Chapter 147 Rubber Planting
A month later, when Professor Anton Peruzzi's team arrived in East Africa, the East African Agricultural Research Institute would be operational.
August 15, 1868.
Northern Great Lakes Region (Uganda).
The immigrants, who had just finished working in the fields, immediately began the tree planting project.
The rubber trees planted this time were imported from Brazil. Under the guidance of Brazilian agricultural experts, the immigrants planted the rubber seedlings according to the procedures.
"The saplings here cannot be planted too densely. We must ensure that the land is well ventilated and light-permeable, and that transportation is convenient so that they can be better managed and harvested in the future." Brazilian agricultural (pseudo) expert Albert Verga said to agricultural workers in the colony.
Albert Verga is just an ordinary rubber farmer in Brazil with rich planting experience.
"Drainage work must be done well, especially in areas with very gentle slopes, but the slope should not be too high, just a slight slope is enough."
"Mr. Albert Verga, does temperature affect the growth of rubber trees?" asked an East African immigrant.
"No, no, this is not the issue you should be concerned about. As long as it is in the tropics, the temperature can basically meet the growth needs of rubber trees. Of course, it won't work if the altitude is too high. When the temperature is below five, the rubber trees may be frozen. But I have lived in Brazil for many years and have never seen low temperatures." said Albert Verga.
"You newcomers probably don't know that there is no spring, summer, autumn or winter in East Africa. The temperature is almost the same all year round, and it is just divided into rainy season and dry season according to rainfall." An old immigrant said to the new immigrants on the side.
"Well said. This is why we plant rubber here. The rainfall here is the most balanced and stable, so we should plant it on a large scale here instead of other places," said Albert Verga.
Rubber trees like warmth and humidity. Temperature is not a problem in East Africa, but humidity is difficult to control. The annual precipitation in the rubber tree growing area cannot be less than 1200mm. East Africa has a tropical savanna climate, and the rainfall is not very stable, fluctuating around 600mm to 1100mm. The Great Lakes region is a rare rainy area, with a water area of nearly 70,000 square kilometers, which directly affects the local precipitation conditions.
"Mr. Albert Verga, what is the use of this rubber tree?" an immigrant asked.
Albert Verga shook his head and said, "I don't know how to use it specifically. I was only responsible for planting and harvesting, and then the merchants would buy them away. I only know that the semi-finished products harvested are gelatinous substances, which will harden after being left for a long time."
Albert Verga was telling the truth. The rubber he planted was all bought by Europeans, and the Europeans processed the rubber on the other side of the ocean. Albert Verga didn't need to know what rubber was used for. He just needed to know that he could grow this thing and exchange it for money.
The purpose of planting rubber in East Africa is naturally self-evident. No one knows the strategic value of rubber better than Ernst, and the future demand for rubber in the Heixingen Consortium's industries is destined to be inseparable, so it is necessary to plan ahead.
The growth cycle of rubber is relatively long, and it takes at least six or seven years to generate value, so the earlier you plant it, the earlier you can harvest in the future.
This year we will start with a rubber plantation of 10,000 mu, and then slowly increase it every year. The more land you have, the more powerful you will be.
In fact, the rubber planting conditions in East Africa are far inferior to those in West Africa. The tropical rainforest climate there is a paradise for rubber growth.
However, growing rubber in East Africa is still promising as long as you put in a little more effort and pay attention to soil moisture and light.
The reason why there is a rush to promote rubber planting along the coast of the Great Lakes region is that the Great Lakes region is the most suitable place for rubber planting.
If we don't plant it now, it will be time-consuming and laborious to change it later. All conditions in the Great Lakes region meet the requirements for rubber planting, especially precipitation, which is only slightly worse than the tropical rainforest climate, but obviously stronger than the tropical savanna climate. The dense tropical rainforests near the Great Lakes are evidence of this.
"Don't worry about what this thing is used for. As long as it doesn't deprive us of food, it's fine. What these things are grown for is not something you and I should worry about."
"That's true."
"Mr. Albert Verga, you just said that this thing needs to be harvested. I wonder how this tree is harvested? Do you just cut it down when it's ripe?"
Albert Verga was speechless when he heard this. These Germans were indeed unworldly and didn't even know how to harvest rubber trees.
"No, no, everyone, I think you misunderstood. The rubber tree is not the same as the other trees."
"Could it be that this thing bears fruit like a fruit tree and then is picked?"
Albert Wilkes suppressed his smile and explained: "Everyone, listen to me first. The harvesting of rubber is like bleeding a person. We need to cut a hole in the rubber to let the blood flow out. We will fix the collection container in advance, so that when it is full, we can collect a portion of rubber."
"Ah! This thing sounds so terrible."
"It's not scary at all. I just used blood as an analogy. It's actually the sap of this tree. The sap of the rubber tree is white, and it doesn't look like blood at all. I just wanted to show the scene of collecting rubber more vividly." Albert Verga didn't want to listen to these guys guessing and talking nonsense.
"So that's how it is." Everyone suddenly realized.
Albert Verga went on to say, “And you don’t have to worry about harvesting. It will take at least six or seven years for these saplings to grow, and you won’t have the chance to touch them before then. After six or seven years, new people will probably come to teach you how to collect rubber.”
…
Albert Verga is certainly not the kind of person who can be found casually as an expert.
In addition to basic experience in rubber planting, his ability to speak German was the capital that East Africa hired him to guide rubber planting in East Africa.
Otherwise, communication alone would be a big problem, especially since many immigrants near the Great Lakes region are new immigrants who have arrived in East Africa in recent months.
There were quite a few Germans among them, so they could have a good chat with Albert Verga. Of course, the East African colony also mobilized a group of old immigrants to help the new immigrants adapt to the new life in East Africa.
German teachers are also making preparations, and East African-style compulsory education will soon be available in the three new districts.
Fortunately, among the newly arrived immigrants, even if they are families, not many of them bring children with them. After all, there are great risks at sea, and those with children at home dare not take the risk.
Therefore, education in the newly occupied areas will start with adult education, especially for the Chinese and Serbs... their oral communication skills must be cultivated first.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
