| Show CHI 4 thea nasa 0 IA EARLY three bil AI lion pieces of k chewing gum aie manufactured in the united states i wy i annually p r a a j all of 0 which C fh Is made from one J 41 U product of tropical S ameilia T this li I 1 a 16 pm clearly accounts 1 l tor for the 1500 in annual 1 ly exported by our sister republics cs and brings to light the worl ings of a most gigantic in N austry in the fifteenth anth century vas v as it r ah aw M known to the ie intrepid spanish ex who reported that the findlins employed the i gum to quench thirst and relieve exhaustion but the versal use of the gum can not be said to have begun n until as late as 1876 australian a n d aak since that time me the demand for this tit alth t f south african colo almost mysterious alous commercial corn com nies are larg large and kodity has increased ncr eased to such an ex e ever v e r I 1 ncr tent that importing porting firms have been 0 fi consumers it Is obliged to search arch the markets and ex e tr estimated by a the growing wing of the tree in or prominent manu jq der to obtain i a supply to fac that meet existing requirements clent chewing gum prior to 1889 sold for from Is produced each 7 to 8 cents per er pound in 1896 it sold year to supply i for 36 cents per pound and now it Is 11 V I 1 every human being selling for 2 per pound I 1 f on earth with two sticks and that th the the tree aras sapota from which dally daily energy ex the is obtained is indigenous I 1 1 in thi the con 11 ll to northern south american coun 11 t gumption of this tries central america and in the I 1 popular mas mexican states s of yucatan campeche campiche Cam peche tic atory Is equal to tabasco chiapas ipas veracruz oaxaca I 1 that necessary to puebla jalisco san luls luis potosi and 1 city of light a the roo territories i of tepic teple and quintana 66 inhabitants for the same period pel As yet the there are nu systematic cul ti of the j berous factories I 1 Z scattered through th sapota 4 VP A I 1 RZ Z I 1 has not been aa A r OR v 6 ought the united I 1 in ti states when where can carried on to i k the interesting processes pro be witnessed any great ex 1 tent but expert by which chewing gum la Is manufactured ments have A rhe factories are sanitary in evera every par 8 shown that IN 0 O NA X nicular and methods of absolute cle cl arill trees planted at ness prevail in each department an t of a distance of 10 report by the department of com feet apart or merce and labor labb r states that a chewing cn to the acre gum factory was the second cleanest cle will yield from P lant IB I 1 inspected tn cono in in tha the united states 5 to 6 pounds of the process of manufacture consists in and boiling the gum in gum 1 simply mixing avs w when from 8 to 1 copper I 1 ettles to a required consistency cansis 10 years old and and adding some flavoring extract such from 12 to 15 as vanilla peppermint or wintergreen inches in TI r A ind sugar after which it is transferred eter in its wild to large centrifugal receivers here it 19 state the tree Is t whipped into a dough and afterward aft erwal re usually found in moved to tables and kneaded in powdered pow groups f r e st sigar gar it Is then rolled into sheets cut growing al to desired sizes dried wrapped bv ma to a height of t chinery in attractive papers and placed p from 40 to 50 in boxes ready tor for the market the th en f e e t it Is t aa P tire process s being at all times unde under the a n d W X closest inspection i a has a long clear e ll 11 11 10 log A visit to any of the chew chewing ing gun gum fac length thus ma I 1 aw N will convince the most skeptical skei king it most de that the product Is nothing more nor less for tim than a pure and wholesome article and ber while it absolutely harmless to its vast and faith grows well in a of consumers variety of soils it seems to thrive best in a rich ally loam with good drainage drai nate and an annual rain tall fall of about 80 90 inches lands well adapted to the glowing of the tree vary in from fa 3 to 15 gold per acre and are being largely dealt in at the present time the wood Is of a reddish color closely lesem bling mahogany is quite hard heavy compact in texture and fine grained prehistoric door frames and rafters of sapota wood are found among the mexican ruins and are still in an excellent of preservation this wood Is today greatly in demand by cabinetmakers who employ it lo 10 the manufacture of high grade furniture and house hold fittings for many ears the sapodilla pear which also comes from the sapota tree was a lar variety of fruit found in the markets through out latin america but now on account of the great demand for gum and the attractive rewards offered for its gathering the fruit Is sel gel dom dealt in by the natives the operation of gathering and preparing it tor for the market Is 19 similar to that employed in the maple sugar industry in the united states throughout the rainy season and while the sap Is up the tapping Is done by the gatherers or chic chicleros leros as they are called their outfit is most simple and consists in nothing more than a piece of rope and a machete by means of this rope which is fastened about the waist and slipped arouni aroun I 1 the tree the chiolero chi clero Is enabled to hold any desired position and wield the ma chete in cutting the incisions or gullies great care must be exercised in tapping not to cut too deeply as excessive bleeding of the sap will cause the rapid decay of the tree it Is pos sible bible tor for a chi chiolero clero to gather properly from 10 to 15 pounds of the sap per day for which he Is paid in most cases a contract price of from 10 to 15 cents per pound but on many of the large estates an effort Is now being made to effect pay ments tor for the labor by the day week or month and in this way prevent the destruction of the trees frequently caused by a greedy desire on the part of the chiolero chi clero when under contract to ob tain as much sap as possible without regard to the injuries sustained by the trees in granting concessions to gather in the national forest reservations the latin american governments demand that natives shall be proper ay y instructed in the gathering and preparation of the gum as promiscuous tapping will not be long er tolerated in some instances trees have been tapped for 25 years where care has been taken although after that time they produced but from one ene halt half to two pounds of sap however it if allowed to remain untapped for a period of five or six years they will then produce from three to five pounds of gum authorities differ in regard to the aver ge he hc ht lit of the sapota and the length of time required tor for its maturity mat urit but a general average height can be placed at from 25 to 40 feet maturity Is reached at from 40 to 50 years A tree 25 vears old and producing from 20 to 25 pounds of each bear ear will measure 25 to 30 feet in height and 22 inches in diameter in tapping the trees a V shaped ancis on Is cut spirally all around the tree the arm of 0 the cut extending upward in order to permit the sap to alov fio v freely to the boom bottom where a receptacle is placed at the end of the gully the sap has the appearance of milk as it flows from the tree but it afterward takes on a yellowish color and thick cis is until it is about the consistency of treacle after gat ga theung heiing the sap it Is carried to the boll ing in shads and by a rather boiling proc asb is brought to the proper consistency As the operation continues it Is necessary to knead the mas from time to time in order to extract the ater the gum it if properly handled will take on a light gray color gh there Is consider abl vocation via tion in the shades ind and colors of the products received from the different districts in the old days much deception was practised practiced by the who in order to In increase inci clease ease the weight would insert stones bark sand or wood in the boiling before it was formed into loaves this clever deception is a thing of the past how eier ener as the contracts today call for a pure straight article and there is little opportunity of adding any foreign substances huch much of the is shipped in lough uneven loaves to the united states via canada where it Is ref ned and dried out t to one half of its original weight thereby saving 50 per cent cerit of the duty under the wilson bill the gum was admitted free but in accordance with the tariff revision act of 1897 a duty of 10 cents per pound was fixed which Is the present rate foi the fiscal year ended june 30 1909 them thero were imported into the united states 5 pounds of valued at 1 as compared with pounds valued at in 1885 repeated attempts tempts it have been made to mix adul aerate or substitute in every conceivable manner but nature insists that the gum shall only be used to furnish unlimited molar action and that it can not be artificially prepared by chem icil or mechanical means No medicinal use has vet been discovered for but in the manu facture of chewing gum various dige stants such as pepsin have been been added and the product pro bounced by eminent medical authorities as pure free from any injurious substances and beneficial in the relief of various forms of dyspepsia and in digestion in the strict sense of the word chew ing gum Is an indestructible residuum the user having the advantage of both the finest confect tion and a medicament as well its distribution extends in the western hemisphere from hudson bay to the argentine republic in the east from london to hongtong Hong kong and the inhabitants of the pa iwa i il |
