38 THE PRINCIPAL RUBBER-YIELDING PLANTS 



Funtiimia elastica is very abundant in the forests of 

 the Gold Coast and Southern Nigeria, and large numbers 

 of the trees have been planted in both these countries ; 

 it also occurs freely in Uganda. The well-prepared 

 rubber is of very good quality and realises a high price, 

 but much of the product obtained by the natives is of 

 low value owing to defective methods of preparation. 



This tree is dealt with fully in chap. xi. p. 160. 



14. Mascarenhasia spp. 



Rubber is furnished by several small trees belonging 

 to the genus Mascarenhasia which occur in East Africa 

 and Madagascar. 



3Iascarenhasia elastica, K. Schum., which is found 

 in the East Africa Protectorate, the island of Pemba, 

 German East Africa, and Portuguese East Africa, jdelds 

 a small amount of rubber which is usually obtained by 

 making incisions in the stem and allowing the rubber 

 to coagulate spontaneously in the cuts. The strips of 

 rubber thus formed are then wound into balls. If care- 

 fully collected, the rubber is of satisfactory composition 

 and good quality. The product is known as Mgoa or 

 Goa rubber in the East Africa Protectorate and in German 

 East Africa, and as N'harasika in Portuguese East Africa. 



A number of specimens of the rubber of Mascarerihasia 

 elastica from East Africa have been examined at the 

 Imperial Institute (see Selected Repcn'ts on Rubber and 

 Gutta Percha, pp. 404-8), and the following analyses may 

 be quoted as showing the composition of the dry rubber : 



Four of the samples analysed contained rather large 

 amounts of insoluble impurity, but specimen (1) from 

 Portuguese East Africa is of very good quality, the 

 quantity of caoutchouc reaching 92 per cent. 



No definite information is available as to the average 



