Gums, Resins, 



520 



(June 1908. 



or four metres in the year, if the soil is 

 readily damp, as upon the sides of the 

 mountains. 



In the interior the development is 

 slower, it is therefore planted in the 

 summer so as to be nourished in the 

 winter. Uattle like the youna: Manicoba 

 for forage, therefore it should be planted 

 within closed places. 



Some planters think that the Mani- 

 coba does not require care, it being 

 sufficient to make a clearance after the 

 first year and onward, others think that 

 this idea is quite wrong. 



Snr. Adriene Delpeche says as fol- 

 lows :— 



In the month of August I moved twenty 

 roots ; the first, which were sown in a 

 corner for experiment at one month old, 

 had attained a height of 15 centimetres. 

 Half were planted in a piece of ground 

 sown with millet which was not weeded 

 again. The other half were planted in a 

 piece of ground which was always kept 

 clean. 



Result— The former are 30 centimetres 

 (12 inches) high and are very fine. The 

 latter measure upwards of 2 metres (6| 

 feet), one being 5 centimetres (2 inches) 

 in diameter, having already vertical 

 branches. 



The enemies of the plant are the 

 following :— 



Immediately the plant shows the 

 young stalk, ants of every kind, large 

 and small, destroy it, becoming most 

 hurtful to every plant which is not in a 

 nursery, where they may be carefully 

 watched and guarded. 



Then there is the sap which attracts 

 the destructive insects to attack the 

 slips of plants transplanted from the 

 nursery, cutting in an instant inumer- 

 able leaves. 



In the third year the cuttings of plants 

 may be thinned as so may many of the 

 seeds from fresh places. In the interior 

 only with the fifth year or sixth year is 

 it apt to produce, it being imprudent to 

 tap before owing to the poor resistance 

 of the trunk. It has been observed that 

 Manicoba, thinned, even when young 

 and tender, three or four years old, 

 acquires strength quickly, distancing 

 itself rapidly from its mates left alone. 



The influence it has on the growth of 

 the plant is as yet unknown, it should 

 be an object of keen investigation. 



The tree accommodates itself in a 

 space relatively restricted, not requiring 

 more than 2 metres or 2i metres to 

 8 feet) distance between one another. 

 It bends little and its shoots grow 

 vertically. 



The agriculturist, H. Lember, wrote 

 the following about the manner of 

 planting Manicoba : — 



To accelerate the natural germin- 

 ation, which lasts one year or more, it is 

 necessary to scrape (file) the two rounded 

 extremes of the seed, whose shell is very 

 hard ; this operation requires great care 

 so as not to interfere with the shoot. 



The seeds are then planted in an open 

 bed, at a distance from one another of 3 

 iuches, covering them with about half an 

 inch of soil, watering twice ordinarily 

 if no rain. The bed should be well ex- 

 posed to the sun, shade spoils the seed. 

 At the end of three or four weeks there 

 appear the first shoots, when they do 

 not require any more special care, and 

 they can be transplanted to their 

 definite places when they have attained 

 the height of one foot. 



Those who do not care to go to this 

 trouble of scraping the seeds, may leave 

 them to soak in water for six days, then 

 sow them. 



In this case the germination com- 

 mences after four weeks and will be 

 ended after three or four months. The 

 transplantation may be made from 

 cuttings of new sprigs, which easily 

 attain roots so long as one eye is left 

 above the soil. 



Extraction of Milk from Manicoba 

 and the Preparation of Rubber. 



The Commission appointed by Govern- 

 ment for the study of Manicoba found 

 in different zones of this State, in their 

 report describes the following different 

 methods employed for the extraction of 

 the milk : — 



In the Manicoba and in most of the 

 plants of the family of Euphorbiaceaj, 

 the latex contained in the bark by the 

 laticiferous vessels from the roots to 

 the leaves and fruit having the colour of 

 sulphur of orange according to the ex- 

 posure to the sun's rays, we noted a 

 variety of the milk which was white. 



At the branches and roots, the milk 

 appears in abundance, principally the 

 latter. We encountered also latex in 

 the pith. 



Properties of the Milk. 



When the bark is cut the milk exudes, 

 giving out a smell of cyanoge acid, 

 similar to Manioca, coagulating i-apidly 

 under the action of oxygen, light and 

 heat; it dries leaving on the bark a 

 transparent layer which is easily de- 

 tached in ribbon-like form, forming an 

 excellent rubber. In mixture with 



