Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-05
Gathering Rubber in Brazil.

Writing about the production and ex-
port Of rubber in Brazil, Consul Gen
eral G. G. Andrews, formerly of Mime.
sofa, says: "The rubber tree requires a
growth Of twenty to twenty five years
before it begins to produce, hence little
or nothing has been done for its propa"
cation, The milky sap which forms
rubber is taken from the wild tree,
which grows scattered through the for
ests Of the Amazon, and many Of its
affluents. The industry, being princi-
pally in the hands of al uneducated and
half-civiized nomad population of In
dian mixture, is Of q crude character.
Nothing has been done to improve the
system of labor. A wasteful and ex~
haustive system of labor has been fol-
lowed for half century, and the con-
sequence is that millions of rubber trees
have been destroyed and many others
abandoned from premature and excess
i've use. There are instances OF groves
Of trees, which, by careful use and BY
not permitting them to be 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
the common place practice is so waste
full that many well-informed people APP
prehend that, unless some remedy is ap-
piled, this rich resource will before long
suffer serious and perhaps fatal de-
cline.
"The rubber tree thriyes only on soil
which is annually overlooked to depth
of three or 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 q raised floor or
framework of lath, one or two yards
from the ground, to which the occu pants
retreat at 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.
The milk white sap Immediately begins
to exude into pieces of bamboo tied be-
low and having their ends in little clay
cups set under the gashes to prevent its
trickling down the stem. He travels
thus from tree to tree. On the return
visit he pours the contents OF the bam-
boos into large earthen vessel pro-
yided with straps. which he ernpties at
home into q large turs1e-sheN. With
<of1t IaIo hos %c In %o u5a4o
it with smoke of palm nuts, and poura
q little Of the milk evenly on o slight
wooden shovel, which he throws into
the thick smoke issuing from little
narrow chimney made by the neck Of an
earthen bottle He moves the shovel
several times to and fro with great RAJ
pidity, when the milk is seen to console
date and TO take a grayish yellow tinge.
Thus he puts layer upon layer; un-
til at last the rubber on both sides OF
the wood has reached q thickness oftwo
or three centimeters. Cutting on one
side, he takes it Off tie shovel and hangs
1t in the sun to dry. a good workman
can thus prepare FIVE or six pounds Of
solid rubber In an hour. From its ini-
tial color of clear mlver-gray ii turns
shortly into q yellow, and finally be-
comes the well -knoWn dark brown
of the rubber, snch as se1ported. The
more uniform, the dAnser and freer of
bubbles the whole mass is the higher
price IL brings. Almost double the yal-
ue Is obtained for the first rate article
over that Of the most inferior quality,
which Is nothmg but the drops collected
.at the foot OF the trees. Z