Oct, 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 223 
zer, the review directed by Mr. Warburg. 
Nevertheless, Koschny does not seem to be a 
botanist ; on this side matters seem to require some 
controlling by some one in this line of business. 
Mr. Koschay moreover mentions that he sent to the 
Botanic Gardens of Berlin samples of all the parts 
of the species and varieties he refers to ; so that we 
shall not be long without attaining a iixed idea of 
the distinctions and assimilations he eatablishes. 
Several authors have already distinguished species 
and varieties in the genus Castilloa ; all the informa- 
tion on this point will be found in the French edition 
of the Plantes a Caoutchouc of Warburg now being 
brought out in serial form by Challamel (that ex- 
cellent colonial publisher, 17 rue Jacob, Paris.) 
This edition has been executed uuder our super- 
vision ; we have provided it with a great number 
of annotations completing the original text and 
putting the facts in their true light. In particular, 
on what concerns the species and varieties of 
Castilloa, we have made a resume of all that is 
known up to date of Koschny's new monograph ; 
even the facts set forth below will be found indi- 
cated in our book, as the outcome of anterior com- 
munication with Koschny, bat less precisely. 
All this goes to say that the reader with a real 
interest in getting accurate information as to the 
Castilloas to cultivate and the Castilloas to avoid 
world do well not to rest content with the state- 
ments he will find below, but to re-pernse also the 
corresponding paragraph of our edition of Warburg. 
It would be a waste of available space were we to 
reprint that paragraph here ; and there is no 
necessity for doing so, for the book will be on sale 
in a few days. 
In the text which follows, we shall see that we 
have four sorts of Cantilloa to deal with. The 
catalogues of dealers in seeds and tropical plants 
only comprise two : — 
1, Castilloa e/as<jca, without distinction of varieties; 
2. Castilloa Tunu, this last Castilloa being of quite 
recent appearance. 
The last list of seeds and plants distributed in the 
German colonies by the agency of the " Kolonial- 
Wirtschaftliches Komitee " of Berlin, mentions the 
Castilloi alba ; this is probably seeds coming from 
Koschny. 
After this preamble, here is what Koschny says : — 
" I know here four sorts of Castilloa ; three seem 
to belong to the "species elastica, the fourth to the 
species tanv,. * Here are the native names of these 
four sorts of Castilloa; — 
IIuLE ( pronounced Odle) Blanco ; translation : 
white rubber-tree ; as a scientific name I propose 
for this variety, that of CastilLua alba, 
HuLE Negro ; blackrubber-tree ; L propose to 
call it Castilloa nigra. 
HuLE Colorado ; red rubber-tree ; I propose to 
call it Castilloa rubra. 
HuLE Tanu ; the people of the country call it 
also gutta percha ; its scientific name is Castilloa 
tanu. 
" The four sorts of Castilloa I have just ernmerated 
are identical or nearly so as regards ti i. exterior 
aspect of the branches, pseudo-branches " (tor the 
explanation of this tern;, see the Chapter CastiU -fi in 
our edition of Warburg. — Editor's Notes), leaves, &c. 
" The base of the trunk of the Castilloa presents 
folds or tabs of which the height varies from thirty 
centimetres to two metres according to the age of 
the tree. We call these prolongations of the trunk 
here Oamhas (limbs) ; they correspond to the thicK 
roots which run along the surface of the soil or 
immediately under the surface. The three varieties 
of Cattilloa elastica have these fjambas thick, with 
the upper edge slightly rounded ; with the Tanu, on 
■ • Editor's Note, Botany only knows C. Tunu ; ih\a 
difference of spelling is unimportant ; but what is 
strange is the discrepancy as to the quality of 
caoutchouc furnished by the tree in question, 
the contrary, the gambas are thin and their upper 
edge more acute. 
" 1. HuLE Blanco (Castilloa' elastica var. alba.) 
Seen from a distance the triink shews glimmers of 
white and red. The white colour is due to a white 
lichen, very delicate, »hich causes no injury to the 
tree. 
" The very old trees have the bark covered with 
heavier mosses and lichens of a dull colour ; and 
then it becomes almost impossible to distinguish 
them from the other forest trees : the underwood 
prevent one from seeing the crown of the Castilloa, 
and the Huleeo (rubber-gatherer) as likely as not 
goes by without suspecting the presence of a rubber- 
tree, unless by chance he finds some of its leaves 
on the ground ; these are as a fact bigger than 
those of most of the forest trees, and moreover 
may be recognised by their rolling themselves up 
into tubes as they dry. 
" The latex of the Hule Blanco is thick. When 
we tap the tree, only a part of the latex follows 
the track of the gutter and reaches the receiver 
unless one guides it with the finger to make it 
take the exact direction desired ; under natural con- 
ditions, nearly half of it sticks in the inriaiona 
themselves. 
"The Hule Blanco is, of the three varieties of 
the Castilloa elastica, that most frequently met with 
in the mixed forests ; it is the only one worth the 
trouble of cultivation. Its bark and its bast are 
thicker and at the same time softer than those of 
the other varieties. The Hule Blanco is never 
met with in the high forests ; it prefers the places 
rather thinly grown, where its crown can be suflS- 
ciently exposed to the air, while at the same time 
its stem is shaded by the undergrowth. It is the 
Hule Blanco which stands wounding best ; it is the 
tree which gives the most caoutchouc with the least 
risk of premature exhaustion ; this thanks to the 
property in its latex of coagulating within a short 
time. By sticking in the furrow and cracks of the 
bark the latex of the Hule Blanco begins by giv- 
ing a mass quite soft, like thick cream, which 
would at once be washed off were it to rain at that 
moment ; but should a dry wind be blowing at 
the time of tapping, the solidification of the latex 
would be produced so quickly that next morning its 
condition would quite defy the rain. At the end of 
from six to eight days, according to weather, the 
transformation into caoutchouc is complete. 
"JiuLE Negro. The bark of this variety is dull 
in colour and very much furrowed. It is rich in 
latex ; but as the latter is very watery, its flow easily 
becomes excessive and the tree dies of exhaustion. 
The bark of the Hule Negro is a little thinner 
than that of the Hule Blanco, but it is very 
fibrous and resistant. This variety is certainly shade- 
loving and only to be found in high forest. Its bark 
resembles in every respect that of the common trees 
of the forest; for this reason Hule Negro is very 
difficult of detection when one is traversing the 
forest, The cultivatioh of the Hvle Negro cannot 
be recommended, on account of its tendency to die 
when wounded. This tree is generally to be found 
mixed with other Castilloas. All the same, it is per- 
haps the least common variety ; most likely because 
being particularly sensitive to wounds it must hive 
succumbed before the other kinds to the brutal 
methods of exploitation of the hulero. 
" 3. Hule Colorado, ' -red-rubber-trees. ' It ia 
the birk which shews the reddish tinge, esp uially 
that of the branches. It is smooth, tbir, and 
brittle; its fracture is conchoid; the edges of the 
channel made for its bleeding have a tendency to 
open out and burst. The yield of latex is scanty j 
still the caoutchouc is of good quality. 
" The bark of this variety has so little resemblance 
to that of the others that one would hardly recog- 
nise the tree as a rubber-tiee were it not for the 
identity of its general form, the shape of its orowt) 
