RUBBER FORESTS OF NICARAGUA AND SIERRA 



LEONE 



By GioNKiiAi, A. \V. CJkkki.v. 



Chief SiyiKil ()(}ic(r, Ciiilrd Slatrx Anni/ 



The incre;vsin<f coiumercial dt'inands for r;;\v nil)l)or and tlie 

 steady diminution of eaoutehouc produced l)y existinir i-uhlicr 

 forests give special interest to any information bearing' on future 

 supplies of caoutchouc pending the discovery of comj)ounds tliat 

 shall supi)lantit. In liSD'i the Department of State puhlished a 

 Spt'cial Consular Rei»ort on ruliher and ruhlicr manufactures, 

 which has lately been su])plemented hy additional information. 



The india-rul)l)er trees, of which there are several prolitahle 

 varieties, will produce annually iVom 10 to 10 pounds of caout- 

 chouc for many years, if they are tapped judiciously. Jt is, 

 however, an almost universal com|)laiut, from Africa, America, 

 and Asia, that the greed and carelessness of the native collectors, 

 who seek to obtain the greatest immediate quantity b\' the least 

 laborious methods, are rapidly destroying the rubber-bearing 

 plants. Trees are either felled or so dee[)ly and roughly incised 

 as to s[)eedily die. 



The fresh rubber juice, resembling cream in color and con- 

 sistency, has an ammouiacal odor, which rapidly disappears, 

 leaving the caoutchouc odorless and tasteless. Trees yield the 

 milk copiously for several months each year, and the coagulated 

 rubber averages about .')0 per cent of tlu; original juici", two 

 pounds of caoutchouc to the gallon. 



Brazil is the [)rinci|)a.l source of raw rublxM'. and that from 

 Para is the best. In 1S90 the receii)ts of caoutchouc at Rara 

 reached lG,o70 tons, according to the report of Consul J. O. 

 Kerbev, wliose account of rul)l)er-gathering may be of inti-rcst: 



" The rubber-gatherer rolls out of his hammock as soon as it 

 is light in the morning, and takes his gul}) of rum and his cala- 

 bash of coffee and starts out to visit his rubber trees. He wears 

 a short pair of breeches and sometimes a shirt. He goes bare- 

 foot, for he must wade through the swamp mud and ooze of the 

 tide U}) to his knees, and often up to his waist in water. He 



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