04 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



| November 1, 1914. 



thing is made ship-shape so thai there maj be no delay in begin- 

 ning the rubber season when the water recedes. There are in- 

 variably a few men in each camp who are famed for their 

 prowess with umi and harpoon, and it lias been ray pleasure 

 on several occasions to accompany these nimrods of the tropical 

 jungles on their long rambles in search of meat. 



At C'alama on the Madeira, just opposite the mouth of the 



Machado, are located tin- headquarters of one of the best or- 

 ganized rubber companies I have found anywhere during my 



tour years of explorations. It is tile establishment of \mim 

 & Co., who started business eighteen years ago with eight men; 

 todaj ili'i employ 3,500 men all told, ami produce 700 ions of 

 rubber annually besides large quantities ol copaiba oil, tobacco, 

 lumber and other natural products. Their concessions cover 

 the entire country bordering the Machado and Commemoracion, 



riding inland a distance of thirty kilometers on each side ol 

 the water. In addition, the concern controls large tracts on the 

 Madeira The buildings at (alama are large and comfortable, 

 besides living quarters include modernly equipped offices, 

 Store-rooms, warehouses, carpenter and machine shops and 

 cattle barns. \ resident physician is retained tor the care ol 

 the employes, who are brought down from the camps and cared 

 for when in need of treatment. Each department is in charge 

 of competent officials, and the spirit of co-operation and effi- 

 is i'I.miiK visible even to the casual ob ervet \11 steam- 

 ers plying on the Madeira call at this port, while numbers of 

 the fleet of privately owned launches and other craft are ar- 

 ii'. mil' and departing at all hours of the day and night. Pro- 



iis in enormous quantities are sent up-river. To reach the 

 farthest outpost, each parcel has to be carried on four different 

 launches, twice on mule-back, eight times on men's backs and 



five tunes in canoes and batelaos, a form of transportation at 

 once difficult and time-absorbing. 



In the working camps conditions are better than in many other 

 regions. A rigid set of rules has been formed regulating the 

 tapping of rubber trees, with which all tappers are compelled to 

 comply iii bidding the precious Hevea Brasiliensis. At first a 

 long-handled, narrow-hladed ax is used, which enables the men 

 to make an incision at twice theii height from the ground. No 

 tree is touched unless it has a circumference of at least four 

 spans (all measurements are made with the hands, for con- 

 venience) and all cuts must be two spans apart, so that if a tree 

 has a circumference of twelve spans, a circle of six spans is 

 made each day. At first these cuts are of too great height above 

 the ground to permit of cups being placed to catch the latex, 

 but they are necessary to stimulate the flow on the sap, which 

 nature intends to cleanse and close the wound so that it may 

 readily heal. To faciliate the healing process the cut is not 

 made ai right angles with the tree, bin slantinglj Each day 

 i new ring of cuts is made one span below that of the previous 

 day, so that within a week .after starting a tree the cuts are 

 within reach and the flow of milk is sufficient to be collected. 

 A small tin cup is pushed into the bark under each incision, into 

 which the sap flows. A short-handled ax is now used and the 

 rows of cuts, one beneath the other, are continued until the 

 I round is reached, when new ones are started just halfway be- 

 tween the old ones, and this is continued indefinitely so that the 

 original openings an i died again until many years later 



when they have of course completely healed. The collector 

 starts out in the early morning making the cuts and placing the 

 cups, then he retraces his steps and collects the catch. Should 

 the da\ be very windy he will probably find that instead of a 



Floating Rubber km- Down the Rio Machado. 



