which season owing to the want of water necessary to the ve- 

 getation, it cannot expel with ease the very thick principles con- 

 tained in the laticiferous vessels. 



In the " hot and damp zone" where the vegetation is always in 

 activity, the best season for collecting should be in the summer, 

 from September to January when the sap is "ripe" but in which 

 season there is no want of water from the storms to give the 

 necessary vehicle to the nutritive principles and to the materials 

 which have to be excreted. 



EXTRACTION OF MILK. 

 The only parts in the Manicoba which can serve for the extrac- 

 tion of the milk are roots, and the branches, the latter, although 

 they contain a great quantity of milk, present many draw- 

 backs to the extraction, and endanger the life of the plant. These 

 drawbacks are : — 



1. The cuts, or any furrows made on the bark, interrupt at 



these points the circulation of the descending sap. 



2. The great exposure to the sun aggravates these wounds 



by a quick drying up and by the rapid coagulation of 

 the milk. 



3. The difficulty in adapting the vessels. 



In Manicoba the tap root is the part which offers the greatest 

 advantages to the production of milk, both in abundance, and the 

 easy flow thereof, also by the employment of the best methods 

 of extraction, and for giving an almost continuous supply. 



DIFFERENT WAYS EMPLOYED IN THE EXTRACTION OF MILK. 



First Process: Dig the earth at the side of the plant to the right 

 or left, leaving uncovered the vital knot, and tap root, by the help 

 of a knife or any other instrument of bone or horn, pointed, work 

 below the vital knot or at the point of union of the branches and 

 roots, on the tap root or secondary root. A small orifice on the 

 bark made lightly without touching the wood, raise the bark or 

 round off the orifice so as to leave it clean. Through this orifice 

 will the latex flow and deposit itself in the cavity opened in the 

 soil coagulating impregnated with earth thus losing in its value 

 according to the greater or less percentage of earth. 



Second Process : In the same way as the first, make the hole in 

 the soil at the side of the plant, clear the tap root without making 

 any mound so as to avoid any falling of the earth, this done, 

 place at the bottom of the hole a trough or small basin made of 

 clay or other earthenware, putting same close against the tap 

 root, having done this make one or more scratches in the root, 

 and the milk will flow, accumulating in the basin and coagulating 

 without mixture. 



Third Process : Extraction ' from branch. Although we are 

 against the extraction from the branch, we explain the process 

 which we think is the most wise, it being left to practice to ascer- 

 tain which is the most profitable way. 



