REPORT ON THE CAOUTCHOUC OP COMMERCE. 29 
Du Cliaillu speaks of tlie Caoutcliouc vine, doubtless a Landolphia , 
known by tbe name of Dambo, as being common about tbe River 
Eenito. Also more plentifully in tbe valleys, bottomlands, and high 
grounds about the Rivers Moondah and Ikoi, the produce of those 
growing on high grounds being considered the best. 
Collection and ’Preparation . 
The collection and preparation of African Caoutchouc is con- 
ducted in a very slovenly and wretched manner. The natives cut 
off a piece of bark and the milky juice is allowed to run into holes 
made in the ground, or on leaves. In Angola Dr. Welwitsch 
describes the method there resorted to as even if possible worse. A 
native having cut a tree places the palm of his hand against the 
stem and allows the milk to trickle down his arm. He goes from 
tree to tree, and when his arm is covered, beginning at his elbow 
he rolls the Caoutchouc back towards his hand, till it comes off 
in the form of a ring. It is also by some collected and allowed to 
coalesce in wooden vessels. The wood of the plant contains a gum, 
so that if the cut penetrates it, this becomes mixed until it and 
spoils the Caoutchouc. African Caoutchouc has however improved 
in some districts recently, and the price has been higher for the 
improved kinds. Mr. Lee Norris, late Manager of the North 
British Rubber Company, wrote me that he believed the better 
kinds were prepared with the aid of strong liquor ammonke added 
in the proportion of 3 per cent. The chief districts from which 
African Caoutchouc is exported are the Gaboon, Congo, Angola, 
Benguela, and Zambesi. 
African Caoutchouc is received in the form of flakes, round 
balls, and tongues, has a disagreeable odour, possibly the result of 
decomposition, is viscous, and generally least elastic of all the 
varieties. 
