62 THE GOLD COAST 



The latex of Funtumia will remain in an uncoagulated 

 state for a longer time than that of Hevea, but it may 

 become damaged by fermentation if a quantity is kept 

 in bulk for a lengthened period. The native does not 

 usually produce a pure Funtumia rubber, but mixes with 

 the latex the latices of several other plants, among which 

 may be named " Odum " (Chlorophora excelsa), " Osese " 

 (Funtumia africana), " Ofo," " Okre," " Sindru " (Cono- 

 pharyngia crassa and Alstonia sp.). Having mixed some 

 of these latices with that of the Funtumia, the whole is 

 heated and poured into a hole in the ground, which has 

 been prepared to serve as a mould. Coagulation and 

 decomposition proceed together at a slow rate, and finally 

 produce a rubber containing a number of holes which 

 serve as receptacles for the liquefied decomposed con- 

 stituents. The rubber mass is black outwardly, but 

 whitish within, and is more or less sticky. It is said that 

 the latex of Landolphia owariensis, the vine from which 

 " Krepi ball " rubber is made, is sometimes mixed with 

 the rest to hasten coagulation. 



Improved Methods. In 1906 attention was drawn to the 

 use of a plant called *' Niama " in the Ivory Coast, by which 

 Funtumia rubber latex was coagulated by adding a hot 

 decoction of the leaves. This plant was subsequently 

 found to be Bauhinia reticulata, which bears the name of 

 " Otakataka " in the Gold Coast. Experiments with this 

 afforded excellent results. An examination of the plant 

 made at the Imperial Institute proved that the tannin 

 contained in the leaves was responsible for the coagulation 

 of the latex, and that the infusion of any plant con- 

 taining tannin is equally effective. The obstacle to 

 the general use of B. reticulata for coagulation, is that 

 the plant does not occur in the same localities as the wild 

 Funtumia tree. Doubtless other tannin-yielding plants 

 may be found in the rubber forests which would 

 answer the purpose equally well, among them the pods 

 of Acacia arabica. A simple method of coagulation, 

 which was demonstrated to the chiefs and rubber 

 collectors in 1908, is that of diluting the latex with 

 about four or more times the volume of water, straining 

 and boiling it, when the rubber quickly separates and 

 can be collected from the surface of the water by means 

 of a stick and immediately pressed into a rough biscuit. 



