42 RUBBER 



In others it is left to itself to turn into a thick cream, 

 and is then coated over a piece of completely coagulated 

 gutta. 



Most of the gutta-gathering is done by natives, 

 who deal very roughly with the trees, and are not at 

 all particular about the quality of the material they 

 prepare. But Britain, England, Holland, and Ger- 

 many, who all own territory in those parts of the world 

 where the gutta-percha tree grows, are anxious to 

 improve the conditions under which the raw gutta 

 industry is carried on. Already some desirable changes 

 have been brought about, and efforts are being made 

 to introduce other reforms in connection with working 

 methods and general organization. Under European 

 supervision, gutta-percha is now extracted from the 

 leaves of the tree. And there is an estate, belonging to 

 the Netherland Indian Government, where the best 

 varieties of gutta-trees are being cultivated, to make 

 up for the scarcity of them that has been brought about 

 by the destructive methods of the native workers in 

 the forests. 



Gutta-percha lacks some of the valuable qualities 

 of rubber : it is not elastic, in ordinary temperatures 

 it is quite hard, and when it gets very dry it is brittle. 

 For manufacturing purposes it has to be heated, when 

 it can be moulded into the desired form ; but as it 

 cools, it hardens again. It is used chiefly for insulating 

 submarine cables. 



Balata is the product of a tree which flourishes in 

 the forests of British Guiana, a little - known but 

 magnificent country in the north-eastern comer of 

 South America. The forests of British Guiana are a 

 continuation of the forests of the Amazon, which they 



