258    ON  THE  COLLECTION  AND  PREPARATION  OF  CAOUTCHOUC. 
shapes  and  smoking  it.  This  must  be  done  at  once,  as  the  milk 
soon  coagulates. 
A  fire  is  made  on  the  ground  of  the  seeds  of  nuts  of  a  palm 
tree,  of  which  there  are  two  kinds ;  one  called  Urucari,  the  size 
of  a  pidgeon's  egg,  though  longer  ;  and  the  other  Inaja,  which  is 
smaller.  An  earthen  pot  with  the  bottom  knocked  out,  is  placed, 
mouth  down,  over  the  fire,  and  a  strong  pungent  smoke  from  the 
burning  seed  comes  up  through  the  aperture  in  the  bottom  of 
the  inverted  pot. 
The  maker  of  rubber  now  takes  his  last,  if  he  is  making  shoes, 
or  his  mould,  which  is  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  stick,  pours  the 
milk  over  it  with  a  cup,  and  passes  it  slowly  several  times  through 
the  smoke  till  it  is  dry.  Moulds  are  made  either  of  clay  or  wood ; 
if  of  wood,  it  is  smeared  with  clay  to  prevent  the  adhesion  of  the 
milk.  When  the  rubber  has  the  required  thickness,  the  moulds 
are  either  cut  out  or  washed  out.  Smoking  changes  the  color  of 
the  rubber  very  little.  After  it  is  prepared,  it  is  nearly  as  white 
as  milk,  and  gets  its  color  from  age. 
The  most  common  form  of  the  India  rubber  of  commerce  is  that 
of  a  thick  bottle  ;  though  it  is  also  frequently  made  in  thick  sheets, 
by  pouring  the  milk  over  a  wooden  mould  shaped  like  a  spade, 
and  when  it  has  a  coating  sufficiently  thick,  passing  a  knife  around 
three  sides  of  it,  and  taking  out  the  mould.  I  should  think  this 
the  least  troublesome  form,  and  most  convenient  for  transporta- 
tion. 
From  20  to  40  coats  make  a  pair  of  shoes.  The  soles  and  heels 
are  of  course  given  more  coats  than  the  body  of  the  shoe.  The 
figures  on  the  shoes  are  made  by  tracing  them  on  the  rubber 
whilst  soft,  with  a  coarse  needle  or  a  bit  of  wire.  In  a  week  the 
shoes  are  taken  from  the  last.  The  coating  occupies  about  25 
minutes.  An  industrious  man  is  able  to  make  about  sixteen 
pounds  of  rubber  a  day  ;  but  the  collectors  are  not  industrious. 
I  heard  a  gentleman  in  Para,  say  they  rarely  average  more  than 
three  or  four  lbs. 
The  tree  is  tall,  straight,  and  has  a  smooth  bark.  It  sometimes 
reaches  a  diameter  of  eighteen  inches  or  more.  Each  incision 
makes  a  rough  wound  on  the  tree,  which,  although  it  does  not 
kill  it,  renders  it  useless,  because  a  smooth  place  is  required  to 
attach  the  cups.  The  milk  is  white  and  tasteless,  and  may  be 
taken  into  the  stomach  with  impunity. 
