KINDRED PRODUCTS TO RUBBER 41 



The material made from Ficus milk is commonly 

 known as Assam rubber. 



Rubber of various qualities is now made from the 

 latex of the Jelutong tree. This tree, which is a giant 

 among forest giants, flourishes in the jungles of Sarawak, 

 Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaya. The tapping of Jelu- 

 tong is roughly done by natives, and the milk is coagu- 

 lated by the help of petroleum. 



CHAPTER X 



KINDRED PRODUCTS TO RUBBER 



Distinct from rubber, but closely akin to it, are the 

 two materials known as "gutta-percha " and " balata." 



The gutta-percha tree has its home in the Far East, in 

 Malay, the East Indies, and the South Sea Islands. The 

 trees are sometimes tapped as they stand, by a similar 

 method of V-shaped cuts as is practised by the Nicara- 

 guans in tapping Castilloas. Sometimes they are 

 felled, trunk and branches being then ringed with 

 cuts. 



Gutta milk, like rubber milk, is white. Sometimes 

 it flows freely, in which case it is collected in cups or 

 calabashes. It always coagulates very quickly, some- 

 times so rapidly that none runs out of the cuts ; these 

 get filled up with solid strips, which can be pulled oft. 

 Frequently it runs so gently that it can be collected 

 on a bit of coagulated gutta. When a small pellet 

 of solidified gutta is rolled along a cut, the fresh milk 

 sticks to it, and quickly hardens. In some districts 

 the free-flowing gutta milk is coagulated by boiling. 



6 



