| Show the tae india rubber tree from a volumn lately published in i new w york by G P putman entitled scenes and adverl tures lures on the banks of the amazon A number of blacks bearing long poles on th their e ir shoulders thickly strung with i th indra rubbe rubber shoes shoe salso maiso also aiso attracted our al attention lention atte alte nUon are for the most part pirt manufactured in the te interior inferior and are brought down the river for baie bale sal sai by the natives it hag has been estimated that at least two hundred and fifty thousand pairs of shoes hoes are annually exported from the pe and the num beris berls decidedly on the in increase creag oreas A few lew words here respecting the tree itself and the manufacture of the shoes may not be out of place the tree Si philla ela EIa stica is quite peculiar in its appearance appe appa arance and sometimes reaches the height ot of 80 and even feet the trunk is round rather smooth and protected by a bark of light color the leav leaves esgrow I 1 grow in clusters 9 three tog together ether are thin and of form and are froni ironi ten text to fourteen inches in length T centre entre wf leaf or 0 the cluster ii always the longest I 1 this remarkable tree bears a cair canous ot I 1 fruit of the size of a peach which riot very vey palatable is eagerly sough tart taft taner loe b by different animals it is separated sepe rated into three lobes lobas s which contain each a small nut the trees are tapped in the same manner that thai nerv dew englanders tap maple trees the trunk havin having been perforated a yellowish liquid resembling semb sem bling I 1 i scream cream eream flows out which is caugh caught in small clay cups fastened to the tree when these become full their contents are em emptied ii it ed into large earthen jars in which I 1 th the e liau liquid 1 is kept until desired for use the operation of making the shoes is as simple as it is interesting imagine yourself dear reader in one of the fering sering 0 o groves of brazil around you are a number of good looking natives of low stature and olive all are variously engaged one is stirring with a lonfy long wooden stick the contents of a cauldron cauldren caul dron placed over a pile of blazing embers this is the tle liquid as it was taken from the rubber tree into this a wooden last covered coveted with clay and having a bandle handle is alun plunged ed A coating coaling of the will wiil liquid remains you will perc perceive percelle erve elve that another native then takes the last and holds it in the arising trona frona the ignition of a species of palm cruft lor for the durpos of ca calsing lisIng the gl glutinous at substance to asquine assume a dark dirk color the last is then plunged a again alln into the cauldron cauldren caul dron and this process is repeated as in dipping candles until the coating is of the fe required thickness you will moreover notice a number of indian dia dla n ebli engaged in making va various rious ricus impressions such puch as flowers etc upon the soft surface of the rubber by mean means of their thumb nail naile which are especially pared and cultivated for this puli puri purpose after this final operation the shoes are placed in tit alis sun to harden and large numbers of them may be sen seen laid out on mats batsin in exposed situations original name odthe of the rubber is flom from which the formidable word of is 13 derived |
