ncus voGELn 



235 



the rubber collectors, except in certain districts where its 

 latex appears to be added to Funtumia latex in the prepara- 

 tion of '' lump " rubber. It is stated that this practice is 

 followed in parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory 

 Coast. In Northern Nigeria, however, the rubber of 

 Ficus Vogelii is prepared separately by the natives and 

 the product appears on the market as " Niger balata." 



The natives obtain the latex either by tapping the 

 trees, or by felling them and making numerous annular 

 mcisions in the trunk and branches. 



The rubber is usually prepared by allowmg the latex 

 to stand until it coagulates, or by boiling the latex after 

 the addition of an acid juice. Coagulation can also be 

 brought about by immersing the vessel containing the 

 latex in boiling water or by diluting the latex with an 

 equal quantity of water, allowing it to stand until it 

 creams, and then submitting the separated cream of rubber 

 globules to pressure. 



Ficus Vogelii is stated to give a large yield of latex 

 and rubber. A tree thirteen years old growing in Lagos, 

 which was tapped during the dry season, yielded 3 quarts 

 of latex without suffering injury, and ChevaUer records 

 that a single tree wiU yield as much as 10 kilograms 

 (22 lb.) of rubber. In the Gold Coast single trees have 

 fmnished 2 to 10 lb. of rubber. 



Five-year-old trees in the Belgian Congo gave an 

 average yield of 2^ oz. of dry rubber per tree from fom: 

 days' tapping. 



It has been stated already that the rubber of Ficus 

 Vogelii is of very resinous character, and the foUowing 

 analyses, made at the Imperial Institute, of specimens 

 from the Gambia, Gold Coast, and Northern Nigeria will 

 indicate its usual composition. The figures express the 

 percentage composition of the dry material. 



