186 



RUBBER.* 



In Brazil several kinds of laticiferous trees exist from which rubber 

 is manufactured. In the State of Ceard the Manihot Gla^iovii, locally 

 known as the macoha, is fairly extensively worked, and consider- 

 able attention is being paid to its cultivation. In the State of Ma- 

 ranhao the IIancor7ita speciota, or manabetra, is beginning to give 

 results. These trees, however, are unimportant compared to tha> 

 Hevea hrasiliensis, or seringueria, to which the Amazon Valley owes 

 its present prosperity. 



Ihe Hevea hra&ihtmis is found scattered through the forests that 

 clothe the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries. In some 

 parts it is much commoner than in others, and for no apparent reason. 

 Very large tracts of forest are to be found where it does not exist or 

 is very scarce. It is generally met with in the swampy parts of the 

 forest. Owing to the lack of trustworthy data on the subject it is not 

 possible to state with certainty the proportion of Hevea compared to 

 other trees existing in the forest. However, for districts where it is 

 fairly plentiful, and for areas of 1,000 acres or more, about one tree to 

 every acres may, I think, be taktn as a fair estimate. 



Ihe Hevea bra sib eti sis does not strike the eye amongst the other 

 innumerable varieties of trees to be met with in the Amazonian forests 

 and is often difiicult to detect. A peculiar glistening of the trifoliate 

 leaves and the whiteness of the bark serve as a guide to the practised 

 eye. 'ihe tree grows to the height of 70 to 100 feet, and has, as a 

 rule, when full grown, a girth t f from 5 to 7 feet at a height of 1 

 yard from the ground. The trunk is generally free from branches ta 

 a height of some 30 or 40 feet from the ground. The tree flowers in 

 January; the seeds are ripe and begin to fall in March in the case of 

 old trees, and in May in the case of young trees. The seeds are con- 

 tained in a hard shell, two, three or four in each shell, which hang by 

 a snort stalk from the upper and outer braixhes When ripe the 

 shell explodes oiten with quite a loud report, scattering the seeds to- 

 considerable distances. For this reason it is difficult to procure seeds. 

 When collected the ^eeds should be packed in powdered charcoal and 

 sent to their destination without delay. I am informed by a compe- 

 tent authority that they are not as a rule fertile if kept for more than 

 two months after being collected. 'I his fact would account for the 

 difficulty experienced in rearing this plant in Africa, Ceylon, and other 

 parts. 



Setting aside scientific phraseology and distinctions, there are for 

 practical purposes, three distinct varieties of the seringueira" to be 

 met with in the forest. These are locally known as the serin gueiras 

 "casca vermelha;" (red bark), barriguda (bellied), and' casca 

 preta," (black bark.) The first of these, the " casca vernaelha" grows 

 in the higher parts of the forest which are seldom or never flooded. 

 The latex which it yields is scanty, thick, and will not run. It is, 

 therefore, of little value. 



The second of thof^e, the " barriguda" so named, because the trunk 

 increases very rapidly in thickness towards the base, grows in those 



*Mr. Vice-Consul Temple, in Foreign Office Report on State of Amazonas,, 

 Brazil, June, J 900. 



