The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-02-09
HARVESTING RUBBER
TAPPING TREES FOR "MlLku AS
YOU WOULD FOR MAPLE SAP.

tNrFfN3 fHEES FOR MILK" AS
YOU WOULD FOR MAPLE SAP,
Gathering the Juice OF the India Rubbe,
Trees I'm South America Is Different
from Making Maple Sugar in the Rural
Regions of the North.
Rubber is not obtained from cultivated
orchards, but is taken from the trees Which
grow wild in low lying areas or basips.
Such areas are striking feature of the
valley of the Amazon. They are not
marshes, but are the perfect analogues OF
the basins existing in the flood plain Of the
mississippi. The rubber trees are found in
the greatest abundance along the tribu-
taries and the smaller streams which feed
these. At the beginning of the rainy sea,
son the long siesta at the fazenda comes to
an end II rubber trees exist in sufficient
abundance near at hand, the Indians and
others who live in a state of dependency at
the fazenda are sent each day into the woods,
where they collect the milk and bring it in
TO be cured, but it often happens that Jour.
neys of several days or week must be
made to procure plentiful supply. In
this case great canoes. sometimes forty feet
IN length, are fitted out with provisions,
and arrangements are made fora protracted
expedition.
NO elaborate preparations are made for
camping. A blanket and hammock for
each of the whites and rude covering CON
ststing OF sheets Of the flbrous inner bark
of tree for the Indians, several bags of
farina and rice, salt fish and a plentiful
store of cachaca, or rum OF sugar cane.
with arms aud ammunition, are considered
sufficient equipment When site for a
camp has been selected the Indians can in
half day construct Il palm matched hut
for their abode which will prove water
tight for u week The rubber trees being
Rregarious in habit, one man can tap from
ferty to fifty In Il day
The whole party sallies forth in the morn
ing each provided with quantity of little
TIN cups and a narrow biaded Ratchet An
lnclslon, merely penetrating the outer bark,
being made with the latter instrument, one
oil the cups is attached beneath with bit
OF nloistened clay, into which the thick
white milk at once begins to flow. The
rubber gathercr passes from tree to tree
until he has consumed half the day, after
which he collects the milk from all the
trees he has tapped. This is taken to the
camp, where it is Smoked" Were the
milk allowed to stand for a period of TWEEN
ty-tohr hours or longer it would thicken
into a coarse, granular, somewhat stringy
mass, Which produces very inferior grade
OF manufactured rubber
The course material, known in Brazil as
sernamby, is often found hanging in great
punches upon the trees, where it has oozed
through crack in the bark, or from the
end of fractured limb. If, however. the
milk be poured over wooden blade or
round stick and held for few moments In
the dense flames from Il fire of certain palm
nuts, it is coagulated into the finely elastic
rubber with which all are familiar. A see.
ond coating of milk is poured over the
blade and similarly treated until the sue
cessive layers have made a ball of consider
able size. In some sections the habit is to
make the balls, or pells, from eighteen
inches to two feet in diameter, practice
which results in imperfections in the
smoking" and retards the subsequent dry.
ing of the rubber
Defects may readily occur in tl4is curing
process by making the successive additions
of milk too thick or as a result of ineuuali.
ties in the exposure of various parts of tho
ball to the smoke Such deterioration is
easily discoverable by cutting the ball in
half, when it will reveal itself by u yesietl-
lar or granular condition of the rubber, the
occurrence of which reduces the whole
lump to the middle grade fcntra final, be
tween the fine Para" and the coarse" or
sernamby.
The nuts which, according to native ex
perlence, yield uniformly the best results
are those from the we'll known palm Inaia,
This does not usually grow in great alum
dance in the neighborhood of the Heveas,
SO that the nuts Of the palm Urucury are
Frnf, liz. 49,
adequate supply OF these, resort is had to
the nuts of the palm known us Uauassu
pronounced wah-wahs-sool The rubber
after being smoked" is still white. oly
becoming black by prolonged exposure to
the air 1t has, however, acquired its
characteristic elasticity and an odor eX
itctly similar to TINT Of smoked hams
The smoke from other nuts, or from a
simple wood fire, will not produce the dc
sired result. So far us have been able to
ascertain, no thorough chemical inYestiga-
ton has been made to identify the volatile
ingredient Which accomplishes his remark
able physical change in the rubber, which.
previous to curing, is present in the sap as
an emulsion. A study Of this phenomenon
might lead to important notifications of
the present treatment, for il means could
be found to cure the Rubber of the Heycns
by tine addition of some liquid or powder
to the milk, it would not only prevent en-
tirely the formation OF "A middle grade, but
would enable the rubber to be prepared in
better form for shipment, aifording an
enormous saving to all concerned
At the end of the harvest, if such Il term
be allowable, the canoes laden with gum
return to the faZenda, and then follow
merrymakings prone TO end in n wild d.
b;kllEh The careful tfpIiflt, mr., ppl-