The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-07-05
The iNolA-RueBER TREE.
An Attractive Plant which Il as Usefu.
as It Il Ornamental

a. lt IL ornamental.
This plant is the fcus elastica OF
botanists. aud, although tolerably we'll
known rs greenhouse, window or
decorative plant n. the principal rub
Der stores, it has not so very early a
history. having been introduced in Eu-
rope in 1915. 1t is anative OF tho East
lndias. The plant belongs 10 the fig
family. all OF which exclude, when
wounded. milky juice with, of course,
fig for fruit this one being about the
size Of "A cherry. and not edible. There
are not less than eighty known species
distributed over large part OF the
tropical world.
The lndia-rubbc. tree In IFS native
fields attains the size OF our sycamore,
growing chiefly among dccomposed
rocks and vegetable matter over the
declivities of mountains. II grows
very rapidly when young, reaching, IL
is said, TO the height Of twenty-four
feet in four years, and with trunk a
foot i'm diameter The well-known
lndia-rubber is the product OF this
tree rs found in India, but in South
America there are several trees from
which IL is obtained. but tho chief
American tree is the Jatropha elastica.
The name, lndia-rubber, came from
the discovery that the article was use-
ful TO remove marks Of the ordinary
lead pencil, and is mentioned by DIR.
Priestly i'm his work on perspective
printed in 100, rs having just been
brought 10 his notice. The Indians OF
America gave the name cahuchu 10 the
hardened juice, and from this our
word caoutchouc Is derived.
The milk from which the rubber IL
made is extracted be making incisions
through the bark TO tho wood, at
the distance OF foot from each other,
all around the trees, and even up TO tho
top After one course OF tapping, tho
tree requires TO rest fortnight, when
the process may be repeated. When
the liquid is exposed TO the air it be-
comes a firm and elastic substance,
fifty ounces Of pure milky juice yield
ing about fifteen Of clear washed gum.
This gum used TO be known by the In
dian name of caoutchouc, n vcritablo
jaw-breakcr To the English tongue,
and yet, in our borhood days, when
this now plentiful rubber was being
introduced into sundry uses, that was
its common name
For the manifold uses TO which IL IL
now put IL is vulcanized. This was
the discovery OF Goodyear, that at the
time made his name famous. IL is al
so mixed with another product from
an Indian tree, gutta percha, intro.
duccd in the arts by DR. Montgomery
in 1913. This gum is the exact oppo-
site OF rubber it being Inon-elastic.
The plant has large, glossy leaves,
thick, oval and pointed. II is quite an
attractive plant, particularly as a
specimen window plant, without others
near it. II stands the dry atmosphere
OF a room well, and the leaves are
readily rid OF all dust by simply spray
ing Gardeners propagate their stock
from cuttings which grow readily
enough from single eye and leaf. each
bud thus forming new plant Young
plants are not much used for propa-
eating from, but an old plant Is gon-
orally selected and induced TO throw
out rs many shoots as possible. Ia tho
olden times propagation was effected
by layering or winding around moss,
or inserting shoot through flower
pot made for the purpose, In which tho
roots formed, and aftcrward severing
from the parent tree Prairie Farmer.