38 RUBBER 



ways. The most common methods are the addition 

 of the juice of another plant, and the burying of the 

 milk in holes scooped out of the ground. In the 

 latter case, an oblong hole, 2 to 3 feet deep, is made, 

 and the inside of it is coated with clay. When the 

 clay is dry, the milk is poured into the hole, over which 

 is placed a lid of leaves or boughs. Under this treat- 

 ment, about six weeks have to elapse before the change 

 called " coagulation " is brought about, and then the 

 results are far from satisfactory. When, at last, the 

 hole is uncovered, there is a lump of rubber in place 

 of the milk, but it usually contains a great deal of 

 uncoagulated and partially coagulated latex. The 

 lumps are put in the sun to dry, after which they are 

 taken home to a forest hut. Here they are stored 

 until such time as some of the natives set forth for the 

 nearest centre of civilization, to dispose of a stock of 

 rubber to the merchants. The lumps are carried to 

 town in native-made baskets, which in shape are rather 

 like the baskets commonly used by us for soiled linen. 



The product prepared from Funtumia milk is gener- 

 ally known as " Lagos silk rubber." 



Landolphias are large vines, which often creep up 

 to the tops of the highest trees in the forest. They 

 have stout stems which twist and turn, interlace and 

 knot themselves together into a tangled mass. They 

 are among the most picturesque of forest plants, for 

 not only have they the habit of climbing up the trees 

 and intermingling with the branches in a very decora- 

 tive manner, but many of them bear beautiful flowers 

 and brightly coloured fruit. 



To tap Landolphias, the natives make cuts in the 

 stems. The milk is collected and coagulated in 



