164 THE AFRICAN RUBBER TREE 



descends. A piece of metal or wood or a portion of a 

 leaf is inserted at the base of the vertical channel and 

 serves to direct the latex into a calabash or other re- 

 ceptacle ; sometimes a lip of clay is formed for this 

 purpose. The trees are retapped after an interval of 

 some months, when the fii'st incisions have healed. The 

 second vertical channel is made alongside the first, or on 

 the opposite side of the trunk, and the lateral incisions 

 frequently cross those of the previous tapping. 



The principal objections to the native method of 

 tappmg are (1) the excessive height to which the incisions 

 are carried, (2) the extent to which the lateral incisions 

 encircle the stem, (3) the depth of the cuts which usually 

 expose the wood, and (4) the frequency of the tappings. 

 As the result of the drastic treatment to which they are 

 subjected, many of the trees are killed after having been 

 tapped a few times. 



Another serious objection to the native procedure in 

 many parts of West Africa is that the rubber collectors 

 do not restrict their tapping operations to Funtumia 

 elastica, but also include other trees, such as Funtumia 

 ajricana, CliloropJiora excelsa, Conopharyngia crassa, 

 Antiaris ioxicaria, and Alstonia sp., which yield a resmous 

 latex. The latices of these trees are mixed with that of 

 Funtumia elastica before coagulation, with the result that 

 the rubber obtamed contains a high percentage of resin 

 and is consequently considerably depreciated in quality 

 and value. 



Native Methods of Preparing the Rubber. — The prin- 

 cipal methods adopted by the natives for the production 

 of Funtumia rubber are as follows : 



(1) By allowing the latex to stand mitil spontaneous 

 coagulation occurs ; (2) by heating the latex ; (3) by 

 adding to the latex an infusion of Bauhinia reticulata 

 leaves ; and (4) by adding the juice of a Strophanthus 

 vine {Strophanthus Preussii, Engl, and Pax), which is 

 known as " Diecha " in the Gold Coast. 



(1) Spontaneous Coagulation. — This plan is emploj'^ed 

 in tlie preparation of " lump " rubber, the form in which 

 Funtumia rubber is chiefly prepared throughout West 

 Africa. The native makes a shallow rectangular hole 

 in the ground and lines it with clay in order to render 

 it partially watertight. When the clay has dried, the 



