178 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March i, 1908. 



mentioned by Halaesy (H. Graec., II, 1902, 94) ; according to 

 Heldreich (H. Cephal., 1887, 26) it is not rare in Cephalonia. In 

 Crete it is found in abundance, as has been remarked by Tour- 

 neporth (Coroll., 1703, 33), and confirmed by Raulin (H. Cret., 

 1869, 483). 



It is also found generally in southern Spain, according to the 

 statements of Willkomme and Lange (H. Hisp., II, 1870, 131), 

 and in Portugal, according to Colmeiro (Plant. Hisp. Lux., Ill, 

 1887, 287). 



In regard to northern Africa, Desfontaines (H. Atl., II, 1800, 

 252) has declared it to be abundant in Morocco, Tunis, and Al- 

 geria, and as to the latter country he is corroborated by Bat- 

 taudier and Trabut (H. Alg., 1888, 486) ; as to Tunis, Bonnet and 

 Baratte (Cat. Tunis, 1846, 234) say it is common in the north and 

 the center, as well as in the land of the Kroumirs, but more rare 

 in the south. 



In continental Italy it lives in the chalk hills, while in Sicily 

 it grows in remote dry fields, or in the sun, near roads; in 

 Sardinia in fields near the sea. In the Peloponnesus it is said 

 to grow in uncultivated fields and at the roadside ; in Spain it 

 is found in miry places, on the borders of fields and roads. In 

 northern Africa we are assured it likes uncultivated places, 

 open to the hot sun, particularly fields, brushwood beside the 

 highways, and on the slope of hilis. 



We know it to be common in Sicily, particularly in open, sunny 

 spots by the sea and even to a remarkable height in the moun- 

 tains. 



Uses. 



From remote times, the gum which exudes from this plant has 

 been known. Fabio Colonna (Eph., I, 1613, 3) said on this sub- 

 ject: "Guardians of herds gather the gum produced in the co- 

 rolla and between the thorny leaves of the calyx and call it 

 'wax of cardo,' for it becomes hard like wax and they use it 

 as a paste or glue. It does not stick so quickly as birdlime and 

 stretches out in white filaments resembling milky sap, and hard- 

 ens like wax ; then it turns black." 



Onorio Belli (en clusio Hist., 1601, 301) describes a curious 

 practice existing at that time in Crete. "The children," said he, 

 "gather the gum and chew it, then they press it in their fingers 

 and roll it into a ball which they squeeze in their hands so as 

 to cause it to burst with a noise; they amuse themselves a 

 great deal with this sport." This practice still exists in Sicily, 

 as Mr, Teodosio De Stefani assures us, and it is curious to 

 compare this method with that first employed by the Mexicans 

 to extract rubber from the guayule plant. From this habit, prev- 

 alent among the Sicilians, of chewing the gum of the Atractylis 

 gummifera a long time to free the rubber from the resins which 

 it contains, its name masticogna is perhaps derived. 



The rubber thus obtained being quite pure, they dissolve it in 

 spirits of turpentine to make a sort of birdlime, by means of 

 which they catch birds ; this is the practice, not only in Sicily, 

 but also in the whole region of the Mediterranean, as the 

 authors above quoted point out. 



Analysis. 

 The idea that the Atractylis gummifera might contain rubber 

 was suggested by information obtained from an article in the 

 Gazette Chimique Italicnne (Italian Journal of Oiemistry) on 

 Atractylis gummifera (XXXVI, 1906, 636) by Professor Angel- 

 ico, who had made som«' investigations for another purpose. 

 The direction of the botanical garden at Palermo drew the at- 

 tention of Dr. Edward Marckwald, of Berlin, to the subject. 

 He corroborated the assertion that the gum of this plant con- 

 tains a great deal of rubber. His analysis follows : 



Lost by drying 4.24 % 



Mechanico-organic substances 1.40 % 



Albuminoids 4.07 % 



Inorganic substances 2.31 % 



Resins 51-52 % 



Rubber 36.46 % 



Total 100.00 % 



Dr. Marckwald expressed the opinion that there is a brilliant 

 industrial future awaiting Atractylis gummifera, being of the 

 opinion that it would be easy to extract from it a merchantable 

 product. At our request, and for the purpose of confirming this 

 result, other analyses were made by Michelin and Torrilhon,. 

 French firms of note in the rubber manufacturing field, who 

 found the percentage of rubber below that shown by the first 

 analysis. It should be added, however, that these latter analyses 

 were made from very impure raw material, just as it is ob- 

 tained from the plant, and not from carefully selected material, 

 as the former one had been. Nevertheless, the quantity of rub- 

 br obtained in the latter tests is high and sufficient to encourage 

 the development of the plant. 



The house of Michelin obtained from their sample the fol- 

 lowing result : 



Ash 2.57 ?{> 



Rubber 22.92 95^ 



Residue 23.09 9^ 



Soluble Resins 5 1 .42 % 



Total 1 00.00 % 



This analysis was accompanied by the following remarks : "In 

 order not to injure the rubber in the preliminary drying we 

 operated the product just as we obtained it, so that in our an- 

 alysis the water that may have been contained in the raw mate- 

 rial has been reckoned in by difference with the vegetable resi- 

 dues or insoluble minerals. The other three figures were ob- 

 tained directly." This analysis shows the product to contain 

 a certain quantity of rubber, but mingled with at least double its 

 own weight of resin. 



The house of Torrilhon, on their part, wrote : "The density 

 of the sample is 1.037 at 15° Centigrade [=59° F.] A treat- 

 ment with boiling water removed from it 4.18 per cent, of a sub- 

 stance which, after the evaporation of the liquid part, is hard, 

 brittle and of a brownish color. It is made up of albuminoids 

 which do not coagulate in boiling w-ater. In the insoluble part 

 are found albuminoids which were coagulated by boiling water ; 

 this substance Is whitish and possesses a certain elasticity which 

 disappears after a few days. It is soluble in petroleum ether, 

 leaving an insoluble residue which forms 6.14 per cent, of the 

 substance washed. This residue is made up of albuminoids which 

 coagulate in boiling water and of the remains of vegetable 

 matter. In the solution made by petroleum ether acetone pre- 

 cipitates a substance, darkish on the outside, whitish on the 

 inside and elastic. This is the rubber and it forms 22.965 per 

 cent, of the total product. The evaporation of the mixture and 

 of acetone gives a yellowish dense resin, which makes up 55.232 

 per cent, of the substance washed. To sum up, the following 

 is the result of the analysis : 



"Insoluble matter 6. 1 40 % 



Rubber 22.965 % 



Resin 55.232% 



Water 1 5.663 % 



Total 100.000 %" 



Cultivation. 



The Atractylis gummifera is a plant apparently without a 

 trunk, pushing out leaves down to the ground, opening out like 

 a rose and having large clusters of flowers ; on these latter in 

 particular are produced, by the work of a lepidopterous cater- 

 pillar which perforates them, numerous drops of gum, variable in- 

 size, and easy to gather. But the greater part of the plant is 

 found underground, where it has a trunk of enormous dimen- 

 sions, often a yard or more in length, cylindrical in form, 8 

 inches in diameter, and weighing at maturity from 20 to 4a 

 pounds. 



The upper part of this trunk is divided into several very 

 slender branches with numerous buds ; each branch ends in a 

 crown of flowers. The trunk contains a quantity of perfectly 

 white, acrid latex which coagulates slowly in the air, forming 

 a gum rich in rubber. 



To sum up, the natural supply of Atractylis gummifera in the- 



