366 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1905. 



cate ; that is, it does not stand hard tapping. But it seems 

 probable that with careful tapping, avoiding injuring the wood, 

 the tree would do as well as Ilevea does. 



In any case, if it is certain that the lalex of this tree can be 

 successfully mixed with Hevea latex it would give it an enor- 

 mous commercial importance, for this tree is very abundant and 

 of wide occurrence in the Amazon valley, although it is worked 

 chiefly in the state of Amazonas. It would seem possible that 

 Sapiumaucuparium might be successfully grown in places where 

 it has been found difTicult or impossible to grow Heveas. And 

 even where the Hevea has been successfully introduced, as in 

 Ceylon, it would seem practicable to add to the Hei'ea planta- 

 tions this quicker growing tree, to mix the two milks, and thus 

 increase the total output. 



I do not discuss the more scientific and technical part of Dr. 

 Huber's article, although I can not refrain from calling atten- 

 tion to his commendable attitude in refusing to divide mere 

 varieties into separate species. He has thus reached a conclu- 

 sion of the utmost importance — /'. e., the extreme polymor- 

 phism of the species. It should also be said that Dr. Huber 

 published in December, igoi, or two years before the publica- 

 tion of Professor Jumelle's book, an account of several species 

 of Sapium which he denoted as producing rubber. He is now 

 engaged in very interesting cultural experiments with a num- 

 ber of young trees and promises to publish further details as 

 soon as he can make sure of his results. 



It is a matter of great difficulty to get any accurate infor- 

 mation on such matters. The actual rubber gatherers are un- 

 educated men and, as a most potent reason, know that their 

 " patron," the contractor, will seize upon any pretext whatever 

 to offer a lower price for the rubber brought in. The gatherer, 

 therefore, is exceedingly suspicious and takes refuge in stolidly 

 replying"! don't know" to all questions. He has neither 

 time nor inclination to climb lofty trees to get specimens of 

 flowers, fruit, or seed, nor can the patrons give much more in- 

 formation ; they are too busy making money and accumulating 

 the largest possible quantity of rubber; also it is doubtful if 

 they would furnish any information they possessed for might 

 not the Pari or Mandos aviador, who sells the rubber finally, 

 use it to the patron's disadvantage? 



Nevertheless I am making attempts to secure some samples 

 of pure " tapuni " rubber and shall try to gather all further in- 

 formation possible regarding this interesting subject. 



Para, Brazil, May 31, 1905. 



SUMMARY BY THE EDITOR. 



It appears from the documents which accompany the re- 

 port of Mr. Consul Aym€, and which are too voluminous for 

 inclusion here, that certain trees known as " tapurfi,'" in the 

 neighborhood of Manaos ; " murupita," near Para ; and " cu- 

 rupila " on the north coast of the extensive island of Mar- 

 ajo, have become known to be producers of a perhaps impor- 

 tant share of what is commercially termed Para rubber. Only 

 in a few instances have the products of any of these trees been 

 known to be marketed alone, and the fact that Para rubber so 

 called maintains its superior position in the markets of the 

 world is taken as an indication that the latex from these hith- 

 erto undescribed trees yields rubber of a high quality, the blend- 

 ing having no tendency to deteriorate the combined product. 

 The trees to which reference is made are found in the forests 

 in close proximity to the Heveas and the various species are 

 tapped indiscriminately, their latex mixed, and all subjected to 

 the same method of coagulation. 



Dr. Huber, of the Para museum, has devoted some study to 

 the proper classification of the " taputti," " murupita,"and " cu- 

 rupita," with the result of being inclined to place them in the 



genus Sapium. It remains to be determined as yet whether these 

 trees, found in widely separated localities, are identical, owing 

 to the incident of polymorphism (that is, a disposition to vary 

 in their leaf formation under varying conditions), but for the 

 present they are assumed to be the same and to correspond to 

 the Sapitim aucuparium — a species reported to be distributed 

 over a large part of the Amazon region, but not understood for- 

 merly to yield rubber. 



A French traveler, M. Bonnechaux, studied the production 

 of rubber from the " tapurii," which, near Mandos, reaches a 

 height of 25 meters [ = 82 feet] and at times a diameter of i 

 meter [=»2 feet 4 inches]. Twenty years ago, he writes, cer- 

 tain rubber gatherers, after first mixing the latex of the " tap- 

 urfi " with that of the Hei'ea, without any known ill results, be- 

 came bold enough to deliver balls made exclusively from 

 "tapurii" milk worked in the same manner as used with the 

 lleica. No complaints came from Mandos or Pard, but never- 

 theless some patrons, learning the truth, refused to accept 

 " tapuii'i " rubber except as a low grade product, whereupon 

 the rubber gatherers ceased the exclusive working of the " tap- 

 urii " and went back to mixing its milk with that of the Hevea. 

 Later, however, the demand for rubber having increased and 

 the production of many estiadas of Htvea having fallen off, the 

 patrons have closed their eyes, first to the mixing of the milk 

 and finally to the delivery of balls of "tapuiii," which, how- 

 ever, they are not themselves able to distinguish. 



M. Bonnechaux saw on the Madeira river, on a property be- 

 longing to Senhor Bentes Elioboro, an estrada comprising 140 

 " tapun'i " trees of the average distance apart of 23 paces, which 

 have teen worked with care for live years, in the same season 

 and in the same manner with the estradas of Hevea on the 

 same property. A daily yield of 3 kilograms [=6.6 pounds] of 

 dry rubber from the " tapun'i " trees is mentioned, and though 

 the number of days in the season on which the trees are tapped 

 is not mentioned, the yearly yield is understood to be one-half 

 ton. 



It is interesting to learn that Dr. Huber and others men- 

 tioned by United States consul in his report are studying with 

 interest the characteristics of this interesting new source of 

 rubber, with a view, among other things, to determining the 

 quality of its product as compared with the hitherto recog- 

 nized source of Pard rubber, Hei'ea Brasiliensis. The facts 

 collected by M. I5onnecliaux were first made public by Profes- 

 sor Jumelle in his " Les Plantes a Caoutchouc et a Gutta " 

 (Paris: 1903). This report was embodied, together with an 

 extended study of Sapium species, by Dr. Huber in the Decem- 

 ber, 1904, issue of the Boletim do Museu Galdi, a translation of 

 which paper forms part of Consul Ayme's report. 



RUBBER REPORTED IN ARGENTINA. 



THE ministry of agriculture of Argentina reports the discov- 

 ery of India-rubber trees in the little known territory in 

 the extreme northwestern part of the republic, particularly in the 

 province of Jujuy. The discovery is credited to Ernesto Costa, 

 since which time the agricultural department has dispatched 

 its own agent, Juan Bialet Masse, to the district. It is intima- 

 ted that more than one rubber yielding species has been found, 

 but the details given do not make clear what they may be. 

 Argentina has not been known hitherto to contain any rubber. 

 The region referred to lies between 20° and 25° south latitude, 

 which is further south than any South American district now 

 producing any rubber of consequence. The government is 

 hopeful that the discovery will prove of much value in adding 

 to the exportable products of the state. 



