finger .over the bottom to clean out some which otherwise
would adhere Indeed, a small quantity does remain, which
is afterwards drawn off and classed as sernamby. The c u d s
empt|ed, are laid in a little heap at the base of each
tree, to be ready for the following morning. The trees occur
,nce? from 10 to 100 y ards apart, and as I
travelled over the intricate network of muddy footpaths, I
ontinually felt perplexed and surprised that the natives have
not yet seen the advantages which would be derived by forming
plantations whereby more than twice the quantity of
caoutchouc might be collected in one-fourth of the time, and
at tar less cost and labour.
I “M ^ od°fpreparing^ rubber. -T h e collectors of the region
the bank W" r ^ t0 a ^ shed situated on
species of rafm t Guama- Here were quantities of various
H f i a ,of Palm:nuts. representing an Attalea and Euterpe
S e V These apS’ and SQeVgra! jarS f° rubber. These jars were 18 inches highr, tahned P rtehpea rbaotitotonm osf
Sbui lngiin°go uou?t in theM m i-d5dmlbea Stoe t1h2e yi nWcherees ,7 a inndc hwese rien ndaiarrmoewteerd,
at the mouth to a breadth of 2 inches. Each person wrought
on his own account, and so small jars were employed but
where a number of men are collecting for one master much
larger jars are m use. The milk on being M l felt
flat earthen vessel, is put down on the floor in a convenient
wwmhcSn rraSissiessa Ciittn tttoot hga|e ti°n c?hees Habo 1v3 eS Gtth °en fltohorre. e sTmhael l nsatornroews,
tSoT enntteor WXhihch causeSse °af c*uMrr jeanrt aonfd stmheo k^e to “laks”cesn «d wf itth
remarkable regularity and force. When the fire commences
to burn strongly, several handfuls of nuts are put on then
some more wood and nuts alternately. These are dronnS
m at the mo„ ,h ° f ,h . it is filled to S X H
of the top. Due care is taken that a sufficient proportion of
wood js pUt m with the nuts. The mould on which the
rubber is prepared resembles the paddle of a canol ffi fact
in many places on the Amazon this is the article most
frequently used if there is much milk, and when the rubber
p eParc-d m bulky masses. Occasionally the mould is
flun g to the roof, as the weight of handling it d u T g th e
process would otherwise be very fatiguing. A little sS fc la v
iiss Iafffte rwardrlVs ewr eIll wt0a rpmreeVdf nint tthhee srmubobkeer froTmh ea d™h erin* g aIn,d ,it
the: mould with one hand,
small cup and pours two or three cups of milk over it. He
turns it on edge for a few moments above the dish until the
drops fall, then quickly places the flat side 2 inches above the
jar mouth and moves it swiftly round, as if describing the
form of a cipher with his hand, so that the current of smoke
may be equally distributed. The opposite side of the mould
is treated in the same way. The coating of milk on the
mould on being held over the smoke immediately assumes
a yellowish tinge, and although it appears to be firm when
touched, is yet found to be soft and juicy, like newly-curdled
cheese, and | sweating water profusely. When layer after
layer has been repeated, and the mass is of sufficient thickness,
it is laid down on a board to solidify, and in the morning is
cut open along the edge on one side and. the mould taken
out. Biscuit rubber, when fresh, is often 4 or 5 inches thick.
On being hung up to dry for a few days, it is sent to market.
When I saw the process of smoking the rubber performed, as
just described, I was considering.the statements of Keller and
other travellers who write on this subject, all of whom seem
to believe that the smoke from the palm-nuts possesses some
peculiar or strange property by which means the milk instantly
coagulates. But on one occasion, when the collector was
commencing to smoke some milk, I saw him wait for a short
time and put his hand repeatedly to the mouth of the jar, and
soon I learned that he could -do nothing until the smoke was
hot. The dense white smoke rose abundantly, but the milk
would not thicken on the mould. After a little while the jar
became heated, and the operation went on quite satisfactorily.
I put my hand above the mouth of the jar, but could bear
the heat scarcely a second, and although the temperature
of the smoke was apparently less than that of boiling water,
yet I judged it must have been at least 180° Fahrenheit
Therefore the rapid coagulation of the milk is simply produced
by the high temperature of the smoke. I have no
doubt that with a strong current of heated air, or a good
pressure of steam from a pipe, a similar result would be
obtained. The finely-divided particles of soot, which forms
a large proportion of the smoke, undoubtedly absorb a considerable
amount of moisture, although at the same time It
must be looked on as an impurity. I have no hesitation in
giving my opinion that equally as good rubber could be prepared
by putting the milk in shallow vessels, and evaporating
the watery particles by the heat of boiling water.
“ Temperature o f the Para rubber district.— The region of
the Pard rubber tree has a sustained high temperature, a fact
that has already been remarked by Dr. Spruce and other