ffiM^ -Tropical agriculturist; [March 1,1901: 
the planting by tne Indian 
Government is by no means confined to Burma, 
but is being pushed forward in several other districts 
and that so great has been the demand of the 
Indian Forest Department for Kubber seed on the 
Royal Botanic Gardens of Ceylon that the re- 
quirements of the local planters can no longer be 
met. As long as the planting of Rubber is kept 
within the limits of experiment those commercially 
engaged in the enterprise in Ceylon cannot reason- 
ably make objection, but the reports of the 
extensive character of the Government plantings 
in India, which seem to be confirmed by the 
large demand for seed are naturally arousing a 
strong feeling of uneasiness among Ceylon growers. 
— I have the honour to ba, Sir, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) Wm. Martin Leake, Secretary. 
India Office, Whitehall, S.W., Jan. 28th, 1904. 
Sir, — I am directed by the Secretary of State 
of Tudia in Council to acknowledge the receipt 
of your letter of 25th January on the subject of 
^ Rubber cultivation in India. — I am, Sir, your 
obedient servant, (Signed) A. Godfrey. 
ftUBBER-PLANTING : AND A SUITABLE 
.jv;. ELEVATION. 
Ji I : -i iri) Colombo, Feb, 25. 
Dear Sir, — Can you tell me if there is any 
authoritative or reliable opinion as to the 
elevation at which rubber will grow ? 
The general impression is that it should 
not be planted above 2,000 feet or thereabout. 
I have lately been told that this is all 
wrong. It would be useful to have infor- 
mation -on the subject. — Yours faithfully, 
9. ' MERCHANT. 
■ [2,000 feet is the accepted limit. Can any 
of our readers give us their experience of 
'higher elevations ?— Ed. T,A.], 
.•!-/ii/'/::pLANTING IN COSTA RICA. 
-auii ;) ' Las Canas, Costa Rica, Dec. 30, 1903. 
Dear Sir,— In February last I left Sarchi to 
take possession of a small property I had pur- 
chased in Las Canas in the Guanacaste province 
and wrote you from there in June last, a long 
letter giving you details of the farm, its location 
and other matters that I thought would be of 
interest to you. After writing you I received 
' the monthly numbers of the Tropical Agriculturist 
for July, August and September, that had been 
forwarded on to me from Sarchi, and only a few 
days ago I found out that the subsequent numbers 
had been received, bub mislaid in Sarchi, I see 
" therefore, that you did njt receive my letter.* 
The property I have bought consists of 50 hectares 
on the right bank of the headwaters of Santa Rosa 
river, distant about 18 miles from the little village 
' of Las Canas, our nearest post-office and about 
: 30 miles from Bebedero our sea-port, at an eleva- 
■ tion of 1,800 above sea-level. It is only two miles 
, from tlie top of the divide that separates the 
; watersheds of the two oceans, Atlantic and Pacific. 
• Though the altitude is much less than that of 
Sarchi, which is about 3,300, the temperature is 
I about the same, as the northerly winds come over 
■ . . , . 'i .-/'J 
* • The letter did not reach us.-Ed. r.i.^^"*""' 
the divide in all months of the year, dnd ^ve 
us an almost perennial rainfall, which, however, 
is not) excessive in quantity. 
COFFEE AND RUBBER. 
Of the 50, hectares 23 are in pasture of gninea- 
grass and agengibullo in first-rate condition, giving 
good feed at any seasou of the year for 80 head 
of cattle. 3 hectares are planted in coffee 6 years 
old, now giving its third crop, which I calculate 
will be about 25 fanegas ; the trees are at the 
rate of 800 to the hectare and are interspersed 
with rubber trees of Castilloa Elastica of the 
same age as the coffee and set alternately in the 
rows of coffee trees, 400 to the hectare. The rubber 
flourishes well and the same may be said of the 
coffee. The diameter of the rubber trees ranges 
from 8 to 12 inches and affords a heavy shade 
for the coffee, to the extent that hardly any weed- 
ing is necessary. Tnis cannot be called an ad- 
vantage in every respect, as the coffee in the 
most shaded parts bears a light crop, though the 
tree has plenty of foliage and I should judge from 
this that in a few years to come, the crop of 
coffee will be almost ml, and by that time if the 
price of rubber does not fall, it will be the most 
remunerative of the two crops. 
RUBBER AMONGST PLANTAINS. 
There are also IJ hectares of rubber that will be 
3 years old next Jane set out alternately between 
plantains at the distances of 12 feet each way 
from tree to tree. The shade of the plantain is 
very heavy and for this reason, I suppose, the 
rubber trees look thin and are reaching upwards 
to the sunlight. Now they are about the same 
height as the plantains and in another year will 
outskip them. , . , f 
CHEAP SUGAR AND ILLICIT DISTILLING. 
IJ hectares are set out in sugar-cane, which is also 
in good condition. This I look upon as the most 
valueless of all ia the property. Dulce, which is 
our sugar, is so abundant and so cheap in the 
mills, that for sometime past I liave been buying 
the product from others rather than grind my 
own cane. The neighbourhood seems to live almost 
entirely on making clandestine guaro, which they 
distil and sell around with brazeuness and im- 
punity, despite the new liquor laws that are 
supposed to inflict the most terrible of punishments 
on offenders, including confiscation of property, 
fines and banishment ! 
10 hectares are in heavy brush or tacotal for 
the planting of corn, beans, rice and vegetables, 
all of which bear exceptionally good crops. The 
soil is a rich sandy loam, giving much better 
yields than in the interior of the republic. The 
balance of the 50 hectares is in woodland a,djoio- 
ing the pasture which can be increased at will : 
with 38 head of cattle and horses and a fair- 
sized two story house measuring 42 x 30 feet. I took 
over the farm from its former owners, two Italian 
families, who started on it 7 years ago, for the 
sum of 2,400 colones equiyalei:t to abont £230 
sterling, We struck the bargain in Jatiuary last 
and on February the 15th, they were on the road 
back to Italy, 
I think, I have given you all the information 
that will be of interest to the readers of the 
Tropical Agriculturist, especially in the niatrer 
of the combined cofifee and rubber plantation. ' 
In planting cacao in the district, I know from 
what I have seen of a small plantation Of 700 
trees on one of my neighbours' property, that by 
choosing sheltered spots good results are obtained. 
Yours faithfully, ED. COLES. 
