THE SIPHONIA ELASTICA 
the almonds an oil of a light red colour, not unlike the 
colour of old port wine, can be extracted. That oil can 
be substituted for linseed oil, and has the further advan¬ 
tage of not desiccating so quickly. Mixed with copal and 
turpentine it gives a handsome varnish. It can be used 
advantageously in the manufacture of printing-ink and 
soap. So every part of the seringueira can be put to 
some use or other. 
Among the other more important trees which pro¬ 
duce rubber may be mentioned the Siphonia brevifoglia „ 
Siphonia brasiliensis, Siphonia rhytidocarpa, and Siphonia 
lute a, all found chiefly in the State of Para. In other 
parts of Brazil grow the Ficus anthelmintic a, the Ficus 
doliaria (or gameilleira ), Ficus elastica, Ficus indica, 
Ficus religiosa, Ficus radula. Ficus elliptica. Ficus pri- 
noides, the Plumeria phagedenica, Plumeria drastica, the 
Sorveira or Collophora utilis, and the Mangabeira or 
Harncornia speciosa. 
At present we shall be chiefly interested in the 
seringueira ( Siphonia elastica ). 
The collection of the latex from the seringueira and 
the subsequent process of coagulation were simple enough. 
A seringueiro, or rubber collector, started from his hut 
early every morning, carrying with him a small steel axe 
or pick, the head of which was three inches long and 
shaped like a bird’s beak; a tin bucket, and some barro, soft 
clay which had been soaked in water. He walked along 
the estrada, or track, which he had cleared for himself, 
leading from one rubber tree to the next. There may be 
twenty, thirty, fifty, or more rubber trees that have been 
tapped on one estrada, according to the district and the 
activity of the seringueiro. In the case of a new tree a 
collar of the fibre of burity palm was in the first instance 
nailed with pegs of hard wood round the stem, not 
horizontally, but at an angle; sometimes, when necessary, 
in a spiral. In other cases a similar band of clay was made 
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