(Photo courtesy United Nations. 
Figure 27.—Camp of rubber gatherers, Para. 
occurs commonly as dense undergrowth of the 
Parana pine forest. It is also extensively cultivated. 
Production has increased steadily from 81,000 tons 
in 1949 to 131.648 in 1961 (table 15). 
are harvested from May to October and processed in 
The National Institute of Maté 
organizes and assists producers, supervises grading, 
and promotes domestic and foreign sales. 
Nuts 
The leaves 
modern plants. 
In the North Region, Brazil nuts (castanha do 
para) rank in value next to rubber among the forest 
products. The nuts are gathered in the forest from 
January through June. 
Manaus and Belém coincides with the high-water 
Transport by boat to 
FORESTS AND FOREST INDUSTRIES OF BRAZIL 
stage of the rivers, when even the remote tributaries 
are navigable. 
Brazil nut trees are located mostly on high ground. 
The Purus basin is said to be the most densely stocked 
with these valuable trees. Some trees yield as much 
as 14 bushels of nuts. Because of the great height 
of the trees, the fruits containing the nuts are col- 
lected on the ground. The hard, woody outer shell 
of the fruit is broken to release the 15 to 20 enclosed 
nuts. The shell is an excellent fuel. much used for 
smoking crude rubber. Brazil nut collection pro- 
vides occupation for rubber workers during the 
rainy season, when the rubber trees cannot be 
tapped for latex. 
Almost the entire harvested crop is exported 
through a few firms. About 45 percent of the total 
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