B M SEE D3fi fo THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA GIFT OF HORACE W. CARPENTIER The CELLAR BOOK SHOP Box 6, College Park Sta. Detroit 21, Mich. -U.S.A. WHAT I SAW i IN THE TROPICS A RECORD OF VISITS TO CEYLON, THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES, MEXICO, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA, COLOMBIA, JAMAICA, HAWAII BY HENRY C. PEARSON Editor of The India Rubber World NEW YORK THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. CARPEMTIER COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING Co. COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY HENRY C. PEARSON PREFATORY I HATE to write a preface, in fact I always resolve not to, and then do it. When I brought out "Crude Rubber and Compounding Ingredients,"' a captious friend complained that it was too matter of fact, — that it "lacked imagination." As it was practically a diction- ary of methods of rubber manufacture, I did not care, that is, I did care, but didn't show it. This book is different. The story of rubber planting is most romantic and at the same time as a whole is sound and successful. I should like to stop a bit just here to say to a lot of good fellows who smiled at my predictions ten years ago — "I told you so.'' But they have forgotten, and if they haven't, — what's the use? Starting again, this book is not a scientific treatise. It contains the personal experiences of the author in his search for rubber plant- ing information in the tropical world. As a scientific treatise it may be scorned by some intellectual ones who have a string of letters following their names — (I wish I had them myself) but whose attenuated digestive organs preclude the possibility of wedding fun with fact. At all events the statements regarding rubber made herewith are facts and can be gambled on. As to miy personal experiences and adventures, think of them as you like. Another word — I want to thank planters the world over, for their interest and hospitality, but then they know that too, and if I called them all by name here this book would contain a three hundred page preface. HENRY C. PEARSON. 675 CONTENTS CEYLON AND FEDERATED MALAY STATES FIRST LETTER. FROM NEW YORK TO CEYLON Some Experiences of the Journey ; Opinions of English Manu- facturers Regarding- Ceylon Rubber; Points of Interest in the Tropics; Beautiful Ceylon; A Visit to Typical Hevea Plantations. SECOND LETTER. RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS AT THE ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS . . 22 Growth of Hevea and its Yield at Various Ages; Canker Fungus and its Treatment; Plantation Scenes. THIRD LETTER. A VISIT TO THE NEW EXPERIMENT STATION, THEN TO CULLODEN 37 Tapping Rubber Trees at Peradeniya Garden ; Ficus Elastica Seventy-five Years Old; Prospective Increase in Planting; Rainfall and Labor ; Some Incidents of Travel ; Library of ' Singalese Sacred Literature; The Para Output from Ceylon; The Weeding of Crops in the Island. FOURTH LETTER. SOME PROFITABLE DAYS SPENT AT CULLODEN 40 Hevea Trees at the Beautifully Laid Out Tea Estate; Night Tapping; Results of an Experiment in Scraping the Outer Bark from the Trees ; An Oil made from Seeds of The Rubber Tree; A Rubber Drying House and Methods of Coagulation; Some Valuable Information Gleaned from Visits to Other Rubber Plantations. FIFTH LETTER. FROM CEYLON TO THE MALAY STATES 65 Arrival at Singapore; A Word About the Seat of 'Govern- ment; Visit to Royal Botanical Gardens; Hevea Re- sponds to Cultivation Here; Phenomenal Growth; Dis- tance Planting; Castilloa and Ceara Less Promising A Visit to Chinese Merchant Quarters Where Gutta Percha is Prepared for European Markets ; Pro- cesses Watched with Interest; From Singapore to Selangor. CONTENTS SIXTH LETTER. DAYS SPENT WITH PROFIT IN SELANGOR 80 Rubber Plantations at Klang; Distance of Planting-; Age at Which Hevea Trees Yield ; The Labor Question ; The Chinese as Rubber Planters ; The Selangor Rubber Company ; Return to Singapore and Departure for Hong Kong. ISTHMUS OF TEHAUNTEPEC FIRST LETTER. ON THE WAY TO THE LAND OF THE CASTILLOA 95 The Mining City of Zacatecas ; Queretara Where Maxi- milian Was Executed ; Mexican Opals ; The Eternal Snows of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl ; From the City of Mex- ico to Achotal ; Experiences at the Latter Town ; First Sight of Cultivated Rubber. SECOND LETTER. PROSPEROUS PRIVATE PLANTATIONS 115 Careful Study of the Situation Proved to Investors that Rubber Would be More Profitable than Coffee; Results of Planting in Favorable and Unfavorable Conditions ; Continual Tapping Showed Latex Given Out by All Trees; Knowledge of Climatic Conditions Neces- sary to Successful Planting; La Junta; The Laborers. THIRD LETTER. A GRASP ON THE RUBBER PLANTING SITUATION 130 Clearing and Burning by Contract ; Danger from Fires ; Gathering Castilloa Seeds ; Costly Seed Failures ; The Journey to Coatzacoalcos ; Morning Glory Vines ; The Problem of Tapping and Preparing for Market. FOURTH LETTER. ACROSS THE ISTHMUS 1 44 Views of Many Plantations ; Vast Tracts of Land Needing Only Irrigation to Make Them Valuable ; Mexican Laws ; Animals and Insects of the Temperate Zone ; Manner in Which Plantations are Taxed ; The Cow Pea and Vel- vet Bean \Vhich Should Receive the Attention of Rubber Growers. CONTENTS NICARAGUA RUBBER INTERESTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA Witnessing a Waterspout ; Through the Lagoons to the Rub ber Plantations; The Manhattan Plantation; Too Much Water Detrimental to Castilloa ; The Rainfall; Sim Irons' Rubber Groves and Cukra Plantations: Careful Tap- ping; Four Hundred Thousand Castilloas in This Vicinity a Conservative Estimate; A Scale that Affects the Rubber Trees ; Samples Brought to United States and Examined at the Connect- icut Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven ; Letters from State Entomol- ogist, Connecticut, and Acting Chief of Bureau of Entomology at Wash- ington; Treatment Suggested for Extermination of "the Pest. COSTA RICA A PLANTATION OF OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND CASTILLOAS. 185 Bananas the Chief Product of the Country Interplanted with Rubber in Many Instances ; Proper Drainage the Onlv Sal- vation for Rubber Trees; Watery Latc.v; Interest 11 Rubber Planting in Costa Rica * Dates Back About Twelve Years; Some' Plantations That are Flourishing. in PANAMA FIRST LETTER To PANAMA IN THE RAINY SEASON . . 201 Colon; Along the Panama Canal; Panama City; Toboga Island ; Quebro Outlaws ; Almost Wrecked ; Ashore at Last ; Castilloa Growing Within One Hundred Feet of the Shore ; Interesting Stories of the Pioneer. SECOND LETTER ROUGHING IT 21 ^ Camp Rio Negro; Castilloa Groves; Birds, Animals, and Reptiles; Trips of Exploration; Coagulating Rubber with Amole Juice; Native Rubber Gathering; Process of Tapping and Tools Used; Trails Cut in Every Direc- tion Followed by Long, Hard Tramps. CONTENTS THIRD LETTER CAMP IGUANA • 228 The Forest Primeval ; Bees and Rubber ; A Land Without Law ; Breaking Camp ; Mountain Climbing ; Plantation Las Margharitas ; On Board Quartos Hermanos; Pan- ama, Colon, and New York. COLOMBIA IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY 245 Journey from the Port of Colombia to Barranquilla : Amus- ing Hotel Experiences in That City; The Stay in Carta- gena; Little Information to be Gained About Rubber; Meeting Mr. Granger, L^nited States Consular Agent at Quibdo; His Interesting Account of the Reason for the Present Lack of Interest in Rubber Plant- ing; His Prophesy for the Future Based upon Present Well Founded Indications. JAMAICA OUTLINES OF A FLYING TRIP 263 A W^ord Concerning the Island of Jamaica; Information from the Departtment of Agriculture; A Visit to Castleton Gardens; Something About the Rubber Produced There and the Conditions Attending it ; Hope Gardens ; Hevea and Castilloa ; The Milk Withe. HAWAII RUBBER CULTURE IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 279 The First Sight of Hawaii ; A Bit of the History of the Sand- wich Islands ; Temperature, Crops, etc. ; Prospects for Rub- ber Growth ; First Rubber Plantings ; The Nahiku Rubber Company, Limited ; Principal Planting Done by United States Settlers. RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON AND THE MALAY STATES FIRST LETTER. CROSSING THE ATLANTIC — ENGLISH MANUFACTURERS AND CEYLON RUBBER — ON BOARD THE HIMALAYA — STROMBOLI — PORT SAID AND THE SUEZ CANAL — THE RED SEA AND ADEN — BEAUTIFUL CEYLON — AT THE GALLE FACE HOTEL— SINGALESE, TAMILS AND CHINESE — QUAINT CUSTOMS — DIRECTOR WILLIS, OF PERADENIYA AND HENERATGODA — THE OLDEST PLANTATIONS OF HCVEA — IN A BULLOCK ''HACKERY" TO HENERATGODA GARDENS. TO those who are interested as to why I chose the Leyland liner, Devonian, to carry me across the Atlantic at the beginning of my journey toward the Far East, I beg to explain that she is a big, roomy, seaworthy craft of 11,000 tons, that there were only six passengers all told, and although she carried some eight hundred cattle, they did not appear on the deck, or at table, nor would one have dreamed of their existence, once they were driven abdard. The ten days that were occu- pied in crossing, spent chiefly on the promenade deck playing quoits with the ship's doctor, put me in fine trim for the brief view of Liverpool and London that I had before the alleged train de luxe bore me to Marseilles, to join the P. and O. steamship, the Himalaya. My stop in England was only long enough to allow me to see a few of the leading rubber manu- facturers, and get their ideas as to the value of the new Para rubber that Ceylon planters are sending to that market. One who has probably used as much of this rubber, or more than any other, summarized his experience as follows : "It shrinks on the aver- age about 1.4 per cent. I use it successfully in all grades of fine work, including cut sheet, but do not like it for cements. It stands all tests after vulcanization — compression, stretch and return, oils, etc., just as well as fine Para, and is perfectly satisfactory." Another detailed the results of his own experiments thus : "This is a general summing up of the practical results, obtained from approximately two tons of rubber, from about twenty different plantations. The irregu- larity in quality is very great, varying from tough elastic gum, apparently equal to Manaos Para, to soft, sticky short rubber, with little more elas- 4 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON ticity than recovered rubber. This irregularity I find in all the forms of pancakes, whether thick or thin, translucent or opaque, except those which have been smoked; which, whether owing to the smoke or some other reason, have in the lots (from three separate plantations) which I have tested, proved even in quality throughout. I have been favored by one plantation with unsmoked samples (separately treated and marked) from eighteen year old trees, and from young five year old trees. Each of these samples proved regular throughout, but the quality was very different, that from the old trees being tough and very elastic, while that from the young trees was soft and green. It appears to me, therefore, probable that the irregularity I have noted in the quality of shipments may arise from the varying ages of the trees, and that until they have reached abso- lute maturity, the latex of one season's planting should not be mixed with that of younger or older trees, but that each year should stand on its own merits to attain regularity in quality. The smoked samples may have come from old trees only, and the smoke perhaps had nothing to do with the quality. This want of regularity utterly shuts out Ceylon rubber from fine work, such as thread, cut sheet, bladders, etc., and as the strength of a chain is but that of its weakest link, it cannot at present, for general work, be classed higher than the good mediums. For the special purpose of making cement, however, it has found a place for itself on account of its extreme cleanliness, and the very convenient form of the pancakes in which it is shipped, practically ready for the naphtha bath. I believe in a great future for rubber planting, properly carried out. It might be done by the government forest department, and the trees rented when old enough." Thus the only "out'7 about the rubber, from the viewpoint of the user, seemed to be the presence of immature, or partly cured gum, some- thing to be expected when the fact is remembered that the plantations are young and the planters without long experience in gathering or pre- paring for market. The added fact that it brings the highest price in the market led me to believe that I had before m? a most inter- esting series of plantation visits, once I should reach Ceylon and the Federated Malay States. As I said, therefore, I took train at Dover, crossed the channel, landed at Calais (so called from the way they handle one's luggage), shivered all the night in the absurd little French train de luxe, and finally arriving at Marseilles, stepped aboard the steamer that was to be my home for nearly three weeks. In due course we left the granite quays, the shipping, and the splendid limestone cliffs of the French port behind AND THE MALAY STATES 5 and settled down to the Mediterranean trip. We passed through the straits of Bonifacio in the night, so that I had no chance to observe, or photograph, and the next morning we were out of sight of land. The day following we all started in to get acquainted. I was the only Ameri- can aboard, the major part being English people who had interests in India, Ceylon, or Australia, and some even were going beyond to Hong- kong and Yokohama. I had thought to do some writing on this voyage, but some kindly soul put me on the "amusements committee," and what with tourna- ments for deck quoits, cricket, ball, needle and cigarette races, etc., not to speak of two concerts, my time was pretty well taken up. My revenge THE AMUSEMENTS COMMITTEE. [On H. M. S. "Himalaya."] came with the concerts, however. I made a speech at each, relating vari- ous well known American stories as personal experiences, and they were most -enthusiastically received. As the British are firmly convinced that all Americans are speech makers, it is well for those who propose to travel with them to prepare to be called upon. On the night of November 21, we had a splendid view of the volcano of Stromboli, which gave us a veritable special exhibition. The night was moonless, and the sea as smooth as glass. About nine o'clock we 6 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON caught the first red glow of the crater, and two hours later we were near enough to dimly discern the outline of the cone shaped island mountain, and to see plainly the red lava torrents that tumbled down its sides and were quenched in the sea. We all staid up until the island was lost to sight, and left the deck only when a faint reflection on the gathering clouds was all there was left to us of one of the most impres- sive sights. We passed the straits of Mycenae so early in the morning that none of us were up, and on Monday we saw Crete in the distance. By this time the boat had developed a pretty fair roll, but few were ill, and the deck games went on — that is, for the men. On Tuesday noon we were behind the breakwater at Port Said and surrounded by coaling scows, crowded by dirty Arabs who did the coaling with baskets. As the air was full PORT SAID WATER FRONT. of coal dust a half dozen of us secured a boat and went ashore, spending the afternoon in roaming the sandy streets, followed by a crowd of beg- gars, jugglers, pox-pitted street venders, sellers of indecorous photo- graphs, and all of ^the riffraff of the nastiest of all the cities of the Orient. Port Said is built on soil, chiefly sand, that was dumped there dur- ing the excavation of the canal. It is a busy, bustling place, due to the constant arrival and departure of steamers. It has a fair harbor made AND THE MALAY STATES J by two breakwaters, that extend out into the shallows, one 7,000 feet, the other 6,000 feet. We expected to get away early the next morning, but the mail from Brindisi being late, it was four o'clock in the afternoon before we en- tered the canal. According to rules, we steamed at four miles an hour, tying up to the bank when another boat was met. As we passed by three during the night, this occasioned quite a delay. It was cool, and a light overcoat was necessary after the sun set, but we did not stay long on deck as both sand flies and mosquitoes were quite abundant. In the light of our own American canal projects, it is interesting to remember that the Suez plan was entertained and dismissed as im- practicable by Napoleon I, who was advised by his engineers that the Red Sea was thirty-three feet higher than the Mediterranean, and later when M. de Lesseps had proved that the difference in levels was but six IN THE SUEZ CANAL. inches, such an eminent authority as Robert Stephenson declared the plan to be commercially unsound. There was also a rival plan brought out for a 250-mile canal from Alexandria to Suez. Nevertheless the great work was completed. It is one hundred miles long, only about one-quar- ter of it being artificially made, the rest traversing natural lakes such as Bitter Lake and Lake Timsah. The plan of the canal was for a depth of twenty-six feet, the bottom of the ditch being seventy-two feet wide and the top about three hundred feet. This was carried out in places, but where the digging was especially hard it is .somewhat narrower. The canal shows a slight current, and slowly though the boats go through it, 8 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON there is a constant crumbling of the sandy banks so that a force of steam dredgers is employed keeping the channel clear, nor is this work allowed to flag for an hour. The next morning we were still hemmed in by sandy banks, and the scenery was not inspiring, being varied only by small stations about which clustered a few lebec trees, the big dredges and an occasional native boat with its huge yards and dingy sail. Passing both the old and the modern cities of Suez, we left the canal and were in the gulf of Suez. Here the water was of a marvelous blue, the sun brilliant, and the far off, lofty sand dunes, scored and seamed by winds and rain, showed wonderful effects in yellow, brown, violet and purple. Here we began to get the warm weather. With Asia on our left, Africa on our right, and both in sight, a smooth sea and blazing sun, white flannel and duck suits soon appeared ; the punkahs were started in the dining saloon, and the whole of the deck shaded by both top and side awnings. Wind scoops were also placed in the open ports, and we felt at last that we were in the tropics. The next point of interest to be noted was the Daedelus shoal, from which our Captain Broun once rescued one hundred and eighty souls, who, escaping from the wreck of their vessel, were gathered in a shiver- ing crowd, waist deep in water. We had a further evidence of the genuineness of the hot weather the next morning at three o'clock, when the order came to close the ports as the water was slopping into the cabins. How most of them stood it I don't know, but I took a blanket and went on deck, and even then it was stifling. At daybreak we passed the "twelve apostles," a dozen big rocks rising abruptly from the sea, a grim weather beaten row. It was near here that the Turkish government, after much pressure, erected fine light-houses furnished with the latest illuminating devices, but after keeping them lit for two weeks, the lights went out and not a glimmer have they shown since. As navigation is a bit perilous herea- bouts, and mariners need the lights, it is just as well perhaps, that I did not make careful note of the quartermaster's opinion of the unspeak- able Turk, given as he told me the story. The days were now long, hot, and a bit monotonous. Shut out as we were on the promenade decks by canvas walls, the peeps that we got at the sea showed a glare of light that was almost unbearable. The only relief was when a sudden drenching shower obscured the sun and we got glimpses of mountainous islands, distant peaks, and still more distant ranges. We were fortunate, however, in seeing the volcanic island Jebel AND THE MALAY STATES 9 Tair, and later Mocha, Mt. Sinai having been passed in the night. With a glorious setting of the sun over Somaliland, we passed through the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, by the barren island Perim, and the next morning cast anchor in the harbor at Aden. It must have been two o'clock in the morning when I awoke and found that we were at anchor. The sound that brought me to a sense of my surroundings, and the insufferable heat of the cabin, was the chanting of a gang of coolies who were warping a huge freight scow up to our steamer. Their song was the iteration of two phrases that sounded like "Esco darn ye ! Perri go darn ye !" and with each "darn" they all gave a pull. Besides this, there was a constant chatter from a half hundred boatmen, that drove me on deck, where wrapped in a rug, and lying in the scuppers, I got a few more winks. Aden is as uninteresting as it is unhealthy. It is well called "the white man's grave," as hundreds lie buried on its rocky slopes. It is built on a flat, sandy, treeless plain, hemmed in by hills, arid and barren to the last degree. It rains here regularly once in three years, and the water is stored in huge tanks five miles away up in the hills. Anyone who wishes to enjoy a long cool -drink, and then another, should seek this thirstiest of all thirsty spots. It was here that the passengers whose destination was India were transferred to another steamer. And sorry we were to have them go, for many friendships had been formed which were of the sort that should continue. Here left, tco, a young man who had not only been my partner at deck quoits, but who had given me much information about America. Shall I ever forget the evening, just after our excellent course dinner, when he said to me, with the kindest of intonations : "Don't you miss the sweets (candy) between the courses?" "What sweets?" was my bewildered query. "Why, you know, in America, at a course dinner, they serve sweets after the soup, and the fish, and the entree, and right through the dinner." I had no vivid remembrance of that custom myself, but his faith in the exactness of his information was so great that it would have been a sin to upset it, so I agreed that I was pining for chocolate creams after the consomme, and molasses candy as a chaser for the fish, and it made him my friend for life, for which I am exceedingly glad, as in spite of that one absurd idea, he was one of the finest chaps I ever met. Speaking of the people one meets in distant lands, it is sad to say that one's own countrymen are often the biggest freaks. I met one of the freak sort later. He had not been in the smoking room ten minutes io RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON before he had told his whole history, and got every Briton and European there white hot by his comparisons, invidious and startling. In the midst of it I was pointed out to him as a fellow countryman, and he tried to get me into the fight, but I balked. Then he started in to impress me with his importance. "I come from God's country,'' he said, "but I've been all over every- wheres. I used to be consul at A . I lecture, too. When I was consul at A I often used to go aboard a man-of-war and lecture, sometimes for two or three hours, and I always got seven guns ; what do you think of that?" ''Mighty poor shooting, so far, but they will get you some day/' I said with conviction. BREAKWATER AT COLOMBO, CEYLON. After leaving Aden I was able to secure an upper deck cabin, which was much cooler than those either on the main or spar decks. Now that we were in the Indian Ocean, the sea grew much smoother, and early in the morning, after a salt water bath, the men promenaded the deck in pajamas until eight o'clock, after which ordinary clothes were required. We now began to feel the breath of the monsoon, while the water took on an even bluer blue, and flying fish in shoals fled to right and left from the onrushing ship. The heaviest sort of showers also began to come with more or less regularity, the ship's officers came out in white duck suits, prawn, fish, and other currys appeared at dinner, and we knew that we were in the tropics. On the evening of December 5, we sighted Minecoi Island, a low lying, circular bit of land crowded with graceful cocoanut palms, and AND THE MALAY STATES n a well-known copra producing place. On the day following, at 1.15 in the morning, we passed behind the great breakwater and dropped anchor in Colombo harbor, in the midst of a great fleet of passenger and tramr> steamers of all nations, native boats, lighters, etc. Most of the men aboard were on deck, although pa jama-clad, and as the coaling was soon to begin, I went ashore, passed the little black customs inspector without difficulty, and, getting in a jinrikisha, was soon at the Galle Face Hotel and sound asleep in a big wide bed that seemed delightfully steady when contrasted with even the comfortable berths of the Himalaya. PADDY [RICE] FIELD IN CEYLON. It may, perhaps, be well just here to refresh the reader's knowledge of Ceylcn with the following facts. The island lies south of India proper, and is two hundred and seventy-one miles long and one hundred and thirty-seven miles broad, and contains about 24,700 square miles. It has under cultivation, or used for pasture, some 3,500,000 acres — more than a fourth of its area. Of this about 520,000 acres are devoted to rice and other grains, the next largest planting being tea, of which there are about 400,000 acres. Other important products are cocoanuts, spices, coffee, sugar, cacao, tobacco, essential oil grasses, etc. The population of the island is about 3,500,000, of which less than 10,000 are Europeans. The majority of the natives are Singalese, of 12 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON whom there are over 2,000,000, the other races being Tamils (of whom there are nearly a million), Burghers, Eurasians, Moors, Malays, Vedahs (aborigines), and so on. The island has an excellent government of the paternal sort, admin- istered by a governor who is appointed by the King of Engand. He is assisted by an executive council of five, but has power to overrule their advice. There is also a legislative council of nine, including members of the executive, together with eight unofficial appointed by the governor, representing the mercantile and planting interests and the native com- munities. CATAMARAN WITH SAIL., CEYLON. The island became a British possession in 1795. Prior to this the Dutch, who had held it for 138 years, had1 wrested it from the Portuguese, who ruled it for 141 years. Interesting reminders of both of these conquests are found in the high-sounding Portuguese names that many of the Singalese bear, and in the Burgher types which remain quite Dutch, both in name and appearance. Neither the Dutch nor the Portu- guese had ever conquered the whole of the island, which was accom- plished by the British in 1815. Since then there have been a few rebellions, which, however, were easily suppressed. During the last one, in 1848, some 2,000 up-country Singalese were put to flight by thirty Malays who wore the British uniforms, a proof that the ancient warlike spirit of the Kandyans is practically extinct. AND THE MALAY STATES 13 My first task after I was comfortably settled at the Galle Face was to buy a sun helmet, or topee, which I was lucky enough to find in one of the native stores that occupy the ground floor of the hotel. There are two dangers against which visitors to this part of the world must guard most carefully ; one is exposure to the sun, and the other a sudden chill. In no part of the world, if reports are true, is the sun so deadly as here, but the danger may be reduced to a minimum if one will but listen to the advice of the older residents, and take reasonable precautions. A pith sun helmet is indispensable, as straw or felt hats are sources of STREET SCENE IN COLOMBO. danger, and a cap is worst of all. In addition, one should at first carry an umbrella as well. Nor is the danger present only at midday, or when there are no clouds. It is practically as bad at seven in the morning, or when the sky is wholly covered with clouds. The habits of the dwellers here — that is, the Europeans, speak of this danger. Mfen and women wear sun helmets and carry sun umbrellas, while broad verandahs and close lattices guard the houses. Even the railway carriages have, in addition to curtains, visor-like projections to keep out the searching rays I4 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON of Old Sol. There have been cases even of sunstroke through the or the single / was the best with records carefully kept and compared to lead to the right conclusion. Then, too, experiments by the score were made to find what part of the tree was the best to tap, whether near the base or high up on the trunk. In addition to this, a long series of experiments in the coagu- FICUS ELASTICA; PERADENIYA GARDEN. [Showing spreading buttressed roots.] lation of the latex were instituted both by centrifugal machinery and by the employment of a variety of acids. It is due directly to this investi- gation that the Ceylon planter to-day, if he wishes to hasten the coagu- lation, adds a few drops of acetic acid to the latex. Nor were these experiments done in secret. The results were published and scattered broadcast among planters all through the tropical world, with wonder- ful results for good. After a hasty look at the magnificent palms, of which the garden has more than fifty varieties, the banana, pepper, and other plants, I resumed my hackery, and jolted back to the railway. As the return 30 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON train was not due for half an hour, I went to the "Rest House," a hotel owned by the government and run by a trusty native, where I had an excellent breakfast. I paid the fixed charges, signed my name to the visitors7 book, saying that I was well pleased, and walking on to the station, caught the train back to Colombo. In the afternoon I hired a jinrikisha, and rode around the town. These "rickshaws" are simply huge perambulators drawn by a half naked coolie who trots along all day content with ten cents an hour (gold). Most of the rickshaws are old and rattley, but a few lately introduced have pneumatic tires, and it is only a question of time before they will all have them. As Director Willis had been good enough to invite me to make my home with him when I went up country to visit the Peradeniya gardens, and as I had only one suit of white flannels, I got the tailor at the Galle Face to make me another. I was measured in the morning and the suit was delivered that evening. It cost ten rupees [=about $3.64] for the making, and the man who delivered it got two rupees, because the tailor, his master, was such a hard man to work for, and the boy who was with the man who delivered it got one rupee because of some affliction that he had suffered, and the dog that accompanied the boy who was with the man — well, he didn't get anything, but I vow he sat up and begged just as long as I was in sight. I made an early start for Peradeniya, which means "guava plain," going by the government railway in a very comfortable first-class car that is a sort of compromise between the American smoking car and the English compartment car, and about half the size. The government railways, by the way, are pretty generally good in Ceylon. The equip- ment is all that could be expected, although the cars are small ; the freight cars, for example, being twelve-ton affairs with corrugated iron roofs, and the locomotives look very light. The railway stations, how- ever, are extremely good, and in most of them a white man need not wait at the ticket window, but may march into the agent's sanctum, and get his ticket before the natives are served. The profits that the railroads earn is expended on the carriage roads, a plan that some praise and some condemn. Anyhow, the latter roads are first-class, and an automobilist could go from one end of the island to the other if the elephants did not object. Soon we were bidden to the "refreshment carriage'7 where a good breakfast was served for about sixty cents, after which I sat on the shady side in my car, and took note of the great paddy fields in which sullen water buffalo wallowed and fed, and where natives, clad only in breech- AND THE MALAY STATES cloths and daubed from head to foot in clayey mud, toiled in a half hearted way. Then the scenery became more interesting as we climbed to higher ground, the road running above a winding valley where great stretches of jungle were broken by banana and rice plantations, with "DENDROCALAMUS GIGANTEUS. [Giant bamboos in the Perademya Gardens, showing the young shoots, and a section of one.] occasional glimpses of splendid government carriage roads, while rugged mountain ranges in the distance made an effective background. Every now and then we stopped at a neat railway station, crowded with natives, interspersed with a few Europeans, for whom, by the way, the first-class waiting rooms and cars are always reserved. Between 32 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON Polgahawela and Rambukkana, by the side of the track, is a very con- siderable plantation of Hevea, covering some sixty acres, the trees being planted about eight feet apart. They are about three years old, and would average, for a guess, thirty feet in height. Further on, as we still ascended, the valley below was often a series of terraced paddy plots for miles. Then as we still skirted the valley, PERArENIYA GARDEN. [Mr. Carruthers inoculating a young Hei'ea with Canker.] which was farther and farther below us, we crept through many tunnels, •clung to the sides of precipices, getting occasional glimpses of Adam's Peak, the famous mountain of the island, and still far below, we saw winding through the jungle — crossing rivers — the white roads, hard, smooth, wide, equal to any park roads at home, and then up, up, we climbed, the cabbage palms, bread fruit trees, and tropical growths now finding their home on the rocks, or in the wash of steep mountain ravines. AND THE MALAY STATES 33 The air was rapidly growing drier, a decided relief after the steamy atmosphere at the sea level : nor did I note the heat as I leaned out to see as much as possible of the great tea plantations that now filled the valleys, and encroached often on the steep hill and mountain sides. The soil, where it was in evidence, had a reddish look, and would not suggest fertility were it not for the luxuriant growth it produced. After a journey, full of intense interest, we reached Peradeniya station, and, alighting from the train, I found Director Willis awaiting me. One of his coolies took my luggage in charge, while his master and I walked up the broad, shaded road that runs by the beautiful entrance FICUS BENGALENSIS — BANYAN TREE [In the main street at Kalatnra.] to the Royal Botanic Gardens, A few minutes brought us to the Willis bungalow, a very pretty two-story house, set on a little eminence, and hemmed in with foliage plants, flowers, and magnificent shade trees. As the new governor of Ceylon, Sir Henry Blake, had requested the presence of my host in Colombo, he turned me over for the moment to Mr. J. B. Carruthers, F. L. s., the mycologist and assistant director. Mr. Car- ruthers, by the way, had but just returned from a month's visit to various Hevea plantations, where he had been studying the canker that had appeared upon some of the Hevea trees. He was of the opinion that 34 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON the alertness of the planters in discovering the disease in its first stages, and calling for expert advice, would result in its extinction before serious harm came to the trees. The disease, although new to the Hevea as far as known, has long been an enemy to apple trees, cacao, tea, etc., and frequently kills the tree cr shrub upon which it grows. Mr. Carruthers, when first it appeared, examined portions of diseased trees, and recognized the fungus as a species of nectria. He then visited both Jhe government planta- tions of Hevea and the larger private plantations. In one district, Kala- tura, he found only one tree in two hundred affected, but ontheEdan- goda estate, twenty per cent, of the trees were diseased; while at Yati- porua there were forty per cent. The appearance of the fungus on the trees is a swelling or roughening of portions of the tree trunk or branches. If the outer bark is cut off, the tissue beneath shows at first a neutral tint, and later a brownish or claret color. When the fruit of the fungus ripens, it is a very minute red dot which is carried by the wind, by water, or by tree insects, to a moist spot -on the bark of the same or another tree, and there it thrives, and soon fills the tissues with its mycelium. It was practically eradicated by cutting out the diseased portions and the burning of them. This is best done in dry weather. Nor did the cutting of the trees appear in any way to weaken them or hinder their growth. Mr. Carruthers had brought with him some cultures with which he proceeded to inoculate a young Hevea tree, while I stole aWay into the grass with my back to the sun, turned my kodak upon him, and pressed the button. A moment later, happening to glance downward, I saw that the grass was fairly alive with leeches, all making their way toward me. I retreated very hastily, and at once began a frantic search for them about my person. I found a lot on my shoes, trousers, and outer clothing, but was lucky enough to remove the last one before getting bitten. Speaking of insect pests, there are very few in Ceylon that are troublesome to man — at least I saw or felt but few. The mosquito was, of course, more or less in evidence, but I did not get too badly bitten. I did, however, resent its mode of attack. It does not approach you with a song, but, in a silent, crafty, suspicious way, alights, bites, and flees. So suspicious is the creature that it is almost impossible to clap it on the back, as is the custom in America when he has succeeded in punc- turing one's epidermis. It, therefore, has no friends, and beds every- where are enclosed in huge muslin screens ; otherwise one would be constantly bored. AND THE MALAY STATES 35 There is also the leech. It lives, not in the water, but in the grass, and in the jungle. When exercising on an empty stomach, it is very small, about the diameter of a knitting-needle, and from one-half to one and one-half inches in length. On hearing footsteps, it hastens toward the sound, getting over the ground at a surprising rate of speed for so tiny a creature, and without hesitation attacks instantly. If left to themselves, they fill themselves with blood, swelling to the size of one's little finger, and then drop off. Nor does this end the incident, for during their meal they inject something into the veins, which keeps YOUNG HEVEA TREES. [Planted among tea along a watercourse, in Kalatura.] the blood from clotting, and the wound therefore remains open and goes on bleeding. If roughly removed during feeding, it is very apt to leave its teeth in the wound, which causes inflammation, and, in some cases, troublesome sores. The best way to treat them is to wear close-knit stockings, into which the lower ends of the trouser legs should be tucked. This keeps most of them off, but if they do get on one, a few drops squeezed from a fresh lime makes them let go at once. Many of the natives, who expect to encounter leeches, carry a lime or two with them. Others simply pull them off, and take the chance of having an inflamed wound. In certain districts these leeches are a great pest, but as the land comes under cultivation, they gradually disappear. It is said 36 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON that during the conquest of the island by the British, many a private soldier lay down in the jungle after an exhausting day's march and never awoke, his veins being literally drained dry by the swarming leeches. They are as tough as if made of India-rubber, and about the only way to kill them is with fire. If cut in two, the separated parts will join together again, and they are always voracious, active, and absolutely devoid of fear. -AND THE MALAY STATES 37 THIRD LETTER. TAPPING RUBBER TREES AT PERADENIYA GARDEN — VISIT TO THE NEW EXPERI- MENT STATION — SEVENTY-FIVE YEAR OLD Ficus ELASTICA — THE STUMP SPEECH — KANDY — TEMPLE OF THE SACRED TOOTH — HOTEL TIPS — ON THE WAY TO KALATURA — EARLY TEA AT THE "REST HOUSE" — M^. HARRISON AND CULLODEN ESTATE. SPEAKING again of canker, and the absence of the disease on the South American Hevea trees, Mr. Carruthers said that it was quite possible that individual trees there might have been attacked by it, but as the trees are wild, and grow singly, the disease, after exhaust- ing its victim, would probably die out, as it would have no other Hevea SATIN WOOD BRIDGE, PERADENIYA. near enough to reach. This, of course, led up to what has been proved since planting of any sort has been carried on on any considerable scale. That is, the occurrence of diseases and insects unknown before, but which found in great plantings of a single kind the most favorable field for rapid growth and reproduction. 38 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON It was while discussing these subjects that we visited the adminis- tration buildings of the gardens. They are neat and business like, and with their tropical setting form a very pretty picture. We visited the museum, where sections of the woods, in which the island is very rich, are displayed ; while seeds, fruits, and everything pertaining to the life of the plant growths are carefully prepared and preserved. He also showed me the offices of Director Willis, his own laboratory — where some very interesting experiments in determining the vitality of the Hevea nut were then being carried on — introduced me to Mr. E. E. Green, F. E. s., the government entomologist, and then led me to some of the fifteen-year-old Para trees, which we tapped. It was really too ' HEVEA ' AT EDANGODA. [Government Forest Department plantation, 8 years old. Mr. F. Lewis, assistant conservator of forests.] near the middle of the day for the latex to do more than ooze out very slowly. The tool used is well known. It only needed a very few cuts with it, however, to convince me of its usefulness ; indeed, for the Hevea it is far superior to any form of machete that I have seen. The incision is really a drawing cut that takes out a strip of bark, laying the cambium bare. The cut is clean, small and may be made by the most unskilled coolie with but little chance of" injuring the tree. I had with me a small two-bladed tapping-axe, invented by a friend in the United States, which I had brought along to test. We all tried it, but the simple little tool far AND THE MALAY STATES 39 outdistanced it. Leaving the collecting and straining of the latex to the coolies, Mr. Carruthers took me to his bungalow for breakfast, which meal occurs at noon, and there we discussed various phases of rubber planting. In referring to the government plantations of Hevea, he said that there were about one hundred and fifty acres now planted, and it had not been decided yet just how they would be administered. According to his figuring, these plantings cost about 1,200 rupees [=$389.32] an acre when matured. If they are to be leased under proper restrictions, the opinion seemed to be that the government should not reap more than five per cent, interest on its venture. But most of the experts think that it would be better for the government to sell the plantations as near cost as possible. For further information he referred me to Mr. F. Lewis, the assistant conservator of forests, Colombo. The following morning we crossed the Mahaweli River, a deep, swift, muddy stream flowing by the gardens, to visit the great experi- ment stations that are under the charge of Mr. Herbert Wright, A. R. c. s. There is no bridge, so one is ferried across in a very narrow wooden dugout, with the usual outrigger one side to prevent upsetting. This experiment garden is new, and contains about 1,200 acres, I believe, and takes in the native villages of Gangaruwa and Yatiyalagala. Mr. Wright kindly piloted me over the sections devoted to rubber planting. Just to see what the Castilloa and the Ceara rubber will do in that climate under varying conditions ; he has many different plots, both in the shade and in the open. Perhaps the most interesting is the planting of the former where it is shaded by cocoanut trees. All of these rubber plots were small of course, and the trees very young, so that at the present it is impossible to say what results will be attained. As we walked about the place, it occurred to me to learn just how hot it was, and I found that it was 127° F. in the sun, and the guess was that it was about 85° in the shade. As we were in the sun most of the time, we had no reason to feel a chill. In the afternoon, Director Willis having returned, we had a look at the Ficus elastica trees planted some seventy-five years ago. They are huge growths, and unlike the Straits trees of the same name, do not send down aerial roots, but instead form great root buttresses. They produce little if any latex, as my own tapping experiments abundantly proved. Further than that, they are dying, so that every now and then it becomes necessary to fell one of them, for if it unexpectedly dropped its one hundred and fifty feet of length across the carriage road, a serious accident might result. 40 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON Speaking of the Hevea plantings in the island, Mr. Willis said that at that time there were about 11,000 acres, and as the annual production of seeds was about 3,000,000, he thought that the planting increase PERADENIYA GARDEN. [Planted Castilloa elastic a and cacao/ would be about 5,000 acres annually. He said that the Hevea could undoubtedly be planted in sheltered valleys, up to 4,000 feet altitude. In many situations the trees would mature more slowly, their growth depend- ing upon the rainfall, and the richness of the soil. At Peradeniya those AND THE MALAY STATES 41 that had matured more slowly had produced latex as good and abundant as had the others. The Castilloa had proved itself more tender than he could wish, and the general sentiment among the planters was that it would not be as profitable a venture. Speaking of rainfall at Pera- deniya, they could always reckon upon ninety inches quite well distrib- uted. Labor, of course, is very cheap, ten cents a day being the regular wage, shelter being furnished, but not food or clothing. As an incident to this visit, I walked over the gardens, by well-kept roads, shaded by magnificent trees, and visited the "hot house" for orchids. As there is also a tea factory near the gardens, Mr. Willis RUBBER TREES KILLED BY FLOOD. [Part of a Forest Department Hcvea plantation in a valley sub- ject to flood, showing the way in which the flooded trees died.] was good enough to take me through that, and show me every process, the plucking, withering, rolling, drying, sorting, and packing, all of which was most interesting. After taking leave of Director Willis and his good wife, Mr. and Mrs. Carruthers, and all who had made my stay so pleasant, I took the train for Kandy, four miles away, where I planned to spend the afternoon with a steamer friend, and do a bit of sightseeing. As I waited for the train, I was conscious of careful inspection on the part of a man near me. He was a nice, well-fed, self-satisfied old gentle- man, who sat by my side in one of the three cane-seated chairs that stand on the depot platform for the use of the white patrons of the rail- road. 42 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON "You couldn't have cane-bottomed chairs in a railway station in America, now, could you?" said he to me. "Why not?" I asked, much surprised. "On account of the extraordinary habit you Americans have of standing on chairs, and making stump speeches," he responded with con- viction. That he was in dead earnest, and that no denial of mine would affect his belief, one look at his countenance showed. It seemed a pity that he should not add to his store of knowledge along that line, so I said carelessly : "That, of course, used to be so a few years ago. Indeed, it was a great nuisance. In public and private, at the theatre, at concerts, at receptions, even in church, stump speakers would suddenly mount chairs and harangue all in .sight. It was a disease, you know, caused by a germ that was bred in the cotton fields of New Hampshire.*7 "Fancy!" gasped my listener. "Oh yes, pure and simple," I continued (referring to his exclama- tion). The germ is known as the Septennis vociferens, and I may say modestly that it was due to a little invention of my own that it is no longer feared in America." "How interesting! And pray what was your invention?'* "Is it possible that you never heard of Pearson's Patent Orator Discourager?" I asked with pained surprise. "It sold very well; indeed, I made a comfortable sum out of it. Quite simple it was, but it did the work. It was, in a word, a semi-spherical rubber spring, so placed beneath the chair bottom that when one tried to step there, he was instanly thrown over backwards, the shock killing the germ, but rarely injuring the man. If, however, one sat in the chair, the spring had no effect." "Very ingenious ! A most excellent device ! I congratulate you !" exclaimed my listener, warmly. "Of course, it was only useful in your own country." "I was coming to that. Having sold all I can in America, I am now about to prepare a foreign market for it." "But — but no one makes stump speeches here, for instance !" he said. "Ah, that's just it. They don't now, but they will. Our laboratory is working night and day producing healthy cultures of the germ. I am AND THE MALAY STATES 43 traveling around the world planting them everywhere. They are invis- ible, practically. The back of your chair this moment is covered with them where my hand rested before you came along. Here is my train. Good bye." As the train left the station, a once peaceful and self-satisfied ency- clopedia of American habits, with red face and anxious mien, was stand- ing far away from the three chairs, and making a stump speech to a large SENSATION ROCK, NEAR KANDY. crowd of bewildered coolies. Those germs worked so quickly on him that I almost believed in their existence. A few minutes later I was in Kandy, and comfortably established at the Queen's Hotel. The city of Kandy (Hill town) is noted chiefly as having been the seat of the Kandyan kings, the possessor of the temple of the Sacred Tooth, and at the present time for having only one hotel, "The Queen's," 44 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON where a German tourist finds good entertainment for about two dollars a day, while an American or an Englishman must pay five dollars. The city lies in a lovely valley, and is built around an artificial lake, on an island, in the middle of which once stood the royal harem. The walks and drives around the city, over beautifully kept roads that ascend with only the slighest grades, are simply ideal. As a matter of duty, I visited the Buddhist temple of the Sacred Tooth during service. It was after nightfall, and the beating of the tom- toms and noise of conches were almost deafening. I secured a guide at the main entrance, or rather he secured me, and, accompanied by two self-elected explainers, and a boy carrying a lighted candle, we went KANDY — LADY HORTON S WALK. from one shrine to another, giving up contributions of small change before each, jostled by crowding worshippers, lacjen with fruit and flowers. Of the things that linger in my memory, the library of Singal- ese sacred literature is most prominent. There are hundreds of volumes, the leaves of the books being strips of fiber from the Tallipot palm, the letters being etched into the surface and then filled with ink. They are beautifully bound in gold and silver, and ornamented with jewels. There was also an image of the god, three feet high, of solid gold, as well as one carved out of a single block of crystal, some ten inches in height. AND THE MALAY STATES 45 Then there were copper, ivory, silver, and gold carving and filigree work that would look just as well in America, but there were too many around. I did not see the Sacred Tooth, which is carefully guarded, and needs an order from the government before one is permitted to view it. The true believers are sure that it was once a part of Buddha's dental equipment, while the scientists say it belonged to a crocodile. I didn't tarry long in Kandy, but took the morning train back to Colombo, as I now had more definite knowledge of the typical planta- tions, and how to reach them, as well as letters to the men in charge. Perhaps, as a hint to others, I should say that when I left the hotel in Kandy, after paying my bill, the following servants put in a claim for tips: Bedroom man, bath man, head porter, waiter, doorman, gharri driver, the porter who puts your bag into the train, and any other native who can catch your eye. It was early in the morning when*the writer and Miguel de Silvar the Singalese plant collector at Peradeniya, who was loaned me by Director Willis, entered rickshaws and started for Slave Island station, on our way to Kalutara. For some distance the railroad follows the sea coast, disclosing the beautiful villas of Europeans, native fishing villages, and the blue sea itself. According to custom, Miguel rode with the natives, and I, in the car reserved for the whites, was not able to question him as I had planned. A friendly planter, however, did explain that the land over which we were passing was very valuable, through the palms which grew upon it, that were used in the production of the native liquor, "arrak." He said also that the ownership of these palms was most complex, one tree often being owned jointly by as many as five natives. I had noticed that many of them had a wattle of reeds braided about the stem some six feet from the ground, and was amused to learn that this was to guard against thieves. It seems that the night climber cannot surmount this apparently flimsy barrier, nor remove it without making such a crackling that the owner is awakened sufficiently to remonstrate — usually with a knife. Arriving at Kalutara, Miguel appeared, and with a commanding gesture secured a coolie to carry my bag, and we wended our way to the ''Rest House" for breakfast. As the day was already a scorcher, its broad verandahs, square rooms, and cement floors gave one an impression of coolness which was truly grateful. Here I had ''early tea." consist- ing of ''papaya" (the luscious fruit of the paw paw tree), ham and eggs, bread, butter, and coffee — an excellent meal, the whole charge for which was, I believe, one rupee. 46 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON After breakfast (I would say "early tea") we secured a gharri, drawn by a horse that must have been a survival of the Portuguese occu- pation, so ancient was he, and started off for Tabeuwana, five miles away, where was another rest house. One advantage of the horse over the automobile, and the slow horse over the fast one, is that it allows one to take in the beauties of the scenery to a greater degree. The languid creature to which I had entrusted myself gave me ample chance to enjoy the cinnamon groves, the cocoanut plantations, and the paddy CEARA RUBBER TREE. [At Polgahawella ; planted about 1886.] fields. Besides this, I was interested in the natives, and when we mean- dered slowly through a village with the houses close to the road, and smelling like a fish glue factory that had soured over night, I simply held my nose, but kept my eyes wide open — and saw much that is not set down here. We tarried at the "Rest House" at Tabeuwana only long enough for noon breakfast and then pushed on for Culloden, which, by the way, is in Neboda, or at least that is the nearest postoffice. The roads were good, as all in Ceylon are, and there are some 4,000 miles of them, but the scenery began to show a decided change. The country became more AND THE MALAY STATES 47 hilly, great masses of black gneiss showing out through the luxuriant foliage. Finally, we ascended a long hill, turned into a tea plantation, and leaving the gharri, followed a winding pathway to a pretty bunga- low, situated where it commanded a view of much of the surrounding country and even gave a glimpse of the sea in the far distance. Here I was met and welcomed by Mr. R. W. Harrison, and a neighbor, Mr. J. T. Withers, of Clontarf. It was really too hot just then to start out to view the rubber, so we sat in huge planters' chairs that have broad shelf-like arms that VIEW FROM HILLY ROAD NEAR CULLODEN. extend far out in front, arranged so that the lounger can have his feet as high as his head, and talked planting experiences. Culloclen is, of course, primarily a tea estate, beautifully laid out with fine gravel roads all over it, and not a weed to be seen at any time in all of its broad acres. Indeed, the weeding of crops in Ceylon has been reduced to an exact science. It is all done by contract, and costs thousands of pounds a year, but it effectually stops the danger from fire that an occasional cutting of the weeds invites. 48 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON Mr. Harrison, the manager at Culloden, is perhaps the best equipped rubber planter in the island, either from the planting or gathering stand- point. While he is in direct charge of Culloden estate, which, in 1903, produced 10,500 pounds of Para rubber, he had also supervision over the following estates : Heatherly, which produced, the same year, 3, 500 pounds ; FIFTEEN YEAR OLD "HEVEA" TREES. [Planted among tea on an estate in Kalatura.] Tudugala, 6,000 pounds ; Yatupauwa and Edengoda, 5,000 pounds. Thus it will be seen that fully one-half of the early crops of Ceylon Para passed through his hands, and in visiting him I was sure to be at the center of the rubber planting interest. It might be well to remember also that this 25,000 pounds annually, with a decided increase each year, came from about 20,000 trees that on an average are eight years old. AND THE MALAY STATES 49 FOURTH LETTER. RUBBER TREES AND TAPPING AT CULLODEN — NIGHT TAPPING — RUBBER CURING HOUSE — OIL FROM HEVEA NUTS — COST OF PARA RUBBER AT COLOMBO — ARAPOLA- KANDA ESTATE — SMOKING CEYLON RUBBER — SUNNYCROFT ESTATE — ENEMIES OF THE HEVEA — A TOUCH OF FEVER — THE FOREST CONSERVATOR — A PADDY FIELD EXPERIENCE. AT the close of my first day at Culloden, when the sun had dropped low enough to make it fairly comfortable in the open, at Mr. Harrison's invitation, we started out to see the rubber. The plantation is primarily for tea, the rubber having been planted later through the tea and also in some of the valleys. The land is very rocky, ironstone abounding, but there must -be something in the soil that suits the Hevea, for it flourished wonderfully. The only place where it did not appear to do well was in very low ground, where there wds no drainage. The swampy portions of the land have, therefore, been thoroughly drained; indeed, where some of the seven and eight year old rubber now is there had once been a bog where cattle were wont to get mired. The rubber on this soil, which was very rich, had some three feet of drainage. Of course, it was to be expected that the Hevea would grow in such soil as this, but I must confess that I was amazed to see it flourishing far up on rocky hillsides, and sending its laterals in all directions for food. The Hevea has proved itself, in Ceylon at least, a most voracious surface feeder, and in this connection it is worth while to examine the illustration of the uprooted tree held erect between two cocoanut palms, with the laterals stretched right and left, showing a growth longer than the tree trunk itself. The photograph from which my illustration was made was taken by Mr. J. B. Carruthers, and is most graphic. The tapping of the trees begins just as soon as it is light in the morning, for through the middle of the day the latex does not flow freely, but starts up again about four in the afternoon and is continued until dark. The trees are tapped when they show a girth of two' feet, without regard to their age. No ladders or supports are used in tapping, as it wasn't found profitable to tap higher than a coolie can reach while standing on the ground. The tool is a very simple V-shaped knife with two cutting edges, and a single slanting cut about eight inches long has been found to be best, a tin cup being placed under the lower end of RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON the cut and held in position by forcing its sharp edge under the bark. These cuts, by the way, are about a foot apart, sometimes closer, and all run in the same direction, the herring bone and the V-shaped cuts "HEVEA" RUBBER TREE. [Suspended, to show extensive lateral root growth.] being no more in evidence. The practice is also followed now of cutting a very thin shaving from one side of the cut, every other day; eleven times, in other words, reopening instead of tapping. Before placing AND THE MALAY STATES ths tin cup under the cut, it is rinsed out in cold water to keep the late.r frcm adhering to the tin, and also to keep it from too quick a coagula- tion. While I was there, a very interesting experiment in scraping the outer bark from the trees had just been finished. The results, as far as could be determined, were such a stimulation to the lactiferous ducts that the flow was increased nearly fifty per cent. The oldest trees on this plantation, by the way, are eighteen years, and have produced three pounds a year ; by scraping the outer bark off they expect to get six i "HEVEA" TREES AT CULLODEN. [Seven and eight years old.] pounds a year from each of these. There are only a few of these older trees, however, most of them being seven or eight years of age. All through the rubber orchards on this estate were hundreds of young Para trees that were self sown ; indeed in many places they had come up so thickly as to be a nuisance. The workmen on this estate, one hundred in number, are all Tamil coolies, as the Singalese do not care to work, preferring to cultivate rice, a good crop of which insures them RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON a two or three years' vacation. By the time we had examined a few COrStilloa trees that were planted by way of experiment, night had fallen, and we wended our way back to the bungalow, where, after a hot bath, as is the custom of the country, we sat down to dinner in pajamas, the "punkah walla" stirring the heavy, moist air by most vigorous pulls at the "punkah" cord throughout thv meal. HEVEA TREES AT CULLODEN [Eighteen years old from planting.] The rainfall up here in Kalutara is rather more than down at the coast, being, so I was informed, one hundred and forty-four inches, and the maximum temperature 94° F. While I was there it was unusually dry, yet the rubber looked well and there was a record of six weeks with- out rain, which had no apparent effect upon it. The next morning we AND THE MALAY STATES 53 visited other parts of the plantation, and saw a great deal of fine rubber. At present there is an excellent market for the seed, as so many new plantations are going in. As a better preparation, however, against the time when the seed will be a drug in the market, my host was experi- menting with an oil made from the seeds. With a rude native mill he turned out an oil which the native women eagerly purchased to burn before their gods, while the pressed cake made an excellent food for cattle. During the forenoon I saw a large Ceara rubber tree cut down and it seemed to have no latex in it at alL I also saw a Para rubber tree, SCENE IN KELANI VALLEY, CEYLON. self sown, growing out of a cleft in the rock where there was apparently no soil, the trunk being ten inches in diameter and apparently very thrifty. One of the most interesting features of this plantation was the rubber curing house, where the milk is coagulated and the rubber pre- pared for market. This is a one-story, brick building, 30X80 feet, smelling for all the world like a dairy, as one steps within its doors. At one end of the room is a long table upon which are hundreds of enamelled iron pans, capable of holding about a quart each. Into these pans the milk is poured through a cheese cloth strainer, after having been previ- ously strained in the field. To it is often added a very little acetic acid — a few drops only. This is allowed to stand over night, and in the morning there is to be found in each pan a pure white pancake of rubber, soft, spongy, and full of water. Each cake is rolled on a zinc-covered 54 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON table with a hand roller and much of the water thus expressed. The name of the estate is then stamped upon it with either a wooden or metal die, when it is ready for the heater room. The heaters used are simply charcoal ovens, the rubber being spread on wire screens above the fire, and left for three or four hours. By this time the pancakes have lost about 50 per cent, in weight and are beginning to assume a decidedly darker hue. Cakes in the condition described, if in South America, would be immediately marketed, but not in Ceylon. From the heaters they go to drying racks, where they are air dried for a month or six weeks, the RUBBER CURING HOUSE, CULLODEN. time depending somewhat upon the weather, and are shipped only after careful examination as to quality and dryness. The care which the planters are expending upon the preparation of the rubber is the best sort of guarantee that the quality will be sustained, and that the day will come when the name of a plantation on a cake of rubber will tell its value almost to a penny. To follow the rubber a little further, it is, when perfectly satisfactory to the planter, packed in chests, the counter- part of the regulation tea chest, made of "momi'7 wood that comes in shocks from Japan, each package containing about two hundred pounds. There is also a coarse rubber that is secured by picking the scrap from tapped trees. It is a very excellent rubber, and while I was there it found a market at 3$. 5-Jrf., while the fine was bringing 45. g±d. There AND THE MALAY STATES 55 are those who claim that it is unwise to pick the film of rubber out of the tapping wounds in the tree, as there is danger that insects or disease enter there. Such a theory is plausible, but so far I have not heard of ill resulting from such removal of the air dried scrap. This coarse rubber, by the way, was not absolutely clean ; that is, it contained bits of bark, and vegetable matter oftentimes. As labor is so cheap, and there is plenty of water, it could be very easily washed. For this purpose the ordinary corrugated roll washer that is used in the rubber factories has been suggested, but it hardly fits the case, as the scraps are so very small. A more practical plan would be to run them through a winnowing machine such as is used to blow the dirt out of COAGULATING AND PRESSING PARA RUBBER. peas and beans and let the air blast take out as much bark as possible. Then, if necessary, use a washer of the paper engine type to wash and beat the rest out. Of course, for quick drying, the gum should then be sheeted, and either plain or corrugated rolls would accomplish that, and it could hang until dry. There is so little of the scrap, however, that the simple winnowing machine is probably all that would be necessary or profitable. The time will come, however, when the coagulating and drying will have to be done on a different plan. The present method takes up too much room and is too slow. It would be perfectly easy to have coag- ulating pans that would deliver strips of rubber ten feet long, a foot wide, and a quarter of an inch thick. These strips could then be run 56 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON through rolls that would squeeze the excess water out, and at the same time imprint the plantation name every few inches. Then the strips could be hung up to dry and any degree of artificial heat applied that was thought best. There have been suggested, also, a variety of quick coagulating devices, such as endless belts that take a film of milk into a drying cham- ber and deliver it to the other side coagulated and dried. Some such plan may prevail, but as yet the planters are not ready for it. After many experiments the manager at Culloden has satisfied him- self that only the very early morning or the late afternoon are the proper MR. HARRISON S BUNGALOW, CULLODEN. times to tap, as in the middle of the day the flow of latex is almost nothing. The trees are therefore tapped from 4 until 7 A. M., and after 3.30 P. M. and as long as it is light. Indeed, the collection of the latex is often done by torchlight. As an instance of Mr. Harrison's alertness in getting all he can out of the trees with safety, he told me of a series of experiments that he was about to institute for all night tapping. It 'seems he learned that certain sugar estates did all their cutting of the cane by electric light, and that the amount of saccharine matter secured was much larger than in the daytime, and as the habit of the-//frrv/ bf", gathered, as^. a general thing, ., as soon;, &$ -r.ipe^ /and" it is ,-often a -race between the planters and parrots to see which- will get the ^mos-t, as the latter are very fond of them-. The -seed is. secured by, /knocking the cones off the branches of the trees with, long poles.. , T.hese cones, are put in water, and allowexi to stand over night, when the gluten-surrounding the seed sjightly ferments. -The mass -is then placed in a sieve, and the pulp is easily washed? away. - After a final washing; the floaters or unvitalized seeds, are ski-mmed off, and the residue are dried on -mats in the As the vitality of the Castillo^ seed- is very sligjit-, it is necessary vt;Q': 1 32 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE within a week or two at the longest. It might be well to note here that Mr. Harvey kept some seeds alive by packing in charcoal, and that they germinated when planted several months later, but no one but a trained horticulturist would be likely to be successful with such an experiment. With regard to the planting of the seed, it should be remembered that the first rains are oftentimes followed by a week or two of dry weather. It is therefore best to wait until at least four inches of rain have fallen, that is, when planting in heavy soil, and to have a reserve of seed saved for failures, either from drought, washouts, or lack of germination. On one of the plantations I was shown the result of a very interest- ing experiment, which was designed to show why, of two seeds, planted near each other in apparently equally favorable positions, one produced a vigorous tree, while the other produced a weakling. To determine this, the planter selected three sizes of seeds and planted them under equal conditions, supposing naturally that the largest seed would produce the most vigorous plant. He learned, however, that size had nothing to do with it, as in some cases the smallest seeds produced gave the best result. The real difference seems to be, therefore, in the inherent vitality of the seed itself. There are a great many ideas regarding the best way of planting the Castilloa, and there is no doubt but that different methods are adapted for difference of situations. I am firmly convinced, however, that, in the region I visited, by far the best method of planting is at the stake, backed up by a small nursery, in order that the failures may be made good. Any one who has seen two-year-old seedlings as against two-year-old nursery plants will, I think, agree with me. Again and again was it impressed upon me how alert and careful the planter must be in preparing his ground, and especially in getting his seed at the right time, and getting it into the ground so that it shall have the proper start. And their knowledge has come through acknowl- edged failures. One good friend of mine bought a ton of seed at one dollar a pound, and was unlucky enough to have it all spoil. Another cleared hundreds of acres for which he failed to get any seed, the clear- ing having to lie over until the year following. And these are but two of many instances which would discourage any but the most determined men. But such happenings do not reach the same man twice. On our arrival at La Buena Ventura, mine host found a letter 'from a large planter down near Coatzacoalcos, inviting him to visit his place, and as that was just the direction in which I had planned to go, I resolved to embrace the chance to go with the best of guides. It therefore happened that early morning found us in the saddle, bound 134 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE for Santa Rosa, but not over the trail by which I had come in. This time it was over a clear path, through the planted rubber trees, dipping down into the forest, and over a road with a soft carpet of matted leaves two or three feet deep, and as springy as if made of rubber — a new trail, and all on La Buena Ventura land. On reaching the railroad, we sent the horses back, and after waiting awhile, hoping for a train which might or might not run that day, we started to walk towards Santa Lucretia, where the new road joins the National Tehuantepec Rail- road. Walking a railroad track under any circumstances is hard work, but that track was certainly not made for tramps or actors. It had been hastily laid in the rainy season so as to make connection at Santa Lucretia, and infrequent and slow though the trains were, it was already a godsend to the planters and travelers. We knew, also, that as soon as the dry season carn£ it would be straightened, ballasted, and put in shape. But its prospective virtues did not make the walking any easier. It was not altogether because the sleepers were laid at uneven distances, and often not spiked to the rails, or that the grass had grown up and covered both with a slippery tangle, nor was it the clayey mud that often rose flush with the rail tops, but it was the combination of all these that tired us out ere we had gone very far. Still, we had no thought of backing out, and so plodded steadily on, our packs on our shoulders, our feet clogged with mud, and wondering if luck would send the construction train to our assistance. But the trip was not without its compensations. The day was gorgeous, and my companion, botanist and enthusiast as he is, talked of the trees and plants in a way that would make one forget any sort of hardship. Speaking of the forest, one of the most conspicuous trees is a sort of a banyan, which has all the idiosyncrasies of that tree of many trunks, and grows to a great size. It is a species of Ficns which has not as yet been identified, but is probably the Ficns Benjamina. On tapping it gives a certain amount of latex, but of a very sticky nature, and probably of no value. There are also a great many mahogany trees, but in the former lumbering operations the larger of them have been cut out, and while there are many of them that would square per- haps twelve or fourteen inches, there are not so many which would go up to eighteen inches, the old time test. However, mahogany is so plen- tiful that many of the bridges across the streams on the forest trails are made of squared mahogany logs, one or two of them laid side by side, and mahogany furniture is very common in the planters' home furnishings. There is considerable lignum vitcc, and on the track we ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 135 were then walking it was often used for ties. Spanish cedar is also quite abundant, and is one of the valuable woods. In regard to trees the old resident, and sometimes the semi-old one, is very apt to point out the rubber tree in its natural state as you ride with him through the forest, and if he knows anything about rubber, he never makes any mistake. If he doesn't, he is very apt to point out a tree which the planters call the "Boston rubber tree/' and which the natives call the "chankarro." It really looks like the Castilloa, but is apt to prove a surprise to those who try to tap it. The trunk is only a hollow shell, and the interior is invariably filled with what are known as the fire ants, of whose presence the tapper is instantly apprised when his machete cuts through the thin film of bark. PIECE OF ROAD ON PLANTATION RUEIO. There are, also, many beautiful trees, such as the "royal" and other palms, and an infinite variety of vines and climbers. Perhaps the most abundant vine down in that part of the country is the morning glory, which is not an annual as it is with us, but it is a perennial, and swarms up over the tree trunks, covering acres of forest with its dense foliage, and its beautiful bloom. To those who insist that the trunk of a rubber tree should not be exposed to the sun, I would suggest that they allow the morning glory vines to cover it, as they will shade it perfectly, and do the tree no harm. At the same time, I am personally convinced that the tree needs no such shading. I must not forget one vine that we noted on our journey, as it 136 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE had a blossom that for size put in the shade anything that I had ever seen. I do not recall the botanical name, but it is of the family that produces what is known as the "Dutchman's pipe." We saw several of them, and finally secured a blossom. In size it was as large as an old fashioned Shaker bonnet, and must have weighed a pound and a half. It was not pretty, except in a bizarre tropical sense, but was simply a type of what the richest of soil, plenty of moisture, and con- stant warmth can produce. There seem to be few poisonous plants ; the most common is a lux- uriant shrub with a crown of handsome white flowers, which acts like a gigantic nettle, instantly paralyzing the hand that grasps it. This is very plentiful, and its Spanish name means "the evil woman plant." None of the forest through which we passed would be called prime- val as there were no trees that were over one hundred and fifty years old. Just why this is so, none can tell, but that the land was once densely inhabited is proved by bits of pottery, arrow heads, etc., that are to be found on every plantation, and in the railroad cuttings in great abundance. And that reminds me that at La Junta Mr. Shufeldt gave me a hideously interesting little clay idol which he found in a vegetable garden there. I unwittingly left it on the table in my room at La Buena Ventura, and I wish to warn the genial householder that I am coming down soon purposely to recover it. Meanwhile, hot, perspiring but cheerful, we were plodding on towards the Tehuantepec Railway that was miles and miles in the dis- tance. Finally, however, we reached Sanborn, soon to be a metropolis ; but when we arrived it was simply a camp where men were grading, felling the forest, and getting ready to put up a modern railway station, which is to have a telegraph and telephone office, and all sorts of modern conveniences. This place, by the way, is about eight miles from La Junta, and will be its railway station. It is named after one of the prominent officials, who, besides his interest in rubber planting, has purchased a big block of land, and is going into lumbering, brick making, and a variety of industries that will be of marked benefit to that section. At Sanborn we struck good luck, for we had not been there five minutes when a locomotive whistled, and soon the construction train crawled into sight. We boarded the flat car in front to keep from being set afire by sparks from. the wood burning engine, and we continued our journey. Arriving at Santa Lucretia in due time, we disembarked and wended our way to the town proper which consists of a hotel on stilts, ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 137 a railway station, and a few native huts as a background. With a rail- way camp close by, and with the many Americans constantly going and coming, the town really presented a busy scene. The hotel is run by Major Elliott, a powerful man with a military bearing, very friendly to those who behave, but a trifle stern with the semi-worthless natives that are ever to be found at a railroad end. We had an excellent dinner, WILD RUBBER TREE ON COATZACOALCOS RIVER. partly of native food, and partly canned goods from the States. Speak- ing of the latter, American manufacturers do not seem to realize that one of the best supply markets in the world is to be found among the planters and small hotel men in the tropics. Some do, of course, and some of the great merchants and mail order houses are cultivating the 138 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE field most industriously and profitably, but most do not. A case in point, of this lack of appreciation came to my attention during this journey. A planter who is so thoroughly American that he would far rather buy of his own countrymen than of any other, used a great deal of condensed milk. That which he bought of English or Swiss make was white and sweet, while the American brand that he wanted to buy soon became in that hot, moist climate, of a chocolate brown color, and quite offensive. In the goodness of his heart he wrote the manufac- turers, telling them the whole story, and instead of being thanked, received a most insulting letter from an officer of the company. He wrote again, not in his former vein, but stating a few salient facts, and ended by remarking that as the English had for one hundred and fifty years been successfully supplying tropical markets, they would probably keep on until Americans had the sense to study their methods. Just before the train arrived, our party was reinforced by the arrival of Mr. R. O. Price, the general manager of Solo Suchil, who had been apprised to be on the lookout for us, and who told us that a steam launch would be waiting for us at the end of the railway journey, to take us up the Coatzacoalos River to Minatitlan, and later to the plantations on that and tributary streams. At length our train came, and we were on our way. The much vaunted National Tehauntepec road is no doubt an engineering triumph, but what with earthquakes, morasses, and streams that are one day rivulets and the next raging torrents, it is not yet equal in equipment or service to a one horse road in the Far West. The trains run every other day, and get in on time very rarely. We finally arrived at Coatzacoalcos, the Atlantic terminus, two hours late, and there were welcomed by Mr. A. B. Luther, the gerante general of Plantacion Rubio. Here two more Americans joined the party, and boarding the steam launch, we steamed up to Minatitlan, a quaint old Mexican town where we were to spend the night. Beds had been bespoken in the little hotel familiarly known as the ''bird cage," and we were soon sleeping the sleep of the just. With the first break of day we were up, had our coffee, and started out to see the place. As a matter of fact, there was not much to interest one at that early hour. Most of the inhabitants were still wrapped in the warm arms of the sleep god, whatever his Aztec name may be, and the chief signs of life were the dogs, chickens, and turkey buzzards, the latter the most independent and loathsome of all the feathered tribe. There is a fine of fifty dollars for killing one, and the creature knowing ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 139 this pursues its scavenging operations with a ruffianly impudence that is disgusting. It is said that every community in those parts has one buzzard for every inhabitant. According to that, Minatitlan has lots of folks that do not appear in public, for seated on fences, on roofs, swooping down to rob the dogs, fighting, flapping, and squawking, the buzzards were legion. A little later we all assembled at the boat landing, climbed over a lot of Indian dugouts, and were prepared for the trip up river. Our journey that day was to be up the Coatzacoalcos, the Usapanapa, and Chichigapa Rivers, some twenty miles, to visit plantation Rubio. We THATCHED VILLAGE ON THE UBERO PLANTATION. had elected to talk a lot about rubber planting, but the strange sights, the wonderful scenery, and the glory of the day drove all thought of "shop" out of our minds. By tangled forests, great, grassy plains, Indian villages, and bamboo thickets, we went, disturbing sullen alli- gators, and great milk white cranes, and being hailed in unknown tongues by the naked children on the river banks. When the novelty of the scene had in a measure worn off, I availed myself of my privilege of asking questions, selecting the general man- ager of the Solo Suchil as my first victim. He responded most cor- 140 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE dially, and I soon learned that his plantation was an amalgamation of three estates ; that it was named after the river on which it was situ- ated, and grew both coffee and rubber, the latter being used for shade. He had planted both from seed and from nursery stock but favored the former when practicable. His trees were from one to five years old, and there were about four hundred thousand of them. He, like all others, was of the opinion that it was fatal to allow the grass to get a foothold among the rubber trees. For this reason, when the rubber was planted alone, it was put in from seven to nine feet apart, and as a further precaution he was planting betweeen the rows a kind of sweet potato known as the "camate," which covered the ground with a dense mat of vines among which the grass would not grow. This brought out the store of practical botanical knowledge of my friend, Harvey, who recommended the cow pea and the velvet bean for just this purpose, an opinion that I found shared by the others, notably Dr. W. S. Cockrell, another pioneer planter. After a two hours7 ride we turned into Chichigapa Creek, a deep, silent waterway about two hundred feet wide, and ere long we were tied up at the wharf that is part of the Rubio estate. As the banks are low, a substantial platform some six hundred feet long leads back to the bodega, or storehouse. This is a two-story building of brick with tiled roof on one side and glass roof on the other, and is something that every planter should have. It is, in fact, a dry house for corn and beans, and is fitted with air tight bins for the storage of these cereals, an effective protection against the omnipresent weevil and equally troublesome mold. The building that challenged our admiration for its beauty, how- ever, and later for its manifest utility, was the two-story dormitory that situated on an eminence further back, looked like a planter's mansion. On close inspection it was found to contain a dining room and kitchen, and sixteen sleeping rooms, all of which opened out on to a broad verandah, which was wholly enclosed in wire netting. The partitions between the rooms were made of burlap, painted over to give it a .finish, a very practical and economical plan in a country where matched boards bring a high premium. To view the plantation proper, it was necessary to have recourse to the horse, and after lunch quite a party of us started through the typical forest trail- towards the cleared and planted land at the further side of the estate. At length we emerged into the open and found our- selves on a ridge from which we had a view of hundreds of acres of ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 141 rich, rolling land, all covered with Castillo a trees about a year old. We rode over this whole planting, visited the four camps where the native workmen live in palm thatched houses, and examined the rubber trees on the hilltops, on side hills, and in the valleys, and when we were told that the stand of rubber embraced fifteen hundred acres, all cleared, burned, and planted in one short season, and that there were fully two million healthy trees, we fell to congratulating Manager Luther on the accomplishment of so marvelous a task. It took so long to do the whole of the sightseeing that it was dark when we entered the forest again for our two or three-mile return ride. Our horses knew the way, however, and brought us safely through, and an hour later we were on the launch, steaming back to Minatitlan. The voyage was without special incident, unless one were to cite the clouds of white moths that filled the air until STEAMER "DOS RIOS" ON THE COATZACOALCOS. it looked as if it were snowing, and which finally drove us to cover in the cabin. The next day we took in a plantation far up the Coachapa River, owned by a wealthy native, Senor Sanchez. His interests were chiefly in cattle, although he had a little grove of wild seedling Castilloas about ten years old, which were from sixteen to eighteen inches in diameter, and perhaps thirty feet high. These we tapped in all sorts of ways, got an abundance of milk, and incidentally proved that neither native nor white man can tap a tree successfully without much practice and skill. Indeed, the next great problem that is to confront the rubber planters is that of tapping and preparing for market. One has only to look at the wild trees in the forest and see how they have been hacked 142 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE and scarred by the natives, to appreciate the fact that the planters will need better work and greater care of their trees. If all of the natives were expert machete men, and good climbers, the problem would be easily solved, but the real good men in this line are scarce. It is a most inter- esting sight to see a skillful tapper, armed only with a rope and machete, cut the channels so that the sap runs from one to another with scarcely a drop spilled, every stroke of the machete being just right. It is also equally disgusting to see a native who claims he knows how to tap mangle the bark, and able to climb only a foot or two without slipping down. The practical solution is going to involve two things : one is, the invention of a simple tool that is foolproof, and that cannot in any way injure the tree, and the second is a light, safe ladder that will allow THE TEHUANTEPEC MARKET. the mozo to reach the upper part of the trunk. Most of the planters plan to bleed the trees twice a year, in May and October. Some, however, hold that they can stand tapping much oftener, and most interesting experiments are being inaugurated in the exploitation of this theory. The latex flows apparently as freely at one time of the year as it does another, but the dry season is undoubtedly the best for tapping, as there is no rain to wash away the milk, and the tree is resting then. If the cutting is done well, the scars soon fill in with new, smooth bark, which in no way interferes with later working. The natural way, however, will be to drain one side of the tree at one time, and another at a subsequent tapping. The planters are ailready planning as to the ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 143 arrangements of gangs of men, and the pay for tapping and coagulating. The favorite method undoubtedly will be to give each native a certain stint, measured by the amount of latex that he brings in. I got a number of estimates as to the cost of tapping and coagulating, based on actual work, and in no case was it more than ten cents a pound, Mexican. Another thing that the planters plan to do is to produce clean, dry rubber, and there is no reason why they should not accomplish it. Of the various means of coagulating that are devised by experts, the one that seems to appeal the most strongly to the practical planter on the Isthmus, is the use of the juice of the "amole" vine, the Ipoinoea Bona no.v, which is most abundant everywhere, and which apparently adds nothing to the rubber, and effects a quick and clean coagulation. After coffee at the Sanchez abode, we returned to Minatitlan, retired early and at three o'clock the next morning were awakened by Mr. Luther, escorted to the launch, bidden a hearty good-bye and were on our way to Coatzacoalcos, to take the morning train for Tehuantepec. We had planned to take a river steamer, the Dos Rios, and visit the plantations far up the river, of which there are a lot, but a snag having punched a hole in the boat's bottom, it was forced to tie up for repairs, thus disarranging our plans. We therefore decided to go at once to the Pacific side, and "dry out" and rest, and so it happened that at nine in the morning we were again on the train, this time bound west. 144 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE FOURTH LETTER. ACROSS THE ISTHMUS — PLANTATION "SAN FRANCISCO" — VIEW OF THE "UBERO" AND "LA CROSSE" PLANTATIONS — THE GREAT TEHUANTEPEC PLAIN — AT THE EL GLOBO — ATTACKED BY A VAMPIRE — THE Z.APOTACO WOMEN — DOGS AND FLEAS — SALINA CRUZ — BACK TO SANTA LUCRETIA — MEXICAN JUSTICE — SLEEPING UNDER DIFFICULTIES — A NIGHT AT A RAILROAD CAMP — A TAPIR HUNT — THE PERSISTENT "PlNOLEO" — ACHOTAL AGAIN — JOURNEYING NORTH — CATTLE RANCHING — TAXES — CORDOBA AND ORIZABA — MEXICO CITY — A LOOK BACKWARD — THE Cow PEA AND VELVET BEAN. THE last letter of this series left us just boarding the train at Coat- zacoalos for the journey across the Isthmus to the City of Tehuan- tepec. The journey did not take the whole of the month that has intervened, but it took long enough in all conscience, yet it was not without interest. Almost at once I struck up an acquaintance with a German, named De Verts, who, I soon learned, owned the plantation San Francisco up in the Dos Rios region. His plantings were of coffee and Castilloa, and of the latter he had some sixty thousand trees two and one-half years old. These were planted seven and one-half feet apart one way, and fifteen feet apart the other, with coffee between. His trees averaged about eight inches in diameter. From his descrip- tion the stand appeared to be an excellent one. After his departure a friend promised to point out to me a man, who more than any other down that way, was making "easy money "- none other than a traveling dentist who finds his patients only among the natives. He goes from village to village doing a rushing business at great profit. It is said that many who have no trouble at all with their teeth have them filled in order to show the gold, and that they never weary of grinning, with that end in view. I did not see the dentist, for at this juncture we stopped at a station, where on a siding was a private car, on the platform of which stood Sir S. Weetman Pear- son, the famous English constructor of tropical railroads. We all wanted a sight of him, and were rewarded by a brief view of a thick set, deter- mined looking Britisher, who had an air of meaning business all the time. He was said to be discharging men right and left, and generally upsetting the policy of procrastination and inefficiency that had been more or less characteristic of the management in the past. The National Tehuantepec Railroad is without doubt of great 146 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE present and prospective value, both to the planters and to the owners. Its trains, which run every other day, are always well patronized, and it is wonderful how those children of nature, the Indians, enjoy crowd- ing into the third class cars, and riding even a few miles. Many of the poorer ones save money for months, ride fifty or a hundred miles, and contentedly walk back. To them the trains are ''flyers," and the cars palatial, but to the white man the many delays, particularly at stations, are very irritating. A resident of the country accounted for the long waits by stating that an engineer is paid two dollars an hour, and there- fore the longer the run, the more he gets. He further intimated that if the train got on too fast, steam was allowed to get low, or some of the machinery suddenly needed repairs, for which a stop was necessary — but the narrator may have been yarning. Shortly after noon we passed the handsome plantation house of the Boston Ubero Company, and had a good view of the many acres of pineapples that they have under cultivation. We also had a good view of the land of the Isthmus Rubber Co., a little later, and still further on was the La Crosse Plantation Company, which showed many acres planted to sugar cane, and considerable rubber. Early in the afternoon we passed over the low mountainous ridge that separates the Atlantic side from the Pacific, and left behind the hot, moist atmosphere that had become somewhat trying, and were in a climate bone dry, and seemingly much cooler. We then had a fine view of Rincon Antonio, the new railroad town that is rapidly assuming shape, and that will give to the workers* in the shops a fine, healthy climate instead of a fever ridden one. Continuing our journey, we next came to the valley of the San Geronimo, healthy, cool, free from epidemics, and a little later to the vast Tehauntepec plain. Here are more than • a million acres of rich land as level as a billiard table, covered with a sparse growth of chap- parel, and awaiting only irrigation to turn it into a paradise. Nor is the water far off, for the mountains, which are in plain sight from the train, furnish abundant supply, and every opportunity for huge reser- voirs. After a stop of twenty minutes at a small station to watch a man who was chopping wood— at least that was the only apparent reason— we reached our journey's end, arriving at the city of Tehauntepec two hours late. We had" elected to stop at the El Globo Hotel while in the city, and in that made no mistake, for it is the best there. From the pro- prietor's own advertisement I have it that there are "Rooms facington ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 147 two different street. Comodios and well ventiloted." Moreover, with the true, up-to-date hotel spirit, he has the following card in each room: "The proprietors of this hotel are only responsable of lost of valu- able objects or money when delivered to themselves by passengers." He handled the English language well, and knew it, and had a pro- found pity for a physician nearby who put out the sign "Englische Espoken." This hotel man was well worth the journey to Mexico to meet. He is bv birth a Frenchman, who came over with Maximilian, DEL CORTE. — LABORERS CAMP AND CLEARING. and after that unfortunate ruler lost his head, elected never to return. He is very short, alert, and the picture of vigorous old age. Occasionally he gets a bit overstimulated, and then puts on an immense pair of cavalry boots, and strides about the place, giving orders in a thunderous voice, and entertaining his guests with reminiscences of European wars, that are full of thrill, dash, imagination, and doubtless some facts. The hotel was a large, rambling, one-story affair, with tiled floors and small, cell like rooms opening out on an inner court that contained both dining room and kitchen. The bed rooms contained two folding canvas cots, each of which had one sheet, one red blanket, and one little striped pillow that was as hard as if stuffed with shot. There were also two chairs, a table, and a wash bowl and pitcher of agate ware. The one 148 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE window opened to the floor, and to keep thieves out and guests in, was latticed with half-inch iron bars. It was luxury, however, when compared with the native huts, and we rested well, and had no advent- ures. To be sure, I did have a queer experience the first night when I lay down for awhile with one hand hanging down by the side of the bed, and on drawing it up something dropped off with a soft thud that had me wide awake in an instant. A light and a search revealed nothing, and I came to the conclusion that it was one of the small vam- pire bats that are common in Mexico, and that alight so gently on man or animal that even if wide awake they do not know it. So common are they, and so troublesome, that horses and mules are invariably kept under cover after dark, as these little blood-seekers rarely venture into houses. The next morning it was quite cool, as a norther was blowing, and the thermometer registered only ninety-five. On arising, we took our clothes in our arms, and clad only in pajamas, walked down the sandy street two blocks to the baths, where we luxuriated for an hour or more. After coffee, we visited the market, and saw the far famed Tehuantepec women in their very striking headdress, of which so much is said ; but aside from its becoming effect, no one seems to know much about it. I personally was interested to see how it was made, and so walked behind some of the dusky beauties as they marched off, and took a good, long look. The headdress is simply a white dress with a wide flounce around the bottom. This flounce is starched stiff and put upon the head so that it stands up like a huge ruffle. The rest of the gar- ment, sleeves and all, hang down the back. I almost wish, however, that I did not know this, as the effect is not half as artistic since my eyes were opened. There was really little of sightseeing in Tehuantepec; the market, the pueblo across the river, the ruins left by the earthquake four years before, were about all. Perhaps it was the climate, but it was more fun to sit on the brick sidewalk in front of the hotel and watch passers- by, dog fights, and predatory pigs than to chase around after information. Anyhow, there was no rubber grown there, and rubber was my errand to the Isthmus. Speaking of dogs, every Mexican and Indian in the hot country is a dog owner on a generous scale. Nor does he care what the breed, or the size, so long as the dog has four legs and a bark. They are, as a rule-, a mangy lot, exceedingly lean, and many of them are really half coyote. All are plentifully supplied with fleas, which they generously divide with all with whom they come in contact. 150 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE We left Tehuantepec on the morning when the first case of smallpox was reported, not for that reason, but because our visit was ended. It is a curious coincidence, but our departure from Coatzacoalcos was marked by the reporting of their first fatal case of yellow fever. In spite of the fact that the clock at the El Globo had stopped, that the town clock in the plaza was slow, and that ho one knew within half an hour just what time the morning train left, w€ succeeded in catching it, and arrived in Santa Lucretia in time for the midday meal. Major Elliott, whom we met on the way down, gave us a hearty greeting, but could give no information regarding the construction train to take us back to Santa Rosa. There were, he said, rumors of an accident, and no train had been through for two days. Some %aid it would be a week before they would be running again. As it tiad set in to rain hard, we possessed our souls in patience, and prepared to spend the rest of the day and the night with the Major. He readily made room for us, although the house was full, and then proceeded to give us an idea of Mexican justice. It seems that an Italian workman, on a prolonged drunk, had for some days been terrorizing Santa Lucretia. After he had chased natives to his heart's content, he fell into the habit of bom- barding the Major's hotel with stones, and casting lurid reflections upon the character of all its inmates, from the proprietor down. These attacks were passed over with silent contempt, until one of the stones hit the Major's son, who lost his patience, and with promptness and despatch thrashed the aggressor. Unfortunately in the doing of this he made the man's nose bleed, whereupon he was promptly hustled off to jail in a neighboring town, and it was only after three days of diplo- matic and financial effort that he was released. The Italian was not arrested. The Mexican laws, as will be seen from the foregoing, are radically different from those that are so often broken in "The land of the free and the home of the brave," but they are well fitted to the natives of that country, and act as a restraint to visitors, particularly those who feel superior to the dark skinned owners of the country. For example, if a foreigner gets in trouble with a native, even if the latter attack him first, he is apt to be treated very much as if he were the aggressor. I know of one case, and heard of several others, where Americans were attacked by drunken or angry mozos armed with machetes, and who to save their lives, shot their assailants and were quickly arrested, and in spite of the fact that they proved that they acted only in self defense, remained in durance from six months to a year there before being ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 151 released. This, of course, is not right, and yet, for the vigorous — many times lawless — irresponsibles that crowd into a country that is just awakening, as Mexico is, some such law is an absolute necessity, or the anemic population would be crowded to the wall, or wiped out. There are many provoking things about the Mexican laws ; for example, if a lumber team should run over and kill a native, the authorities in their anxiety for witnesses, and to place the responsibility, are apt to arrest not only the drivers of the team, but all the rest of the gang, and for a time look with suspicion on everybody connected with the lumber busi- ness. The afternoon wore slowly away, and it rained harder every minute. At last came supper and then bed. Here, as elsewhere, folding canvas DEL CORTE. — ROAD THROUGH RUBBER. cots were the only beds used, and while they are superior to an earthern floor, they do give one a crick in the back. Still we were thankful for our many mercies, and settled down to sleep. One by one the dim oil lamps were extinguished, and all was quiet except the monologue indulged in by one guest who was somewhat inebriated. The Major reasoned with him, begging him to go to sleep, which at last he did ; but the relief was only temporary, as he soon began again, talking in his sleep. Just as, used to this, we were dozing, a sudden crash shook the house — a guest had fallen out of bed. The Major told him what he thought of such carelessness, and what he would do if it happened again, and once more quiet reigned. For a short time only, all was still, and then 152 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE clump, clump, clump, along the passage between the cots came a heavy tread. Peeping out from between the mosquito bars, I saw a man clad only in heavy boots, tramping up and down the room. The Major discovered him at the same time, and wrathfully inquired what he was about. "Just taking exercise,'' was the reply. Then really the Major let himself out. It was truly a rhetorical masterpiece that he delivered himself of, and the offender at last reluctantly agreed to put off his constitutional until the morrow, and went back to bed. It was still raining when we awoke, and we sat around all the forenoon waiting for the train, or for better weather. It was then that, looking at the passing mozos, I had a chance to see the native raincoats of cane and cocoa fiber that are the only mackintoshes the Indians use. They look far better and cleaner in a photograph than otherwise, and rubber manufacturers in the States need not fear that rubber markets will ever seriously seek them. At two o'clock that afternoon, as it was raining only a little, we loaded our belongings on a inozo, and started to walk the track to the railroad camp, twelve kilometers away. We got there finally, boots covered with mud, damp, perspiring, and weary, and were welcomed to the engineer's quarters that consisted of five box cars fitted up as dwellings, full of material comforts, and inhabited by several young and friendly Americans. The head of this engineering household was Mr. F. M. Ames, chief engineer of the Vera Cruz and Pacific Railway, who has for seventeen years been at work railroad building, all the time in the tropics. Indeed, he headed the corps that surveyed the National Tehuan- tepec road, cutting his way through the densest sort of jungle, and establishing camps where now are thriving settlements. Mr. Ames knew the country, the people, and the animals, and we were soon launched into talk about the wild dwellers of the forest. Of the cat tribe, there are quite a number of large and active specimens. The leader of all these is the ounce, or as the natives call it, the tigrc, and next to him come a great variety of spotted cats, diminutive specimens of the jaguar tribe. They never attack man, and when hunted invariably take to a tree, although before doing so they often stop and finish a dog or two, which they are fully capable of doing. They are more or less of a nuisance about plantations as they have a great fondness for turkeys and chickens. Many of the smaller mammals of the temperate zone are also very common, such as foxes, rabbits, skunks, squirrels, black and brown, and ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 153 monkeys. This latter animal, I regret to say, was conspicuously missing at the time of my visit, the story being that a year or two before they had taken yellow fever, and nearly all of them died. It was during this most interesting chat that supper was announced, and we were soon luxuriating on ham and eggs, hot biscuits, and fine coffee that the Chinese cook knew how to prepare to perfection. I could not help remarking that the Chinaman was already considerably in evi- dence as a cook in the cities, at railway camps, and on plantations. Indeed, there are many who believe that the labor problem for the planter will be solved by the importation of a sufficient number of them. It is the general judgment, however, that while they may be taught to clean the rubber from weeds and vines, and to do a certain amount of culti- TREES ON FILISOLA. [Photo Copyright by C. B. Waite.] vating, that they will not be of much use either in forest clearing, or in tapping. In addition to this, the prices that the Chinese companies want for securing coolies is at the present time much too high to allow of their profitable use. Mr. Ames, his two assistants, Messrs. Jones and Hawkins, my com- panion and I spent a very pleasant evening in what perhaps might be called the parlor car, and later adjourning to the sleeping car, forgot everything earthly until awakened in the early morning by the shrill whist- ling of a locomotive. This was the signal for breakfast and an early start. In due time we boarded a flat car in front of the engine, and were off for Santa Rosa. We sat in a row on the extreme front of the car, ready to jump if it left the track. Along the route the worthy chief showed us 154 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE where such slight mishaps had occurred, explaining that, until the coming of the dry season, and it was possible to put in ballast, such a condition of affairs had no remedy. We reached Santa' Rosa in due time, and as a souvenir of my visit, Mr. Ames gave me a cedrilla nut, a native remedy for all kinds of snake bites, as well as for coast fevers. I have since learned that the mahogany cutters, and other foresters of the tropics, put great faith in it, and rarely venture into the forest without it. Leaving the railroad we struck into the new trail already men- tioned, hid our luggage until a mozo could be sent for it, and started to walk to La Buena Ventura. The rain had ceased, the sun was shining brightly, and every bird in the forest was singing a song of rejoicing. Not always in tune, however, for the genuine feathered warbler of the hot country is not at all musical. The chachilatta thinks it sings, but as a matter of fact it simply "chachilatters," and that word just describes the sound. A sort of wild hen is this bird, and one that is in constant hysterics. After a walk of about fifteen minutes, we emerged from the forest and ascended to the higher ground where grows the rubber. To our regret we arrived too late to join in a tapir hunt that took place in that very orchard. The tapir is the largest wild animal in the Isthmus, and although quite plentiful, is so shy that it is rarely seen. It is perfectly harmless, and its flesh is esteemed a delicacy by the natives. One of them by some chance wandered into the rubber, and the son of my host fired a charge of shot, knocking him over. He recovered in an instant, and rushed away, taking another charge with him. We did not tarry to talk tapir, however, but hastened on, both of us anxious to get our mail. As I had received no letters since leaving the City of Mexico, that longing had a reasonable basis, but when I appreci- ated the difficulty in getting letters through, I did not wonder at the delay, but marvelled that any mail at all reached me. So we hastened on over the rubber covered hills and finally reached the ridge on which stands the house, and on which, too, is grouped the marvellous collection of tropical plants and trees referred to in a previous letter. Many of these, by the way, were obtained through the courtesy of the officials in far distant British botanical stations, notably, Calcutta, Singapore, and stations on the west coast of Africa. Indeed, Mexico owes to these officials and to Mr. .Harvey's enterprise the introduction of the Kickxia Africanus and the Hevea Brasiliensis. We reached the plantation house at last, and everyone welcomed 156 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE us warmly. The tame macaw, the little green parroquette, Lora the parrot, and even Bola, the big yellow tomcat, vied with the dogs in an enthusiastic ovation. Things seemed to be about as we had left them, and except for the fact that my black shoes had gathered a fur of green mold, and one of them was occupied by an enormous spider, I was perfectly content. Speaking of spiders, there are many of them, but they are the least of the insect troubles. If left alone, they are harmless and not much in evidence, but the rodador, the pinolco, the chaqnista! — they are looking for trouble. The rodador is like the black fly of the North American woods. It is in some places most abundant, and its bite raises an itching lump that lasts several days. After a little, however, one becomes inoculated with rodador virus, and the only result is a small black spot that scales off without any itching or burning. They trouble some newcomers exceedingly, but I found them only a slight discomfort, not important enough to take any special precaution to mitigate. Among the insects that are most easily domesticated, and that attach themselves with instant affection to the passing traveler, I should name the pinoleo, the conchudo, and the garrapata. They are all related, and are of the tick family. The pinole o has a habit of associating with himself several millions of others, each one the size of a pin point, and hanging on a leaf or twig over a trail where animals or men are accus- tomed to pass. When the branch is touched, they instantly catch on to whatever touches it, and proceed to distribute themselves over the body and seek for tender spots wrhereupon to feast. I had a most abundant and energetic collection of pinoleos on several occasions, but got rid of them without much trouble. The conchudo is simply a pinole o that has not been blotted out early in life, and who grows into a fairly sizeable tick. He does not burrow into the flesh, but simply hangs on, and grows fat off the animal of his adoption. The garrapata is the pinoleo grown to maturity, and is a good large ablebodied tick that fastens himself upon his victim, and is very reluctant to let go. Another little pest that troubles some people is the chaquiste, a fly so minute that one can hardly see him, and that hides itself in the hair of the head, its bite being like the sting of an electric needle. There are, of course, mosquitoes, although personally I was troubled very little by them during the whole of my trip, and ordinary fleas are to be found in the towns and cities from one end of the country to the other. The insect that I most dreaded, however, and which was described to me by many of the old time residents, was the moyaquil. This is a grub ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 157 which burrows in the flesh, and which when approaching maturity is about an inch long. It is supposed to be hatched from the egg of a fly, some say a butterfly, and is very easily disposed of if one knows what it is. When once imbedded in the flesh, it has the appearance of a blind boil, but under a magnifying glass, the head of the creature can be seen just above the skin, and a little sticky substance, such as rubber sap, suffocates it, and it is easily extracted. The next two days were set apart for more plantation visiting, but my good luck, as far as weather was concerned, suddenly fled. It rained so hard that traveling would have been torture, and visiting folly, so on the third day I turned my face towards the City of Mexico — a far cry, however, for first must come a long afternoon's tramp along the railroad track to Achotal. We did it, reaching the town at dusk. Then followed FILISOLA IN ITS PALMY DAYS. [Photo Copyright by C. B. Waite.] the wait until one in the morning, when the train arrived. We waited on cots in Antonio's palatial shed, which we shared with mozos, dogs, pigs, mules, horses, and the "murderer." The last named was the only really interesting bit of scenery there. He appeared soon after the rest were asleep, and crouched by the side of the door of the next hut, his sullen face filled with hate, his hand toying with the hilt of a wicked looking knife. He wasn't after us, so we let him alone. At 12.30 we got up, took our traps, stumbled over a family of sleeping porkers that were lying in the passage between the huts, sidled down a narrow plank. to the railroad track, squeezed in between a lot of mozos who, wrapped in blankets, covered the depot platform, and awaited the coming of the 158 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE train. While we sat there, one of the mozos roused up, and began to talk to my companion. After a time, Mr. Harvey turned to me and said: "Here is a most remarkable thing; this man was on his way to my plantation to get work, when some of the railroad men told him that I drove my laborers out in the field early in the morning, hitting them with the flat of the machete, that I fed them very poorly, and made them sleep in a fenced enclosure that had no roof over it, so he didn't dare come. That is the way they try to get our help for themselves." At length, after what seemed an interminable wait, the train arrived, and we got aboard. The train boy had some canned beans and crackers from which we made a hearty meal, and then, stretching out on the seats, we slept as best we could until we reached the breakfast station at Perez. The breakfast was fair, but the fruit we bought later was really what made life worth living. At every railway station, women and children gathered under the car windows with fruits, flowers, native made candies, and the great variety of sweet cakes of which both Mexicans and Indians are very fond. I got a dozen oranges for ten cents, and they were simply delicious. A fruit that I had been very anxious to taste was the sapadillo, produced by the tree from which the chicle comes, and, finding them on sale at last, I immediately invested. It is about the size of an apple, with a skin like the potato, the pulp tasting like gelatine filled with brown sugar. I also sampled many other fruits. Of them all, as might be expected, the banana is the most common, and I observed several varieties that are never seen in the States. Some tiny yellow ones, a little larger than one's thumb, have an extremely delicate flavor, and are delicious. Of this family is a large plantain which is either fried or broiled, never being eaten raw, and which is extremely palatable. There are a great variety of other fruits which appear at certain seasons, such, for example, as the sour sop, a sort of pear with a prickly alligator skin hide, and which tastes like sour snow mixed with cotton batting. During the forenoon we rode through a country largely given up to cattle ranches. Of domestic animals in Mexico, the cattle are perhaps the most valuable, and even with the poor strain of stock that is bred, many large fortunes come to the owners of the ranches. Besides this, those who go into the cattle business have no trouble at all in getting help, as the native Mexican is a natural cowboy, and if he has but a pony and a big set of Spurs, he is willing to work as he is at no other calling. Some of the more progressive ranchers are crossing their cattle with imported stock, and getting fine results. Most of the rubber planters ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 159 keep a certain number of cattle for their own immediate wants, and for feeding the help, and occasionally they are able to get a little fresh milk; but few of the cows are good milkers, and for native use, goat's milk is very extensively used. One thing that I had a chance to do on this forenoon's journey was to look over the notes that I had taken relative to the manner in which real estate, and particularly plantations, are taxed. This is not an interesting subject to the casual reader, so if he will kindly skip a few paragraphs, and allow others the privilege of reading, it will be esteemed a favor. It seems that there is an actual tax for the transfer of property, which is called traslacion de domino, assessed in the follow- ing manner : Two per cent, is charged on the value stipulated in the deed. FILISOLA WATER FRONT AT PRESENT. [Photo Copyrighted by C. B. Waite.] provided that value is equal to or more than the official value, the latter being the value on record established at the last sale of the property, or if there has not been a recent sale, established by the valuation com- mittee, called the junta calificadora. This two per cent, is the state tax, and on this two per cent, is charged thirty per cent, federal tax. If this transfer tax is not paid immediately after the execution of a title, a fine of twenty-four per cent, per annum on the amount of sale, or the official value if the property is charged. Government registration of a title is not allowed unless this transfer tax has been paid.' This transfer tax applies only on real estate, and is charged only when property changes hands. Country real estate (finca rustica) is calculated as follows: Six per 160 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE cent, of the value is figured ; upon this amount five per cent, is charged as a state tax for the year, and upon this same amount thirty per cent, is charged as a federal tax. These taxes are payable the first of each quarter or yearly in advance. Failure to pay during the first month of each quarter subjects one to a fine of six and one-quarter per cent, for the first month, twelve and one-half per cent, for the second month, and for the third month, or thereafterwards, twenty-five per cent. The only products in the locality that I visited where taxes are charged are coffee, sugar, and tobacco, and upon these four cents per are is levied. This are is one-hundredth part of a hectare, and a hectare is 2.471 acres. On this four per cent., thirty per cent, is charged as a federal tax. These taxes may also be paid quarterly or yearly, and if not paid during the first fifteen days of each month, a fine of six per cent, is charged and if not paid during the first two months of each quarter or later, twent}- five per cent, is charged. It will be seen that these taxes are very light, and the government gives the planters the privilege of making their own manifests as to the area of the land under cultivation, and invariably accepts these in good faith. That night we spent in Cordoba, and the next morning went early to Orizaba to recuperate. We both were in need of rest, and felt the effect of that fine dry climate almost at once. Orizaba, be it said, is i most civilized city, quite a resort for health seekers, and its guardians look with great disfavor upon the free and easy inhabitants of the coun- try south. I was somewhat indignant at the looks cast upon me by the policeman, until I learned that it was against the law to wear a revolver, so I gladly unshipped mine, and stowed it away in my bag. Not that the city is really prudish. It runs a big public gambling house, which every dweller patronizes, and the profits from which go for municipal improvements. I met many Americans there, among them Maxwell Riddle, who was shivering with calentura, and was hastening back to Tierra Blanca to sweat it out; John W. Byam, on his way to the San Marcos planta- tion, accompanied by Mr. Wood, his manager, who was just back from the Congo Free State ; Mr. Cavanaugh of Perez, and many others. We luxuriated in Orizaba, attended the theatre, saw the poorest centimatograph show on earth, learned from the natives that the Ameri- can national hymn is "There's a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight/' and thus improved both mind and body. Finally I was rested, and M!r. Harvey had secured a lot of rare orchids from a learned old Mexican horticulturist there, and further 162 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE arranged for an exploring trip with him later, and the time had come to part. I tried hard to get him to visit New York with me, but with the true tropical dread of pneumonia and grippe, he sturdily refused. With a simple handshake we parted, but I wish he could have looked into my heart, and read there the gratitude that I felt, and how I appreciated the hospitality and consideration that he had shown to the tenderfoot who dropped in so suddenly upon him, rode his best horse, stole the affections of his parrot, and wore a hole in his favorite canvas chair. On my return to the City of Mexico almost the first people that I met were Messrs. Warren and William Fish, Mjr. Charles E. Sieler, Mr. S. D. Dorman, and Dr. W. S. Cockrell, all of whom have interests down in the Trinidad River district. I had met these gentlemen before, with the exception of the last named, and as he has been interested in rubber cultivation for nine years, I was glad to get an expression of opinion from him. He is a very earnest advocate of close planting. I believe he laid it down as a rule that the distances between the trees should be six feet and six inches. He has also gone into the subject of smothering the grass by the use of the cow pea, and strongly recommends the whip- poorwill variety. He said that his own observations proved that when the Castilloa was planted in a soil that consisted of a thin layer of loam over gravel, the trees did very well for three or four years, and after that seemed not only to stop growing, but that they produced very little latex. His remarks remind me that in transferring my notes I left out my visit to Filisola, a plantation that is not only an acknowledged failure, but one that is practically abandoned. As the record of failure is often of more value than is the story of any number of successes, I am going to add it right here. It was hot — awfully hot — as we climbed up the hillside to the rubber trees. On the way we walked in single file, constantly thrashing our leggings with switches to dislodge the clinging pinoleos. On the rolling ground above the landing, we found a stand of trees, said to be seven thousand in number, planted about twelve feet apart. Most of them were in the sun, but quite a lot were in among banana trees, and had good shade. Those in the sun were knee deep in grass, which was not of one year's growth, but showed a permanent sod. Those in the shade were free from grass. All of the trees, however, looked aged, not in size, but from the wrinkled condition of the bark, and the gray lichen that covered it. Yet those trees were but seven years old. They yielded some latex, but the most optimistic seller of rubber planting stock would ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 163 not dare predict that they would ever grow another foot. They looked matured, finished, discouraged, and a physical examination of the soil explained it. A thin leaf mold, then sandy clay with a trace of iron, then clay, and the whole as dry as a smoked herring, was what it showed. A variety of opinions were put forward as to the cause of the failure of this venture — mismanagement, poor soil, bad seed, grass, etc. — but to my mind the soil told the whole story. I have had so many inquiries concerning the cow pea that I want to add a word concerning it. The botanical name of the ordinary variety RUBBER TREE 27 MONTHS OLD FROM SEED. is the Vigna kantaing. It is one of the well known leguminous plants of the southern states, grown partly for fodder and partly for hay. It makes the land richer because it returns to it so much of the mineral matter taken from the soil, and in addition much nitrogen from the air. There are a number of varieties used through the southern states, such as the "clay," the "unknown," and the "whippoorwill." The advantages of the cow pea are. it is a nitrogen gatherer ; it shades the soil in summer, leaving it friable and loose ; it has a large root development ; is adapted to almost anv sort of soil ; stands heat and sunshine well ; and if sown 1 64 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE thickly, will, by its rapid growth and shade, effectually smother all weeds, thus serving as a cleansing crop. There is another plant which rubber planters might well look into, and that is the velvet bean — the Mucuna pruzriens (var. utilis). This plant comes originally, I think, from Tampa, Florida, and no doubt the Florida experiment station could tell all about it. It is said to have even a more luxurious growth than the cow pea, and produces a great amount of vine, and a large yield of seeds. It covers the ground with so heavy a vine that it is reported to have killed temporarily even the cocoa and Johnson grasses. When one is in a foreign country, and almost ready to start for home, and a bit homesick at that, there comes a moment when all deter- rents are brushed aside, and one bolts. I had planned several days sightseeing, and a stop off on the way, but instead I bolted. I met all sorts of nice chaps on the return journey, yet it was a long week that elapsed ere I sighted the skyscrapers of New York. Now that I am here, I wish somewhat that I had stayed a trifle longer, and I find myself yearning again for the open air life, the strange experiences, and the glimpses of nature — luxuriant, triumphant. Will this wishful attitude draw me back there soon — I wonder ! A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTA- TIONS IN NICARAGUA A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN NICARAGUA. ON BOARD THE SUNBEAM — DECEMBER HEAT — MEETING A WATER SPOUT — ARRIVAL AT BLUEFIELDS — UP THE ESCONDIDO — MORNING GLORY VINES AMONG THE RUBBER TREES — DEVASTATION OF CASTILLOA BY HEAVY RAINS — INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS IN TAPPING — THE MANHATTAN PLANTATION — VISITS TO OTHER RUBBER GROWERS — DISEASES OF THE CASTILLOA — ON A FRUITER TO NEW ORLEANS. WE three, the Importer, the Manufacturer, and the Editor, left Port Lirnon, Costa Rica, at 1.30 in the afternoon on a hot, tropical December day. The short voyage from Port Limon to Bluefields, something like one hundred and fifty rniles, was to be taken on a small, fifty-two-ton schooner owned by Belanger's, Incorpor- ated, of Nicaragua, and used in trading up and down the coast. The WHARF AT BFXANGER S. schooner was equipped with a gasoline auxiliary which took up most of the room aft, and made the rest of it so thick with gasoline fumes that it was difficult to stay in the cabin ten minutes at a time, so we lived on deck. The vessel was called the Sunbeam and was manned by a mixed crew of negroes from the Fortune Islands, San Bias Indians, and one Englishman, and was commanded by a Cayman Islander. Starting out against a head wind, our gasoline "kicker" put us along at the rate of about four miles an hour, and we sat scorching on deck until finally the sun set and we turned in, still on deck, sleeping 167 i68 A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS in our clothes, on a pile of old sails in the stern of the boat. The bed was far from comfortable for one at all finical about the soft side of a plank, and the Importer did not take to it a bit. He had chosen a place next to the bulwarks, and had only one ring bolt in the small of his back, while the Manufacturer was curled in the form of an S around a huge cleat, and a part of the steering gear. However, morning came at last, and the little boat kicked along through a blazing sun at first, until it finally clouded up, and later, about three miles to the northeast, a huge waterspout was sighted. We were all so dull and drowsy that we didn't pay much attention to it at first, but when it drew nearer and nearer, and the captain furled all sail and made everything fast, we WATER FRONT AT BLUEFIELD S. thought it might be possible that we were going to have some fun. It was the first time I had ever seen anything but pictured waterspouts, and I had always been a bit skeptical about them; but as it got within a few hundred feet of us, I was a most thorough convert. It was really a most remarkable sight. The sea was quite smooth, except where the end of the great funnel touched the water, and there it was broken up into curious little wavelets. The huge circular tube of vapor did not go straight up, but slanted off into an especially black cloud and appeared to be a mile and a half in length. When it was near enough, the captain began shooting in its direction with an old-fashioned Colt's revolver, and the Manufacturer, getting his gun, took a hand in the same game. Whether the concussion did the work or not, I don't know, but before it reached us it suddenly dissolved, and in a very few seconds no trace of it was to. be seen. IN NICARAGUA 169 After that we had no further excitement except the catching of a big kingfish, which helped out our table immensely. That night we slept again on deck, and went through several showers, sailing into Blue- fields about nine the following morning, where the doctor passed us as "healthy, but ugly." Then we went up against the custom house officials at the bluff, who fingered our belongings for anything contraband, seeming to take particular delight in running grimy fingers over our toothbrushes, and to have a deep anxiety to unroll camera films, and so on. We got rid of them at last, and boarding a flat-bottomed stern- wheeler, were taken across the broad expanse of Bluefields Bay, and landed at Belangers wharf, from which we went at once up to La Trop- LA TROPICAL HOTEL, BLUEFIELDS. ical Hotel for a bath and breakfast. There was but one bathroom, and that was situated over the kitchen, which was proved by the sign on the wall: ''Don't slop water on the floor; range just below. Gives food a soapy flavor." After breakfast we went out and looked over the little city of frame houses, so radically different from most Central American towns, both in its architecture and in the fact that it is built on a side hill where there is a certain amount of drainage. We didn't tarry long in Blue- fields, however, for our flat-bottomed boat, Nat, Jr., a sternwheel freighter was waiting, and with our luggage aboard we soon started A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS up through the wonderful system of lagoons and waterways that were to be our pathway to the rubber plantations. These comprise the Bluefields River, the Escondido ("Hidden Waters") River, and a great variety of deep lagoons and waterways, inter- mingling in inextricable confusion, shut in by walls of tropical foliage — an expanse of natural passages so great that a navy might easily be hidden there without the remotest chance of detection. Indeed, in the old days of the buccaneers, these lagoons were favorite retreats, and if closely pursued a vessel could slip into one of them, tie a few branches to her topmasts, and defy discovery. WALDRON S STORE — CUKRA AND CANADA PLANTATIONS. The ride up through the Escondido was simply entrancing. There was scarcely a ripple on the water ; the foliage of palms, palmettos, man- groves, and wild bananas, interspersed with patches of pampas grass, the stalks of which were twenty and thirty feet high, bound together with vines and spangled with flowers ; the huge flocks of blue and white cranes and the basking alligators — all made a panorama so wild in its tropical beauty that it added new fascinations every moment. Finally, late in the afternoon, we turned into Sloophouse creek, and a little later were moored at the pier belonging to the Cukra IN NICARAGUA 171 plantation. Here we disembarked, and leaving our luggage to be brought up later, followed a narrow-gauge banana railway up over a little hill through a part of the fifteen-hundred-acre banana plantation of the Cukra Company, and were soon at the house of Mr. Gordon Wal- dron, one of the owners, where we had a bountiful supper and a most interesting chat, chiefly on rubber. After supper, in the bright moon- light, we boarded a flat car drawn by a diminutive engine and rode three miles into the country to the road that led to the Manhattan planta- tion. There saddle horses and a wagon were awaiting us, and as it had suddenly clouded up and begun to rain, the Importer and I got ,on the top of the baggage, preferring to trust ourselves to a wagon rather than a horseback ride through the pitchy darkness. The road was far from smooth, and we got ample exercise before reaching the plantation house. WALDRON'S CANADA PLANTATION. We did reach it finally, at 11.30, and turning in under mosquito nets, slept like tops. At daybreak the whole crowd roused out, and going to the door we found that we were right in the middle of planted rubber. It was on all sides of us, even in the yard. The average age of the trees was about three years and they all looked stocky and thrifty. The soil seemed to be a red, loamy clay, quite porous, with considerable volcanic rock through it, and the country rolling rather than flat. The soil was excedingly deep, as was attested by several wells that had been sunk, the deepest being forty feet, which had not got through that formation. That the trees bled very freely, I was able to prove before break- fast, as I walked around and ran my knife into the spongy bark. A little 172 A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS later, when we started out on our tour of inspection, the Importer, who would not ride horseback, was fitted out with a sort of buckboard, drawn by a mule and driven by a Southern darkey known as Jake. The rest of us rode horses. Almost the first thing that struck me about the planting problem down there was the remarkable prevalence of the morning glory vine. Just as soon as the land is cleared and planted it takes possession, and if it were not cut down constantly around the young rubber trees, it would most effectually smother them. When the trees get a good start, the vine suddenly dies out and the grass comes in. My belief had always been that for grass to get into rubber was fatal to the growth and pro- ' RESIDENCE OF SIM IRON. ductiveness of the tree. I saw acres down there, however, with the grass growing among the three-year-old trees, and they were apparently as healthy and thrifty as they could possibly be. A little later the shade of the tree seems to discourage the growth of the grass, and in one planting, where the trees were between four and five years old, the grass had practically disappeared. The refusal of the Castilloa to put up with too much water was emphasized by the fact that a section of land, containing perhaps ten acres, on the Manhattan plantation, where during the heavy rains the water had not drained away quickly enough, most of the trees had died. IN NICARAGUA 173 Speaking of the rain in this section, the local report is that there are about two hundred and fifty inches a year. I don't know that that is the result of actual measurement, but while we were there it certainly rained about as easily as it does in any part of the world. During a forenoon's ride we would often go through three or four showers, not heavy ones, but the gentlest sort of refreshing spring rain. The elevation of the bunch of plantations that we were visiting is about two hundred and SIM IRON S RUBBER PLANTATION. fifty feet above sea level, and as a rule, the soil was very rich and very well drained. One of the first plantations that we visited was owned by a genial old gentleman from Virginia by the name of Sim Iron. He runs his place himself and has about seventeen thousand trees between three and four years old. His ranch houses were more picturesque than those of the Manhattan, in that they were palm thatched and built largely in the native fashion. During a part of the year the old gentleman has his wife 174 A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS on the place with him, and they seem as happy and healthy as if they were running a farm in a northern clime. After looking over the Sim Iron plantation, we visited Daytonia, now the Rubber Grove plantation, where there were some very good trees, although it was explained that the man who started the planatation sold something like two hundred thousand dollars of stock, and spent IN THE SHADE OF A RUBBER TREE. [Named from right to left : Sim Iron, S. W. Sinclair, J. A. Belanger, Charles H. Arnold, Arthur F. Townsend, The Cook, Henry C. Pearson.] only thirty thousand dollars in planting. He was later prosecuted for fraud and was sent to jail in some one of the United States. The planta- tion was then taken over by a local company, who are getting it into good shape. After leaving Daytonia, we visited some small private plantations. IN NICARAGUA 175 all of Castilloa, which looked excellently. Then we returned to the Manhattan House for noon breakfast, and in the afternoon walked across lots to look at the rubber on the Cukra plantation. Just as we got there our first real shower came down. That was not any spring rain ; it was more like a cloudburst, and kept us penned in the house for nearly an hour. It cleared off, however, as suddenly as it came on, and then we began to examine the interesting experiments that were being carried on by Mr. Waldron. He had already begun tapping some of his six-year-old trees, and close to the house where we had taken refuge from the shower was his coagulating and drying house. In this house were galvanized iron MANHATTAN PLANTATION. — DWELLING HOUSE. cans holding half a barrel, each filled with latex mixed with water and formaldehyde, while from the ceiling hung long strips of rubber being air dried. Mr. Waldron used the formaldehyde to keep the latex from coagulating too soon, and he washed out the vegetable acids and the albumen by diluting the latex and creaming it. He found some diffi- culty in coagulating, and had, therefore, fitted up a couple of caldrons close to the house, and was boiling the latex. The rubber appeared to be very clean, but a little short. Indeed, Mr. Waldron acknowledged that he thought it was coalesced instead of coagulated. From the coagulating house we walked down through the rubber 176 A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN NICARAGUA 1 77 orchard to the trees that were then being tapped. This work was done very carefully and in the most cleanly way, the latex being caught in tin cups of which there were three rows of four cups each, making twelve cups to the tree. After the milk had stopped flowing and the cups had been emptied, a native was sent around with a spoon to take off the thick creamlike exudation that gathered in the cuts. As this was taken off before coagulation, it went into solution with the rest of the latex without any trouble. Mr. Waldron was getting three ounces of dry MOSQUITO INDIANS. rubber from each tree and was planning to tap them a number of times during the year. He talked of tapping by team work through the whole of the dry season, and during the wet season to skip only a couple of weeks during the torrential rains. •We tried the Ceylon tool, but it didn't seem any better than the ordinary knife for this work. The general manager of Cukra, although very much of an iconoclast, and not in the habit of following other people's lead, acknowledged that much of his tapping and coagulating 178 A VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS was only experimental, and that he expected before long to work down to a simpler and more practical system. At the same time, he claimed, that cumbersome as his present process was, it proved most thoroughly the profitableness of rubber planting. During the rest of our stay on this group of plantations, we made our headquarters at Man- hattan, riding out in various directions and ex- amining the rubber, and discussing it with vari- ous planters, who were much interested in mak- ing a success of it. There are in the vicinity, at a conservative estimate, about four hundred thous- and cultivated Castilloa trees, the largest single plantation being the Canada plantation, of which Mr. Waldron is manager and chief owner. This plantation has about two hundred thousand trees ; next to that comes the Manhattan, with about one hundred and forty thousand. This group of plantations lies in the form of an eclipse, about five miles long and two miles broad. After having visited the typical plantations, collected samples, and secured all the infor- mation possible, the whole crowd saw us down to the Cukra pier, where we again embarked on the Nat. Jr., and started down the river on our way back to Bluefields. We reached this Americanized city early in the evening, and found that a fruiter was starting for New Orleans the next morning, and that the governor had promised to hold it for us, so that we could not miss it. In the meantime, our friends began to make it easy for us to leave the country. One of the first things to be done in leaving Nicaragua is to secure a passport, for which one pays a dollar. Mine described me as being- about thirty-five vears old and having red "CASTILLOA' STEM J ATTACKED BY SCALE '-nair> but so l°ng as it sufficed to let me out of the country I didn't care, particularly as the descrip- tion of the Importer and the Manufacturer were even less flattering. I have already mentioned that the custom house at Bluefields is IN NICARAGUA 179 situated at the bluff, some miles from the city itself, and it was while going over to the fruiter that was to take us to New Orleans, that we saw a very curious instance of the peculiar concessions that are held by various companies. It seems that a steamer which was not one of the elect had come down there for a load of bananas. In other words, it didn't belong to the company having the navigation concessions. It was, therefore, not allowed to go up into the rivers or lagoons but, not to be beaten, the steamer's captain sent up to certain planters who promptly despatched a huge scow load of bananas to the bluff where the steamer lay. The government caused the scow to be laid alongside of its wharf, and proceeded to discuss the unlawfulness of the proceedings. While this discussion was going on, something like a hundred soldiers marched onto the gunwale of the scow, which careened it just enough LARVAE OF CASTILLOA BORER. to cause the water to flow over the low bulwarks and sink the boat, bananas and all. I tried to get a photograph of the sinking scow, but was deterred by a gentleman who said that I might get in trouble with the customs officers, and get my stuff held up if I gave evidence of being too active a partisan. This was no idle dream, for I had trouble enough with the officials anyhow, although I was not taking anything out of the country except what I had brought in, with the exception of a few samples of rubber and some Castilloa twigs that I was taking home in order to discover by what disease they were attacked. Speaking of diseases of the Castilloa tree, I noticed in a yard sur- rounding one of the plantation houses, that numbers of trees were i8o A VISIT TO THE RUBBER PLANTATIONS affected by scale, some of them quite badly, the insect appearing to have practically destroyed the lactiferous tubes, so that the outer bark pre- sented a curious shrunken appearance. This scale, as far as I was able to observe, only appeared where neither undergrowth nor weeds were in evidence round the foot of the tree. All of the trees thus affected were uprooted and burned. I brought samples of the stems back to the United States, however, and through the courtesy of the experts at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven, and the Bureau of Entomology at Washington, I was able to identify the dis- ease and also to discover simple remedies. The reports of the two ento- mologists follow : DEAR SIR : Your letter with specimens has been referred to me. The tree seems to be attacked by two species of scale insects , the large brown one is a Lecanium, and the small, glassy, greenish yellow one is an Asterolecanium. We do not have the literature by which I can determine them specifically. From a knowledge of simliar species found in this part of the country, I should expect that a thorough spray- ing with kerosene emulsion or whale oil soap would destroy them, though of course experience is needed to know just how strong to make the mixture. I should try some of these made in the proportion recom- mended in published bulletins, and if it did not kill them. I should use somewhat stronger mixtures. Very truly yours, W. L. BRITTON, State Entomologist, The Connecticut Agricultural Ex- perimental Station, New Haven, Connecticut. DEAR SIR: The scale insects upon the twigs which you sent repre- sent the akee fringed scale (Asterolecanium pustulans), and Lenaci- odiaspis rugosus (?). This Asterolecanium is very common and very injurious in the West Indies. It works principally upon akee,' oleander, fig, and hibiscus. Mr. Maxwell-Lefroy, the government entomologist to the West Indies, in pamphlet series No. 7 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, recommends kerosene emulsion for the control of this insect. His formula and method of preparation is as follows: " Kerosene emulsion: Dissolve one-half pound of hard soap in one gallon of water ; add two gallons of kerosene to the hot liquid, and immediately chtirn with a syringe or force pump until the mixture becomes creamy. This is a stock solution. Make up to thirty-three gallons. Use only rain or soft water. " IN NICARAGUA 181 The kerosene emulsion preparation can also be applied for the Lecaniodiaspis, of which only a few specimens were found on the twig which you sent. Yours truly, F. H. CHITTENDEN. Acting Chief, Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. Another possible enemy to the Castilloa that the alert planters were seeking information about, was a wood borer which attacked the tree where the self-pruning branches broke off, and occasionally where the STERN OF "NAT, JR." bark was cut or wounded. The larva of the insect are large grubs, that after penetrating the outer bark burrow upwards inside of the cambium, and then straight through the wood, completely honeycombing it so that the trees break short off when very little wind comes. This does not always kill the tree, but it sets it back appreciably. These borers appear to be most active during the months of June and July. The planters, for a remedy, were using a mixture of tar, kerosene oil, black oil and sulphur. This killed the grub if it touched it, but it was very difficult to reach it because of the length of the burrow. A suggestion for keeping the borers out was to have a gang of men constantly going 182 // VISIT TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS over the trees and tarring all cuts and the sockets left by the dropping off of the temporary branches. This, however, would be very expensive and hardly practical. I was able to secure a number of specimens of the larva, and the Bureau of Entomology at Washington decided that they belonged to one of the large moths, family Cossidce. Their report was that they knew little about the work of this moth, but that the best way to kill the borer was to inject a few drops of carbon bisulphide into the burrow with an oil can, closing the orifice with a little wax. The fumes of the solvent would then penetrate the lower part of the burrow and kill the grub. Professor John Barlow, of Kingston, Rhode Island, however, reported that instead of a moth it was probably a beetle. He suggested the same treatment for the destruction of the grub as the Bureau of Entomology at Washington. In this connection, it may be well to recall that sometime before this an anonymous writer reported that a beetle, the Aconsymus longimanus, was troublesome in Nica- ragua just in this way — that is, laying eggs in wounds in bark of the Castilloa, which developed into borers and greatly injured the trees. The fruiter on which we finally embarked was a Norwegian of about seven hundred tons, and carried ten thousand bunches of bananas. As we were the only three passengers, we took possession of the bridge, and also of the captain's quarters, and lived high in everything except food. We went out in the face of a norther, and ran into one after another during the whole passage. The boat had no refrigerating apparatus, and to save the fruit both the fore and after hatches were kept wide open, and it was a constant matter of wonderment to me that some of the big green seas didn't topple over our bow and swamp us, but they didn't, and we sailed on by Cape Gracias a Dios, through squall after squall, the temperature all the time in the eighties, and finally, missing the delta of the Mississippi by a wide margin, ran almost to Mobile before we got our bearings. We finally got right, however, and went up the Mississippi and landed in New Orleans just in time to enjoy the fireworks with which they usher in Christmas Day. A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING IN COSTA RICA A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING IN COSTA RICA. THE FIRST SIGHT OF COSTA RICA, THE BANANA REPUBLIC — How THE FRUIT is SHIPPED BY THE UNITED FRUIT COMPANY — ENTERPRISE OF THE NATIVE COSTA RICAN — THE CITY OF SAN JOSE AND IT'S NATIONAL THEATRE — A PLANTATION OF ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND CASTILLOAS — OTHER PLANTATIONS OF LESSER SIZE — WATERY LATEX — SOME OF THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE CASTILLOA. OUR first sight of Costa Rica came at five o'clock one morning, when we sighted the low-lying city of Port Limon with its back- ground of far away mountains. It was nearly eight o'clock before we made fast to the pier, and even then it took us some time to have our luggage weighed and the customs paid. The time came finally, WHARF AT PORT LIMON, COSTA RICA. however, when we were free to walk down the long pier, through the gates, and explore the town. Not only is Costa Rica justly called the Banana Republic, but Port Limon is a banana town, and we fully appreciated it when we saw the train loads of green fruit run out upon the piers, the huge bunches dumped upon rubber conveying belts and carried smoothly into the holds of the waiting steamships. The town, moreover, had an alert air about 185 i86 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING it that was in no way suggestive of typical Spanish America. It had no very pretentious buildings, with the exception, perhaps, of the office building of the United Fruit Co., but it boasted two hotels and the "Gem Saloon/' where all the men congregated, and besides that, almost every- body spoke English. At ten o'clock in the morning, the thermometer stood at 90° F., the air reeking with moisture, and the sky covered with evil looking clouds. Nevertheless, the streets were thronged with a most vivacious mixture of porters, fruit sellers, soldiers, Jamaica negroes, Chinese, and native Costa Ricans. At 10.30 we boarded the train that was to take us to the interior, and rode for twenty miles through a flat, swrampy country where UNITED FRUIT CO. S COMMISSARY, PORT LIMON. even the native Costa Rican cannot live, but where the Jamaica negro flourishes and waxes fat. At intervals along the railway were little huddles of huts built on stilts to keep them out of the black mud, roofed with corrugated iron or palm leaves, and full to overflowing with the ebony subjects of his Majesty King Edward VII. The heads of the families that called these shanties, homes, were very largely laborers on the banana plantations of the United Fruit Co., and when it is remembered that out of Port Limon come some seven million bunches a* year, it is easy to appreciate how large a force of men is needed to cultivate, cut, and ship this great crop. It is claimed that there are eleven thousand Jamaica negroes on the plantations near Port IN COSTA RICA 187 Limon. For them the United Fruit Co. provides hospitals, keeping out two per cent, of their wages for medical attendance; and yet, in spite of black fever, yellow fever, mosquitoes, and snakes, there is not a great amount of sickness among these laborers. And if one can judge by the appearance of the people, their home life in their little tin-roofed shacks, crowded with pickaninnies, mangy dogs, monkeys, and parrots, shows a greater measure of content than is to be found in the majority of settle- ments more favorably located, and populated by those who have a thousandfold more to make existence tolerable. As the train emerged from the palmetto swamps, it ran through some magnificent banana plantations, the trees growing rankly from rich LOADING BANANAS ON A TRAIN. alluvial soil and the bunches of fruit being often five or six feet long, and weighing over one hundred pounds each. The railroad, by the way, over which we were traveling, was built through the enterprise of that well known American, Mr. Minor C. Keith, who was also the creator of the great United Fruit Co. After a time the road began to ascend and the scenery became more and more beautiful. Nearly the whole of the distance up to the city of San Jose, the way lay along the side of a range of mountains, and ran parallel with a rapidly rushing river, whose white water could be seen oftentimes for miles. As we got up into the higher country, the home life of the Costa Rican began to be apparent. 188 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING Everywhere through the broad valleys and up the mountain sides could be seen cleared farms, in many cases fine plantation houses and great coffee estates. The native Costa Rican is perhaps one of the most enterprising and independent of all the Latin Americans. Nearly every man owns a patch of land and cultivates it. The better class speak English and are very friendly to Americans, welcoming them to their country with a manly, prideful air that is extremely taking. In the meantime the Ferrocarril Costa Rica was slowly but surely getting us up toward San Jose. The English locomotive was having a tough time of it with the steep grades, and it seemed every now and then as if the pull would be too much and that the heavy train would slip TEN MILES OUT OF PORT LIMON. back down into the valley. The slow progress, however, gave us every opportunity to examine the track with its iron sleepers, to see where various great landslides had time after time wiped out the railroad and even dammed the swift flowing river; and to enjoy the wonderful semi- tropical luxuriance of the giant trees festooned with vines and studded with epiphytes; to look down into deep gorges, up the sides of steep mountains, and across broad and fertile valleys, so photographed the scenery in one's mind that the snail's pace of the train was not only not objected to, but was most welcome. At intervals all the way up were to be seen Castilloa trees, many of which had been tapped in the brutal native fashion, which amounts almost to girdling. At about fifteen IN COSTA RICA CHIRR1PO, SHOWING MINOR C. KEITH S PLACE. hundred feet altitude the rubber trees began to appear less frequently, and when the aneroid read two thousand feet, they disappeared entirely. After reaching an elevation of some five thousand feet, we descended a thousand feet, and finally reached San Jose. The city is situated in the midst of a broad and fertile valley, and is semi-tropical rather than tropical, being surrounded by huge fields of sugar cane, corn, and grow- ing most of the well known tropical fruits. San Jose itself is a surprise. RIVER SCENE NEAR PORT LIMON. 190 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING With its well-kept streets, its trolley lines, electric lights, fine stores, and alert looking inhabitants, it is more like a modern American city than any- thing else. Although it contains but twenty-four thousand inhabitants, it gives one the impression of a city of double that size ; partly, perhaps, because the buildings are nearly all two stories only, as the frequent earthquakes do not invite the erection of skyscrapers. The single unpleas- ant feature is the open sewage, which is said to invite typhoid. Aside from that, there is practically no disease, the climate being equable, and the people, except on rare occasions when they take too much aguardiente, give the military police little trouble. MOUNTAIN ROAD NEAR SAN JOSE. Almost from the first of our landing in this country we heard of the magnificent National Theatre that San Jose pos- sessed. The Latin American description of it made it more elegant and on a larger scale than anything in New York or .London. For this reason, the first view of it was a bit of a disappointment. It certainly was beautiful architecturally, and its decorations wrere most elaborate, but it is a question if it would hold more than a thousand with comfort. Most of the decorative work was done by artists who were brought from Italy, and some six hundred thousand dollars gold was "spent upon the building. In the foyer on the beautiful inlaid floor were some of the most gorgeous rubber mats that I have ever seen, in red, white, and blue, with green leaves, yellow trumpets, golden IN COSTA RICA 191 TYPICAL COSTA RICAN LAND CLEARED FOR PASTURE, WITH CASTILLOA LEFT STANDING (ON THE LEFT.) harps, etc., and they bore the imprint of the well known firm of Pirelli & Co., Milan, Italy". The city has large wholesale houses, chiefly in the hands of the SCENE IN STREET IN SAN JOSE. 192 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING Germans, and substantial banks, the country being on a gold basis, with the colon as a unit of value, worth forty-six cents in American money. The population of the country is three hundred and forty thousand, none of whom are Indians. Spanish is the language in general use, but almost everybody understands English, and it is a delight to mingle with the people, for they have none of the sullen air so prevalent in certain parts of Spanish America. During our stay in the country, we put up at the Hotel Imperial, where we had comfortable rooms and enjoyed an excellent table. As a matter of course, we asked many questions about rubber culture, but from the natives or the resident Americans we developed little informa- CENTRAL PARK, SAN JOSE. tion. One of the latter explained it by saying that in that country at the present time bananas were the whole game, because they gave quicker results and had behind them the support of the United Fruit Co., who were perfectly willing that the planters should make a good thing out of their fruit. One native explained the lack of intestest in rubber planting by telling us solemnly that rubber seeds planted by man would -not develop into productive trees. He said that nature's way of distributing the.^seeds was for the birds to eat them in order to get the sweet pulp with which they are surrounded, and mingled with their droppings, the seed grew into a tree that was a rubber producer. If it did not go through this preparatory process, it amounted to nothing. IN COSTA RICA 193 Although we had not come to Costa Rica particularly to look up rubber, there was one plantation that I was anxious to examine, which was said 'to contain over one hundred thousand Castilloas, most of which had been interplanted with bananas. These trees were three or four years old, and planted by one who had had much experience in tropical forestry throughout Central America. The Importer was so pleased with the city of San Jose and so relieved to get out of the heat of the lowlands that he decided to stay there, while the Manufacturer and the writer took another plunge into the hot country. We, therefore, left him for a further exploration of the city, and getting up at day- break, boarded the train and retraced our steps, sliding slowly downward RAILROAD ON THE WAY UP TO SAN JOSE. for hours, until we reached the lower levels. The journey downward was even slower than the climb, as the engineer must be on the lookout constantly for falling rocks and for landslides, and I fancy he is also particularly careful not to let the train get away from him, which, with the number of cars and the heavy freight carried would seem to be a not unlikely happening. We therefore enjoyed afresh the magnificent scenery, and before we got down to the tropics, the lovely, springlike weather. Reaching the plantation, we were warmly welcomed by the planter in charge, who got us horses and took us over the planting. It was the dry season and there had been no rain at all for five days, but the ground 194 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING NATIVE RUBBER TEN YEARS OLD SURROUNDED BY PLANTED RUBBER AND CHOCOLATE. was exceedingly soggy and wet, and while the bananas were apparently very thrifty, the rubber did not look as well as it should. The leaves, to be sure, were shedding, which made the trees look their worst, but the few trees that we tapped gave out an exceedingly thin milk, more like skimmed milk than cream, containing, for a guess, not over twenty per cent, of rubber. It is possible, of course, that at the end of the dry season this might thicken up appreciably and be worth extracting, but unless that happened, they would hardly pay to tap. TYPICAL LOWLAND TOWN. /Ar 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 Castilloss 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 Castillo as 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 196 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING Castilloa in land that had formerly been used for bananas and were getting excellent results. All of this leads up to what I think I have before written, that a deep, open soil, particularly one that cakes at the surface a little and in which there is no chance for standing water, or nothing more than a very brief inundation, is what the Castilloa calls for. The interest in the planting of India-rubber in Costa Rica dates back some twelve or fifteen years. As early as 1892 it was reported that the wild trees near the cities and along the coast had been practically exhausted, and that what rubber was gathered came from the more remote valleys. In that year the amount of rubber that came out of the country was a trifle over six thousand dollars worth, less than half the RUBBER AND COCAO ALTERNATING., SHOWING METHOD OF CLEANING. amount shipped the preceding year. It was about this time that the government began to take an interest in the cultivation of rubber and passed laws against tapping the wild trees, and also offered prizes — one for eight thousand dollars and another for five thousand ^dollars — for the best plantations of Castilloa rubber. Both of these prizes were taken in 1894 by Minor C. Keith, who installed t\vo plantations near Port Limon, the trees, some twenty-five thousand in number, being planted with bananas and about one hundred and fifty rubber trees to the acre. At the time the prizes* were awarded the trees were said to be eight or nine years old. When the writer visited Costa Rica, no record of them could be found, although they should have been somewhere about twenty years old, and certainly big enough to tap. The gossips of the country IN COSTA RICA 197 appear to believe that so much quicker profit came to the planter through bananas that the rubber plantations were sacrificed to that industry. From 1900 onward, quite a number of companies were incorporated for the planting of Castilloa. A planter named Ed. Coles furnished in 1902 a list of eleven planters who had put in rubber, all the way from ten to one hundred acres. Some of these plantations, if they had been continued, would have trees that should be at the present time producers COCAO PODS AND SCRAP RUBBER FROM WILD TREES. of rubber. The questioning of either natives or foreigners on the ground elicited very little information; about all they seemed to know or care about was bananas. From an American planter, however, we learned that Messrs. Hoffenstadt and Gillet, of Banco de la China, have a planta- tion, where they lately tapped six hundred Castilloas which were six or seven years old, getting a pound of rubber from each tree. The correspondent also mentioned an American family named Hogan who were planting rubber at the mouth of the Tres Amigos River, which was the beginning of the Costa Rica Development Co., with headquarters at Los Angeles, California. The officers of this company made arrange- ments for us to visit their plantation, but that meant a call at Greytown, Nicaragua, to reach the Tres Amigos River, but we found that to be impossible. This company have twenty-five thousand trees, a little over three years old, and about fifteen thousand two years old, which from the photographs that we secured appear to be in a most excellent con- dition. In this connection it is interesting to note the activity of Mr. Th. F. Koschnev, an old time settler on the San Carlos River, and OITC who 198 A GLIMPSE OF RUBBER PLANTING has studied the Castilloa carefully. While not a botanist in the strictest sense of the term, his description of the varities of the Castilloa is of distinct value. He divides the Castilloa of Costa Rica into four species, the white, the black, the red, and the "tunu," the first three being all varieties of the Castilloa elastica. Botanists so far have not followed his discrimination carefully, and it is a question if rubber planters have made any distinction, nor has it been proved necessary. Of course, it would not pay planters to raise "tunu" gum instead of Panama rubber, but so far as we know, no such planting has ever been done in Costa Rica, or, indeed, anvwhere else. EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER IN PANAMA FIRST LETTER. To PANAMA IN THE RAINY SEASON — FORTUNE ISLAND — COLON — ALONG THE PAN- AMA CANAL — PANAMA CITY — THE ALMIRANTE — TOBOGA ISLAND — QUEER FISH — SLEEPING IN THE RAIN — THE QUEBRO OUTLAWS — EL CAPITAN'S FEARS — ALMOST WRECKED — IN THE LEE OF GUBERNADOR — THE "PIONEER" COMES ABOARD — ASHORE AT LAST. IT was decidedly against my better judgment that I found myself en route for Central America in May, due to reach the infant Republic of Panama during the rainy season, and when the yellow fever might be too easy of acquisition. Nevertheless, there I was, a passenger on the Allianca, with two fellow adventurers, while a third was waiting our arrival in Panama City. The exploring party consisted of four — the "Prospector," a well known mining engineer; the "Scout," then in Panama, getting together supplies, engaging guides, and chartering a schooner ; the ''Commodore," and the writer. My task was the examination of some eight hundred square miles of wild lands, privately owned and long forgotten. The voyage to Colon was uneventful, but enjoyable, although it grew warmer each day, and side awnings and wind scoops told of increasing nearness to the tropics. In due time Bird Island Rock was sighted, where is a lighthouse, flagstaff, and thirteen cocoanut palms, but no sign of life on the dazzling white beaches. Later came Fortune Island, and stopping far off shore, the one white resident came to us in a jolly boat rowed by a half dozen husky negroes, and got his mail. Although the sea was as smooth as glass, of a wonderful, indescribable blue, and the little cluster of houses in the distance, in a setting of graceful palms with foreground of snowwhite beaches, was -most beautiful, the heat was killing, and we were glad when the steamer left it all behind. Later the light on Cape Maisi, Cuba, was raised, and then came the boisterous and lonely Caribbean Sea. Heavy thunder storms were soon frequent, and the heat during the day was intense, but the nights, as the moon was full, were glorious. Finally, on the last day of May, at eleven in the morning, we sighted the rugged coast of Colombia, shadowed by masses of deep cloud, and not long after we were in Colon. Although soon transferred to the train that crosses the Isthmus, we had a chance to see the building where twenty-four United States 201 202 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER marines stood off four hundred Colombian regulars ; to take in the negro huts that cluster about the town in every swampy spot; and to size up the small, scraggy horses, the parrots, monkeys, and a good per- centage of Colon's two thousand inhabitants. The afternoon train scheduled to leave at 2.45 gets away promptly at 3.30. Almost at once the journey is made interesting by the relics of the French canal diggers, and such relics! Trains of abandoned cars, overgrown with vines, trees, and lusty weeds ; mountains of cor- roding iron pipe, hundreds of tons of rusty rails, donkey engines, loco- motives, dredges — all crumbling, rotting, sinking out of sight in the IN THE CANAL ZONE — RIVER VIEW. slime, or covered by the rank swamp growths. Further on were huge warehouses, said to be full of expensive machinery, and then the chateaus of the French engineers, once trig and neat, now tawdry, deso- late, deserted. We saw the Chagres River, and very harmless and muddy it looked; observed Monkey Hill Cemetery, and wondered why the French engineers elected to live in a swamp and be buried on a hill ; admired the fine work done in excavating the Culebra cut ; took note of the types of jungle" growth, and at six in the evening arrived at the citv of Panama. We were met by the Scout, and at once taken to the Hotel Grand Central. IN PANAMA 203 Here was a deadly, sticky, oppressive heat, with not a breath of air stirring. The bare bedrooms were like ovens, and even the cone of mosquito netting that hung over the bed was to the imaginaton as stifling as a blanket. It was too hot to think of sleep, so we wandered about the city, interested, amused, and disgusted — interested by the quaint and ancient architecture, amused by the police custom of blowing whistles in concert when the clocks struck the hour, and disgusted by the smells that many side streets developed. The next morning after coffee we went down to the water front, where, lying high and dry on the beach, as the tide was out, was the Almirante, the sixty-ton schooner that was to take us to our destina- tion. The crew of five negroes, headed by the mate, was slowly getting our outfit aboard, and at the same time chaffing the crews of nearby hog schooners that were unloading by pushing their squealing freight into the water to swim ashore as best Tt could. From here we went to Don Pablo's offices to discuss food, medi- cines, hammocks, ammunition, clothing, etc., until it was time for noon breakfast and the regulation siesta. Just a word about Don Pablo. One of the wealthy and progressive merchants of the new republic, he not only treated us with every consideration, and purchased most of our supplies, but it was due to his alert helpfulness that we were not tied up in that torrid city for a week or more, instead of getting away in three days. But to return to our story. The breakfast was not a success from an epicurean standpoint, nor was the siesta, for it was too hot to sleep. So, assembling in the foyer, we watched the drowsy darkeys on the curbs opposite, and waited for the midday heat to pass. After a time I was courageous enough to look at the thermometer and it registered ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit, the air fairly reeking with humidity. Along in the afternoon I wrote some letters, but could get no stamps, as the government had interdicted their sale at hotels, because the tourists had been in the habit of buying them for curios, instead of attaching them to letters as they should ; at least that is what the clerk said. Finally, on the afternoon of the third day in Panama, all was ready. The Almirante lay about a mile from shore. There is a twenty-foot tide, so it is said, and the row to the schooner gave us a view of many cattle and hog boats, and a good idea of the water front of the quaint city that stands at the Pacific entrance of the canal. I have said that the crew consisted of five, but neglected to mention the crew's cook, Jungo, and also our own, Raphael. I had also forgotten the dozen live 204 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER hens that were tied two and two, and wandered over the deck at will, as well as Domingo, the leanest, dirtiest, tiniest tramp kitten that any country ever saw. Don Pablo and Don Ramon, another friend, came out and saw us off, and by seven o'clock we were sailing out of the harbor, headed for Toboga Island, for ballast and fresh water. All trace of the deadly heat ashore was gone, and the effects, a slight fever that all experienced, quickly disappeared. When darkness came, we slept on deck under the stars, wrapped in blankets, and awoke in the morning to find the boat at anchor just off the little town of Toboga. It was raining gently, but CATHEDRAL SQUARE AND HOTEL GRAND CENTRAL, PANAMA CITY. no one cared, and after coffee we went ashore to buy eggs, pineapples, and bananas, and incidentally to get a shore breakfast. This was served in a neat room by pretty Indian girls, and was the best meal we had eaten for a week. The town has about one hundred dwellings of bamboo, plastered with cow dung, and a small church. It is nestled at the foot of a high ridge, cultivated almost to the top, while about the houses cluster cocoa- nut palms, pawpaw, and chicle trees. It is a very healthy place, as the water is good and there are no mosquitoes. Late in the afternoon we got away, but as the wind was light, we did little but drift. Then it IN PANAMA 205 was that we began to speculate upon the number of days it would take to reach our destination, and to recall the fact that in these same waters Cortez once lay becalmed for seventy clays, and at this season of the year, too. The next morning we were still in sight of Toboga, and spent much of the day in rifle and revolver practice, the gulls on bits of driftwood making excellent targets. There was also the chance to size up El Capitan, a nervous, wiry, native Panamanian, and to discover the very primitive ideas of cleanliness that our cook was possessed of. For example, his plan for cleansing the tin coffee cups was to pour one PART OF THE PANAMANIAN ARMY. half full of water, rinse it around, pour the same water into another, and so on until all were thus washed. He also had a barrel of "biltong'7 or pickled beef for the crew, that was washed each day and hung on a line to dry. It certainly was strong meat, and the smell of it aft came near making us all vegetarians. Slowly the boat drew on, the passengers killing time as best they could, till finally Punta Malo came in sight. It was at this time that our first use for the medicine chest occurred. The Commodore rolled his sleeves high to the tropical sun, and in a few hours had a pair of the reddest, sorest arms that were ever seen. They 206 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER gave out heat like base burners, and ached if one pointed at them, so they were anointed with cooling salves, hung in slings, and nearly cured by the time he got ashore. Thus we sailed and drifted, chiefly the latter, sleeping on deck until driven into the little cabin by an unusually heavy shower, usually to be driven out again by the heat, the bilge smell, and the ants, of which latter we had our own private colony. After a time, we left Panama Bay and felt the long swell of the Pacific. Then was sighted Punta Moro Puercos (Cape The-Death-of-the-Pig), and after that came a coast — rugged, mountainous, with no harbors, and the mountains shadowed by dense clouds, with all the evidences of continuous and heavy tropical rainstorms. After more drifting came Punta Mariato, which we rounded, and turning due north, made for the Gulf of Monti jo, where the schooner was to lie while the exploring party was ashore. Even after rounding the cape, the wind still continued light, and progress came chiefly from the impulse of the Pacific -swell. , In these waters were many sharks, two of which carry a half dozen bullets apiece that I pumped into them from a Remington repeater, early one morning. Then, too, there was a water snake, Cnlebra marina, about three feet long, that was often in evidence, sometimes as many as thirty being seen in a day. We fished constantly, getting no bites, but the crew were more fortunate and speared some fish of a kind new to me. One, long and slim, resembling a mackerel, was of a beautiful bronze tint, with a spike on its nose, and a back fin running from the gills to the tail. Another was short, chunky, of a dingy blue color spotted with white polka dots. The natives called the former the "durado," but had no name for the latter. Our drifting by the point did not last long, as the weather suddenly changed and the wind became so squally that the captain put out to sea lest he pile his vessel upon the inhospitable shore. That night I tried to sleep in the cabin but it was too disagreeable, so I put on a light rubber coat and rubber boots and slept soundly on deck with the rain beating in my face. It was so scorching hot in the daytime, that, when drifting, a tarpaulin was rigged as a shield under which were swung the ham- mocks, making quarters that were fairly comfortable. Some one called it the "Touraine,"" because when it was half done it began to rain. Soon the schooner was off the O'uebro, a part of the territory said to contain a large settlement of outlaws. These fugitives from justice had heard of the approach of the Americanos and were rumored to be IN PANAMA 207 prepared to resist any examination of that part of the land. If they believed the stories told them by the Indians, that they were to be enslaved and have numbers branded upon their foreheads, one can scarcely blame them. The objective point, however, was farther down the coast, so we only saw the mouth of the Quebro River, with frowning mountains for a background/ Very glad we were that the Quebro was not then in our itinerary, for that part of the country was black with thunder clouds, and drenched with showers that bore a close resemblence to cloudbursts. THE SCHOONER ALMIRANTE. Coasting along still further, we descried the mouth of the Mariato River, where the first landing was to be made. Here a fresh difficulty arose. El Capitan feared the shore and would not go nearer than five miles without a pilot. After a lurid conference, in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, it was suggested that he circle the nearby island of Cebaco, stop at Gubernador Island and borrow a pilot. And so it was decided, and the start made just as night fell. That night the air was heavy with moisture and had in it all of the makings of an electrical storm of great violence, but aside from the 208 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER St. Elmo's fire that appeared at the masthead, nothing happened. The crew was much exercised about these strange balls of light — it was Malo with a capital M to all of them. No such superstition affected our party, however, and when the morning came we laughed away their fears, and as the day advanced they grew ashamed of the terrors of the night. By noon the schooner was off Cebaco, which ends in a jagged reef where rough water is to be found. As the wind was light and the current strong, the Almirante was carried quite close to this danger point, although both jibs and the fore and mainsail were drawing full, the latter two being wing and wing. Just as we passed the reef, with no warning at all, came a squall that was as near as possible to ending the cruise in disaster. The Almirante heeled over until her rail was under, and plunged forward like a race horse. El Capitan, at the tiller ropes, screeched shrill orders, and the crew worked like demons to get the flying jib and the foresail down. In the face of that wind it was no mean job, as the sail was as rigid as iron, and it was not until a sailor climbed the mast and pulled the hoops down, a few inches at a time, that it was lowered. Even then it could not be tied up, but bellied far out into the water. The same difficulty was experienced in reefing the mainsail. But finally, after much labor, the schooner was in hand and driving out to sea under jib and reefed mainsail. As the squall had now turned into a hurricane that drove the warm spray from the wave tops into one's face like hail, it looked as if we were likely to be driven far out of our course. El Capitan therefore decided to try to come about and run between Cebaco and Gubernador for shelter. Three times he tried and each time missed. Then he prepared to jibe. The Americanos, however, would not have it, urging that either the rigging would part or the masts be carried away by such a measure, and he finally gave it up. Then he tried to come about again, and by lowering the jib for a moment, and raising it again, was successful ; the old tub came about and headed for the haven. Then followed three hours of as rough sailing as I ever expect to see. There was no particular danger, if everything held, but the seas that pounded the side and often came aboard were big and angry, and the wind fairly shrieked. Nothing happened except the part- ing of a stay, and the partial collapse of the cook's galley, and by night- fall anchor was dropped close under the shelter of Gubernador, in still water, and the weary voyagers went to sleep to the roaring of the breakers on the other side of the island. Going ashore in the morning, we found that the island was owned by our friend, Don Pablo, and it was here that his pearl fishing schooners IN PANAMA 209 refitted. The few inhabitants were Indian, and in looks, habits, and manner of living, just what one finds from Mexico all the way down to the Amazon. They were friendly and brought us pineapples that were most delicious, and after much palaver, we secured a pilot. It was while walking along the shore from one little settlement to another that the Scout, with whom I was, had an unpleasant experience. We were under a tree that looked for all the world in bark and leaf like a pear tree, with a fruit that had the appearance of a small apple. We each picked half a dozen and the Scout bit into one, remarking that it tasted ON THE BEACH, GUBERNADOR ISLAND. like a sweet apple. I used mine, however, to pelt the native dogs that were following, and then both forgot the episode. After the return to the schooner, however, while getting under way, the Scout was taken suddenly ill, vomiting, retching, and complaining that he felt as if he were on fire inside. We gave him such simple remedies as were obtainable, but it was hours before the attack passed off. The natives said later that both tree and fruit, known as the bitter uiansana, or arsenic apple, are intensely poisonous. A horse 210 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER tied under the tree for a few hours becomes very ill and loses his hair, while it is sure death for a man to eat one of the apples. With the pilot aboard, we soon gained the gulf again, and ere long were off the Palo Seco (the withered tree), where, if luck favored, guides and mules were awaiting us. This time our captain ventured within three miles of the shore and sure enough saw two men. A boat was sent, and in course of time, night having fallen, a light appeared dancing over the waves, and soon there stepped aboard the Pioneer, who JUNGO, COOK ON THE "ALMIRANTE/' was to furnish guides and transports. He had been waiting nearly a week, and would have left the next day, believing that we had turned back or been wrecked by one of the Pacific hurricanes. The Pioneer had been in that country for many years and his stories of rubber gathering up in the Cauca, and adventures in the Darien with the fierce -San Bias Indians, were most interesting. As is well known, these savages do not allow trespassers upon their lands, although they do not molest those who gather rubber in the wilds adjacent to IN PANAMA 211 their domain. The Pioneer acknowledged that once he broke an agree- ment with a chief, stole across the river that marked his boundary, and began work on the rich forbidden forest. As a result, his men were shot down, one by one, until only he and one negro escaped. Another time he was caught far up a river, by the dry season, and had to wait for the rains. When they finally came and he got his rubber afloat, they had for provision only rice and bananas. Floating down the river one evening in the bright moonlight, they came to a fine stretch THE TOURAINE — CANVAS SHELTER ON THE ALMIRANTE. of beach, and he at once ordered the canoe men to make camp there. They refused with every evidence of extreme terror, as they said the place was haunted. The Pioneer, tired and hungry, forced them to do as he ordered, by threatening them with his revolver. He soon had supper and was quickly sound asleep under his mosquito netting. About midnight, just as the moon was setting, he was awakened by a strange and dreadful cry. Sitting up to call the crew, they suddenly threw themselves upon him, held him down, and practically gagging him kept 212 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER him quiet until the screams ceased. Then they whispered that it was death to speak aloud and returned to their sleeping places. The next morning they explained that the screams came from the spirit of a man who was murdered and buried with money on him, and if any one had spoken the spirit would have at once attacked and killed the speaker. No whit impressed, the Pioneer searched the river bank, and finally found a huge and ancient sloth, which he promptly killed. And thus was the uneasy spirit laid, for the cries ceased from that time. The rubber trees up there, so he said, were from two to three feet in diameter, and most abundant bleeders. They always cut them down to secure the rubber, as they get more that way and know that if they spared them the next crew of gatherers would destroy them. He said that on the land we had come to examine, the rubber gatherers had been in the habit of cutting the trees down, but that two years before the practice had been stopped, and a premium of twenty-five dollars paid to any one who informed of such destruction. As the whole tract, some five hundred thousand acres, was private property, and wild, and as most of the Indians lived on the other side of the mountains, the rubber was quite plentiful, and with a very little system, the crop could be greatly augmented. The next day was undertaken in good earnest the work of getting our stores and ourselves safely ashore. And no light task we found it. The surf was tremendous and it was impossible, even with the skill- ful management, to get to land without being drenched, the men being landed in the ship's boat, the stores coming ashore in a dugout. While the goods were being landed, the Scout and the Prospector stripped and took a bath. Later they shuddered when they remembered it, for the sharks that haunt that shore, coming far into the shallow water, are big and voracious. In the meantime I was looking at the forest. Much to my delight I found Castilloa trees growing within one hundred feet of the shore. Small ones to be sure, but thrifty. One, about three inches in diameter, had been tapped, and from the cuts I stripped some good strong rubber. IN PANAMA 21$ SECOND LETTER. CAMP Rio NEGRO— ROUGHING IT— STORY OF A BRIDGE— CASTILLOA GROVES — BIRDS, ANIMALS AND REPTILES — CRUZ, THE HUNTER — TRIPS OF EXPLORATION — CHI- QUITA, THE COMMODORE, AND MULA GRANDE — COAGULATING RUBBER WITH AMOLE JUICE— NATIVE RUBBER MANUFACTURE— LLANOS— DON RAMON AND DONNA MARIA — A TREASURE HUNT. OUR plan at first, on coming ashore on the Azuero Peninsula, had been to camp right where we landed, but the "heng-hengs" (rodadors) were so troublesome that another spot had been chosen, some eight miles inland, and having turned our belongings over to the mozos, we started on the trail for camp Rio Negro. The Commodore led, because he had brought his shotgun and planned to shoot something for supper. He made a gallant figure, striding along the trail in rubber soled shoes, and had deer or turkey appeared, they certainly would have dropped. But the game was wary, and the only creature that dropped was the hunter himself, when he inadvertently trod on a slimy log and sat down in a pool of water. The trip took about three hours and led slightly uphill all of -the way. The trail was fair, and ran through a sort of open forest, where there were many huge trees, but not much of the dense jungle that is so often to be found in the tropics. The soil was a gravelly loam, with a clay underlay, and seemed to be rich, while the beds of the brooks and creeks were of hard gravel and boulders. All along the trail were Castilloas, sometimes singly, and often in clumps. None of them were over twelve inches in diameter, and most of them had been tapped. Now and then was one that had been felled a year or two before, and frequently we saw stumps of what must once have been fine, large rubber trees. Eight miles is a long distance in the tropics, and though lightly clad and walking slowly, we were soon very warm, and wet through with perspiration. The Pioneer ventured the prediction that this was the last long tramp upon which the Commodore would carry an eight- pound gun, and his prophecy came true. Even long journeys endr however, and after fording the Palo Seco, and a little later, the Negro River, we emerged into a fine grove of Castilloas, and fronting it, a palm thatched house that was to be our base of operations for many days. An hour later the mules arrived with the navy bags, and within fifteen 214 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER minutes we were in dry clothing, had hammocks slung, and were ravenously watching the cook prepare supper of jerked venison, bacon, dago bread, and coffee. Later he made delicious chocolate, using con- densed milk, and serving it in calabashes. Just here — the supper and its preparation suggests it — let me say that the little camping stove was all right, but three stones between which the fire was built were just as good, while a candle box made a fine molding board. So, too, with the hip boots of rubber — they kept us dry a couple of times in fording creeks, but it was so much easier to slop right through and dry out on PANAMANIANS. the march that we didn't bother with them after the first day or two. It was lucky, however, that there were ample stores of rice and salt, for the natives had neglected to clear and plant during the dry season just preceding our visit, and the whole countryside was on the verge of starvation. Not that they worried about it particularly ; they simply ate what they could get, and contentedly waited for the next dry season to come around. Our first night in camp part of us slept in hammocks and part on IN PANAMA 21 5 a platform of poles, under which the mosos crept when the evening rain came on. The Pioneer kept a lantern burning, as he said it scared away the vampire bats. It did not frighten the insects, however, for the morn- ing light showed four white men well speckled with red spots. Just what the insect was could not be discovered, but it was most industrious. I counted fifty-seven well defined bites between knee and ankle, and there were others. I also discovered how to scratch these bites and suffer no ill effects, and Oh! the joy of such scratching! The remedy was a five per cent, solution of formine applied to the surface after an orgy of scratching. In two hours after the application, all the poison either from bite or finger nails wholly disappeared. It being Sunday, our CAMP RIO NEGRO. mozos piously refrained from work, but in spite of their scruples, they were induced to build a shelter for themselves, which they finally did, getting the roof on just before the afternoon downpour of rain. In speaking of the lack of enterprise that the natives show, it must not for a moment be imagined that they are behind the times in every- thing. In the utilization of public money, for example, they could give Tammany Hall points of value. To cite an instance: The home gov- ernment at Panama City appropriated three thousand dollars for the building of a bridge over a river that flowed near a certain town. Shortly after that one of the holders of the fund approached the Pioneer and asked for an estimate as to the cost of putting up the bridge, remark- 216 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER ing that he had two thousand dollars for it. The Pioneer offered to do it for that sum, but the next morning, when the papers were to he drawn, there remained only fifteen hundred dollars. Then the trustee proposed that a seven hundred and fifty dollar bridge be built, and that he and the Pioneer divide seven hundred and fifty dollars. It took some trading to arrange that, and before it was finished there was left but six hundred dollars. Then apparently all of the officials got a slice, for two days later there was but ten dollars left. Nor has the bridge ever been built, but there is still an excellent ford, which appears to suit the people just as well. Thus it \vill be seen that they equal us in the distribution of government appropriations, and outclass us in some forms of piety. One of our rubber cutters, for example, bore the name of Jesus Maria Dios — but he did not look the part. During the forenoon I looked over the grove of Castilloas that fronted the house, and found that most of them had been tapped that season. Indeed, one of our mozos said that they had been tapped twice. The process of tapping here is quite different from that pictured by most who tell of the gathering of Panama rubber. They usually describe a series of zigzag cuts, running one into another from the base of the tree far up the trunk. Here each cut was individual, and made with two strokes, one horizontal, and the other slightly downward and joining the first so that a small slice of bark was taken out. In the lower part of the cut the thick latex gathers and is scraped into a calabash with the fingers. The trees, as a rule, were tapped as high as the native could reach, and frequently a rustic ladder or a rough staging enabled the gatherers to get higher up on the tree. It seems that the plot of trees at Rio Negro were not self sown, but were planted by the Indian in his rice field after the crop was gath- ered. There were one hundred and five trees on about an eighth of an acre of land, said to be four years old. The rest of the clearing had grown up to jungle, but where the rubber trees were it was quite clear and the trees big and lusty. Their condition made me wonder if the cleaning that is carried on by up-to-date planters is after all so much of a necessity as they believe. Although it was Sunday, all went in swimming in the swift Rio Negro, and all also went fishing (with a stick of dynamite) but only got one. The swimming was not prolonged, however, because of the rodadors, that were- quite troublesome. While in the water a band of brown faced monkeys expressed their disapproval of our Sabbath break- ing by throwing sticks and branches at us from the tops of the lofty IN PANAMA 217 2i8 EXPLORING FOR CAST1LLOA RUBBER trees that hung far over the water. Speaking of the animals, there were deer, wild pigs, tapir, tiger cats, and jaguars, but they were rarely seen. Evidences of them were plenty, however. Once when we visited the llanos (grass plains), we saw where a jaguar had killed a two-year- old colt. For birds, there were innumerable humming birds, a great variety of song birds, hawks, parrots, buzzards, cranes, grouse, doves, two kinds of wild turkeys, and the justly named "fire cracker bird." We saw no snakes, but iguanas and lizards were common. The Indians think every kind of snake, and even lizards and tree frogs, poisonous. They have, however, what they assert is a sure cure for the bites of poisonous reptiles. After being bitten, if the sufferer will shut his eyes, reach behind, and select three leaves (any kind will do), quickly rub them together, and apply to the bitten part, a cure always results. Our helpers were in part Indians, descendants of the Aztecs, and in part negroes from the Cauca. Of the former was Indolencia, whose strange, complaining "monkey call" could be heard for miles. He always kept it up when alone in the woods, even if only a few hundred yards from camp. Of the latter was Cruz, a tall, loose jointed darkey, freshly pitted by smallpox. He was the hunter, and was equipped with a muzzle loading "gaspipe" gun with a percussion lock. It was worth going miles to see him flush a turkey, locate the tree in which it alighted, steal within range, and then snap cap after cap, until finally the gun went off and the turkey dropped, oftentimes getting away even then. As it would be impossible to examine carefully the whole of the eight hundred square miles in the month allotted to it, we first got the general lay of the land, then laid out trips through typical sections, estimated their areas, and computed the number of trees. From Rio Negro camp (about two hundred and fifty feet above sea level) trails were cut north, south, east, and west. Then came long, hard tramps, counting and measuring trees in typical blocks, and much questioning of native rubber cutters for a fair estimate of the conditions that obtained elsewhere. One fact soon impressed itself upon me. The Castilloa was certainly better adapted to flourish there than any other of the native trees. In spite of the war of extermination that had been previously waged against it, it was more abundant than any other single tree. It often happened thajt a group of from forty to fifty could be counted from the trail, and it was a rare experience to go twenty-five feet in the lower forest without seeing at least one tree. While many of them were lofty, few were more than eight or ten inches in diameter. The very largest IN PANAMA 219 tree that I saw, far up in a secluded mountain valley, was not over twenty-two inches in diameter. The natives could always pick those that are the best milkers. As a rule, these trees had a larger leaf area than the others, which accounts, I think, for the extra flow of latex. Those in the dense forest seemed to bear few seeds, while on the edges of the trails or in open places they were abundant seed bearers. There seemed to be no leaf or bark diseases, and even trees that had been mutilated the worst by the rubber gatherers seemed to be sound and healthy. INTERIOR OF CAMP RIO NEGRO. Exploration was, of course, greatly hindered by the heavy rains that came nearly every afternoon, and sometimes in the morning as well. These swelled the rivers so that fording was difficult, and turned the steeper trails into muddy torrents. The shacks of Indians who were collecting rubber were often visited, and deserted camps always examined. A camp usually consisted of a palm thatched leanto, just big enough for two men to sleep in, on a narrow pole-covered bench. 220 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER In one corner was a hole in the ground about two feet deep and eighteen inches in diameter, to receive the rubber milk, and in which it was late coagulated. ' Three stones as big as a man's head formed the fireplace., with a bunch of dry sticks for fuel ; calabashes for gathering, the machete for tapping, and the amole vine for coagulating, finish the tale of the rubber gatherers' equipment. Although camp Rio Negro was headquarters, we were often obliged to make other camps for a few days. For example, when examining the upper valleys one thousand feet above sea level, a rubber gatherers shack was our home for three days. Two things in particular were noted on this trip. The rubber tree rarely grew on the tops of the "hog backs'' or ridges but on the sides, and in the valleys. Nor did it grow in wet lands at all. Then the seeding of the tree at that altitude was about a month later than on lands from fifty to three hundred feet above 1 sea. , There was much less game in the upper country, and, weary < tinned meats, it was not surprising that we tried and enjoyed parrot stew or that the monkeys should have been turned into rabbit stew- not big, black, twenty-five-pound monkeys, of which we shot several, but the little brown-faced edible monkeys. It is not to be supposed that all work was done on foot. Wherevei it was feasible either horses or mules were used, and by following the ancient Indian trails we were able to save ourselves much time and toil The horses were small, gentle stallions and quite surefooted. gentle and so thev were toward all of human kind, but when turned out to' browse there were some very pretty stallion fights, with no harm done however. The mules were small, but strong, and made mud: troub'le because thev knew of the grass plains some miles distant, and were in the habit of stealing away at night and making for them. As the trails in some places were very steep, I chose a little mule called Chiquita, and she proved to be a treasure. She could ford a swift run- ning river and keep her feet, while the others were stumbling and half swimming I verily believe she could climb a greased pole or slide down a log chute and never miss her footing, if she so elected. The Scout. the Pioneer, and the Prospector rode horses, while the Commodore, who was a trifle over two hundred in weight, took the mula grande , Diking of the Commodore's mount, I thought he would have trouble for that particular mule demanded the same treatment that the other mules received. I saw him watch me when I leaned forward in IN PANAMA 221 the saddle and eased Chiquita up a sharp rise by twisting my fingers in her mane. The Commodore, however, by reason of his stoutness, could not easily do this, and so sat up. The big mule grew sullen, and finally, as we forded the Mariato, and climbed its steep, clayey banks, he suddenly stopped half way up, shook himself and began to tip slowly over backwards. Of course the Commodore slid off over his tail, and sat in the river, and an instant later was holding the big mule INDIAN TAPPING A CASTILLOA. in his lap. I ought not to have laughed, nor should I, had not Chiquita turned around and winked at me. I had long wished to see how the Indians coagulated the latex of the Castilloa by the addition of the juice of the amole vine, and now had the opportunity, not once, but many times. Usually the coagulation is done in a hole in the ground ; if, however, they are very careful, and are possessed of an axe, they cut a trough out of a "balsa" log and use that. When there is sufficient milk for coagulation, a bunch of vines is gathered, folded together, and pounded on a log with a heavy billet 222 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER of wood until all of the fibers are well bruised. The mass is then rinsed in water, the fluid being run through a sieve, and poured into the trough. Extreme care is taken not to stir the latex. Instead, as it begins at once to coagulate on the top, the rubber is gently pressed down, gathering to itself other particles, and at the same time it is forced towards one side of the receptacle. Thus by gently manipulating, squeezing, and handling, most of the coagulated rubber is finally gath- ered into one piece, which is lifted out and kneaded until much of the water is out of it. Some more amole water is then poured into the remaining liquid, and by the same sort of careful manipulation another smaller slab of rubber is secured. The two are then stuck together. A week later the milk white mass of rubber will be jet black, of about half its first weight, and apparently as dry as a bone. Unless it is cut into strips and washed and dried again, and all of the amole liquor got rid of, it will sweat and deteriorate, and have a smell that makes it most offensive. The machete is used altogether for tapping by the natives in Cen- tral America. Just by way of experiment I tried two different tools that I brought with me from New York. One was a sort of farrier's knife, that did pretty well, but was not heavy enough ; the other was the type of tool that is now in general use in Ceylon. While it was possible to tap with this latter tool, it did not do for the Castilloa as well as for the Hevca. The strong fiber in the bark, unless the tool be as sharp as a razor, makes the incision a tear rather than a clean cut. It is possible that the tool may be changed in shape slightly and do the work, but in its present shape it is not as good as the machete. Speaking of the fiber in the outer bark of the Castilloa, the natives used formerly, when they found a very large tree, to pound the bark until it was loose then cut it off and dry it, and have a beautiful snow white sleeping- mat, as soft as wool, and looking for all the world as if it were the product of a loom. Here I must mention a rubber tapping tool invented by a native Panamanian whom I met, and who is not only a rubber gatherer but a thinker. Although so many men have tried to evolve a satisfactory tapping device for rubber trees, it is singular that the thought of a would-be inventor in this line, almost invariably, turns first to some sort of vacuum or suction arrangement, that will not only act as a tapping tool, but pump the latex out of the tree. Of course, a little study of the formation of the lactiferous tubes makes it evident that nothing of this sort is feasible. The suggestion, however, has come from a great IN PANAMA 223 variety of sources, and in some cases from scientific men. So it was interesting- to run across the same mental processes and the same sort of deduction among the natives of the rubber countries. The illustration (page 221 ) shows an instrument designed and made by the native referred to, a man named Juancho, who is shown in another illustration standing in a grove of Castilloa. The instrument consists of a cylinder of light balsa wood, wound with codline, through which runs a piston made of hard wood, one end tipped with a short iron chisel. The chisel end of the cylinder is fitted with a strip of pure rubber, a packing to be drawn tightly around the tree. The puncture made and the piston withdrawn, the hope was that the cylinder would fill with latex. That expectation, however, was blasted, as only the usual amount of latex followed the cut. RUBBER CUTTERS AT RIO NEGRO CAMP. Two of the long trips across country brought us out at the llanos, or grass plains — prairies containing some 25,000 acres, on which grazed some one hundred and fifty head of cattle of the old Spanish strain, but big and fat for all of that. They were not at all wild, yet to milk a cow it was necessary to muzzle her calf and tie it to her front legs, and then she seemed to feel that her offspring was getting the leche that really flowed into a calabash. In a little oasis of trees in this prairie of rich, short grass, was a neat native house in which lived the keeper of the herd and his wife. Thin, almost to emaciation, was Don Ramon, gray haired, with the sparse beard of the true Indian, clad in white; 224 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER he was the only energetic native that I saw on the peninsula. Donna Mafia, his spouse, short, fat, and comely, in calico dress and blouse, barefooted, with a man's hat on her head, her own pipe in her mouth, surrounded by hens and dogs, cooked in -a placid way that was most picturesque and restful. We slept at their house one night, but on the second visit signalled the schooner and went aboard to sleep, away from the various insects that always infest a cattle ranch. It was during a visit to the llanos that we nearly lost the Prospector. It came about this way: From the time of the Spaniards the country has been known as a gold producer. Indeed, every brook and river showed traces of "color," while traditions of lost mines and their fabu- lous riches were everywhere rife. As we were not after gold, but rubber, the lost mines, or the sunken treasure ship at the mouth of the COAGULATING RUBBER IN BALSA LOG. Mariato, troubled us not at all. That is, not until the Miner came across the mountains, and rode into our camp with a true Western yell. He was a raw boned, good humored, shrewd Irish-American, who had been in every mining camp in North America, and who was now devel- oping the Gallo (Golden Cock) mine. He and the Prospector got together at once and the air was full of "andesite," "quartz," and "por- phory." Then they got to whispering and later parted. It was at the llanos that it all came to a head, for it was there that the Prospector began furtively to study a small diagram, and later stole away accom- IN PANAMA 225 panied by an Indian whom he had hypnotized by the gift of a real. They took a bee line for the shore, forded the Mariato, and on a little island that is half covered by the tide, hunted up a certain tree, strode away so many paces by compass, and started to dig. It was exciting to see how eagerly they plied pick and shovel, and how they started with joy when the pick struck a tree root. And they dug and dug until they suddenly awoke to the fact that they were cut off from the main land by the tide. Then the Indian went all to pieces and wept and called upon the saints, while the Prospector uttered words unfit for publication. There \vas no danger unless an alligator JUANCHO IN GROVE OF CASTILLOA PLANTED BY INDIANS. or a jaguar got them, and as there was no boat the best thing would have been to wait for the ebb. Instead of that, they went further into the thicket, and a few minutes later appeared, each with a pole, and stepping into the swiftly running water started to cross. Very slowly, bracing themselves at every step, they waded, the water up to their breasts, and finally emerged into the shallows and were ashore. Neither of them went back, and thus ended our only treasure hunt. The "gusano del monte," or grub fly, was quite in evidence at the llanos. I got three, the scout seven, and the rest their share — just how 226 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER many I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten the sharp twinge, like a red hot needle, that tells of the presence of the grub in one's flesh, or the killing of it with nicotine, the heating of the spot by a firebrand^ and then the desperate squeeze that shoots the inch-long" intruder out into the open. I also learned here why it was that so many of the natives have sore feet, about half of our men being then laid off. A disease which they call the "massamora," something like chilblains, attacks them, the cause being a minute insect that is found in stagnant water or decaying vegetation. Unless cared for, the feet swell dreadfully and the 'skin cracks and festers, making most troublesome sores. CRUZ, THE HUNTER, WITH WILD TURKEY. One of the worst rains came on while we were at llanos, but all were under cover — that is, all except the Prospector and the Scout, who came in drenched and cross because the rest were dry and feasting on mangos and bananas. While it rained Donna Maria was approached with the proposal that she get the Indian woman who lived near to do some washing. She got the woman to come over, but as it was a "fiesta" (St. Peter's Day), she had religious scruples against working. Nor could she work the next day, she explained, as that was the fiesta of St. Paul. All of which was solemnly repeated by Elias Ojo. I have not mentioned him before, but he deserves it. He was a boy about fourteen, hunchbacked, withered, with enormous black eyes, and treated IN PANAMA 227 by all the natives as a most distinguished guest, his condition being due to the fact that when he was young "a witch looked at him." Looking at him in turn one wondered what result that look had upon the witch. What with heavy rains that made the trails bad and the rivers impassable for a half day at a time, the laziness of the natives, and their habit of disappearing to attend far away fiestas, not to speak of the way the mules had of hiding in the brush when they were most needed, we were not getting ahead as fast as could be wished. So the Pros- pector and the Miner, with Juancho, the best woodsman on the penin- sula, took the schooner to the Quebro to arrange for trail cutters, or, better still, canoes and men to take us up that unknown river. In the meantime, the rest of us went on with the work of exploration. A few days later the Quebro expedition returned and reported no canoes, no men, and no chance of getting through until the dry season, as the rains were far worse than where we were. It was during the absence of the party named that the rest of us went far up in the mountain valleys^ where no white man, even in the time of the Spaniards, had been, and*preempting an old rubber cutter's shack, we established ourselves in Camp Iguana. We w^ere able to make the journey most of the way on mule back as an ancient Indian trail passed close to it. The barometer read one thousand feet elevation, but the Castilloa was just as plentiful as on the lower lands, and indeed, here were the largest trees. I found also a species of Ficus that pro- duced a very good quality of rubber, but was not plentiful enough to have commercial value. Our party consisted of the Pioneer, the Scout, the Commodore, the writer, three Indians, with one pack mule, besides those we rode. As there was no feed the mules were sent back to Rio Negro as soon as they were relieved of their burdens. The ride to Iguana, although rough in places was delightful. JUANCHO S RUBBER TAPPING TOOL. 228 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER THIRD LETTER. CAMP IGUANA — CLOSE QUARTERS — PROVISIONS Low — LUCAS CRUZ — THE FOREST PRIMEVAL — BEES AND RUBBER — THE NATIVES' HORROR OF GOLD — A LAND WITHOUT LAW — BREAKING CAMP — MOUNTAIN CLIMBING — AT LAS MINAS — THE PLANTATION "LAS MARGHARTIAS" — FOURTH OF JULY FIESTA — ON BOARD THE QUARTOS HERMANOS PANAMA, COLON, AND NEW YORK. THE ride to Iguana, as I was saying when my last letter came to a close, was delightful. Part of the way lay through dense forest, where some of the trees measured from ten to twelve feet in diameter, then perhaps it was through an abandoned Indian farm, grown up to jungle, but still producing mangoes, bananas, and alligator pears; by climbing hills that seemed to go straight up in the air, and sliding down others that were even straighter; frightening big iguanas and little lizards; stepping gingerly over six-inch-wide columns of leaf carrying ants; always on the lookout for wild pigs, deer, or turkeys to replenish our larder; we proceeded, the whole journey full of variety and incident. The hut at Iguana, with a little repairing, gave us barely room to stretch out comfortably at night, and had any one man chosen to stretch himself diagonally across the pole bed, there would have been no room for the rest. The hut was open on three sides, was about nine feet wide, seven feet high in front, and five feet in the rear, roofed with palm, and had an earth floor. We used our navy bags as hold-alls by day and pillows by night, and slept peacefully, except when our feet went through the side of the hut, or a leak in the roof let in too much water. Our first meal there seemed the most delicious I had ever eaten. It consisted of canned smoked beef (the edges of the slices were too far spoiled to eat, but the middle was good), fried bread sweetened with condensed milk, boiled rice, and coffee. The meat was cooked over an open fire and served on big, wild banana leaves. Nor shall I forget the first night — the almost deafening chirping of the crickets and tree frogs, the queer cries of the night birds, the steady drip of the dew from the trees like a slow rain, and the fireflies — how big and beautiful they were, and how still the air was, so that the flame of the candle went straight up with never a quiver. To assist in the exploration of this part of the tract was Lucas Cruz, an old rubber cutter, the builder of the hut in which we were installed. IN PANAMA 229 He had come there from across the mountains twenty years before, with his father and five brothers, and had taken out rubber ever since, selling it to the traders all the way from twenty to forty cents a pound, silver. His figures as to the ancient yield of the trees were rather indefinite. At present, however, as the trees were smaller than of yore, he tapped NATIVE RUBBER CUTTER WITH MACHETE AND CALABASH. about thirty in a day and got six. to seven pounds of milk, or from three to four pounds of dry rubber. His system was to have a helper, one of the twain tapping while the other collected the milk in a calabash. Under his guidance we got out very early in the morning, exam- ined the valleys and steep hillsides in various directions, and found the 230 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER Castilloa growing everywhere, and many a stiff climb Lucas gave us before the choice growths were reached. Afterward he explained that he took us only to the easy places, as from some where he went alone, we would never have returned alive. Even up here I found stumps of huge Castilloas that had been cut down to get all of the milk. The largest trees then standing did not measure more than from sixteen to eighteen inches in diameter, but there were many of them, and thousands of a lesser size. Pressed later for a definite statement as to what he gathered daily when rubber hunting, Lucas said that two years before six of them had, in this region, in .seven days, gathered four hundred pounds of dry rubber. As they never work Sundays, that would mean six days' CATTLE RANCH AT THE LLANOS. [Don Ramon in the Foreground.] work, that is, unless they loafed three of them, which is probable. For an experiment, we sent out four men late one morning, who were back by midday with fifteen and one-quarter pounds of milk that after coag- ulation and drying made about eight pounds of rubber. As they nor- mally get fifty cents a day, silver, equal to twenty-five cents, gold, that was not a bad return. It is due to the man who first told how bees collected rubber latex as well as the rubber itself, from the cuts in the trees, that he receive apologies of all skeptics, for the story is true. I saw hundreds in all parts of the peninsula, and they not only love rubber, but almost every- thing else, and are a great nuisance in camp. What they do with the IX PANAMA -231 rubber, whether it gets into comb or honey, I do not know, but they certainly work most energetically in gathering it. By cutting down a few trees on the top of a lofty ridge near camp, a fine view of the country was developed, from the source of the Mariato River to the sea, the llanos, the Suoy River, and even the far away gulf. It was wonderful how Lucas could pick out the Castilloa miles away from this eyrie, and without apparent mistake either. After a few days at Iguana, we began to look anxiously for the return of the mules, for food was getting scarce, and worse than all, the coffee was nearly gone. Although signs of deer were plentiful, the hunter could get none, and even parrots and monkeys were not in evi- SUGAR MILL NEAR LAS MINAS. [On Las Margharitas Plantation.] dence. There was, to be sure, a land crab that the Indians caught occa- sionally. It was as big as a saucer, with a bright blue body, red legs, and eyes set on props an inch long. It was as giddy looking as a Chicago runabout, and apparently about as edible. Just as we were tiring of rice and weak coffee, the Pioneer mixed some boiled rice with condensed milk, put it in a small pan on the fire, then laid a piece of tin over the pan, and built another fire on that. An hour later we were feasting upon as fine a rice pudding as ever was cooked. And at that time the pack train appeared, and ere long we were on our way back to Rio Negro camp. 232 EXPLORING FOR CAST1LLOA RUBBER No incidents of special note occurred on the return trip. The trails were so wet from recent rains that the many humming birds, the gorgeous butterflies, and the rich tropical flowers, were hardly noted. The swarms of horseflies that swooped down upon our patient beasts could not be wholly ignored, however, and soon all became most expert in killing them. As usual, a stray, starving dog appeared from nowhere and silently attached himself to our party. Although we knew he would crawl under our hammocks at night to give his fleas an opportunity to emigrate to richer pastures, he was accepted without protest. He had his virtues. Nothing could tempt him to steal, although starving, and he would allow a wild pig to cut him to ribbons that the hunter might get a shot, and he was after all the friend of man. During this ride a strange thing happened: Cruz asked what the TOWN BAKERY AT LAS MINAS. Americanos used the rubber for! It was the first time in the memory of the Pioneer that any cholo (civilized Indian) had ever shown the slightest curiosity in that direction. I doubt if he appreciated some of the uses described, but the making of waterproof clothing caught his fancy at once. For most of the Indians have a little bag made of cloth and coated with rubber, mixed with gunpowder, if they can spare it, to help the sun cure it. In this, or a purse made of iguana skin, they carry flint and steel, a bit of cotton wicking with one end let into a bone extinguisher, and tobacco for cigarettes. They are a quiet, anemic race, very superstitious, and so fearful of spirits and tigres that if overtaken by night in the forest, they climb trees, and tying themselves to the limbs, remain until morning. They have a horror of gold, not IN PANAMA 233 the coin, but the raw material, always denying all knowledge of it, the probable reason being that the story of the cruelties of the Spanish gold seekers are still in vogue among them. There are, all told, on the eight hundred square miles of the Azuero lands, some four hundred souls. On the other side of the mountain ranges, however, are large towns and many thousands of natives. It took some time to appreciate that this was a land where prac- tically no laws were operative. As the weeks passed and no word came from the outer world, and we learned that the few letters despatched to the faraway Panamanian postoffice would never reach their destina- tion, we began to realize that this was indeed a forgotten corner of the world. The natives are all good Catholics, and show their religious THE CHURCH AT LAS MINAS. fervor at many fiestas, by burning candles, exploding gunpowder, and getting drunk. In this latter state they show much energy and put up some spirited machete fights. If an Americano tries to patch up one of the wounded, they offer no resistance, but as soon as the good Samari- tan departs, they take off the bandages, plaster the wound with cow dung, and if the victim dies lay his death at the door of the foreigner. How well I remember the disgust of the scout who wanted to extract a bullet that was just under the skin in the neck of a mozo whom the alcade had shot for some misdemeanor. ."Why it's only under the skin; it will almost roll out," he exclaimed in Spanish. 234 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER But they would not allow the skin to be cut, although they did prop the sufferer up, heels in the air and head to the ground, and watched all night to see the bullet as it rolled out. Of the thousands of shell mounds that contain the graves of their ancestors, the natives know little, and cheerfully assist the despoiler to open them and secure such relics or treasure as they may contain. The women are quite pretty when young, particularly those who live in the mountains, and have a custom of filing their teeth so that the points are as sharp as needles, said to be most becoming, from an Indian point of view. The mountain men who are physically the best Indian specimens, wear only a shirt and a pair of pants cut off at the knees, and are known in the lowlands as the "short pants/' That night in Rio Negro camp it was really cold. The air was damp, and it was raining heavily, although only a little came through the roof. We were sitting about too grumpy to talk until the gray mule took possession of the kitchen, and, in the mix-up that followed, led us to forget our woes. Then the Prospector began to talk about rubber plantations, and my conceit got a shock, for he told me of some that I had never heard of. It was on Gorgonas Island, which lies off the coast of Colombia, owned by the fine old Spaniard, Don Ramon, whom we met in Panama City, where are some five thousand cultivated trees four and one-half years old. The Prospector feared that the revolutionists from the main land might have destroyed some of them in their periodic forays, but was not sure. Then the Pioneer took the floor. He had formerly been manager for the Darien Gold Mining Co., and for them he cleared wide paths through the forest in which to plant Castillo a trees. The planting was in part from seed, and in part of young trees, for which he paid the natives five dollars a hundred, in silver. This was in 1900, and there were some three hundred thousand trees on land some miles from the coast, planted at an altitude of fifteen hundred feet. Since leaving the company, his successor had planted certainly as many more. The trips that I have outlined are a few of many, long and short, that taken as a whole gave me a knowledge of the lands as a whole. The final journey was to be along the "hog backs" that extended up to the mountains, then over them and down to the further shore, whence the Almirantc had been despatched to meet and convey us to Panama City. First came the preparations, the most important of which was the packing of the camera supplies. Considering the fact that the mule IN PANAMA 235 that bore this precious load always fell down when crossing a river, and that the searching dampness of the atmosphere had been at work at the films for many weeks, it is a wonder that any pictures at all were obtained. Then came the drying of clothing and a supply of bread. The Pioneer tried his hand at bread baking along the lines of his rice pudding triumph, but the resulting solid cakes, scorched on the outside, and dough within, could not be honestly termed the staff of life. By splitting open and toasting them they were edible, and were eaten, all but one, which I saved for a paper weight. On Sabado (Saturday) morning at 6.30, we broke camp and FOURTH OF JULY FIESTA AT LAS MINAS. started on what our guides claimed would be the hardest day's work we had ever done, and it was. There was only one river to ford, the Mariato, and Chiquita, knowing little beast, kept her feet, while the other mules and horses were stumbling, plunging, and threatening to go down stream with the swift current. Then began the steady climb, over a trail that was like the bed of a brook, through underbrush that tried the pack mules sorely, often stopping them completely until freed by the use of the machete. I had an army saddle on Chiquita and a 236 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLO A RUBBER rope bridle about her nose, but the first could not be cinched tight enough to stay on, and the latter was only a matter of form. Pull all I could, she went where she thought the trail was best, and in all fairness I must say she was usually right. I do think, however, when she insisted on crowding so close to a sharp stub pointing down the trail that saddle and rider were both ripped off, instead of slipping her hind legs out of the cinch and continuing on after the rest, she might have waited. I certainly gave her to understand that I advised the other side of the trail, and in response to my vigorous pull her head came round until it almost touched my knee, but the obstinate little body went straight on. Some of the "hog backs" climbed were of the razorback variety — just a narrow path along the spine of lofty ridges, forested on both sides, and incredibly steep. The gray mule got in difficulties on one, lost his balance, curled up and rolled over and over until stopped by a big tree and a tangle of monkey vine. He lay at ease until relieved of the pack, then struggled to his feet and climbed back to the path, not in the least ruffled. It must not be supposed that the trail went up all the time ; on the contrary,, 'it was a quarter of a mile up, then an eighth of a mile down, and we rode sometimes lying flat on the beast's back, at others with feet along the sides of the mule's neck and leaning as far backward as pos- sible. Many a rod did Chiquita slide down clayey steeps, but not a mis- step did she make through it all. We lunched by a brook in a deep valley where the dense shade made twilight of high noon, and then went on, the climbing worse than ever. The first signs of rebellion on the part of the beasts of burden came from the mula grande who bore the Commodore. "He thought it was time his rider walked a little, and while the Commodore paused to reason with him the rest rode on. Very soon the way became so steep that all dismounted and walked. While catching breath at the top of a particularly stiff bit, we heard the Com- modore coming, puffing, panting, profaning. "Where is your mule?" I asked. "Blank the blankity blank beast, he won't even allow me to lead him, let alone ride!" he exclaimed. "Refuses to associate with me, blank him !" And so it was. Mula grande appeared a few moments later, halted a rod away, and when approached, simply stood stock still. If the Commodore swore, he put his ears forward so as to miss none of it, and if he fell to belaboring him with a cudgel, simply began to eat of IN PANAMA 237 the herbage with an air of unconcern that would have tempted many to shoot. About five o'clock Chepo, the pig ranch, where we must spend the night, was reached. We were tired out but happy, for in the memory of the oldest inhabitant never had that journey been made without encountering a heavy rain storm on the top of Montoso (over which we came), and we had come through dry. Hammocks were swung in a big half ruined pigshed, a chicken was cooked and eaten, and we turned WILD "CASTILLOA," SHOWING STUMP OF BIG TREE FROM WHICH SPROUTS HAD GROWN. in. The aneroid said two thousand nine* hundred and fifty feet for altitude. It was quite cool, but deliciously dry as compared with Rio Negro. Up at five the next morning, after a hasty breakfast of Pioneer's bread and coffee, the climbing was continued. Here there was less forest and the trail was centuries old. In places it was worn down in the red por- phory until the sides rose above the rider' head, while at the bottom it was barely wide enough for the mule to walk. It was also often cut 238 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER into by a series of from three to five foot steps, with a pool of water in the hollow of each, so the difficulty in getting along may be imagined. Finally the top of Cerro Nuncio was reached, three thousand five hundred feet in the air, and laid out before us like a map, were the plains of the other side of the peninsula. This mountain, so said the Miner, was a mass of gold bearing quartz, and a part of the property we were examining, but we left it where it was. After a rest we started down towards the town of Las Minas which was to be our recuperating and repairing station. The descent was far too steep to ride, so we climbed 'down, finally reaching the plains, and a little after noon, we rode into the old Indian town. Here, installed in a house owned by the Pioneer, we were soon sitting at a table, using knives, forks, and napkins, as if we had always been accustomed to them. This narrative relates primarily to rubber, and it is hard to forecast just how much extraneous matter the reader will stand. But it is only fair to the writer to allow him a word concerning a part of the world which Christopher Columbus, Duke of Veragua, chose for his own, as it was his province, Veragua, that we then were in. Not only that, but all the Indians of his time were Spanish slaves, and the amount of work that they did in digging down mountain sides for gold, is marvelous. Las Minas, founded by the descendants of Columbus, has its plaza, church, tiled houses, dogs, children, and buzzards, like all Central Ameri- can towns. It also has several fine Castilloa trees, and not far away an extensive Castilloa plantation. The latter is known as "Las Margharitas" and is owend by the alcade of Las Minas. It consists of about twenty hectares of land, planted with rubber and coffee. There are said to be some twenty-five thousand Castilloas, that for age would average about three years. One tree that was ten years old was sixteen inches in diameter, and bled freely, but the latex was waxy, and did not coagulate until the wax was worked out. This was not the case with all, and I think the difference was individual. In our conversation with the Indians we learned all that they knew of the land just explored. They confessed that they did not like to go over there, as they were afraid of getting lost. They also boasted of the times when their grandfathers crossed the mountains and, filling canoes with latex, used them as coagulating vessels, and very hesitat- ingly, and only after very much persuasion, they told of the gold some brought out and of the "lost mines" that had once produced such riches for the Spaniards before the Indians rose and massacred them. Fourth of July came while we were in Las Minas, but it would take IN PANAMA 239 pages to tell of the fiesta that we gave the town, and of the baile they gave us in return. At this baile the alcade played the first violin, and was accompanied by a mandolin, a triangle, and a native drum. All day long the whole population was shouting Viva Independencia Estados Unidos! and we in turn Viva Independencia Panama! — while Amigos Americanos and Amigos Pana — something or other — were swapped back and forth most fraternally. Visiting the old Spanish mine, the Golden Cock, now being devel- oped by Americans, we learned from the natives that at times a golden cock crows, and then all the dead men killed by a cave-in during the INDIAN PACK BEARER. Spanish occupation, groan in concert. A golden bull that is somewhere inside of the mine also has a habit of roaring when certain calamities are due. From Las Minas came the journey to Pese, a town of some five hundred inhabitants. Here the Pioneer also had a store, and his home, where we were entertained most royally. We did not tarry long, how- ever, as the Prospector was already suffering from painful tropical boils, and it seemed necessary to get where there were physicians. From Pese we went to Chitre on horse or mule back— all except the invalid, who rode in a bull cart — and finally arrived at Innocentias Hotel. I 240 EXPLORING FOR CASTILLOA RUBBER was about as near a wreck as one could be, for Chiquita on level ground developed into the fastest, hardest gaited little trotter that I have ever seen. She simply would not canter, and in her trot she kept up with the galloping horses and pounded me almost to jelly. At Chitre we expected to find the Almirantc, but she was not there. After waiting two days we took passage on the Quartos Her- manos, the Prospector being brought aboard on a mattress. It must not be thought he was the only damaged one, for all of us were some- what battered. I had a scalp wound an inch long that I had secured by going through a doorway at Innocentias without stooping enough to avoid the sharp tiles, the Scout had a cracked rib, because his horse jammed him under a leaning tree, and the Commodore had a touch of fever. The Quartos Hermanos got away late, by poling down the narrow, muddy Parita River one and one-half miles to the bay. At the river's mouth, we met the Almirante, and, leaving the Commodore to guard the luggage, boarded our own boat. It was hard work to get El Capitan to turn about and follow the other schooner — why, I don't know — but it was finally accomplished. But alas, hardly were the schooners a quarter of a mile from shore when both were aground. Half an hour later one could walk on the hard, black sand from one boat to the other. It would be flood tide by midnight, and if there was wind that would mean a race for Panama. So I offered our captain ten dollars, silver, if he got in first. By eleven our boat was again on even keel ; ten minutes later she was under way, the breeze freshening every minute. It finally got so fresh that I could not sleep on deck but went below. With the exception of one hour's calm the wind held all the next day, and at midnight blew us into Panama harbor. But the shrewd old Portuguese captain of the Quartos Hermanos beat us an hour by getting to the windward and then sailing like a streak. It was just sunrise as we dropped anchor in the bay opposite the Hotel Marina, from which picturesque hostelry many boats put off to secure the job of putting us and our belongings ashore. This task was accomplished after much haggling, and within an hour we stood on the beach surrounded by our luggage, objects of much interest to a score of watermen, half as many dogs, and a huge drove of wild pigs that had just been unloaded from a small freight schooner. One more hour on the beach sufficed to purchase porters and a cart — I say "purchase" advisedly — and start our belongings toward the hotel. Once again at the Hotel Grand Central, where were stored most IN PANAMA 241 of our clothes, we prepared to assume the habiliments of civilization. The first thing was to induce the hotel management to open the bathroom and furnish water. After a forenoon of persuasion that was finally accom- plished, and we felt better, even if the hotel employes did not. Then followed a visit to the cable office, a second exploration of the city, and preparations for passage to New York, on the good ship Yucatan, which was to sail, and did sail, on the day following. In our journeys about the city and along the line of the canal, I tried as far as possible to get close to the people — that is, in the way of mental, not physical contact. Of the native Panamanians I found some exceedingly well educated and active, sane, business men. They were, almost without exception, most pronounced in favor of the annexation of the young republic by the United States. The mass of the people, however, apparently wish only to be let alone, and resent the bustling ways of the Americans. I should say also that there was an exaggerated idea, in their minds, concerning the prowess of the Americans, particu- larly the trim looking marines who wa4]., Limited, which took over the plantation containing 288 RUBBER CULTURE IN HAWAII the Ceara trees planted some years before, which although few in number, had not only matured remarkably, but had some excellent rubber producers. This was rather remarkable, that is, the fact that the trees produced latex, as the rainfall was nearly two hundred and fifty inches, and with the experience of the Ceylon planters before them many thought that the trees would be barren. The reason for this difference perhaps lies in the fact that although the rainfall is great the evapora- tion is very sudden so that the trees are led to expect a drought, which never comes. The same company are also importing seed of the Heuca from Ceylon and expect to plant that on a large scale With regard to the yield of the Ceara trees in the Nahiku planta- tion, six small incisions produced an ounce of dry rubber, and this tapping may be repeated once a week through the year. Mr. Jared G. Smith, who is in charge of the Hawaiian experiment Station, is authority for the statement that the Manihot trees at Nahiku landing have already produced a pound and a half of dry rubber a year. This assures a good profit. He also mentions the recent incorporation of two more planting companies but gives no particulars further than that they are already planting and the young trees showing marvelous growth. As several leading business men from Hawaii have recently been in Ceylon and the Straits studying rubber culture it is quite likely that future planting will be in part, at least, of the Hcrca. It is worthy of note, that the principal rubber planting in Hawaii has been done by settlers from the United States. These are small beginnings, but begin- nings all the same. Just keep an eye on T. H. and see if in another decade she is not producing good rubber as well as furnishing seed for Formosa, the Philippines, Samoa, and other tropical countries. o «• § s II < 6 B U j .y di INDEX Achotal, Along the Railroad Track to 157 Experience at 107 Aden . ,. 9jlo Administration Buildings of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya 38 Africa 8,154 Alexandria 7 Alkali Plains, Over the .... 100 Allianca, Steamer ..... 201 Almirante, Schooner . 203, 208,234,240 America 9,H5 Central . . 115,193,201,222,267 South . .... 54,59,H5 Spanish 186,192 Americas, The ........ 115 American 5,99,105,127,137,138,150,152 . . . 160,188,192,239,255,273 Americans, Latin 188 Amole Vine for Coagulating Rub- ber 143,221 Animals of the Malay States . . 73 Arapolakanda Estate 6l Smoking Rubber at .... 61 Atlantic, Crossing the .... 3 Aztecs 218 Descendants of 218 Land of 97,ioi Azuero, Lands of 233 Peninsula 213 Bab-el-Mandeb 9 Bagot, H. V., Manager of Ara- polakanda 61 Bailey, W. W., His Bungalow at Klang 81 His Plantations at Klang 81,82,83 Some of His Experiments in Planting Hevea .... 83 Banana Republic, Costa Rica . . 185 Banco de la China 197 Barlow, Prof., Kingston, R. I. . 182 Barranquilla, Arrival at .... 248 Belanger's Incorporated, Nicara- gua 167 Bird Cage, The Family Hotel at Minatitlan 138 Briton 10 " Prof. N. D., Director New York Botanical Gardens . 263 W. L., State Entomologist of Connecticut 180 Blake, Sir Henry, Governor of Ceylon 33 Bluefields 167,169,178 Bonifacio, Straits of ..... 5 Boston Rubber Tree 135 Botanic Gardens, Singapore . . 70 Brindisi 7 British, The ^ ?6 Broun, Capt. . ' 8 Buddhist Temple .. . . .'.'.' 16,44 Buenaventura ". . . . . 257 Bullock Hackery . .....' 2Ij22 Bureau of Entomology, Washing- r . ton • - 180,182 Calcutta ...... 154 Camp Iguana, Panama . 227,228,231 Canada Plantation, Nicaragua . . 178 Canker Fungus, Devastation in Hevea Trees 33,34 Its Treatment ..,-.. 34 Cape Gracias a Dios .... 182,267 Maisi '201 Carey, E. V., Manager Kong Yaik Estate, Klang 85 His Experiments in Planting 85 Carruthers, J. B., F. L. S., His Opinion of Canker in Hevea Trees and Methods of Eradi cation ...... 33,34,37 Cartagena, Harbor at 254 Population of ... . , . 255 Rubber Shipments .... 257 Castifloa, About Camp Iguana, Panama 230,231 Adapted to cultivation in Pan- 218 At Culloden Experimenting with 52 39 273 At Experimenting Station . At Western End of Jamaica . Banner seedling at La Buena Ventura n8 Brutally Tapped 188 Camp Rio Negro .... 213 Characteristics of the . i . 118 Claims of a Scientist concern- ing 122 Classified by a Rubber Cultur- ist 198 Comparison of trees at La Buena Ventura 116 Diseases and Enemies of 179,181,182 Free from pests 128 Honduras Plantation . . . 264 Impracticable methods of planting 195 In Malay States '72 In province of Veragua, Pana- ma 238 In Selangor ...... 90 Las Margharitas, Panama . 238 Latex coagulated with juice of Amole Vine .... 221 Little land in Costa Rica for 195 INDEX Castilloa, Needs of quick drainage 172 " Peculiar methods of tap- ping 216 Plantings of coffee and . . 144 Principal plantations in Colombia 258 Seed vitality of the ... 131 Soil necessary for cultivation . ..... . . . . . 119,196 Some of Panama's large trees 227 Specimens of, in Jamaica . 271,272 Tapping . . . . . . . . 222 Taproot of the . ... • IJ9 Testing Seed of 132 Trees at the Rubio Estate . . 141 Wild seedlings 141 Wild trees at Colombia . . 256 Castleton Gardens 270 Cauca District .... 210,218,256 Ceara (Manihot) At Maui ... 286 At The Experiment Station Peradeni}^. . . .. ' . . . 39 In Ceylon . . ..... 23 In The Malay States ... 72 Trees in Jamaica and Ceylon 271 Yield of Trees at Nahiku Plantation . . ' . ... 288 Cebaco, Island of . ... . 207,208 Cerro Nuncio 238 Ceylon, Area, Products, Population, Government, etc., . . 11,12 Climate, Customs, Dress . 13,14 Contrasted With South Ameri ca in Marketing Rubber . 54 Insects .-.- .... 18,34,35,36 Kalutara ....".".'.. 45 •Methods Observed by Hawaii- ans 288 Roads and Railways of . 30,31,46 Rubber, Its Special Purposes 4 Rubber Seeds From . . . 259 Tools in Use at 222 Weeding of Crops a Science 47 Chagres River 202 Chiapas ....'. 95 Chichigapa River . . . .'"•'. . 139 China, Steamer 279 Chinaman 153 Chincona, Experiment Station at 263 Chinese .... 17,84,99,186,266,280 Chitre . 239,240 Chittenden, F. H. Acting Chief, Bureau of Entomology at Washington 181 Choco, The 256,257,258,259 Chocos, The 256 Christmas, On a Tropical Sea . 65,66 Clearing and Burning by Contract 130 Climate, Knowledge of .. . . . 118 Clyde Estate 62 Coachapa River 141 Coatzacoalcos . . 132,138,143,144,150 River 138.139 Colombia, A Consular Agent at . 255 A Town of Western . . . 256 Central Railroad ... . . . 259 Coast of . . . . 201,234,245 Coinage of Gold in .... 253 Colombians 247,253 Colombo, Cost of Rubber at . . 58,59 Harbor at n Rubber Costs 16 cents Pound, Landed at .... . " . 58 Train to .... 30,45,62,63 Colon, A Prophecy of ..... 241 Inhabitants of 202 Connecticut Agricultural Experi- ment Station 180 Constant Spring Hotel . . . . 270 Cordoba 105,160 Cortez . .... 205 Costa Rica, A Rubber Plantation of ...... 193 Castilloa of .... 198 Development Company 197 Interest in Rubber Planting in ... 196 Little Land for Castil- loa Growing in . 195 Costa Ricans ..... 186,187,188 Cow Pea (Vigna kantaing) . . . 163 Cross, Robert, Hevea Measure- ments Near Para Taken by 27 Cuba 201,265 Cuidad Porfirio Diaz, . Mexican Border Town 99 Cukra Plantation Company . . . 171 Rubber Curing House at . . 175 Tapping at ..;.-.... 175 Culebra Cut 202 Culloden, Drainage at 49 Its Rubber Production . . 48,51 Labor at 51,55 Rubber Curing at ... 53,54,55 Rubber Tapping at .... 49 Daedelus Shoal 8 Darien, Gulf of 210 Daytonia 174 De Lesseps, Mons. 7 Demarest Estate no De Silva, Singalese Plant Collector at Peradeniya .... 45,63 De Verts ..." 144 Devonian, Steamer ...... 3 Diaz , 99 " President 103 INDEX Dorman, S. D . 162 Dos Rios, Steamer 143 Region '...'•. 144 Dover . . . . . . . . ; . . 4 East Indies . .... ... . 115 Edangoda, Ceylon . . . .... 48 El Ritero . . . . .... . 112 Escondido River 170 Ferrocarril Costa Rica ... . 188 Fertilizers .......... 71 Fever, A Touch of .... „ . 63 Ficus, Benjamina , .«• . .-.* . 134 Ficus Elastica, 83 At Castleton Garden, Jamaica .... 271 At Maui 286 At S clangor . . . 88,90 Indica, At Hawaii . 286 In the Malay States . 72 Religiosa, At Hawaii 286 75 Year Old Growth at Experiment Station 39 Ficus, Specimens of in Panama . 227 27,115 . 162 . 130 . 164 . 100 288 273 21 234 33 355 38 208 Fiji Islands Filisola Plantation Fire, Danger From . . . . „ . Florida Experiment Station Food, Native Mexican •> . . . . Formosa v . . Forsteronia floribnnda (Milk Withe) ,; ^-. . -. . French Indo-China* . . . . . . Gorgonas Island ...-.;... Governor of Ceylon . •.;'".;• , . Granger, Mr. Henry G. .... Green, Mr. E. E., F.E.S., Govern- ment Entomologist of Cey- lon ••;•.'. Gubernador Island Gutta-jelntong in the Federated Malay States ..... 72 Gutta-percha 74,75,76 Hall, Maxwell, M.A. F.R.A.S., F.R.M.S 267 Harrison, Mr. R. W., Manager at Culloden 47,48 Harvey, Mr., La Buena Ventura . 114,115,120,132,140,154,158,160 Hawaii, A Prophecy of ... 284,288 As a Rubber Producer . . . 279 Territory of 280 Hawaiian Experiment Station 284,288 Islands ..;... 279.282 Heatherly Estate 48,57 Heneratgoda, Annual Measure- ments of Typical Tree . . 27 As a Seed Bearing Proposi- tion 27 39 271 40 Heneratgoda, Castilloa Elastica at First Successful Planting of Para at Government Gardens . . . Landolphia Florida at ... Oldest Hevea Rubber Plant- ing Rubber Tapping at .... Yields and Tapping Experi- ments at 29 Hevea Brasiliensis, 288 At Arapolakanda . . 61 At Malacca ... 91 At Maui . ... . 286 At Port Dickson . . 89 At Sunnycroft ... 63 Canker Fungus . 33,34,37 Chinese Plantations 84,85 Comparative Methods of Coagulating . . 61 Enemies of .... 63,64 Growth of Trees at Heneratgoda . 23,24,25 Government Planta- tions of .... In Castleton Gardens, Jamaica .... Increase in Planting . In Hope Gardens, Ja- maica 272 Introduction in Mexico 154 Leaf Analysis . . 57,58 Measurements at the Royal Botanical Gar- dens Measurements near Para of Wild . ' . Oil From Seeds of . Phenomenal Growth . Plantations Along the Railroad . . . . ., Planted by Natives of Ceylon Rubber Tapping, Tools, etc , Successful Growth at Botanic Gardens, Singapore ... 70 Visit to Plantations . 19 When Mature at Klang and Manner of Planting ,, . . 82,83 Hevea Spruceana 271 Himalaya, On Board the . . . 3,4,11 Honduras 264 Hongkong 5 Honolulu ...... 279,280,284 Hope Gardens, Jamaica .... 272 INDEX Hotel Experiences ...... 250 India 5,9,11 Indian, A Hypnotized 225 Civilized 232 Rubber Planted by the . . 216 Indians, Aztecs 218 Castilloa Coagulated by . . 221 Mackintoshes of the . . . 152 San Bias . . . ... 167,210 Shacks of the . ... . . 219 Stories Told by ".'... . . . .207 Indian Ocean . . .... . . . 10 Insects Of Mexico 156,157 Rubber Scale of Nicaragua 180.181 Leeches and Mosquitoes, and Pests of Ceylon and their Methods of Attack, etc., i8,34>35,36 Institute of Jamaica . . '. . . 267 Isthmus of Tehuantepec . .-'. 95, 102 Ixtaccihuatl . . . 102 Ixtal ......... 107,122 Jamaica, A Prophecy . .... 263 Discovery of 265 First Rubber Culture Experi- ments in . . , . . . . 271 Government of . ... . 266 Island of 265 Rainfall of 267 Para Seeds Sent to . . :. . 27 Japanese ......... 280 Java . . . . . . , . . .21,27,115 Javanese .......... 84 Juancho . . , . . . . . 223,227 Kalani Valley ." ..;.... 62 Kaluganga, Steamer ..... 61 Kalutara . .... . . . 45,62 Kandy, City of .... 41,43,44,45 Kandyans ......... 12 Karawanella ..... . . . 63 Kauai 280 Keith, John M., of the United Fruit Co 195 Keith, Minor C, of the United Fruit Co., 187,196 Kew Gardens 26 Kickxia in the Malay States ... 72 Kickxia Africana 154 Kilauea 280 King of England, The .... 12,186 King Kalakua 286 Kingston, Jamaica . . . . . 269,272 Rhode Island . . . . . 182 Klang, In Selangor, Malay States, Rubber Plantation in charge of Mr. Bailey . . . 81,82,83 Koschney, Mr. Th. F. of Costa Rica 197 La Barrigona Ranch 259 Labor, at Peradeniya Gardens . 41 Average wage of Tamil Coolie 60 Contract 130 Coolie Contract Work at Culloden 58 Tamil, Chinese and Japanese 84 The Mozo in Mexico 124,125,126 La Carolina Plantation .... 258 La Crosse Plantation Co. . . . 146 La Florencia, Estate . ., ,\ ,; . 120 La Junta, Labor at . . . . . . 124 Tennessee Negroes to be delivered at . . 127 " Visit to 124 Landolphia . . . V ... . . . 271 Landolphia Florida : . . . . . 25 Las Margharitas . \ . ... 238 Las Minas ; . . . . . . 238,239 Latex 4 A Pound Dry . . . ... 58 Abundant Flow of . ... 122 Age of Trees . . . N . . . 116 All Castilloas with One Exception Yield . . . . 116 Coagulated by Panama Indi- ans 221 Collected by Torchlight . . 56 Cukra Plantation, Method of Coagulating* . ...". . 175,177 Difference in the 116 Experiments in Coagulation of 29 Ficus Elastica in Ceylon pro- ducing little 39 Methods of preventing too rapid Coagulation ... 51 Of Milk Withe Rich in . . 273 Of the Ficus Benjamina of Little Value 134 Slow Running in the Middle of the Day .... 38,49,56,57 Thin and Watery . . . 195 Lewis, F., Assistant Conservator of Forests, Colombo . 39,63,64 Luther, Mr. A. B 138,141,143 Magdalena 259 Mahaweli River 39 Malacca, Straits of 67 Maltrata, Village of 104 Mammals of Mexico . . 152,153,158 Manhattan Plantation, Headquar- ters at 178 One Hundred and Forty Thousand Trees at ... 178 Manaos 60 INDEX Manaos Para 3 Manihot Glaziovii, in Colombia . . 259 Trees at Nahiku Landing . 288 Mariato River . 207,221,224,225,235 Maui, Island of 280,286 Maxwell, Le Froy, Government En- tomologist at W. Indies Re- commends Cure for Castil- loa Scale 180 Mexico, Animals of . , . 152,158 Climate 102 City of 96,102,103,114,154,157,162 Dry and Rainy Seasons in 119,120 Insects of 156,157 Laws of 150,151 Native Food of IOO Reptiles of .... 120,122,124 Taxation 159,160 Train Service in .... 104 Two Conditions not Touched upon in Guide Books About 103 Valley of 101 Milk Withe (Forsteronia floribun- da) .... ... . . 273 Minatitlan .... 138,139,141,143 Minecoi Island 10 Mohammedan Merchants in Cey- lon 15 Molokai Island 280 Monkey Hill Cemetery, Colon . . 202 Montijo, Gulf of . . . « . . . 206 Montoso . . .... . . . 237 Moors 12,17 Morning Glory Vine, in Mexico and Nicaragua suggested as cover for rubber tree trunks ....... 135,172 Mosquito Coast 267 Mount Lavinia I5>i7 Nahiku Rubber Co., Ltd. . . . . 286 National Theatre, San Jose . . . 190 Newmark, Plantation 112 Nicaragua, Greytown 197 Rainfall in 173 Report of a Beetle Trouble- some in 182 Securing a Passport for Leav- ing 178 Voyage on Schooner . . . 167 Nochistongo Canal 101 Northern Railway, Costa Rica . . 195 Oahu, Island of 280 Oaxaca, State of ... . . . . 95 Opals, Mexican . . . . . . . 101 Orizaba, City of . . . . . . . 105 Palo Seco 210,213 Panama 240,254 Panama Bay . . . . .... . 206 " Canal 267 Panama City, A Government Ap- propriation for .... 215 Freed from Yellow Fever . 241 Panamanians, Native 241 Para (See Hevea) Parita River 240 Pataling Estate Selangor ... 89 Pearson, Sir S. Weetman, English Railroad Constructor . . 144 Penang 27 Peradeniya, Administration Build- ings at 38 Inspecting Gardens at ... 33 Laboratories at 38 Para Seeds Transferred from Heneratgoda , . . . 26 Rainfall at 41 Royal Botanical Gardens at . 19 Visitors at . . .... . 21 Perez, Mexico 158,160 Pese, Panama . . . .... 239 Philippines, The .... ; . . 99,288 Plant Pests 128,129 Plantation, Rubio On Horseback Through Miles of Rubber 140-1 Plantation San Francisco, Mexico 144 Polgahawela, Ceylon ...... 32 Popocatepetl 102,104 Port Limon, Castilloa Plantations Near 196 Seven Million Bunch- es of Bananas Ship ped yearly from . 186 Port Royal . . 269 Port Said . . s . . ... . , 6 Punta Malo ........ 205 Punta Mariato . . . ... . 206 Punta, Moro Puercos . V r . . 206 Quebro 227 Outlaws 206 River 207 Queretara 100 Quibdo, A Political Center of Co- lombia 255,256,257 Rainfall, At Heneratgoda . . . 240 In Hawaii 286,288 In Jamaica 270,272 Rains, Torrential .... 120,131,177 Rainy Season 119,172,201 Rambukkana, Ceylon 32 Raphael . . . 203 Rest House 30,45,46 Ridley, Henry N., F.L.S., Director of Singapore Botanical Gar- . dens 70 INDEX Rincon Antonio, Mexican Railroad Town . . . . . . 146,157 Rio Negro Camp, Panama 213,216,218, ..... 220,227,231,234 Royal Botanical Gardens at Pera- deniya .... ... . 19 Experiment Stations at . . 39 Rubber, A Costa Rican Orchard of Castilloa 193 At Culloden, Cost of . . 58,59 At La Junta . . . 124,126,128 At Plantation Rubio . . . 140 Canker in Hevea . . . 33,34,37 Castilloa and Ceara at Experi- ment Stations 39 Castilloa and Ceara in Malay States 72 Castilloa and Coffee on San Francisco Plantation . . 144 Castilloa at the Demarest Es- tate 1 10 Castilloa at the Rubio Estate 141 Castilloa Brasiliensis at Hope Gardens, Jamaica . . . 272 Castilloa Elastica at Henerat- goda ....... 25 Castilloa Experiments at Cul- loden . . ... . . . 52 Castilloa Free from Pests in Mexico 128 Castilloa, Large Trees in Panama 227 Castilloa, Native . . . . . 122 Castilloa on the Darien Gold Mining Co. Plantation . . 234 Castilloa Plantation at Jamai- ca 273 Castilloa Plantation in Verag- ua, Panama 238 Castilloa Seed and Blossom 131 Castilloa Trees on Las Mar- gharitas Plantation . . . 238 Ceara at Ceylon 23 Ceara, At Mauri .... 286 Ceara at Nahiku Plantation, Hawaii 288 Ceara Trees in Ceylon and Ja- maica 271 Ceylon 4 Ceylon, English Opinions of . 3,4 Characteristics of the Castil- loa 118 Chinese as Rubber Planters, (Federated Malay States) 84,85 Chinese Plantations . . . 84,85 Coagulating Castilloa . . 221 Comparative Prices of Para 59,60 Rubber, Conclusions Drawn from Visit to Mexico .... 96 Curing House at Culloden 53,54,55 Diseases of Castilloa . 179,181,182 Distances 64.71 Enemies of Hevea . . . 63,64 Experiments Instituted at Cul- loden ....... 56,57 Ficus Elastica at Castleton Gardens, Jamaica .... 271 Ficus Elastica at Klang ... 83 Ficus Elastic in the Malay States . .'•. . "-. ' ... . . 72 Ficus Elastic 75 year old Growth at Experiment Sta- tion 39 Ficus for Future Planting in Hawaii . . .-.'-. . 286,288 Ficus Indica . .... . 286 Ficus Religiosa 286 Ficus Specimens in Panama 227 Ficus, Superior Growth at Se- langor 90 Gathering and Testing Castil- loa Seed 131,132 Government Hevea Planta- tions At Peradeniya . . 39 Government Plantations of Hevea 39 Great Care to be Exercised in Preparing Ground for . 132 Grove Plantation . . . . 174 Gutta-jelutong in the Jungle. (Federated Malay States) 72 Hevea at Arapolakanda . . 61 Hevea at Culloden . . . 49,56 Hevea at Heneratgoda. 1883. 26 Hevea at Klang .... 82,83 Hevea at Malacca .... 91 Hevea at Port Dickson , . 89 Hevea Brasiliensis at Hope Gardens, Jamaica .... 272 Hevea Brasiliensis at Castle- ton Gardens, Jamaica . . 271 Hevea Brasiliensis in Mexico 154 Hevea Leaf Analysis . . 57,58 Hevea Measurements at the Royal Botanical Gardens 27 Hevea Planted by Natives of Ceylon 20 Hevea Spruceana at Castleton Gardens, Jamaica ... 271 In Hawaii, The Prospects 279.286 In the midst of planted Rub- ber 171 Interest in Hawaii .... 286 Increase in Hevea .... 40 " Kickxia Africana in Mexico 154 INDEX Rubber Landolphias at Castleton Gardens, Jamaica . . . 271 Landolphia florida at Hener- atgoda 25 Little Castilloa at Selangor 90 Manihot Glaziovii in Colom- bia 259 Mr. Carey's Plan at Kong Yaik Estate 85 Mr. Lewis's Part in Advanc- ing Rubber Interests in Ceylon 64 Necessity of Observing Proper Conditions for . 118 " Oldest Rubber on Arapola- kanda Plantation .... 61 Orchard of the Manhattan Para at Heneratgoda . . 25 Para at Heneratgoda in 1886 26 Para at Selangor Rubber Go's 88 Para Clyde Estate .... 62 Para Produced at Culloden 48,51 Para Production at Culloden 48,51 Phenomanal Growth at Bo- tanical Gardens, Singapore 70 Planting. Increasing Interest in Colombia . . . 258 Planting in Jamaica (Experi- mental) 263 Private Castilloa Plantations 175 Prize Castilloa Plantations 196,197 Profits 20,64 Producer (Milk Withe) . . 273 Proper Conditions for Castil- loa 118,195 Recent Activity in Costa Rica in 197. Samples ... .179 Seeds, A peculiar theory of . 192 Shrinkage 3 Smoking, at Arapolakanda . 61 Soil Tells Story of Filisola Plantation Failure . 162,163 Some Nicaragua Plantations 178 Some Peculiarities at Klang 82 Successful Experiments with Seeds for 132 Tapping Castilloa . ... 222 Taproot of the Castilloa . . 119 Tapping, At Cukra Planta- tion, Nicaragua . . 177 At Culloden . . 49,50.51 At Culloden at Night 56,57 At Heneratgoda . . 28 At Klang Determined by Size .... 82 At Peradeniya . . 38 Brutal Tapping of Castilloa . . . 188 Rubber Tapping, By an Indian 221 Tools . . . 29,38.49,85 Up the Coachapa River 141 Varying Opinions as to Frequency of . . 142 Trees cut down in Colombia 255 " Trees Destroyed by Fire . . 130 Trees Less Frequent at High Altitudes in Costa Rica . . 189 Trees, Wild 118 Up The Rivers and Lagoons in Nicaragua 17° " Wild Castilloa in Colombia . 256 Wild Trees in Costa Rica . 196 " Wild Hevea Measurements near Para 27 Willughbeia Firma, Gutta- percha, Ficus, and Kickxia in the Malay States ... 72 " Samples .179 Samoa 288 San Carlos River . . . . . 197 San Geronimo Valley, Mexico . . 146 San Jose, Its Resemblance to a - Modern American City . 190 San Marcos Plantation .... 160 Santa Lucretia, Mexico 107,134,136,150 Savanilla, Colombia • -. • • 245,252 Schooner Sunbeam, Experiences on 167 Selangor, How Land is Acquired in 85 " Methods of Planting, Etc. 86.87,88,89 " Older Heveas destroyed at . 78 " Rubber Co., 86,89 Siam ............ 21 Sim Iron Plantation .... 174 Singalese - - 11,12,17.61 Singapore, Area, Population, Rain- fall, Location, Government. When Founded, Etc. -. . 68 " Departure for Hong Kong 91 " Tropical Plants and Trees Sent to Mexico from . . 154 Slave Island Station 45 Sloophouse Creek, Nicaragua . 170 Staples, Mr. F. H. M., Chief of the Agricultural Bureau at Jo- hore • 76 Suoy River 231 Smith, Jared G., of the Hawaiian Experiment Station . . 288 Spanish, Companion's Knowledge of Language Helpful . . 105 " Language in General Use . . 192 Snakes 122,124 Solo Suchil, Mexico 138 " Pantation . . . . 139 INDEX Suez Canal . . . ...... . 7,8 City of ." . . . . . 7,8 Gulf of ... ; .... . s Sumatra . . . . . 21 Tabasco, State of . ...... 95 Tabeuwana, Ceylon ; . . . . 46 Tamils 12,17,61,84 Tampa, Florida ...... 164 Taxation in Mexico 159 Teck Wah Liong Co., Chinese Mer- chants 74 Tehuantepec, City of . . 144,148,150 Thwaites, Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ceylon 26 Tierra Blanca 106,160 Caliente . . . 95,103,119,128 Timsah Lake . . 7 Toboga, Panama 204,205 Torrean, Mexico 99 Tres Amigos River 197 Triman, Dr. Successor to Dr. Thwaites of the Royal Bo- tanical Gardens, Ceylon. . 26,27 Rubber Tapping by .... 28 Trinidad, River District . 114,130,162 Tudugala, Ceylon 48 Tula 100,101 United States, Negroes from . . 126 Annexation Panama . 241 Marines 201 Settlers from ... 288 Tehuantepec Survey . 127 Varney Rubber Co., Mexico . . 130 Velvet Bean, Recommended for Planting Around Trunks of Rubber Trees 164 Vera Cruz 130 Vera Cruz and Pacific Road . . 105 Vera Cruz, State of .... 95,119 Veragua, Panama . . . . ,. . 238 Wakaki Beach 279 Waldron, Gordon, of the Cukra Company . . 171,175,177,178 West Indies 115,180,270 Willis, Director J. C, F.L.S., of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya 19,21 Measurements Taken by . 27 Rubber Tapping by .... 28 Willughbeia Firma in the Malay States 72 Withers, J. T. of Clontarf, Cey- lon 47 Wreck, Just Averted 208 Wright, Mr. Herbert, A.R.C.S., In Charge of Experiment Sta- tion at Royal Botanical Gar- dens 39 Yatiyalagala, Ceylon .. .^ . . . 39 Yatupauwa, Ceylon . .... 48 Yokohama 5*279 Yucatan, Ship . . .... . 241 Zacatecas ......... 99 City of 100 Zapotaco Women (Tehuantepec Women) 148 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Amusements Committee . . . . . . •.,-- .. « , . . : ' t'- ; .5 Port Said Water Front . . ..... ' . . ' . . . . . . . .6 In the Suez Canal . . . „ . . » ^ . . . . . 7 Breakwater at Colombo, Ceylon ..... . . . . . .. . 10 Paddy (Rice) Field in Ceylon . '. . . . . . •••.- . . n Catamaran With Sail, Ceylon . . .. ' . » ' . . . . . 12 Street Scene in Colombo . . ..'.'• . . .: . ;. . .. :. . 13 Banyan Tree, Ceylon . , . . . . . ... . v. . . 15 Plantains, Ceylon . . . ' . . : .» " ~. ;.'. . . * " fc . . . . 16 Native Method of Tree Climbing .. . . . . . . . .. . . 17 An Upcountry Tea Estate in Ceylon . " . J . ..... . 18 Hevea at Heneratgoda . . .. . ... "v . . . . . 19 Para Rubber Trees (Hevea Brasiliensis) at Heneratgoda . . , . . 20 Bullock Hackery and Rickshaw, Colombo . * ... . . . . 22 Experiment Gardens, Peradeniya . . .. .' . ... . . 23 Peradeniya Garden . . ... . . , . / . . . . . 24 Portion of Old Hevea Tree . . . ^ , , . ; ; . . 25 Hevea Brasiliensis . . . ... . - . . . . . . 26 Peradeniya Garden Entrance . . . . . .... . . . 28 Ficus Elastica, Peradeniya, Peradeniya Garden . . . i. . . 29 Dendrocalamus Giganteus . . ..... ... . . 31 Peradeniya Garden . . ... . . . (. . - . '. 32 Ficus Bengalensis — Banyan Tree . '- . . . . . . . * . 33 Young Hevea Trees . . .-.*"% . . . . ; . . . 35 Satinwood Bridge, Peradeniya » « . ... ... . . . . 37 Hevea at Edangoda . . . . . '* . ' . . . .. • 3^ Peradeniya Garden . . .40 Rubber Trees Killed by Flood . . . . 41 Sensation Rock, Near Kandy 43 Kandy — Lady Horton's Walk 44 Ceara Rubber Tree . . 46 View from Hilly Road Near Culloden . 47 Fifteen Year Old Hevea Trees ... 48 Hevea Rubber Tree 50 Hevea Trees at Culloden . . . . 51 Hevea Trees at Culloden 52 Scene in Kelani Valley, Ceylon 53 Rubber Curing House, Culloden 54 Coagulating and Pressing Para Rubber . 55 Mr. Harrison's Bungalow, Culloden 56 Jack Fruit 57 View of Hevea Six Months After Planting 5^ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Wild Ficus Elastica . . ... . . . . . . . . 59 Hevea Planted 1889; Photographed 1903 . 60 Hevea Trees at Sunnycroft . . ..... . . . . . 62 Johnston's Pier, Singapore . . . . . '". -\ . . 66 Malay Village, Pulo Bram, Singapore .... . . . . . 67 Orchard Road, Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Field of Para Rubber (Hevea) . . .... . . . 69 Shoots from a Fallen Hevea Trunk . . . • . -.-»"•.; . 7° Gutta-Jelutong Tree . . . * %. . . .-.; . . * . • • 71 Malay House in Johore . ..' . . . 74 New Mohammedan Mosque, Johore — View from Seaside . . . . .75 Istana of the Sultan of Selangor . ' . ... « ' .. • . . 77 View of the Plantation of the Selangor Rubber Co., Federated Malay States (Hevea and Ficus Interplanted) . ...!". •_','. . - 7§ Four Year Old Hevea, Klang Estate .... .. ... ',." . . 80 A River View from Klang . . ... . . ' . .-.-.. • 81 Mr. Bailey's Bungalow, Klang . . . .-..:. . . . . • 82 Four Year Old Planted Ficus . . \ . •, . . ... . 83 Rubber Plantation View in Selangor, Federated Malay States . • • • ^4 Rubber Plantation View in Selangor, Federated Malay States ... 85 Rubber Plantation View in Selangor, Federated Malay States . . ' . . 86 Hevea on the Vallambrosa Estate^ Klang . . . . - . . . . 87 Cutting a Road Through Jungle . . . ....'... . 88 View on the Plantation of the Selangor Rubber Co., Federated Malay States . 90 Young Hevea Seedlings in Beds, in Manure Test . . •-«.•• • • 91 Native Hut in the State of Vera Cruz . . ..,....-. t 95 Cane Fiber Raincoat . ...... . . . . . . • • 96 Cocoa Fiber Raincoat . . . . . . . . . . • -97 Map of Mexico (Itinerary of a Visit to the Rubber Plantations) ... 98 Primitive Means of Transportation 99 Maquey Plantation Near Mexico City 100 Snow Capped Orizaba . . . . . . . . . . . • • I01 Mountain Climbing Engine . . . . . . . . . • • .102 Looking Down Upon Maltrata from the Train . . . . . . • 103 Street Scene in Cordoba 104 Ficus Benjamina ..........•••• IO5 La Junta Corner of Rubber Field One Year Old 106 La Florencia — Plantation House . . . . . . • • • I07 La Florencia — Tapping Large Wild Rubber Tree ....... 108 La Junta — Headquarters of the Plantation Company . . . . . 109 La Junta — Rubber Plantation Seen from Trail 109 Interior Camp No. 4 on Plantation Rubio iij Water Front at Manititlan .112 La Florencia — Trail Through Forest Growth . . . . . . • IT3 La Florencia— Coffee Among Rubber Trees Three to Five Years . . .113 La Florencia— Fine Stand of Rubber Two to Four Years Old ... 117 La Florencia — Large Cultivated Rubber IT7 Hotel Palomares, IVJanititlan . . . . ' . - IJ9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Rubio — Interior of Temporary Office . .121 Plantation Rubio — Tract for Planting, After the "Burn" .1 , . t . 123 Rubio — Young Planted Rubber . . . . ... ... 125 Rubio — Brick and Tile Factory . ... * . . ." . . , , . 127 Bodega on Plantation Rubio . . . . . : .' . , . . . 131 Another Camp on Plantation Rubio . ... . . . . . 133 Piece of Road on Plantation Rubio . . . . . . . ... 135 Wild Rubber Tree on Coatzacoalcos River . . 137 Thatched Village on the Ubero Plantation . . . . . ... 130 Steamer "Dos Rios" on the Coatzacoalcos . . . . . . .141 The Tehuantepec Market . . . . . . . ... . 142 La Trinidad — Five Year Old Cultivated Rubber ... • • . . 145 Del Corte — Laborers Camp and Clearing .-.. . ... . . . .147 Del Corte — Corner of Rubber Orchard and Road . . . .. . . 149 Del Corte — Extensive View of Rubber Planting . . ... . . . . 149 Del Corte— Road Through Rubber . . . . . . . . . .151 Trees on Filisola . . . . . . . ... . . 153 La Trinidad — Five Year Old Rubber and Coffee . ... . . . 155 Filisola in Its Palmy Days . . . ... .' . . . . . . 157 Filisola Water Front at Present ...-*. * 159 Del Corte — Administration Building and Rubber Trees . .... .161 Rubber Tree Twenty-seven Months Old from Seed . ..... 163 Wharf at Belanger's . . . . . . . . . . • ,. . . 167 Water Front at Bluefield's . . '. , . . f • . . . . • 168 La Tropical Hotel, Bluefield's . . . . . . . . . . .169 Waldron's' Store — Cukra and Canada Plantations . . ... . . 170 Waldron's Canada Plantation . . . -, . . . . ..'•,. 171 Residence of Sim Iron . . . 172 Sim Iron's Rubber Plantation . . • . . . . • . . . . . 173 In the Shade of a Rubber Tree «. ... . . . . . 174 Manhattan Plantation — Dwelling House ... . . . . . . 175 Manhattan Plantation — Castilloa Trees, Ground Covered with Morning Glory Vines 176 Road Through Manhattan Plantation, Among Castilloa Trees ... .176 Mosquito Indians . . . . . . . . , . ... 1/7 Castilloa Stem Attacked by Scale . . .178 Larvae of Castilloa Borer . . . . 179 Stern of Nat, Jr. . . . . 181 Wharf at Port Limon, Costa Rica 185 United Fruit Co.'s Commissary, Port Limon . . ..... . . 186 Loading Bananas on a Train ........... 187 Ten Miles Out of Port Limon .188 Chirripo, Showing Minor C. Keith's Place 189 River Scene Near Port Limon 189 Mountain Road Near San Jose 190 Typical Costa Rican Land Cleared for Pasture, With Castilloa Standing (on the left) . . . . \, .191 Scene in Street in San Jose . . . . . . . • .'." . . . I91 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Central Park, San Jose . . ^ . . . -..-.. . . . . 192 Railroad on the Way Up to San Jose . 193 Native Rubber Ten Years Old Surrounded by Planted Rubber and Chocolate 194 Typical Lowland Town ... . . . . 194 Rubber and Bananas . . . . •'-. . . . . . 'V . . 195 Rubber and Cacao Alternating, Showing Method of Cleaning . . . 196 Cacao Pods and Scrap Rubber from Wild Trees . ... . . . 197 In the Canal Zone — River View . '.'•'. . .. , . . 202 Cathedral Square and Hotel Grand Central, Panama City . . ' . . . 204 Part of the Panamanian Army . . 205 The Schooner Almirante . . . . , . . . ... 207 On the Beach, Gubernador Island . . 209 Jungo, Cook on the Almirante ; :.. . . / . . 210 The Touraine — Canvas Shelter on the Almirante .'• . t . , . .211 Panamanians . . . . -, " . . ... . -.•"... . . 214 Camp Rio Negro . .' . . . . ' . . . . . . '. . 215 Map — The Azuero Rubber Lands — Republic of Panama . . -.-• . . 217 Interior of Camp Rio Negro . . . . . . ... . . . 219 Indian Tapping a Castilloa . . .... . . * . . . 221 Rubber Cutters at Rio Negro Camp . t . . . . . 223 Coagulating Rubber in Balsa Log . . . ..... . . 224 Juancho in Grove of Castilloa Planted by Indians . ; . . . . 225 Cruz, the Hunter, with Wild Turkey . . .... . ... . 226 Juancho's Rubber Tapping Tool . . . . ^ . . . ... - . 227 Native Rubber Cutter with Machete and Calabash . . . ... . 229 Cattle Ranch at the Llanos . . .; . . . . .-1 . . . 230 Sugar Mill Near Las Minas . , . . . . . . ; . . . . 231 Town Bakery at Las Minas ... . 232 The Church at Las Minas . "f- TV • - •" • « . • • • . 233 Fourth of July Fiesta at Las Minas 235 Wild Castilloa, Showing Stump of Big Tree from Which Sprouts Had Grown 237 Indian Pack Bearer ............. 239 View of Barranquilla . . . ... . . . . . . . 245 Homes of the Poor 246 Mouth of the Sinu River 247 Panoramic View of Cartagena 248 Scene in Quibdo, a Rubber Trading Center ........ 248 Map — Region of Rubber Plantations in the West of Colombia . . . 249 Colombian Scenery ............ 250 Lumber and Wild Rubber Camp 251 Medellin Street Scene 252 Medellin— Home of a Wealthy Citizen 253 The Writer (on the right) and His Companions du Voyage .... 254 Bananas 255 Sugar Mill 256 Lumber 257 Cacao 258 Kingston Street, Kingston 263 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Country Negroes . 264 Bog Walk 265 Entrance to Hope Botanical Gardens . . 266 Port Antonio . . ... . . . . . .... . 267 Map Showing Average Rainfall Over Jamaica for One Year ... . . 268 Sugar Cane Field . . ''.*. . . . . . . .'- . •.•«,' .. . 269 Cocoanut Palms . . . . . > . . , . ,. . ."•... . 270 Castleton Gardens .... . . . . . . . • . 271 Castilloa Elastica in Hope Gardens (Tree Three Years and Six Months Old) 272 Map of the Hawaiian Islands, Comprising the Territory of Hawaii . . . 277 Native Hut in Maui Island . . . . . . . ... . 278 Viewing Young Rubber . "... . . . . . . . . 280 Manihot Glaziovii Trees (Seven to Ten Months Old) . . . . . 281 Seven Year Manihot Near Nahiku Landing . . . . . . . . 282 Planting on Newly Cleared Land, Nahiku Plantation . . ... . 283 Manihot Glaziovii, Nahiku Plantation (Twenty-two Inch Dam) .... 285 Rice Field . . . . 287 The Ewa Mill and Cane Field . . . ^, 287 Typical Hawaiian Views . . . ... . . . . . . 289 The San Miguel Plantation Company GROWERS OF Rubber Sugar Cane and other Tropical Products Four and a half year old Rubber Tree on San Miguel Plantation Inspecting Sugar Cane on San Miguel Plantation For full information write The San Miguel Plantation Company 814 Chamber of Commerce, CHICAGO, ILL. The pages of this book embody every detail of Tire Formation, the opening chapters telling What Rubber Is and How It Is Manufac- tured and the two succeeding ones dealing in order with the processes it undergoes before it has assumed the proportions of a tire. The Pneumatic Tire is then considered and Theory, Size, Inflation, Defects, Life, etc., are treated in detail. The English, French, German and American makes of cycle and automobile tires are next in order, Cushion Tires, Heavy Traffic Tires, Solid Tires of American and Foreign Types, Tire Testing, Tire Fabrics, Tire Pumps, Valves, Anti-Skids, Puncture Proof Tires, Spring Tires, Care of Tires, Puncture Fluids, Cements, Repairing, Repair Kits, Tire Cases, Tools, Tire Life and cost of Maintenance, Tire Applying Machines, Solid Tire Treads, Leather, Paper, and Wooden Tires, Spring Wheels, Shock Absorbers, Where Tires are made, Making roads for tires, and Substitutes for Rubber, are some of the chapters that follow. Illustrations are used wherever it is possible to illumine a subject,, this feature adding materially to the value of the book- published by The India Rubber Publishing Company, 35 West 2 1st Street, New York, I. 8. A. Sold by Subscription Only, Price Tnree Dollars. The North America Rubber Culture Co. Organized in 1 900 Capital, $11 0,000 Owners of Lot Ten of Colombia Plantation 1100 acres of hill land, all suitable for rubber Colombia is on the Coatzacoalcos river, navigable to the Gulf, and is 5 miles from the railroad junction at Santa Lucrecia, Vera Cruz, Isthmus of Tejiauntepec. « On this land are about 100,000 4J year old rubber trees. 20, 000 of these trees on ftftn \ " " " " are now 6 inches m Q " « « « diameter. In 1908 6 there should be 100,000 2 " 50,000 6 inches or 50 000 1 " larger and therefore * ready for the first tapping, which will 276,000 trees in total. be made then. The Company issued $220,000 of 20 year 6% Gold First Mort- gage bonds. With each bond was sold an equal fraction of the stock, so that all the stock is owned by the bondholders. The in- terest coupons No. 1 on the bonds will be due and will be paid on April 15, 1907. The whole of the securities were sold in 1903, part of them on 5 year instalment payments. Correspondence is invited from inter- ested parties regarding any lapsed bonds and stock which may be from time to time available for resale. Owing to the advanced stage of the Company and its safe and solid condition, any of these seem peculiarly attractive investments. AMERICAN OFFICE New York Life Building KANSAS CITY, MO. MEXICAN ADDRESS Plantation Colombia SANTA LUCRECIA, V.C. FOR THE RUBBER FACTORY. CRUDE Rubber and Compounding Ingred- ients" has been found a veritable encyclopedia of information concerning India-rubber, crude and compounded. The author, Mr. Henry C. Pearson, editor of The India Rubber World, brought out this book after twenty- five years of practical experience and intimate knowledge of the modern processes of manipulation and compounding. Special attention is given to the grades of crude rubber now on the market and the book also contains a table showing the analysis of typical sorts of crude rubber. Chapters on Gutta-Percha, Reclaimed Rubber, Rubber Substitutes, Vulcanizing Ingredients, Fillers, Coloring Mat- ters, Solvents, Acids, Oils and Alkalies, Gums and Earth Waxes, and Unusual Ingredients are all exhaustively treated. There are tables that show the results of hundreds of ex- periments made by experts and chemists relating to physi- cal tests of India-rubber, analyses of substitutes, compound- ing ingredients, gums, etc. The best work of all the leading English, German and American experts in India- rubber is summarized in this book. For Sale by The India Rubber Publishing: Co. 35 NVest 21st Street, INew York. LOS SOLD ADOS RUBBER COMPANY P. O. ADDRESS: -CO ATZACOALCOS, COUNTY OF M1NATITLAN, VERACRUZ, MEXICO. PRIVATE PLANTATION OF CASTILLOA RUBBER RUBBER, 4)£ YEARS OLD, PLANTED UNDER SHADE. NEW YORK OFFICE, 1 70 BROADWAY, CORNER MAIDEN LANE. FINE RUBBER PREPARED BY CENTRIFUGAL PROCESS. Edited by Henry C. Pearson, 35 W. zist Street, New York. Read the World over by those who keep in touch with current rubber news. Each Issue Contains : Articles on Rubber Planting. Practical Articles on Matters Pertaining to the Trade. New Goods Fully Described and Illustrated. Reports from Correspondents at all the great rubber centers, crude and manufacturing. Resume of Rubber Patents. Trade Happenings among the Factories, at the Selling Agencies or among the Wholesalers and Jobbers. Chats with and Sketches of the Leaders in the Rubber Trade. Complete India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha Market Report. Progress in the Manufacture of Belting, Packing, Hose and General Mechanical Goods. Insulated Wire and Cable Work. Rubber Clothing, Mackintoshes, and Carriage Drills. Hard Rubber. Druggists' and Surgical Sundries. Rubber Boots and Shoes. New Machinery, Tools and Appliances. Special Factory Processes. Cycle, Automobile and Carriage Tires, and their Accessories. Gutta-Percha Production, Goods and Manufacture. Finely and Profusely Illustrated. Subscription Price, $3.00 per year in the United States, Canada and Mexico, in all other countries, $3.50. The Ohio Rubber Culture Company , CANTON, OHIO. Is engaged in scientific planting and cultivating rubber on its 3,700-acre plantation, situated on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the true rubber zone of Mexico, and has a limited number of its First Mortgage "Improvement" Gold Bonds and accompanying shares of stock for sale. The Company invites the closest scrutiny of its property, its plans and its methods, confident that they will meet the approval of those seeking a safe, substantial and remunerative investment. Its lands are fully paid for and its title to same perfect. Only 2, 500 shares of stock, all common, and over 1,000, 000 rubber trees already planted. Its plantation management is in the hands of men of recognized ability, whose twelve years' successful experience in tropical plant- ing guarantees success. For free copy of the Company's Prospectus, which fully explains our plans and proposition, address, THE OHIO RUBBER CULTURE COMPANY, THE COURTLAND BUILDING, CANTON, OHIO. THE BATAVIA PLANTATION. Comprising 10,000 acres choice land, located in the foothills between the Usila and Santo Domingo Rivers, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Altitude 1,000 to 2,500 feet. Climate ideal. Ample local labor sup- ply. Substantial buildings including Coffee beneficio completed and equipped with machinery. —No indebtedness. CAREFUL AND CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT Energetically applied to the marvelous agricultural resources of the Tropics — 1,000 acres of land now planted to 150,000 rubber trees, 100,000 coffee trees, 10,000 vanilla vines, pasturage etc. Many thousands of young coffee and rubber plants growing in nursery. Earning annual dividends which have aggregated 18i% during the past three years. Said annual earnings will increase materially each year after 1908 with commencement of rubber tapping. Investors please write for full information to BATAVIA COMPANY, MilwatiKee, • "Wisconsin. 3U J^ue\)a $rctott>encia Rubber Company, (Incorporated January 1903.) PROPERTIES : CAPITAL : DEPARTMENT OF ESCUINTLA, $100,000. Common. GUATEMALA, CENTRAL AMERICA. $50,000. Preferred. DEPOSITORIES: NATIONAL BANK OF NORTH AMERICA MECHANICS NATIONAL BANK IN IN NEW YORK. PROVIDENCE. We offer for sale 600 shares of our Preferred Capital Stock. The par value of shares is $25.00. This preferred stock is guaranteed 8%, and cumulative from date of issue. The dividends on this stock are not limited to, but guaranteed not less than, &%. This preferred stock also shares equally with the common stock., when the dividends on the common stock exceed 8%. None of our stock has ever been sold by brokers or agents, and this is the first time any of our stock has been offered to the general public and will probably be the last. Our Capital is extremely conservative ; the Management careful, but progressive ; our Proposition ligitimate and honest, and we cordially invite investigation. Ours is an enterprise with prospects of good dividends in the near future, and you cannot afford to miss this opportunity. For price, terms, and further information address the corporation, Box 1 462 Providence, R. I. MUTUAL RUBBER PRODUCTION COMPANY No. 1. QS IV1IUK STREET, BOSTOIN, MASS. ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT IS REALLY PLANTING RUBBER FOR SALE. We offer for sale an interest in the Del Corte Rubber Plantation, being the shares of certain members who are unable to complete the payments on their stock. This plantation has been running seven years; has about completed its development work and is tapping its rubber trees this year. Prices and particulars on application. THE MELANCO COMPANY. Sales Agents. RAILWAY EXCHANGE, MILWAUKEE, WIS. (See illustrations of their rubber trees in the author's description of his visit to Mexico.) RETURN TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 198 Main Stacks LOAN PERIOD 1 Home Use 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS. Renewals and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. Books may be renewed by calling 642-3405. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW. JUL 0 9 2\ \ FORM NO. DD6 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 50M 6-00 Berkeley, California 94720-6000 YD 15437