Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-05-14
INDIA RUBBER.
discovery Of q New Source of SUNNY g.,
Brazil.

stantiy increasing. The amount re-
4oireo Tor car springs has been enor-
iAous. Rubber shoes are now worn bv
people OF all classes. Most men ex-
posed to the snow and rain wear rubber
9'ots. A kind of rubber shoe has been
made expressly for protecting the boots
made OF belted wood. that are now so
popular with lumbermen and Others
VINO work in the cold. Rubber is now
an ingredient n various kinds of paint.
Livery woman has waterproof cloak.
anu many men have waterproof coats.
complete suit or waterproof gar
Hlents, from cap to shoes, can be OBJ
.ained from any dealer in rubber cloth
ing. The number and variety of ar
Ilcies now kept in rubber stores sur
prlseS person who visits one for the
hrst time. They embrace almost every
thing that is manufactured for orna-
ment or use. The number of rubber
toys IS almost endless. Nearly eyery
article that was once manufactured
from Done, horn, wood or metal is now
made from rubber. From infancy to
cid age, during sickness and health.
we are constantly using rubber in some
form. Goodyear endowed it with new
properties, and made it subserve pur-
poses for which it could not be used in
Its natural state. VIII lie Macintosh
rendered 1T soluble, so that it could be
incorporated in the fiber of cloth and
other substances.
The many uses to which rubber has
been applied during the past forty years
has caused its Or ce to advance in all
parts of he world where it is obtained
The natives of Brazil, from which most
of the best rubber is obtained. once
wasted most of the product of the rub
Der forests. Of late years they have re-
lied on the money they obtain from it
for their support. Our Consul at Para
states that lightweight per cent, of
the exports from the valley of the ANA
zOn consists of rubber. The inhabi-
tants neglect all other industries for
collecting rubber. With the finest pas
lures in the world they eat jerkcd beef
from the Argentine Republic and canned
meats from the United States. With
vast supplies of excellent fish. which
are easily caught, they eat immense
quantities of salt cod and smoked her
rings obtained from northern countries.
With dense forests of the most valuable
sorts of wood they import their furni-
ture and most of the building mate
of crude rubber was eiohty-three cents
per pound at Para, and the average in
habltant could supply his wants by
working one day in the week in the
rubber forest Recently the price has
declined. and the price now pa d by
the merchants of Para is only thirty
two cents per pound. In consequence
of this decline many are seeking
new means of obtaining living.
A few years ago there was consid-
cradle alarm over the report that the
sources of the supply of rubber were
failing. The governments OF several
European countries instructed their
agents abroad to ascertain what
measures could be resorted to for the
purpose of keeping the market sup
piled W tn rubber, which had become
of so much value in the arts. 1t
now seems likely that rubber is to be-
come more plenty. and that the
price will be lower than it has been
at any time since the article came
into general use. A new method of
coagulatlng the Juice without the en-
ployment of smoke is reported from
Brazil. 1t is the invention of Antonio
Bentes, of that country. A new
source of supply has also been discov-
cred in tree from which rubber has
been obta ned. A knowledge of it was
obtained by our Consul at Rio Jane 70
from S. 5. SCHNEIDER. who resides at
Campinas, in the Province of San Pau
10. This communication, which has
been transmitted to Washington. is as
follows:
The mangaba or mangabeira, as it
is called in Brazil, is a tree of medium
size belonging to the Apocynaca. 1t
Af, Il
thing like the weeping willow, with
dropping branches and small oblong-
shaped leaves of a glossy dark green,
finely marked, and having a sharp
rounded pc mt at the apex. This tree
yields an excellent rubber, but up to a
few months ago, before my coming to
this province, it was only esteemed on
account of its fruit, which possesses
fine aroma, a delicious taste, and makes
preserve which is a great favorite with
the Brazllians. This fruit is about the
size of large plum, of a yellowish col
or, marked with reddish spots or
streaks. 1t is only fit to be eaten when
it falls from the tree, as it is then per-
fectly ripe. The mangabeira has there
fore the douJle advantage of bearing
fruit which can be exported and OF
yielding valuable rubber. The in
are just beginning to realize the vast
stores of undeveloped wealth existing in
their vast plains, and a fine quality of
rubber W IL be exported which will soon
rival that of Para in quality, if not in
quantity. The process of extracting
milk from the mangabeira tree is
very simple, and possesses great
advantage over the Serngueiras
of Para, as it is met W tn in large guam
titles in the most healthy localities. 1t
tlourishes only SANDY soil. and is
therefore only encountered in unpro-
ductive land unfit for the ordinary pur-
poses of agriculture. When The milk
is about to be collected, each person
must be supplied with about twenty
large round tins, as well as large
knife (facao). He should make oblique
missions in the tree. slop ng downward
at a little distance from each other, all
around the trunk, cutting only the out
er bark. and placing Immediately on
the ground below the cuts a basin or
large tin which will collect the milk as
it exudeS. When full. these tins can
be empt ed INTO larger vessel. The
same process is continued during the
whole dav, each person treating from
ten to fifteen trees or more in this man.
ner. and thus from five to eight kilos
of milk can be collected. The incisions
should not be deep, and a great num-