LATEX-PRODUCING PLANTS 363 



Other South and Central American Late ^-producing Plants 



Of the many latex yielding plants other than the Brazilian 

 rubber tree found in the tropical Americas, only four furnish 

 products which are of sufficient economic importance to warrant 

 discussion here. 



Panama, or Gaucho, rubber comes from several large trees 

 belonging to the Mulberry Family. These are found in Mexico, 

 Central America, and the Amazon valley of South America. 

 Due to former extremely destructive methods of collecting the 

 latex, which involved felling the tree and tapping by means of 

 girdling cuts around the trunk, the more important of these 

 species were almost exterminated. Today however, more con- 

 servative methods, much like those involved in the case of the 

 Brazilian rubber tree, are practiced and plantations of these 

 trees in Central America are yielding very satisfactorily. Latex 

 is collected from tapped trees in cups, or in shallow holes scooped 

 out of the ground. Coagulation is effected by exposure to air, 

 boiling, or by the addition of plant juices or alum. Due to the 

 methods of collecting latex, the resulting rubber is highly impure 

 and does not command the price possible with a more carefully 

 prepared product. This rubber will probably never compete 

 successfully with that of the Para rubber tree, but its importance 

 may well increase considerably with added care in exploiting 

 and preparing the product. 



Ceara rubber comes from a small tree of the Spurge Family, 

 native to the desert regions of Brazil. This yields a good grade 

 of latex which is coagulated by air or smoke, after which the 

 crude rubber is exported in blocks, or flat cakes. The Ceara 

 rubber tree is very rapid growing, and does well in dry, rocky 

 soils not suitable to the production of other rubbers. In planta- 

 tions of India, Ceylon, and other tropical countries, the trees 

 are tapped when only four or five years old. 



Balata is a non-elastic rubber much like gutta-percha, and 

 comes from a large tree of the Soapberry Family native to Trini- 

 dad and South America. The wood of the tree, being hard and 

 durable, is also much in demand. The trees, tapped about three 

 times a year, yield a latex which flows freely and coagulates 



