The weekly messenger., 1888-07-14
CHEWING GUM.
The Origin of What is Now a
Great Industry.
What the Gum is and How it is
Collected in Mexico.

article of chewing gum on sale was
chiefly vile compound of wax and
resinous substances. Now it is almost
solely composed OF the sap of species
Of rubber tree manufactured in various
attractive forms and standing so high in
popular favor that it has been recon-
mended by prominent physicians as an
all to digestion and cure for dyspepsia.
Its sale, it is said, has Increased in this
country to the extent that whero 10
cents worth of chewing gum was sold
twenty years ago, $40 worth is sold
today.
I The manufacture of the gum is an
American industry. The last English
wax gum manufacturer-a Liverpool
confcctioner who sold a species of chew
able par raffine sufficiently got iato
trouble with the courts on account of
its Ingredients and went entirely out
Of the business. The article from
which the present popular varieties of
gun are manufactured is the sap
of the Chico Japor;i tree
grown in Mexico, the first OF which was
brought to this city very shortly after
the close of the war. The discoverer en-
deavored for three or four years to find
market for the article in ordinary COM
mercial lines, hut was entirely unsucccss-
full. its peculiar qualities rendering it,
from one reason or al other inadmissib,e
in any branch of rubber manufacture at
profitable price. 1t was then that tn,
idea Of utilizing it for chewing gum
was first originated. Now there are
about 1000, 900 pounds per year
of the raw gum imported
from Mexico, and the original
authors of the manufacture claim to use
three quarters of that quan tity in their
big factory in Brooklyn, the balance
being divided among some twenty-five
or thirty smaller concerns throughout
the country.
The gum IS collected in Mexico in
much the same fashion as butter and
eggs are throu n the country here. 1t
Is brought in in chunks and bought up
by the pound, representing q trade OF
nearly half a million dollars per year
to the native collectors. As the gum
trees become depleted, new tracts of
trees producing the same quality of gum
have to be discovered and for this pur-
pose salaried explorer, who is bot
anist, is kept almost constantly on the
move.
perhaps one-twclfth of our total
manufacture" said the proprietor of the
Brooklyn establishment above referred
to. "was exported last year. But we
have this year established a branch
house in Live. pool to boom tn, English
trade and another one in Toronto to
look after the Canadian business SO
that this year we expect to sell over a
million dollars worth. The export
trade is only in its infancy, tut it is
bound to grow in spite of all obstacles,
for there are no competitors anywhere
else In the world. We had good deal
of difficulty at first in the preparation
of the article from lack of proper ma
chinery, having to invent and manufac-
ture it all ourselves from the inception
of the business and as the trade devel-
oped new requirements. At first we
gave only the refined gum, pleasant to
chew and clear in appearance, also at
tractive for swapping and stretching,
but without any flavoring. Later We
introduced malt, oil of pepperment and
other extracts, and now make five diff
ferent brands. Our original article
was patented in 1871, two years after
the business was started, and the patent
re-issued in 1890"
I'm what part Of the country do they
chew the most3" asked the reporter.
''The habit is as nearly national as
any habit can be. Probably New York |
chews the most; then will come Illinois.
Ohio and Missouri 1t is a mistake to |
suppose that the children chew most of |
the gum; seven out of ten pieces are !
sold to and chewed by adults. 1t is now
on sale al almost all the restaurants. and |
you will find that larger proportion of |
their customers buy a chew of gum
when paying their checks than indulgein in
cigars"
''Do you think that it is to any extent