CHAPTER VIII 

 CURING AND PREPARATION OF RUBBER 



Method of coagulation Latex not strained Disadvantages of 

 present system Difficulty of introducing improved methods- 

 Reasons against radical alterations Various modes of smoking 

 latex Delivery of rubber by collectors Weighing of rubber 

 Necessity of readjustment of terms of remuneration to collectors 

 Transport of rubber to port of shipment Cost of transport by 

 land and river Payment of freights Expenses at Manaos and 

 Pard Ocean freight rates Grading of rubber at Mangos and 

 Para Classification of crop for season 1912-13 Origin of crop 

 for season 1912-13 Estimated output for season July i, 1913, to 

 June 30, 1914. 



IN the East a tapper finishes his daily task when he 

 makes delivery of the latex at the factory ; in Brazil 

 the seringueiro not only taps his trees and collects the 

 yield, but must also coagulate the latex before his 

 work for the day is done. In place of the up-to-date 

 establishment, maintained in scrupulously clean con- 

 dition, common to Oriental plantations, all the appli- 

 ances used in Brazil for the preparation of rubber are 

 of the most primitive description. A thatched hut with 

 mud floor serves as the coagulating shed ; a hole in the 

 centre of this floor surmounted by a battered cone- 

 shaped tin funnel constitutes the smoking apparatus. 

 A dirty basin receives the latex, and a tin cup or shell 

 of a gourd is utilized as a ladle to pour it little by little 

 over the stick or paddle as the coagulation proceeds. A 



