234 



ncus voGELn 



Composition of the Rubber. — The rubber of Fictis 

 elastica is rather variable in composition owing to the 

 great differences which occur in the amount of resin, 

 as will be seen from the following analyses, made at the 

 Imperial Institute, of specimens from different countries : 



Ficus Vogelii, Miq. — Ficus Vogelii is the most important 

 of the African species of Ficus so far as the production 

 of rubber is concerned. The rubber which it fiu^nishes is, 

 however, of inferior quality on account of its resmous 

 nature and its poor physical properties 



Ficus Vogelii is a tree from 20 to 50 ft. in height and 

 from 8 to 20 in. in girth, with large elliptical or obovate- 

 oblong leaves, 6 to 12 in. long and 4 to 6 in. broad. The 

 brownish receptacles (" fruits ") are spherical, from ^ 

 to J in. in diameter, and usually occur in pairs in the 

 leaf axils or in clusters of four to six below the hairy 

 terminal buds at the ends of the branches. It is said 

 that the trees can be readily propagated from cuttings, 

 and that they are easily cultivated. 



Chevalier states that Ficus Vogelii is found in the 

 forests of French West Africa both as an epiph5i:e (grow- 

 ing upon another tree) or as a distinct tree, and that 

 according to the natives the epiphytic trees yield the 

 most rubber. 



The tree occurs throughout West Africa from Senegal 

 to the mouth of the Congo, and is especially abundant 

 in the coastal regions, where it occurs in the swampy 

 forests. It is also found in Northern Nigeria. 



The trees are not generally exploited in West Africa by 



* Including protein. 



