June 1. 1913. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



455 



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Maniliol Piaiilixciisis — Four Years Old 



American manufacturers for a long time ignored Ceara rubber. 

 The Europeans, however, used it freely, and have always claimed 

 that under most conditions it was the equal of Fine Para. 



The macbadino, which has so irreparably damaged the Para 

 forests of the Amazon, is very generally used for tapping the 

 Manihot Glazi- 

 oi'ii, to which it 

 does just as much 

 harm. In Bahia, 

 h o w e V e r, the 

 other sorts are 

 tapped by a kind 

 o f home - made 

 farrier's knife 

 that answers the 

 purpose very 

 well. 



In tapping the 

 Glaciofii and 

 Dichotoma the 

 outer bark is 

 lirst removed and 

 the tree trunks 

 tapped in zig- 

 zags. The roots 

 are pared half- 

 b.erring-l)one fashion but roughly. On the tree trunk the latex 

 is caught in cups, but the general procedure is to tap the trunk 

 li>w down between the roots and dig a shallow hole at the base 

 of the tree. Into this the rubber milk trickles, its watery con- 

 tent being absorbed by the soil. The sand with which the hole 

 is dusted sticks to the rubber and makes it easier to handle, and 

 also decreases its value very considerably. In the past the 

 Ceara milk was 

 allowed to coagu- 

 late on the tree, 

 and the result 

 was a good dry 

 rubber contain- 

 ing some bark. 

 Some of the 

 planters are now 

 preparing Manx- 

 hot rubber in 

 sheets that arc 

 clean, dry and in 

 every way excel- 

 lent. This can 

 only be done in 

 plantations o r 

 where it is pos- 

 sible to superin- 

 tend the tapping 

 of wild trees. 

 Most of the rub- 

 ber at present 

 comes from trees 

 scattered over a 

 vast wild area, 

 impenetrable ex- 

 cept by native 

 tappers, who are 

 paid by weight. 

 The result is. as 

 a rule, very dirty, 



V /H:-i^l. 



4 



' K 



<fii.:-^if:^ 



-AvER.xGE Yield Per Acre 232 Pounds of Dry 

 Rubber. 



of forty feet with a diameter of twelve inches. It has many 

 branches, the lowest of which is about six feet from the ground. 

 The bark is dark purple with transparent lilm-like epidermis, 

 which curls off as bark is removed. This exfoliation is usually 

 removed before tapping. The leaves arc large, and are divided 



in five, and some- 

 times there are 

 seven parts. The 

 leaf stalk and 

 veins are whit- 

 ish. The planters 

 were deceived at 

 first by the fa- 

 vorable appear- 

 ance of this tree, 

 and planted it 

 extensively, but 

 it did not pro- 

 duce well. It is 

 found wild in 

 Ceara, Parahiba 

 and Rio Grande 

 do Norte, is de- 

 ciduous and 

 thrives in dry 

 lands and moun- 

 tain regions — in fact, will grow anywhere. 



The Manihot Dichotoma, or Manitoba of Jequie, derived its 

 last name from a town in the state of Bahia, which is the center 

 of commercial trade in this rubber. It is a small tree, with a 

 trunk scarcely exceeding 10 inches in diameter. The bark is 

 smooth and purplish in color with parchment-like epidermis, 

 similar to the Glgsiovii. The leaves when new are of peculiar 



shield-like shape, 

 and later become 

 digitate. It is 

 found in the 

 southeastern dis- 

 tricts of the state 

 of Bahia, aid 

 along the Para- 

 guasu and Con- 

 tas rivers. It 

 thrives best in 

 red clay soil, and 

 is rarely found 

 in sandy soil, or 

 if, so, gives much 

 less rubber. 



The Manihot 

 H e p tap hylla 

 (Ule) is a small 

 tree, growing to 

 the height of 

 seven to sixteen 

 feet, with a di- 

 ameter of four 

 to six inches. The 

 trunk is com- 

 paratively short 

 and stocky, di- 

 viding into two 

 or three branches 

 which form a 

 full-leaved top of 



wet rubber, badly coagulated and containing stones, bark and a lively green color. The bark is dark gray in color, and 



dirt. Wherever it is possible to gather the latex in receptacles, the leaves are usually divided in seven lobes. The seeds 



clean rubber of tine quality is the result. are light colored, without the sharp edges, thereby differing 



The Manihot Glasioiii, or Ceara rubber tree, grows to a height from the Ceara, and are larger. This tree is found exclusively 



Miuiiltot Dichotoma — Oxe to Seven' Y£.<.rs Old. 



