350 
GUATEMALA. 
to supply in cultivation that useful gum civilized nations 
cannot now do without, although the science of adulter¬ 
ation has progressed so far that an ordinary pair of 
so-called rubber boots contain hardly a spoonful of the 
pure gum, the rest being sulphur, coal-tar, and other 
matters. 
The trees should be planted forty feet apart; and as the 
seed is very perishable, it should be planted, or at least 
packed in earth, as soon as gathered. 
Sarsaparilla. — One of the most troublesome vejucos, 
or vines, common all through the forests of the Atlan¬ 
tic seaboard is the zarza, or sarsaparilla. Probably the 
American public is familiar with the popular remedies 
compounded in part with this valuable medicinal plant, 
which, belonging to the Smilax family, affects damp, 
warm forests, climbing to great heights over the trees. 
The portion used is the long, tough root; this the zarza- 
gatherer digs and pulls from the loose soil, replanting 
the stem, which in due time replaces its stolen roots, 
to be again robbed. The roots are washed, loosely bun¬ 
dled, and sold to the dealers, who have the fibres made 
up into tight rolls, a few hundred of which are then 
pressed together and sewed up in the thickest hide that 
can be found ; for the u custom of trade ” includes the 
wrapper in the tare of the more costly drug. Most of the 
sarsaparilla exported from Belize comes from Guatemala 
and Honduras ; but from Livingston more than 60,000 
pounds were exported in 1884, of an appraised value of 
ten cents per pound. The plant is easily propagated by 
cuttings or seeds, and of course needs no cultivation or 
clearing; the yield will average twenty pounds of dried 
root from each plant. 
