15 



Saps and Exudations. 



bringing them to such a state of perfection that machine manufacturers can 

 immediately commence the making of small plant, that is of the necessary moulds, 

 which this time will be of the most simple form. It was long-denied — for the 

 author of these original experiments on new lines met more than most men 

 with sneering discouragement and criticisms— that it was possible to transport 

 rubber milk in a liquid form over long distances. To-day the evidence of facts 

 must be believed ; the latex can be kept fresh for years by appropriate methods 

 extremely simple and not costly, and it is now beginning to arrive in France 

 and in steadily-increasing quantities. The chemical or natural coagulating sub- 

 stances should be such that they can be easily handled and controlled, and the 

 operator should be always sure of the different lengths of time necessary for 

 diverse degrees of coagulation. This difficulty is easily overcome. For instance, 

 one can obtain latex in a state of extreme fluidity or in the form of a cream as 

 thick as desired ; this would be specially applied to the proofing of tissues, and 

 replace the usual solution of rubber. This pasty consistence could be equally 

 applied to the repairing of inner tubes, and to all branches where the dipping 

 processes are resorted to. 



The Indian of the Amazon and Orinoco valleys requires a much longer 

 time to coagulate the latex than to gather it; the smoke-curing operation, layer 

 by layer, is extremely slow. There is thus no doubt whatever that at the same 

 price he would rather supply latex than loaves of dried gum, if he had no further 

 trouble than that of adding to freshly-gathered latex the necessary substances 

 for preserving it in liquid form. But it may be asked, is it possible to supply 

 the latex in place of the concrete product— the hard fine rubber ? It is evident 

 that a solid body is handier and more easily transported than a liquid which 

 requires a special receptacle. Therefore, if the latex has to be brought from the 

 depths of the forest, to a river port, after weeks and months of marching, its 

 transport would certainly be costly and unpractical. In this case it would be 

 better to stick to the old ball of raw rubber, as is necessary in the Congo States, 

 for instance. But when on the contrary one speaks of forests washed by large 

 navigable rivers, as the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Rio Negro, or the Cassiquiare, 

 the latex can be easily transported to the river boats. Take the Orinoco for 

 example. Everywhere there is found a receptacle exclusively used for storing liquids 

 — the demijohn of about five quarts— whole shiploads of them arriving continually 

 from Hamburg. It is this which is used for carrying all liquids, especially the 

 tafia and wine, with which the demijohns are filled at Oiudad Bolivar, for the most 

 extreme points of all this immense valley. Nothing then could be easier than to 

 return them full of latex which could be emptied at the ports of embarkation into 

 zinc tanks carried by the river boats which abound in the region. 



As to cost, we may say that in the lower Orinoco districts any latex can 

 be obtained from 2s. to 2s. (id. per gallon of five litres or kilos ; contracts passed 

 with a general prefect, who brings them to the factory itself at these prices, is 

 abundant testimony on this point. The latex contains, more or less, 50 per cent, 

 of pure gum, which brings the price down to one franc per kilo, or iid. per lb.; 

 compare this with Para, of which the Orinoco districts produce large quantities, 

 and which is worth at present 5s. Qd. per lb. Or from the Lower Orinoco to 

 Bordeaux the total freight charges are not more than 15 centimes per kilo, roughly 

 ll-16ths of a penny per lb. — a sensible difference between this figure and that paid 

 in the Congo States, where rubber, much inferior to that known as Para, costs 

 from 2s. 6d. to 3s. id. per kilo for land transport alone, by negro porters to the 

 shipping port 



