Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1900: Vol. 56, Nov. 1899 to April, 1900Various
History
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1900: Vol. 56, Nov. 1899 to April, 1900
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
=Cultivation of India Rubber.=--An article in the Bulletin of the
Bureau of American Republics represents that there are lands in
Mexico and Central America equally adapted to the cultivation of the
India-rubber tree with the Brazilian plantations, and having, in
addition, a salubrious climate. Formerly dependence for the supply of
India rubber was placed in the product of wild trees, but with the
increase in the uses for it, and the consequent rise in prices, capital
is being invested in this industry, and its profitable cultivation is
being largely engaged in. The trees do not flourish at an elevation
exceeding five hundred feet above sea level, and low land, moist but
not swampy, is the best. Land suitable for planting could be bought
for twenty-five cents an acre in large tracts, but it now brings from
two dollars to five dollars Mexican. These lands can be used for other
crops while the trees are growing up, and thus made partly to repay
the cost of starting the plantation. So the expense of clearing the
land preparatory to planting it is largely met, if facilities for
transplantation are at hand, by the sale of the dyewoods, sandalwood,
satinwood, ebony, and mahogany that are cut off. The land should be
chosen along the banks of streams, where the soil is rich, deep, and
loamy, and the presence of wild rubber trees is a sure indication of
its suitability. These wild trees should be left standing, and young
seedlings should be kept and transplanted into their proper places. The
densest plantation compatible with good results is fifteen feet apart,
giving about one hundred and ninety-three trees to the acre. Once in
the ground, the tree needs no attention or cultivation beyond keeping
down the undergrowth, which can be effected by the aid of a side crop.
The tree propagates itself by the seeds or nuts, which drop in May and
June. By the sixth or seventh year the grove will be in bearing, and
thereafter should yield from three to five pounds of India rubber per
tree.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account