84 RUBBER 



has been here over a month, are very dark brown. 

 You are quite right in thinking they must be well 

 baked. They will soon be taken from their present 

 quarters, packed up and sent to market ; and they are 

 so well cured, and are of such excellent quality, that 

 they will probably fetch a higher price per pound than 

 the best quality wild Para. 



It is in this room that you happen to make your 

 first acquaintance with some crepe rubber of a greyish 

 hue. It is made from scraps, which are collected by 

 the tappers from trees, cups, and cans, after they have 

 taken the day's milk to the factory. The scraps are 

 washed as clean as it is possible to get them, and then 

 put through the creping machines. Plantation scrap 

 is far superior in quality to wild scrap. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



RUBBER GOODS 



In England, the chief markets for raw rubber, wild 

 and plantation, are London and Liverpool. The other 

 principal importers are the United States, France, 

 Italy, Belgium, and Russia. The making of rubber 

 goods is an important industry in all these countries. 

 America is well ahead as the biggest importer and 

 manufacturer. Germany and Austria also have some 

 fine factories, and both were big importers of raw 

 rubber in pre-war days. 



Rubber passes through many hands during its long 

 journey to market. First it has to be sent to the chief 

 port of the district where it is obtained. In Brazil 

 this means a long journey by river direct to Para, or 

 to Para via Manaos, with a break of journey at that 

 busy up-country river port. Some of the Brazilian 



