The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1884-09-05
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Writing sbo1s ~ producescn sadsx-
port Of rubber ID Brazil, Consh. Gen
SfSl O. O. Andrsvs, formerly Of Mime
sota, says: a..1hs rubber tree requires .
growth of twenty u twenty. Ave years
before i beGfns 10 produce, hence little
or nothing has bean done fof its propa-
CATION. The milky zap which forms
rubber Is taken from the wild tree,
which grows scattered through the for.
eets OF The Anfaxun, and many Of its
amuents. The industry being prinoi:
pally in the hands Of an uneddcaSed and
half-civili1ed nomad population Of IT,
dian mixture, is of . crude character.
Nothing has been done TO improve The
system Of labor. A wasteful and ex-
haustive system Of labor has been fol-
lowed Tot half century, and the con-
sequence is that millions Of rubber trees
have been destroyed and many others
abandoned from premature and excess
ivO use. There ate instances 81 Groves
Of trees, which, by careful uss and by
not permitting them TO bS tapped In
the months Of August and September,
In which they change their leaves, have
been yielding for thirty years, and still
are in good producing condition; but
tue common place practice is 20 waste
ful that many well-informed people ap-
prehend that, unless some remedy is ap-
Piled, this rich resource will before long
suffer serious and perhaps fatal de-
cline.
"The rubber tree thrives only ON soil
which Is annually overAowed 70 q depth
Of three Of more feet, and prefers the
lowest and most recent river.deposit.
The rubber gatherers are temporary
squatters, and their dwelling is hut
With low roof Of palms, beneath one
end OF Which there is u raised floor OF
framework Of lath; one or two yards
from the ground, to which the occupants
retreat Of high water"
The following description Of the pro-
cess OF gathering rubber was written
BY Franz Keller: Marrow paths lead
from the gatherer's hut through dense
underwood to each separate tree, and as
soon as the dry season seats in he be-
takes himself with his Ratchet to the
trees to cut little holes. in the bark.
Ihe milk white sap Immediately begins
to exude into pieces of bamboo tied he.
low and having their ends in little clay
cups set under the gashes to prevent It's
trickling down the stem. He travels
thus from tree to tree. On the return
visit he pours the contents of the BAN.
boos into large earthen vessel pro.
vlded with straps, which he empties al
home into large tur,le-shell. With
out delay he sets to work to coagulate
1t with smoke Of palm nuts, and pours
. little of the milk evenly on slight
wooden shovel, which he throws into
the thick smoke issuing from little
narrow chimney made by the neck Of all
eartheh bottle. He moves the shovel
several times to and fro with great ra.
pidity. when the milk is seen to consoli.
date and to take grayish-yellow tinge.
"Ihus he puts layer upon layer, un.
TIL at last the rubber on both sides Of
tho wood hos reached thickness of
or three centimeters. Cutting on one
side, he takes it off the shovel and hang.
1T in the sun to dry. A good workman
can thus prepare five or six pounds Of
solid rubber in IN hour. From its mi.
tial color of clear silver-gray it turns
shortly into a yellow, and finally be
comes tho well-known dark brown
of the rubber, such as is exported. The
more uniform, the denser and freer Of
bubbles the whole mass is the highe,
price it brings. Almost double the val
ne is obtained for the first rate article
over that of the most inferior quality,
which is nothing but the drops collected
at the foot of the trees."