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well on the heavy black soils thought to be so essential to sugar 

 cane culture. In Ceara, in a region which has periodic droughts 

 of great duration, it is said to grow wild forming forests on the 

 sides of hills the soil of which is clay containing reddish pebbles 

 called 'iron stones.' From what I have seen I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that it will prosper, under proper climatic conditions, in any 

 soil which will retain moisture, though doubtless the better the 

 soil the stronger the trees. 



The plants once up do not seem to demand much attention ; at 

 any rate they seldom get it. Some argue, particularly in Ceara, 

 that underbrush is beneficial, retaining the moisture and protect- 

 ing the trees, while others claim that the soil should be cultivated 

 to produce the best results. It is my opinion that cultivation is 

 desirable. The best trees I have seen have been in the open and 

 had been cultivated. 



Trees will produce milk after the first year or two, but it is 

 thought best not to commence extraction before they are 4 or 5 

 years old ; otherwise they are less capable of resisting drought 

 and perish more easily. The latex seems to flow more freely 

 during and immediately after the rainy season, but produces then 

 a smaller percentage of rubber and coagulates less rapidly, re- 

 quiring from four to six hours, which, because of the future treat- 

 ment, is frequently a help rather than a detriment. During the 

 dry season the flow of the latex is less. It then comes out drop 

 by drop, contains a larger percentage of rubber, and frequently 

 coagulates so rapidly as soon to close the orifice from which it is 

 flowing. The temperature, likewise, seems to modify the flow, it 

 being interrupted during the cold weather and augmented during 

 the hot weather. In places constantly hot and humid there seems 

 to be no interruption in the production of milk. 



The manner of extracting, collecting, and preparing the latex 

 varies in different sectionss. In some places serpentine incisions 

 are made around the trunk of the tree, in other places a large 

 horizontal chip is taken from the bark and wood, and in still 

 other places either a slightly oblique or a V-shaped incision is 

 made. The first method enables a larger and quicker collection 

 of the milk, but tends to kill the tree. The second method ex- 

 poses the tree to the destructive action of ants. The other two 

 methods are the best, with a preference for the V-shaped incision 

 as therewith a greater number of lactiferous ducts are cut with 

 the least injury to the tree. 



If either the V-shaped or the oblique incision is made, it is cus- 

 tomary to commence at the height a man can reach and make 

 them from 2 to 3 inches in length. Care should be taken not to 

 cut through the bark to the wood. Two or three of these inci- 

 sions, the number varying with the circumstance of the tree, may 

 be made at intervals on a line with each other. On the following 

 days like incisions may be made a few inches below the others 

 until the tree has been tapped to within a foot or two of the 



