. Tropical agriculture; the climate, soils, cultural methods, crops, live stock, commercial importance and opportunities of the tropics . s from 22° N. in Mexico to Mexico the tree occurs chiefly in the States of Vera Cruz,Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Campeche. The Castilloarubber tree is ordinarily planted at the rate of 100 to 150 peracre. The trees are tappable at the age of 6 or 7 years. Theymay reach a height at maturity of 175 feet and a diameter of4 feet. The natives of Mexico and Central America tap theCastilloa tree with a machete by the system of slanting cutsor half-herring
. Tropical agriculture; the climate, soils, cultural methods, crops, live stock, commercial importance and opportunities of the tropics . s from 22° N. in Mexico to Mexico the tree occurs chiefly in the States of Vera Cruz,Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, and Campeche. The Castilloarubber tree is ordinarily planted at the rate of 100 to 150 peracre. The trees are tappable at the age of 6 or 7 years. Theymay reach a height at maturity of 175 feet and a diameter of4 feet. The natives of Mexico and Central America tap theCastilloa tree with a machete by the system of slanting cutsor half-herringbone method. V-cuts 8 to 12 inches apart arealso much in favor. Spiral incisions and other methods oftapping have also been used by the natives. For coagulatingCastilloa latex the natives use heat, ashes, soap, or an infusionof Ipomoea bona-nox. On plantations of Castilloa the methodsemployed are creaming in large vats or the use of centrifugalcream separators, Castilloa trees are commonly tapped only three times an-nually. The average yield is 2^ to 3 pounds per tree peryear. Some old wild trees of great size have yielded as high. Castilloa Rubber Trees Showing Method of Tapping RUBBERS AND GUMS 201 as lo pounds of dry rubber in one year. The composition ofCastilloa rubber varies enormously, the resin varying from 6to 50 per cent., as prepared by different methods. The usualcomposition of Castilloa sheets obtained by the centrifugalmethod is caoutchouc per cent, resin per cent., per cent, ash per cent., and moisture per cent. The Assam rubber tree (Ficus elastica) is an evergreentree with smooth elliptical leaves, attaining a height of 120feet or more at maturity This tree is not much cultivated andtapping is done, for the most part, in vertical rows of wedgeexcisions made with a chisel or by means of deep V-shapedcuts. The tree is tappable at 6 years of age. The latex iscoagulated by allowing it to stand for a long time or by theaddition of formal
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