The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-02-13
ERoM rnE RunpER lie
The nark u eashed In Many Tlace. and
thr Liquid Rubber 1ushcs tat.

Gle on how elastic gum Is gathered
Ia Mosquitea soon We csmc Go u
rubber tree, It's smooth gray trunk
rising slender AMI branchoss forty
feet The youth threw his burd "a to
the ground. and locked about until
he 70 nd thickct Of cari-o. with
stalks two inches In diameter aud
perhaps forty feet long.
The walls OF this BAMBOO are
scarcely moro than an eighth Of an
inch In thickness. and the Joints.
fully grown. are some two feet long.
They grow in thick clusters. ire.
Qucnily so dense that no animal can
pass between the stalks Arrhing
over they often droop until the tops
sweep the ground. and the boauti.
fully delicate foliage is 20 abundant
as 10 form an apparently solid bank
Of green.
With a blow OF his machete tho
hulcro cut down one OF these aud
Clipped on three or four OF the
joints. each forming lolg tube
closed at each oud With these we
returned 10 the rubber irer
lie then made small loop OF one
end Of tho rope we brou mt with us.
and OF the o,hcr end large loop
passing rouul both tho tire aud his
own body lie put both feet through
the smaller loop. 20 that his bare
solos graspcl the smooth gray bark
the rope about his ankles serving as
iulcrum7 to give his feet tight hold.
Then be threw the upper loop well
up the tree trunk. leaned back. and
brought his feet up tlll they giasrcd
the trunk eighteen inches or 80 from
the ground
With quick motion. he brought
his body near the trunk. and at the
same time threw up the loop again.
At the instant OF lis highest rio his
shoulders settled back. and caught It
In place Then his feet we're hit he'd
upward again foot or more Hero
he leaned back In the upper loop.
bracing with his bare feet against
the smooth tree. and with the
macheto cut through the bark two
gashes which conyergcd about six
teen inches below the level at which
they started.
Cut after cut was made In this way
Tat!l ho reached the branches Then
a. the huloro descended he wetted
his fingers in the milk, aud drew
straight line down from the lower
part Of ono pair Of N-shaped cuts 10
another TO guide the flowing milk by
the shortest way In the lower pair
Of cuts he placed a piece Of leaf 10
act rs spout 10 carry the milk
ftom the tree to the open end Of the
joint Of cariso standing beneath
The FIRST Joint was soon full, and
another took its place A plug Of
leaves stopped the fall one, az we
went on in search Of another tree.
which he soon found and repeated
tho operation Of bleeding Whoa a
number Of trees had been tapped In
the same way. tho operator carried
all tho cariso JOINTS lllcd with the
milk toa convenient splt. whore no
dug a small pit In the groand
After looking about % biz hc found
vino OF kind wanted and .ut
from IL several tender branches
Those he crushed between two stones.
then washed the bruised pulp In "a
painful Of water making u grconish
infusion with which he spriuklcd
thoroughly the walls and bottom OF
the pit
Into this the rubber milk was
poured In an instant that which
touched the earth wet By the infusion,
coagulatod Then the contents Of
the pan were poured into the milk
and mixed thoroughly with IT, al.
most instantly changing IL % a
white. spongy mass This was lifted
out and carried 10 the nearest brook.
where IL was washed AMI kncalcd TO
express the juice 81 the vino, which
the hulero explained. would soon
harden tho r3bber so much that 10
would DO little better than tuno
gum. with which wicked hulc,os are
wont to adu tcrats their rubber
This mode OF gathering rubbe de.
stroys the trees In two seasons for
each cutting kills that silo Of the
tree on which tho missions a-c
made. Tho government has enacted
laws Tor the protection Of tho trees,
but laws are ignored In these wilds
In very few years all the trees
large enough 20 blood will be de-
stroyed. aud fifteen OF twenty years
will pass before the young crop now
growing vii b. large enough to fur
nish milk at profit
Yet these trees might b, b.od year
after year without serious injury oy
using an iu.rumcnt that could not
cut completely through the bark.
and 0y leaving IN the wound the
rubber which dries there. sad which
will, II allowed TO remain. protect
the tree from decay,
lie NcVcr Game Hack.
slc-lcstcrday morning 1 gave a