strings or globules which are collected two weeks later 
when the tree is hacked again. This type of rubber is 
called choro, or tears, and resembles the lacy strips left 
in cuts made by other methods and sold under the name 
of sernamby. 
Still farther to the west, about the Serra de Urubure- 
tama, excellent choro is produced by slicing the bark off 
the trunks in hand-sized patches (Plate X LI, D and Fig- 
ure 2 B). After the cuts are made, the latex is allowed 
to drip over the trunk and dry for twelve to thirty days 
before it is collected and a new series of cuts made. Most 
of these trees are small, spindling, gnarled and scarred, 
like the legs of undernourished children. There are some 
larger trees which yield more latex and can be tapped 
profitably with cups, but practically all of the rubber 
produced in this area is choro. Several unsuccessful ex- 
periments were conducted to find practical methods 
which would yield as much or more latex than the local 
choro method and still not injure the tree. However, 
the large exposed surfaces of clean wood left by slicing 
off the bark are less harmful to the trees than the termite 
infested areas of dried and dead bark about the cuts made 
by other methods, such as those used in the Serra de 
Maranguape. In the Serra de Uruburetama the horny 
outer layer of the manisoba bark made it difficult to use 
the jebong or Amazonas knife, and the low yields, scat- 
tered stands, and rough terrain made it impractical to 
tap daily. 
Even farther west, in hills near Sobral, only poor- 
yielding trees are found and none of the spindling but 
good-yielding Serra de Uruburetama trees are seen. 
Choro is produced by both of the methods described: 
by hacking cuts over the surface of the trunk, or by chip- 
ping away chunks of the wood. 
About Assaré in southern Ceara and Pereiro in east- 
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