The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-18
The INDIA RUBBER TREE.
How the Forests Of tho Amazon River
Are Being Rapidly
Exhausted.
Many Of tho Camps Have Now
Been Entirely Given
Up.

Immense Profits of the Industry M ilkinI
the Trunk and Preparing the Gum
for Market.
While the India rubber Of commerce hn
been obtained from many different parts 0
the, globe, tho world has been compelled Il
look TO Central and South America for ii,
bulk Of It's supply. South America, espe
.cially Brazil. is the territory upon whiol
the commercial world relies, and when III,
statement ia made TINT there il great dan
ger Of rapid elimination Of thsysupply o:
crude rubber from thu Amazon valley, il
awakens thought, says an exchange.
FiEuratively, tho rubher trees Of the Anna.
2on are gold mines which require no shafts
no machinery, no costly experiments, no
guesswork, and practically NO riak moi
labor. The only thing to be guarded
against is the killing Of tho geese which
lay the golden eggs. All that has TO be dom
to accumulate riches from ths rubber tree.
is to hire the willing natives to enter the
Iu0kAo1s lAP bAG &tICGA huA lUk WIG AI4uA
gold run into ones Golfers. In the great
rush for becoming suddenly rich. however,
in the lower Amazon feld-the delta-mAny
rubber forests awe already become -
haugtsd. While this coming Brazilian COR
gress intends TO disouss the question OF pre-
serving these forests. no such precautions
hnvo az yet been taken at all.
II but three gashes per day arc made In
tho rubber tree, and the Ratchet in tho care
less hhndssof the native does not penetrate
or striks the wood, tho tree does not appear
to uffsr from the treatment, except that
tile trunk grows thick and tho SCARED sur
face grows irregular and bumpy. II will
continue, however, in good health and yield
milk in abundance for thirty Or forty
years. II the blow from the hatohst. how
ever, wounds in the slightest degree the
wood OF the tree is dies. Dscay begins n
this wound. As the wood ID soft, a little
wosvll called punilha enters the aseayed
spot, ~ a worm does the body, and
hastens the destruction. The tree may
drag out a miserable half-dead existence,
bnt, as they say in Portuguese, it is condndo.
1t will DO seen how very easily the destrao-
ton Of almost inexhaustible forests may be
GE1I n NHHfl nv ~ H. "A n 0I ~ nAENn2EI In
1ho bands 81 a m~.rnuainp native. For this
renenn varv many - tha nnca inaYhanat;-
lila rnbher swamns of tia lower Amazon
arc already wholly or partially abandoned,
and the SANS ier0o onslaughts are being
made now upon the virgin swamps Of the
upper tributaries. Renters Of sWamps are
naturally less carof,1l Of the tress than ~
tha nwners Who MANAGE the rro,art- from
! contrnI r,,hhar -utstinn R,,t tba nr;rc;nal
forasta IA s.nwn.a,, IN Par, or Msr.os ~
those denlar. VINO ara only intersstsd ~ IN
nynrent snnnlv and Who have nc lnserast n
lie future p~roduotion.
frhia caralr.anass with reoard Ia tba r.
~ "a can IL nftat With cmItivation .laa-
r. heonn ~ once. and those vho
hava ,res+;nata a tha n,.tter haliaya th.+
I'M avarolndsa If FLORIDA offer the hast IN
dnnements for experimcnta culture. mi
ditinna Of nnoistnra. heal ana ooil there
nra ;,,at nho,to an n nar WITH tina copd,tions
wnndorfully remuneratiye returns there Il
no nnession. It ID siuply a matter Of timo.
n, NV xanra a la,sa hsfnra tha rnhher trea
nroa,,caa anf1irient milk 10 instifv its nlant-
mt after it does begin to DO 70 tha
nrnft, ID sufficient TO nav for nlunh creater
lelay, Ii ID true, however, that Brazil is
..tha land of to-morrow ), and If ANYTHING
ia dnna A~nolo-Sayon enerpv must do il.
Tbs rnl,hher tron Of ths Amazon valley
,roxva anontn neo,alv. a man Dan cathar
snn,ghh ~ TIA mis- IN 81 dav to r%la
Tar aaction Of lnnd: thev perminats easilv
crow ranidiv: 5as frsos will do wall ~
aora. tha land noe6a M nrAnaration
md M cnltivation nor caro- Is nanessnrv
n king thu most unfayorable figures Of tie
rnhl,er a,remn and nnplvinp Them to tho
rIher orova fbe man Who cerea for 1E0
.reas IN tl1a awamnc could care for an AGRA
With its 53S trees. Az four kllos ia an aver
,oa vieId from the 15O trees. his 53S would
piald him ffteen kilos of rubber uer dav
Dna dollar ner kiio ia an average Dric.. nnd
70 tina lahorer could make Slb Der day. with
10 outlny but his ordinary living oxpenses.
fopr or fye months in the year.
IN 1865 Sonor JOAQUIN Antonio da Silva,
decensed. but then living on the rivar
4uamn. twelve miles above tho CITY Of Para.
ND % mo vnun0 rnhber trees plantad ~
liz Inv %al]nyial island in the river. eai1ed
Intento, WHICH formed part Of his a.
ata ia nnid to Francisco BRhis, tho man
did tho work. the sum Of is o.ntp
niaca for Tho younu treea when pI,ntoa
III % q yonnv trees thus cost him !. to-
N ontlav Of IA. 200. Unfortunately tho
rees vera all planted near the MARGIN of
he island IN ita whole oiron uoferanne- "a
NV . small mart of Tho Island was Il, he
lanted. and It was less trouble to nlanf]
Gar ehnre than to work his wav thronoh
inncla furthar inland. The &ids ahhha
nd f1nwa with Tremendous power and
90 ra nwav and builds M the island Mt ona
tha othar and. olternutinu nv neriods ~
an VANS Consannantlv ahnnt / mn - tha
rir;nnl On mo tr.ea remain 1Issa how~
ara in arcsllant condition and viaId
hnydar4lv thonoh tbev have nevar onst =