January, 1912.] 



7 



Saps and Exudations, 



accumulates with the age of the tree, and 

 therefore its value is increasing with 

 age. Barring accidents or sicknesses, 

 which are very rare, the rubber tree 

 being less inclined to sicken than any 

 other-domestic tree, it is supposed to 

 live the time mentioned above. Com- 

 pared to a gold mine, the rubber tree is 

 much more valuable, because every 

 dollar of profit that is drawn from a 

 mine represents a depreciation in its 

 value, whereas with every year, the 

 rubber tree will augment its production 

 of a better quality. It is an inexhaust- 

 ible mine, without limits. The rubber 

 tree is an automatic augmentation of 

 profits. With every year's production 

 these profits are increased without 

 depreciating the value of the tree. The 

 rubber trees develop into majestic trees 

 growing tall and straight. At the 

 blooming time the air of the seringual 

 (rubber plantation) produces a very 

 agreeable perfume attracting swarms of 

 bees and other insects. Four months 

 after the seeds begin to appear in 

 hanging clusters. During the hot season 

 there is a discordant concert of a fantas- 

 tic musketry in the seringual which is 

 produced by the cracking burrs, open- 

 ing themselves and scattering seeds in 

 all directions. 



For the exploration of the rubber, the 

 first duty consists in opening the estra- 

 das, which are opened by the matteiros, 

 who are experts on rubber trees. 



The estradas are supposed to hold 

 about 120 to 180 trees (Heveas), forming 

 as nearly as possible a circle or a figure 

 8. in order that, starting from any part 

 of the estrada, the seringueiro will 

 always find his way back. There, the 

 seringueiro builds himself a hut covered 

 with " Paxiuba or Ubussu " that protects 

 him poorly against the elements. 



Besides these huts, which are located 

 in the working estrada of the serin- 

 gueiros, there is the " Centro or Barracao 

 do Patrao" (or the house of the fore- 

 man), containing generally a shop, where 

 commissaries, munitions and working 

 tools are supplied, and where all the 

 rubber of the estrada is gathered. 



The working material of the serin- 

 gueiro is very simple and cheap. The 

 necessary tools are: A small machadinha, 

 weighing 125 grams (44 oz.), having an 

 edge of 0'25 mm. (0 - 01 inch) to which a 

 handle is affixed, the length of which 

 depends upon the necessities of the 

 work ; a zinc bucket of 6 to 8 litres (1*58 

 or 2*11 gallons) to gather the latex, 500 

 to 600 tijellinhas (tin cups) with a capa- 

 city of 200 cubic centimeters (12 2 cubic 

 inches) and a basin of zinc, where the 



contents of the buckets are deposited 

 before the def umacao (smoking). 



The work starts early in the morning, 

 the seringueiro armed with his maahado 

 and carrying a bag of tijellinhas (tin 

 cups) on his shoulder, is exploring the 

 estrada and works at each tree, as 

 high as possible, cutting oblique inci- 

 sions (taking the upward direction) 

 through all the thickness of the bark. 

 Below each of these incisions he immedi- 

 ately inserts a tijellinho, introducing 

 its edge by an inside expression into the 

 bark, or he hangs it up with damp 

 argyl. 



The number of horizontal incisions 

 varies in accordance with the thickness 

 of the tree. At 10 a.m., when the drop- 

 ping has nearly ceased, the seringueiro 

 leaves the hut again with the bucket 

 in which he pours the contents of all 

 the tijellinhas, and which he leaves at 

 the bottom of the tree upside down on 

 small sticks which are standing in the 

 ground for this purpose. When return- 

 ing to the "centro " the defumacao is 

 started. 



The smoker protected from the wea- 

 ther by a few palm leaves is placed 

 near the hut. It is a straight truncated 

 coue, generally made of iron, 50 centi- 

 metres (19 68 inches) wide. The serin- 

 gueiro places it on two stones and builds 

 a fire underneath feeding it with " coco" 

 (the urucary or the inaja) which, on 

 account of its rich smoke containing 

 antiseptical qualities, coagulates the 

 rubber. It is with a kind of cane ter- 

 minating in a round and straight shovel, 

 similar to the paddles of the canoes 

 used on the Amazon, which lies on a 

 pitchfork at the bottom of the fire, 

 that the seringueiro makes the defu- 

 macao (smoking process). First he 

 passes this cane over the smoke, then 

 dips it in a basin close by, which is 

 full of latex, passes it again over the 

 smoke and the first layer appears to be 

 coagulated, then, with a cuia (cup or 

 gourd) he throws over that another 

 layer, and so on successively till the 

 pelle is formed, which represents a ball 

 weighing approximately from 6 to 8 

 kilos (13'2 to 17-6 pounds), or from 30 to 

 35 (66 to 77 pounds) at the heaviest. 



The well defumated rubber is called 

 " borracha fina " (fine rubber). The rub- 

 ber by which the coagulation has been 

 badly made, or by which the defumacao 

 (smoking) took place a little late, when 

 the milk was already a little coagulat- 

 ed, is called " borracha entrefina ' 

 (entrefine rubber). 



The sernamby rubber is tha naturally 

 solidified rubber, on the ground, in the 



