaica there are two sorts of Smooth Cayenne, a 
good sort and a very poor sort, the latter being known 
as the Honolulu, on account of the place of its prin- 
cipal production. This variety should not be chosen 
by good growers who wish to obtain choice fruit. 
MANUEING PINEAPPLES. 
The pice-apple readily responds to proper manuring, 
The writer has tested with advantage the various ap- 
plications of sulphate and nitrate of potash, applied 
experimentally to very young planta. The sulphate 
had a visible effect when applied alone ; the effect 
was markedly increased when lime was added along 
with the sulphate, but the beat effect "resulted from 
the application alone of nitrate of potash, or saltpetere, 
in small and repeated quantities. The nitrate of 
potash, however, is too expensive for general culti- 
vation. Therefore, as a practical manure we had to 
fall back upon leaf-mould, so highly recommended 
by Mr. Spon. At Limetta, in Clarendon, we had % 
good supply of leaf-mould obtained from the base of 
a large Mountain Guava, growing wild in the forest 
where it formed a heap of spent vegetable material 
at the base. Leaf- mould ia in fact made up of most 
of the mineral substances mentioned in IVIr. Bowrey'a 
analysis, and is usually rich in lime. Practically, it 
helps both the foliage and the fruit. 
