332 THE TROPICAL AGEICULTUEIST. [Nov. 1, 1899. 
1 J . 
RUBBER PRODUCTION IN THE AMAZON. 
The principal rubber-bearing areas in the State 
of Para are theiBlands of the Eiver Amazon near 
'the city, the principal, Marago, having an area of 
2,500 square miles ; the banks of the river Tooan- 
tins ;the banks of the rivers Ziugn, Jary, and Tapajos. 
The upper and lower districts of the Amazon pro- 
duce the same kind of rubber, but that coming from 
the tipper river obtains a slightly higher price, being 
dryer by the time it reaches the port of shipment. 
The collecting season for rubber in the Lower 
Amazon begins when the waters have subsided — 
about July — and ends in January or February. 
Collecting is not undertaken, as a rule, in the wet 
season, because the quantity of water that accumu- 
lates in the forest impedes the movements of the 
Collectors, and the rain water that runs on the 
trunks of trees prevents the clay cups from adher- 
ing to the bark. The sap is also weaker in this 
season. The United States Consul at Para, in a 
recent report, says that the collectors employed are 
principally Brazilians, immigrants from the States 
bordering on Para, such as Oeara, Maravham, and 
Pianhy, also Portuguese and half-castes. The pure 
South American Indian is of very little use as a 
labourer. He has but few wants, lives by fishing 
and hunting, and is less dependent on labour than 
•more civilised people. There are many thousands of 
collectors in the rubber field, yet the number does 
not supply the demand. 
The last few years have shown a steady and rapid 
increase in the exports of rubber, and while labour 
has also gradually increased, it has failed to keep 
pace with the fast-growing demand. Among other 
articles used in the india-rubber industry is a clay 
fannel, in shape very much like an ordinai-y toilet 
water-jug without a bottom or handle. It is made 
of the clay that is found in most part,': of the Ama- 
zon region. The fuel u?ed in the fannel consists 
generally of the nuts of the following palms: — 
Native name — "Urucuri," " Tucuma, " " Inaga ; " bota- 
nical name — Attalea, Astrocaryum, and Maximiliana 
regia. It was at one time imagined that the excel- 
lence of Para rubber was greatly due to the kind of 
fuel used in curing it. The palms that furnish the 
fuel were accordingly transplanted to Africa, with a 
view to the production of Para rubber there. The 
experiment, however, has not met with success. The 
reason these nuts are selected in Brazil is because 
they emit a continuous dense smoke, and are more 
portable than other fuel obtainable. However, when 
none of the palms named are accessible, bark and 
twigs are used as fuel. 
Every one engaged in the forest carries a knife. 
One of its uses is to cut down fuel for the prepar- 
ation of rubber. The blade is about 26 inches long, 
and about 2 inches broad. Owing to the damp cli- 
mate, the blades are electro-plated, thus preventing 
their becoming rusty before they are marked. Tlie 
handles are made of wood, and are carved or inlaid 
with brass. The rubber collector's axe is a very 
small affair. It is required to chip a smooth surface 
on the bark preparatory to attaching a cup to the 
tree. The handling of the axe requires great skill, 
in order not to injure the bark. A smooth surface 
is made in order to prevent impurities from mixing 
with the sap. The cups are of clay or tin. The 
former are attached to the bark by means of a little 
clay. Their weight, however makes them incou- 
• venient to carry when the trees to bs tapped are 
separated by long intervals ; the collector then pre- 
fers to carry tin cups, which are much lighter than 
the others. They easily penetrate into the bark by 
means of their sharp edges, and hold to the tree 
without the use of clay. The use of the tin cup, 
however, is to some extent injurious to the tree. 
Part of the collector's outfit consists of a light 
gourd, large enough to carry the contents of from 
500 to 7(J0 cups. A clay bowl is next required in 
order to receive the contents of the gourd. It is of 
EUfficient size to coutaln the prpduct of several clays' 
work before it is cured. The calabash tree provided 
calabashes which are employed to ladle tne milk 
from the clay bowl into the mould. A broad bladed 
wooden paddle is used as a mould, and is made 
locally. This completes the outfit for the rubber 
collector. All these articles are made locally, with 
the exception of the knives. The axes and the tin 
cups are manufactured in the towns and villages of 
the Amazon region. The collector has to use hia 
knife to cut hia way through the undergrowth, and 
also to cut down a sapling occasionally to bridge a 
rivulet. At times he is knee-deep in ooze or up to 
his waist in water. On arrival at a rubber tree, he 
chips awav the rough parts of the bark, makes a 
more or less smooth surface, attaches a cup and 
niake.^ a small gash above for the sap to fall into 
the cnp, and repeats this process in a line round 
the tree untill he has attached six or seven cups. 
Then he proceeds to the next tree and does the 
same. He continues this process until he has tapped 
from 75 to 150 trees, which can be done in a day, 
if they are not too far apart. On the following days 
the gashes in the trees are made a trifle lower dovfn 
than the first ones. Some collectors tap the trees 
in the morning, and return to collect the sap in the 
evening, whereas others tap in the evening, and 
collect in the morning. An expert gathers 7 pounds 
daily in the Lower Amazon ; in the Upper Amazon 
three times this amount is collected. When the ac- 
cumulated rubber is suiificient— nsaally in three or four 
days— a collector lights a fire in the hut he has 
erected, places the funnel over the fire, pours a thin 
coat of milk over the paddle, and holds it over the 
smoke to coagulate. The process is repeated until 
a large cake has been formed. To release the paddle 
from the cake it is necessary to make a slit on one 
side. The paddle mould makes a cake of uniform and 
even shape, and is in general use in the State of 
Para. In other parts, a spit is placed on two upright 
forked sticks, and given a rotary motion. By this 
means, the rubber is cured with greater ease. Paddle- 
smoked rubber is decidedly preferred, as it is dried 
and seeuiingly more carefully cored. 
Many attempts have been made to introduce im- 
proved curing apparatus. Up to the present, how- 
ever, the efforts have not been succeisful, because 
the common method, althongh very primitive, pos- 
sesses the advantage of being simple and inexpensive. 
The process of curing rubber is found to be very in- 
jurious to the eyes, lilany cases of totnl blindness 
result from it. There are three grades of Para rub- 
ber, viz., fine, medium, and coarse. If rubber is not 
uniform, and contains impurities, it is classified as 
medium. The coarse quality, or "Sernamby," con- 
sists of scraps that have not been cured. In suffi- 
cient labour is the most serious difficulty in the 
rubber industry. Consul Kenneday says that it 
would scarcely seem advisable to invest money in 
rubber estates unless the owner can first see his 
way clear to obtain sufficient labour with which to col- 
lect the rubber, — Journal oj the Society of Arts, 
Sept. 22nd, 
The BuEMA Ruby Minks, which have had such 
a had time of ib are now bef^inning to show signs 
of improvement. A dividend of live per cent is 
for the first time to be paid. Representations 
having been made to the Government the arrears 
— E4,b0,000— have been wiped out, and, in addition; 
there has been a reniis.sion of B2,00,000 made in 
the rent for tlie two years ending October last. 
Since the account were closed, it is stated that 
there is for the five months a mining profit of 
£11,470, as compared witli a loss of £360 for the 
corresponding period last year. The present divi- 
dend might have been greater, hut for the fact 
that tlic richest mine possessed by the company 
was flooded for four months last year, — Globe, 
Sept. 16. 
