U3 



the trouble to collect these nuts, he nearly always prefers to use 

 wood chips which give him less trouble to procure. 



The fire having been made, and a large stream of hot smoke 

 pouring out of the chimney, the operator seats himself on a small 

 stool by the side of it. The latex is contained in a basin placed at 

 hand. In his right hand he holds a paddle-shaped piece of wood ; 

 in his left hand a small ( alabash. Dipping the calabash into the 

 basin of latex he pours a sm ill quantity over the paddle, which he 

 then revolves in the smoke issuing from the chimney. That having 

 dried in a layer over the paddle he repeats the operati n. In 

 course of time a "ball" or "biscuit" of solid rubber is thus 

 formed. In some parts, where it is the custom to manufacture very 

 large balls or " pellets " an arrangement is made by means of a 

 pivot to rotate the ball over the chimney. The wooden core is 

 withdrawn through a slit made in the " biscuit '", or simply drawn 

 out in the case of the " pellet. " 



The latex of a tree named " Macaranduba " (Mimusops-elata) and 

 more often that of a tree named locally 'Amapa" is sometimes 

 used to adulterate that of the Hevea. In both cases the adulteration 

 is extremely prejudicial to the quality of rubb r produced. 



Three distinct qualities of rubber are manufactured in this dis-. 

 trict named " Fine," "Entrefine", and "Sernamby" respectively, 

 f- Fine " rubber has been well smoked, and is free from putrefac- 

 tion. " Entrefine " rubber has been either burnt whilst being 

 smoked, or has been insufficiently smoked, and has therefore 

 putrefied. It is due to carelessness on the part of the workman, 

 which it should be possible to avoid. " Sernamby " is the "negro- 

 head " of commerce, and consists of scraps, mixed wit h dirt, or 

 strips peeled off the bark of the tree and mixed with impurities of 

 sorts. 



A very important factor, from the merchant's point of view, in 

 the rubber trade, is the loss of weight that is constantly taking- 

 place in raw rubber. This loss is extremely variable, and a con- 

 signee has to place the greatest faith in the consignor that the 

 invoiced weight of rubber has really been shipped as more or less 

 shortage invariably takes place. Moreover, the shrinkage in weight 

 is so variable that no exact figures can be quoted by which it may 

 be calculated. The cause being the evaporation of the water con- 

 tained, it varies according to the quality, being greater in the case 

 of the porous " Sernamby " than in the firmer (> Fine " rubber. 

 The longer rubber is kept and the larger the pieces the less it loses 

 in weight. Dry u Sertao " rubber coming from distant parts 

 whence shipments are only made once a year will lose only ab out 

 i per cent, between the estates and Manaos ; whereas newly-made 

 rubber coming from close at hand will lose as much as io percent. 

 As the means of communication get more rapid, and the rubber 

 reaches Manaos sooner after being manufactured the tendency to 

 lose in weight becomes larger. Between Manaos and foreign 

 markets a loss of 4 per cent, may b.: taken as an approximation of 

 the average loss of weight. 



A machine designed on the principle of a cream separator to 



