1 X COSTA RICA 
195 
In this connection, a chat that I had with Mr. John M. Keith, the 
former planting expert of the United Fruit Co., is apropos. He said 
frankly that in that part of Costa Rica he did not think there was much 
land that was available for Castilloa growing ; that it was too wet ; and 
that he had discovered that wild Castilloas that grew in wet places gave 
so thin a latex that the rubber was not worth gathering. My friend, 
the planter, had, while I was in New York, told me of another type 
of planting that he had done, by clearing wide pathways through the 
forest and planting Castilloas so thickly that they took entire possession 
of the ground. With some little trouble we finally located two of these 
plantings, and they settled in my mind forever the practicability of this 
RUBBER AND BANANAS. 
sort of cultivation. The Castilloas had grown like weeds, but they 
looked more like fishpoles than rubber trees. By cutting out some of 
them and giving the sun a chance, no doubt something could be done, 
but unless some such measures were instituted, it would be years before 
the tree trunks would have bark surface enough to do anything at all. 
That the trouble with the first planting was not due to the presence 
of the bananas was proved by a look we had at a small plantation run 
by a German, where the ground was much better drained, and where 
the trees looked stocky and thrifty. We were also told that on the 
Northern Railway on some of the uplands, the planters were putting 
