CAOUTCHOUCS OR INDIARUBBERS (Ge 
The Ceara Province has a gravelly or sandy soil, and a 
climate rather like that of the Badulla District in Ceylon in 
the matter of rainy seasons. The tree grows luxuriantly in 
most of the lower hill districts in Ceylon, up to about 3,000 
feet above sea level. It also thrives when properly started 
in the dry regions of the north and east. 
The tree reaches its full height rapidly; it rarely grown 
much above 40 feet high, but continues to branch out and 
grow in thickness. It drops its leaves in the dry weather. 
Tapping, &c. —Mr. Cross, in his original report, mentions 
that in Brazil the trees are tapped when they reach a 
diameter of about 5 inches, at about two to three years 
old, judging by the growth in Ceylon. “ The collector takes 
with him a stout knife and a handful of twigs to serve as a 
broom. Arriving at a tree, any loose stones or dust are 
swept from the ground around the base, and some large 
leaves are laid down to receive the droppings of milk which 
trickle down. Some do not go to the trouble....for which 
reason the milk adheres to sand, dust, decayed leaves, and 
other impurities. The outer surface of the bark of the 
trunk is pared or sliced off to a height of 4 or 5 feet. 
The milk then exudes and runs down in many tortuous 
courses, some of it ultimately falling on the ground. After 
several days the juice becomes dry and solid, and is then 
pulled off in strings and rolled up in balls or put in bags in 
loose masses. Only a thin paring should be taken off, just 
deep enough to reach the milk vessels; but this is not 
always attended to.” 
A later account, by Mr. Biffen (Kew Bulletin, 1898, p. 14), 
states that “ the rubber is exported in three forms :—(a) In 
pale yellow-brown threads, | inch in diameter and several 
inches in length, obtained by peeling off the thin layer of 
old bark and making a slight incision with a narrow-bladed 
axe. A small quantity of latex flows and coagulates on the 
trunk. (6) In small flat cakes prepared by tapping the base 
of the tree and allowing the latex to flow on the ground and 
