Chapter 147 Rubber Planting
A month later, when Professor Anton Peruzzi's troops 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 on the fields began to plant trees non-stop.
This time, rubber tree species imported from Brazil were planted. Under the guidance of Brazilian agricultural experts, the immigrants planted rubber saplings according to the procedures.
"The saplings here cannot be too close together. Ventilation and light transmission of the plot must be ensured, and transportation must be convenient so that they can be better managed and harvested in the future." Brazilian agricultural (pseudo) expert Albert Verga Speaking to the agricultural workers in the colony.
Albert Verga is an ordinary rubber planter in Brazil and has rich planting experience.
"Drainage work must be done well, especially in places with gentle slopes, but the slope should not be too high, just a little bit is enough."
"Mr. Albert Verga, does temperature affect the growth of rubber trees?" asked an East African immigrant.
"No, no, this is not a problem you should be concerned about. Temperature, as long as it is in the tropics, can basically meet the growth needs of rubber trees. Of course, it will definitely not work if the altitude is too high. When the temperature is below 5, there is a possibility of frostbite to the rubber trees. 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 are no springs, summers, autumns, and winters in East Africa. The temperature is almost the same all year round. It's just divided into rainy season and dry season based on rainfall." An old immigrant said to the new immigrants on the side.
"That's very well said. This is why we plant rubber here. The rainfall here is the most balanced and stable, so we need to plant it on a large scale here instead of elsewhere." Albert Verga said .
Rubber trees like temperature and humidity. Temperature is not a problem in East Africa, but humidity is difficult to control. The annual precipitation in the area where rubber trees grow cannot be less than 1200mm. East Africa has a savanna climate, and the rainfall is not very stable. The rainfall ranges from 600mm to 600mm. It floats around 1100mm, and the Great Lakes area is a rare rainy area. The Great Lakes has 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?" asked an immigrant.
Albert Verga shook his head and said: "I don't know how to use it specifically. I used to be responsible for planting and harvesting, and then the merchants would purchase them. I only know that the semi-finished products harvested are gelatinous substances. It will harden over time.”
Albert Verga told the truth. All the rubber he planted was bought by Europeans, and the Europeans reprocessed the rubber on the other side of the ocean. Albert Verga did not need to know what rubber was. He only needs to know that growing this thing can be used to exchange money.
The purpose of growing rubber in East Africa is naturally self-evident. No one knows the strategic value of rubber better than Ernst. In addition, the demand for rubber in the Hechingen Consortium's industries in the future is destined to be inseparable, so plans must be made in advance.
The growth cycle of rubber is relatively long, and it takes at least six or seven years to produce value, so plant early and you will harvest early in the future.
This year we will start building a 10,000-acre rubber plantation, and then slowly increase it every year. The more land we have, the more we will be wealthy.
In fact, the conditions for rubber cultivation 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 very promising as long as you put a little more effort into ensuring soil moisture and light and other precautions.
The reason why we are eager to promote rubber planting along the Great Lakes region is because the Great Lakes region is the most suitable place for rubber planting.
If you don’t plant it now, it will be more time-consuming and laborious to change it later. All the conditions in the Great Lakes area meet the requirements for rubber planting, especially precipitation. It is only slightly worse than the tropical rainforest climate, but obviously stronger than the tropical grassland climate. The dense rubber near the Great Lakes Tropical rainforests are proof.
"Don't worry about the use of this thing. Anyway, it will be enough for our food. What these things are grown for is not my concern."
"makes sense."
"Mr. Albert Verga, you just said that this thing needs to be harvested. I wonder how to harvest this tree? Is it cut down directly when it is mature?"
Albert Verga was speechless when he heard this. As expected, these Germans had never seen the world and didn't even know how to collect rubber trees.
"No, no, everyone, I think you have misunderstood. The rubber tree is not the same as the usual trees."
"Could it be that this thing is like a fruit tree that produces fruit and then picks it?"
Albert Welga suppressed a smile and said: "Everyone, listen to what I have to say first. Harvesting this rubber is like bleeding people. You have to make a hole in it to let the blood flow out. , we will fix the collection containers in advance, so that when the flow is full, we can collect a portion of rubber."
"Ah! This thing sounds so scary."
"This is not scary at all. I just used blood as a metaphor. It is actually the sap of this tree, and the sap of the rubber tree is white and not like blood at all. I just wanted to show the scene of collecting rubber more vividly. "Albert Verga doesn't want to listen to these guys guessing and talking nonsense.
"That's it." Everyone suddenly realized.
Albert Verga continued: "And you don't have to worry about harvesting at all. It will take at least six or seven years for these saplings to grow. Before that, you have no chance to come into contact with them. Wait six or seven years I think there will be new people coming to teach you how to collect rubber later."
…
Albert Verga is naturally not the kind of person who can be called an expert just by looking for one.
In addition to basic rubber planting experience, being able 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 to East Africa in recent months.
There were many Germans among them, so I had a good chat with Albert Verga. Of course, the East African colonies also mobilized a group of old immigrants to help the new immigrants adapt to the new life in East Africa.
German teachers are also stepping up preparations, and East African-style compulsory education in the three newly built districts will soon be launched.
Fortunately, as new immigrants have just arrived, even if they are families, there are not many with children. After all, the risks at sea are high, and those with children at home do not dare to gamble.
Therefore, education in the newly occupied areas will start with adult education, especially for those Chinese and Serbians... we must first develop their oral communication skills.