The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-25
An Important Material In EleC-
 tricaI Industry
WHERE II COMES FROM
Gathered in Tropics at Great Cost of Life-Native Negroes Alone Can Stand Climate and Many
 Die in the Swamps.

Next to copper ana lTOlls IuobSA 4s tiS most important material in the electrical industry. It is used extensively as ar Insulating material, being one of the best insulators of electricity in the world Nearly all the wires that carry electrical current are protected with rubber insula- ton. Rubber prevents the electricity es- eaping through contact of the wire with other conductors; it prevents accidents, fires. and keeps the electrical apparatus from burning out and destroying itself. Besides being used for insulating wires and cables at the plants of the General Electric company, rubber is used In the manufacture of motors, switches genera tors, and nearly all electrical machines.
 The story of rubber is the story Of the conquest of the tropical Jungles; the lights against disease, poisonous reptiles and in- sects, man eating animals, hunger and thirst and the danger of being lost for ever
 Civilization first heard of rubber in Her rera's account of the second voyage of Columbus in the year 149S, where he speaks of elastic balls made by the na- tives from the gum of tree.
 The first authentic account of it's prac- teal use was recorded in 1745 by the lead CT of a French government expedition re-
  ed that the natives secured from the juice of a tree certain gum which was very elastic impervious to water and used in making bottles, shoes and squirt guns.
 Thirty years later it was introduced to commerce when an Englishman brought from Assam, India, a soft spongy sub stance which would erase lead pencil marks and which afterwards became known as India rubber.
 Many primitive uses were found for this wonderful gum, but owing to it's suscept1- bility to changes of temperature, which rendered it sticky and more or less fuid rubber did not come into its own until early in the last century. At that time it was discovered, after a great deal of experiment. that by mixing sulphur with crude rubber and subjecting it to high degree of heat, these former deficiencies were eliminated and a material was pro- duced which was both tough and elastic and would retain those properties under varying temperatures. This process Of curing was called vulcanization and is the basis of rubber making today.
 So great has been the development of rubber manufacture since the time that it's products now exceed a value of fivo hundred million dollars annually.
 Contrary to the popular impression. rub Der gum is not derived from the sap. It is secured from a milky juice or 1atex which is found only in the bark. This latex contains a substance known as ca outchouc Che active principle of rubber), together with certain albuminoids, resins, etc.. which upon the evaporation of mois- ture coagulate, forming a thick, spongy substance. The percentage of caoutchouc, in proportion to other ingredients con tained in the latex, determines the qual- fly of the rubber.
 vxrl1i 7-1tlnh cy11r ie secured form an irregular belt in the tropics and sub-tropics extending around the earth. the quality procured varying greatly according to the species of plant, the soil and the climate. Great quanti- ties are produced in Africa, Mexico. Cey- lon and the Malay Islands, but the most desirable rubber of resiliency and wear resistance is secured from a tree found in the Amazon river district, South America. This rubber is known as Para, the name being derived from it's chief city of ex- port. It not only contains as high as 9S per cent of caoutchouc, but the methods used by the natives in preparing it for market are so much superior that 1t Is se- lected in preference to all others for man. ufacturing purposes
 Rubber gathering in the Amazon river district is a hazardous and difficult under taking. The supply comes from wild trees scattered throughout dense forests to which paths must be cut through the tangled and luxuriant undergrowth. Ever then the trees can only be reached during three to five months of the year. as throughout the wet season the forests are completely inundated. The climate is sc unhealthy that white men cannot do this work and 1t Is necessary to rely upon the native blacks, who at best are undepend. able and lazy. Their reluctance to ior rubber gathering expeditions can readily rJ tlaa, out of a seasons expedition perhaps only half will return alive.
 When a rubber tree is found the native gatherer cuts a series of gashes into the bark with his machete, encircling the tret from the ground up, as high as he car reach. Cups are fastened to catch the latex as it ooozes out. When a sufficien quantity is collected it is removed to tn, temporary hut, where a dense smoke producing fire is made of certain nut. and palm leaves. Then taking his wooder paddle the native dips 1t into the late1 and holds it over the fire, turning it rounC and round until the latex coagulates. Al soon as 1t Is hard a new layer of late, is added and coagulates as before. Thi process Is continued until the mass hal grown too large for handling, when tn, paddle is taken out and the rubber SC aside for export. The process of coagula ton and fumigation with these special, selected nuts and leaves prevents deca, and adds to the life and wear resstanc, of the manufactured product
 Tapping the trees for rubber does no necessarily destroy them, nor is 1t believed to materially shorten their life; but un fortunately many thousands of trees ar annually rendered useless by careless ant improper methods. Although the source O crude rubber gum is practically mex haustble, the limited native labor suppl, and the difficulties encountered up to thu time of marketing it have tended to keeI down the supply and maintain a higl standard of prices
 Why Indian Wanted a Desk