278 



and low. The roots run a long distance, and are also very large- 

 The measurements are : girth of trunk, 1 6 feet; girth of nearest 

 branch to ground, 8 feet. I estimate the height of the tree to be 

 65 feet." 



Mr. W. Harris made some experiments on three trees at Pleasant 

 Hill just below the Hill Garden. Incisions were made in the 

 bark of the trunks, branches and one large root, but nearly the 

 whole of the rubber was obtained from the trunk of the oldest tree. 

 When any part of the bark was punctured, the milk appeared 

 immediately, but the flow quickly ceased, though it could be pro- 

 longed by removing the milk as it flowed from the incision. Only 

 about one-fifth of a pint of milk was obtained each day for three 

 days from the three trees, making in all three-fifths of a pint. 

 The following method was adopted in preparing the rubber; the 

 milk was kept in the tins in which it had been collected until the 

 following day in each case. Through evaporation of the water, it 

 had become thick, but in order to hasten coagulation, boiling 

 water was added. The milk readily mixed with the water and 

 was easily removed from the tins. The whole was poured into 

 saucers and placed on the top of a cooking stove. The rubber 

 soon coagulated, was removed and pressed out into flat pieces. 

 This is a sufficient indication of the plan that might be adopted 

 on a large scale. The total amount of rubber thus obtained 

 amounted to 4 ounces, which shows that this rubber tree would 

 not be profitable at an elevation of 3,500 feet. 



Preparation of the rubber in Assatn — Collins states that the prepara- 

 tion on a commercial scale is to pour the milk into large wooden 

 bins, 6 feet square, and partly filled with water, the caoutchouc 

 after a time floating on the top. The caoutchouc (being still 

 fluid) is then taken out and boiled over a slow fire in iron 

 pans, 4 to 6 feet in diameter, and 2 to 2i feet deep, 2 parts of 

 water being added to the caoutchouc, and the whole stirred 

 constantly. As soon as the caoutchouc coagulated into a mass it 

 was taken out with iron forks and pressed, and again boiled and 

 pressed, and then dried in the sun, and finally washed over with 

 lime. 



Information on Assam rubber may be found in the Bulletin of 

 the Botanical Department, Jamaica, as follows : — 1894, pp. 105-109; 

 1895. PP- 55-56; 1901, pp. 139-141- 



AFRICAN RUBBER. 

 (Landolphia spp.) 



African rubber is furnished by several species of the genus 

 Landolphia, which are woody climbers, with stems 4 to 6 inches 

 in diameter. The best quality from the Zanzibar coast is derived 

 from Landolpliia Kirkii ; two other species, viz., L. florida (the chief 

 source of Mozambique rubber), and L. Petersiaua are also sources 

 of the East African supply. 



On the West Coast L. owariciisis, which has a very wide distri- 

 bution, is the principal species furnishing Congo and Sierra Leone 



