184 



THE AFRICAN RUBBER TREE 



experiments made ■s\ith Funtumia elastica trees growing 

 in the Belgian Cono;o have been recorded : 



Composition of Funtumia Rubber. — The following 

 analyses, made at the Imperial Institute, illustrate the 

 composition of a number of specimens of Funtumia 

 rubber obtained from different countries and prepared 

 by different methods. Samples of the rubber in the 

 form of biscuits, sheet, and crepe are included, as well as 

 specimens of native " lump." 



It will be seen that some of the specimens of lump 

 rubber are exceedingly resinous, indicating that the 

 latex of Funtumia elastica was adulterated with other 

 inferior latices in their preparation. The rubber in the 

 form of biscuits, sheet, and crepe is usually of very good 

 quality, although the percentages of resin and protein are 

 frequently fairly high. 



