CH. XIII] INDIARUBBER, GUTTAPERCHA, AND CAMPHOR 125 



adoption of this method on trees that have already been much 

 injured by the machadinho. But there is little doubt that 

 there are great numbers of trees that have hitherto been un- 

 touched, because small, which could be tapped remuneratively 

 in the eastern way. And it must not be overlooked that the 

 collectors at present work fairly short hours, and could if pressed 

 obtain more rubber. 



Another direction in which improvement is possible is in 

 the methods of preparation, which are rough, and lend them- 

 selves to easy adulteration, so that every ball of Amazon rubber 

 has to be examined for enclosures and quality, and valued 

 accordingly. At the same time, the greatest care must be 

 taken not to lose the great value of the present method, which 

 can and does turn out the finest rubber on the market. A very 

 important improvement, which is at the same time cheap, and 

 practical in the sense that it offers no difficulty to a man who is 

 accustomed to existing methods, has been lately introduced by 

 Admiral Jose Carlos de Carvalho and others, and is stated to be 

 spreading on the Amazon. It turns out the rubber in sheet 

 instead of ball, so that adulteration is rendered very difficult if 

 not impossible, while at the same time the rubber is of the same 

 quality as the fine hard Para of the present system. 



Yet another great problem is the scrap or sernamby, which 

 at present is turned out in large quantity, and is but of poor 

 quality. In some districts, such as the islands at the mouth of 

 the Amazon, where the trees have been tapped for long periods, 

 the collectors have now to climb to great heights to obtain 

 suitable places for tapping, and in such circumstances they 

 cannot be expected to turn out hard fine, and in fact get almost 

 entirely sernamby (Cameta negroheads). In other districts the 

 sernamby is regarded as the private property of the collector, 

 while the balls of hard rubber must be exchanged at the store 

 against supplies; consequently the collector does nothing to 

 decrease the quantity of sernamby and increase that of hard 

 fine. Sernamby also increases in rainy weather. Attempts are 

 being made to wash the sernamby, and thus improve its quality 

 and reduce the freight, while at the same time the present 

 vicious system of supply of necessaries to the collectors, who 



