199 
is  made  exactly  like  the  first,  the  milk  flowing  down  the  side  of  the 
tree  into  the  first  cut  and  on  into  the  pail.  These  cuts  are  repeated 
on  the  entire  body  of  the  tree,  or  until  the  branches  are  encountered. 
You  will  at  once  see  that  all  the  milk  has  not  been  secured, 
but  a sufficient  amount  left  to  maintain  the  tree  in  good  condition 
for  another  year.  The  next  tapping,  which  will  be  made  in  a year 
from  now,  will  be  made  on  the  same  side  of  the  tree,  three  inches 
above  the  cut  made  this  year,  and  the  following  year  three  inches 
above  that,  so  that  it  will  be  possible  to  make  thirteen  tappings  on 
one  side,  or  twenty-six  on  both  sides ; or  in  other  words,  a tree  can 
be  tapped  twenty-six  years  without  retapping  the  old  cuts.  The 
instrument  used  by  the  natives  is  a machete,  or  long  knife.  The 
bark  of  a ten  year  old  rubber  tree  is  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
thick. 
“The  rubber  trees  on  San  Miquel  are  of  the  variety  known 
throughout  Mexico  and  Central  America  as  Castilloa  elastica.  This 
variety  is  divided  into  two  classes,  the  first  of  which  is  known  as 
the  yellow  rubber  tree  or  “ hule  amarillo,  ” this  being  the  male. 
The  milk  from  these  trees  flows  very  freely,  having  a rich  }7ellowish 
color.  It  flows  so  freely  that  there  is  scarcely  any  left  in  the  cuts 
after  tapping.  The  other  variety  is  known  as  the  white  rubber  tree 
or  “ hule  bianco,”  this  being  the  female.  The  cuts  made  in  these 
trees  are  not  made  at  a 45  degree  angle,  but  horizontally,  a suffi- 
cient distance  to  include  three-fourths  of  the  circumference  of  the 
tree.  The  milk  from  this  tree  oozes  into  and  fills  the  cuts,  flowing 
down  the  tree  several  inches.  The  milk  is  very  thick,  requiring 
several  days  for  it  to  dry  so  that  it  can  be  gathered.  Of  the  two 
varieties  the  yellow  is  regarded  as  superior. 
“ The  milk,  gathered  in  pails,  is  taken  to  the  rubber  drying 
house,  where  it  may  be  converted  into  rubber  through  either  of  the 
following  processes,  both  of  which  we  have  used: — First,  it  is  spread 
on  a cement  floor  to  a depth  of  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  this  floor 
being  so  situated  that  the  milk  is  constantly  in  contact  with  the  sun’s 
rays,  thus  drying  very  rapidly.  After  it  is  dry  the  sheets  are  rolled 
up  into  convenient  sizes  for  shipment.  The  second  process  is 
through  coagulation  with  a native  vine  known  as  “ bejuco  de  necta.” 
During  the  coagulation  the  rubber  is  left  porous,  and  as  it  contains 
more  or  less  water  it  is  necessary  to  remove  the  same  by  using  a 
press.  It  requires  more  time  to  prepare  rubber  by  the  first  process. 
The  average  shrinkage  in  converting  milk  into  solid  rubber  is  2*3 
or  in  other  words,  2-3  pounds  of  rubber  milk  will  produce  one  pound 
of  rubber.  1 have  personally  attended  to  the  tapping  and  the 
figures  herein  given  are  absolutely  correct.  India  Rubber 
World,  Vol.  XXVIII.,  No.  I.,  p.  252. 
THE  YIELD  OF  THE  CASTILLOA  TREE. 
Well  may  an  English  writer  in  a recent  article  say  that  “ the 
■“  f]uestion  of  the  amount  of  rubber  yielded  by  the  Castilloa  is 
“ characterised  by  a degree  of  discrepancy  perfectly  aj)palling.”  I'o 
instance  this: — .According  to  Cross,  the  well  known  Kew  botanist, 
a Castilloa  of  from  18  to  24  inches  in  diameter  produces  13  pounds 
