Vol. I. Xo. 12. 



THE AGIIICULTUEAL NEWS. 



185 



LAGOS SILK RUBBER. 



Lagos silk nibbL-r lias been repeatedly inentinned 

 ia these pages as one of the rubber plants which is at 

 present giving the liest jirduiisc under cultivation in 

 the West Indies. In Trinidad, Tobago, Dominica, it is 

 thriving, arid so far as can be said now presents every 

 appearance of becoming of econ<jmic im[)ortance. The 

 following early account of the sjjecies is taken from the 

 Cantor Lectures on 'Flu ids yield! lu/ ('(immcrciiil 

 Jiidiii riibhcr,' given by Dr. JEorris before the Society 

 <jf Arts in 1.S9.S:— 



A new 

 rubbev-j'ielil- 

 ing plant 

 a u d d e ii 1 y 

 came into 

 notice ill the 

 <: o 1 o n y of 

 Lagos in 

 189L This 

 j)roved to be 

 a handsome 

 tree, locally 

 known as Ire, 

 I reli, or Ereh. 

 It belongs to 

 the s a m e 

 natural order 

 as the Laii- 

 dolphias. The 

 particulars 

 respecting it 

 were gradu- 

 ally accumu- 

 lated at Kew 

 until at last 

 it was deter- 

 mined to be 

 Kick.da (ifri- 

 cana, Bentli., 

 [now known 

 as Fioitumia 

 e I a st i c a, 

 •Stapf.], a tree 

 Avidely dis- 

 triliuted in 

 AVest Africa 

 from Sierra 

 Leone to the 

 •delta of the 

 Niger, the 

 island of 

 Fernando 

 Po, and the Gaboon. 



The previous information was very scanty. It is believed 

 that rubber was first obtained from it on the Oold Coast in 

 1883. In 1888 seeds of it were introduced to Euroj)e as a 

 substitute for StropliantJimt seed, and stated to lie worth 72x. 

 per lb. They were called " India-rubber" seeds, but nothing 

 further could be obtained respecting them. The following 

 ■extracts are taken from the /iVw Bulletin, 1890 (p}i. 

 2\-2--2M):- 



' In September, 1894, Kew received from Captain (now 



Fiji 



(1.) Fliiwerini; IhmmcU (two-thinls natural sixu). (2.) Bud. (3.) Segment of calyx, « itli glands 



at the b.xsB. (4.) Curnlla, cut open, with style and stigma rciuuved. (.").) Anther, fruut 



view. ((■>.) Pistil with disk ("(/). (7.) A pair of fullicles (fruit)— two-thirds natural 



size. (8.). Seed. (!).) Transverse section of seed (f. testa, u. allnmien, c. cavity). 



Nos. 2 to G, and 8 and 9, all enlarged.— [From the Ki:w Bnlldlii.] 



Sir George) Denton, C.M.G., two iiieces of the trunk of the 

 Lagos rul)ber-tree, each about 10 inches to a foot in diameter 

 scored with the marks of the rubber gatherers. They were sent 

 as the "female'' rubber-tree, a name we learn that is locally 

 ainilied to the Kiclcxia africaim, IJentli. It is thus distin- 

 guished from Hohu-rhiimafricaiia, ijuitc a dirt'ercnt Jilant, 

 which is fancifully called the "male" rubber-tree. The latter is 

 also an Apocjniaceous plant, but not known to yield any rubber. 

 In tainiing the trees the bark is first cut in a vertical 

 direction from the bottom to the top. This single line i.s 

 about i to J of an inch broad, and <leep enough to reach 



the inner 

 l.urk. This 

 fo r ni s the 

 main groove, 

 on each side 

 of this two 

 series of ob- 

 Hcpie grooves 

 about 2 feefc 

 apart are cut, 

 each running 

 into the main 

 groove. The 

 side grooves 

 are made, be- 

 ginning at 

 the toil, and 

 g r adu ally 

 reaching the 

 base of the 

 tree. All the 

 nnlk exuding 

 from the lat- 

 erfd grooves 

 will find its 

 wuy into the 

 main groove 

 and so ulti- 

 mately reach 

 the bottom, 

 where a vessel 

 is placed to 

 re c e i V e it. 

 When suffi- 

 cient milk has 

 accumulated 

 it is then 

 collected and 

 made into 

 rublicr. 



The me- 

 tlioils adopt- 

 ed for coagulating the milk are then described. These are 

 at present of two kinds, viz. : " the cold process'' and the 

 "heat process." The cold process is chiefly practised by the 

 Fanti men introduced from the Gold Coast. A cavity is 

 excavated in the trunk of a fallen tree so as to foi-m a 

 cistern of the capacity necessary for holding the milk collected 

 during several days. Into this the rubber gatherers pour the 

 milk, after straining it, from day to day until it is cpiite full. 

 It is then covered with palm leaves and left for twelve to 

 fourteen days and sometimes much longer, depending on the 



14. Lai;os Silk Kubbek. 

 [Fiiittmnin dadirii (Kickxia africana.] 



