July i, igio. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



345 



"Hevea Randiana" (Huber). 



[In Para Eotanic Garden; thirteen years old.] 



Nor is his attention concentrated upon the trees that produce 

 fine Para rubber. The Sapiums, which are most plentiful 

 throughout the Amazon country, are known to him equaliy well, 

 and he has gathered ten varieties into the garden for observa- 

 tion. Most of them produce a latex that is exceeding resinous. 

 One or two species, however, give a good grade of rubber, and 

 were labor plenty they would be well worth exploitation. 



I had many samples of balata from the Amazon region and 

 took occasion to ask him of the Mimusops in the Brazils. Just 

 as much at home on that topic as on Hevea, he named a dozen 

 varieties and told of sections where the trees are abundant, 

 although the gum is not gathered or valued at present in Brazil. 



The learned Doctor has worked for many years in Brazil, 

 oftentimes I fear without the appreciation that his energy and 

 industry have deserved. At last, however, both the government 

 and the world at large seem to be awakening to his value. What 

 he had long wished for, an experiment station, has been estab- 

 lished about 150 kilometers from the city, situated on the rail- 

 road that runs down to Braganga, and he is much encouraged. 

 By the by, he has invented a tapping tool that looked pretty good 

 to me. I went out to the gardens at daybreak and saw him 

 "herringbone" some Hevea Brasiliensis trees with it. It is in- 

 teresting to note that they gave exactly the same product for 

 their size as Hevea trees in the Far East. 



The rubber known as "caucho" had been on the market years 

 before the tree that produces it was identified botanically. For 

 a long time it was claimed that it was an Hevea product. In 

 1898, however, Dr. Huber visited the Ucayali river and, after 

 much searching, was able to find a few caucho trees. The dif- 

 ficulty in finding them was due to the fact that those that re- 

 mained were growing in dense forests far removed from the 

 waterways. It will be remembered that the tree is cut down in 

 every: instance to secure the rubber ;-hence its -scarcity. At the 



"Castilloa Ulei" in Para Gardens. 



time of his visit it was not blossoming or fruiting, and only 

 leaves and twigs could be secured, but these proved it to be 

 a Castilloa. Dr. Huber and the Italian botanist Dr. Buscalioni 

 agreed that it must be the Castilloa elastica, and it was not 

 until some years later that it was identified as a different species, 

 Castilloa Ulei. 



To those who are interested in the sources of rubber, caucho 

 was for a long time thought of as existing only on the upper 

 waters of the Amazon, notably in Peru. Dr. Huber and his 

 colleagues, however, found it in practically the whole region of 

 the lower Amazon, the Trombetas, Tapajos, Xingu, and Tocan- 

 tins rivers. Indeed, it is becoming evident that where Heveas 

 flourish Castilloas grow equally well, and the reverse is also 

 true. During the year 1909 the state of Para shipped nearly 

 1,000 tons of caucho. 



ALLEGED PERILS OF THE AMAZON. 



I dislike exceedingly to confess it, but I got badly frightened 

 in Para and came very near taking boat back to Barbados and 

 sending the usual excuses to friends in Manaos, such as "im- 

 portant cables," "business complications," or the like. It came 

 about this way. The friendly Americans and English resident 

 there are delighted to receive and entertain fellow countrymen. 

 Many of their visitors, however, are woefully unfitted for tropi- 

 cal life and make ideal "fever food." Others pay no attention 

 to cautions, but go out and hunt for fever, and find it. 

 Then resident friends are obliged to answer frantic cables, fur- 

 nish physicians and nurses, and stand the brunt of all the worry. 

 Oftentimes, too, they supply the funds necessary for cure or 

 decent interment. They are perfectly willing to do this— that is 

 the former — and their kindness and generosity is spontaneous 

 and without limit, but the strain tells. 



If they are somewhat fearful for a visiting friend in Para, 

 they are 'doubly so for one who goes to Manaos. When, there- 

 fore, one after anotlrer showed me cables and letters full of 



