away with the macheté. These estradas, where possible, are laid 
out in loops, so that they lead back to the starting point and are 
so planned as to include from 100 to 150 fine rubber trees. 
Every seringueiro is alloted two or three estradas to work. 
These seringueiros live in the interior of the forest in special 
baraken, either with their families, or usually several together. 
The different baraken are connected by broader roads that can 
be traversed by mules. 
In May or June, after the estradas have previously been put 
in order, the gathering of fine rubber commences. The serin- 
gueiro proceeds in the early morning into the forest, taps the 
trees in the customary manner with the little axe Maschadi, at- 
taches the tin cups and afterwards collects the accumulated 
milk. It is afternoon when he reaches home with the milk he 
has collected in a rubber bag or in tin cans, to be smoked. Ina 
little hut, roofed with palm-straw, the smoking is proceeded with. 
Pieces of wood that give a copious smoke are burned and over 
the fire is placed a tin cylinder, known as a Boiao. The serin- 
gueiro first collects, in the middle of a round, strong stick, some 
coagulated rubber milk and pours the still fluid milk, which he 
has in a large tin dish, over this place, turning the stick so that 
the smoke can impregnate the coagulating caoutchouc. He con- 
tinues this operation until the milk in the tin pan is all used up. 
By this means, a rubber ball is produced which is enlarged 
in the succeeding days until it weighs about 50 kilos. The stick 
is then withdrawn and the ball, stored with others, until the 
mule train comes for it. A mule can carry on each side of him 
50 kilos without over-exerting himself. 
Ii, however, the weight of the ball exceeds sixty. kilos, the 
mules are overloaded and the seringueiro who made the balls 
pays a fine. Where the dwelling place of the seringueiro is near 
a river and the fine rubber can be transported by canoe, larger 
balls, that often weigh more than 100 kilos are made. 
This ‘gathering and preparation of the fine rubber differs 
materially from that practiced on the lower water courses where 
the milk is smoked with much greater care, on the shovel shaped 
mould and the balls, as a rule, weigh but 10 to 30 kilos. On the 
Acre, the seringueiro will gather in a day 15 to 25 liters of milk, 
which ‘will yield 7% to 12 kilos of dry rubber, whereas in the 
inundated section he will be able to gather but one-half or one- 
third as much. Of course the seringueiro can smoke the milk 
much more carefully and take certain precautions, as for in- 
stance, that the rubber-milk is never heated. On the Acre on 
the other hand, the milk is warmed as a rule, because otherwise 
the large mass is difficult to manage. There is no question but 
that in this mianner thé quality of the rubber, which is prepared 
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