,,the ,,romance ,,of ,,rubber  ,,edited 
,,by ,,john ,,martin   ,,editor ,,of    
,,john ,,martin',s ,,book ,,the         
,,child',s ,,magazine   ,,published ,,by
 ,,united ,,states ,,rubber ,,company   
,,contents    #a  ,,the ,,discovery   #b
  ,,charles ,,goodyear   #c  ,,the      
,,hevea ,,tree   #d  ,,wickham',s ,,idea
   #e  ,,plantation ,,development   #f  
,,plantation ,,life   #g  ,,harvesting  
,,the ,,rubber   #h  ,a ,,last ,,word   
,,an ,,introductory ,,note  ,we have    
undertaken to print this booklet1       
telling you how rubber is grown1        
gathered1 and then made useful1 for this
 reason3  ,the ,united ,states ,rubber  
,company1 as the largest rubber         
manufacturer in the world1 wants the    
coming generations of our country to    
have some understanding of the          
importance of rubber in our every day   
life4  ,we hope to interest and inform  
you4 ,we believe the rubber industry    
will be better off if the future        
citizens of our country know more about 

it4     ,,chapter #a  ,,the ,,discovery 
,if you were asked1 ,what did ,columbus 
discover in #adib8 you would have but   
one answer4 ,but what he discovered on  
his second voyage is not quite so easy  
to say4 ,he was looking for gold when he
 landed on the island of ,hayti on that 
second trip4 ,so his eyes were blind to 
the importance of a simple game which he
 saw being played with a ball that      
bounced by some half-naked ,indian boys 
on the sand between the palm trees and  
the sea4 ,instead of the coveted gold1  
he took back to ,europe1 just as        
curiosities1 some of the strange black  
balls given him by these ,indian boys4  
,he learned that the balls were made    
from the hardened juice of a tree4  ,the
 little boys and girls of ,spain were   
used to playing with balls made of rags 
or wool1 so you may imagine how these   
bouncing balls of the ,indians must have
 pleased them4 ,but the men who sent out
 this second expedition gave the balls  
little thought and certainly no value4  

,since ,columbus brought back no gold1  
he was thrown into prison for debt1 and 
he never imagined that1 four hundred    
years later1 men would turn that        
strange1 gummy tree juice into more gold
 than ,king ,ferdinand and ,queen       
,isabella and all the princes of ,europe
 ever dreamed of4  ,in the next century 
after ,columbus's travels the           
,portuguese founded the colony of       
,brazil on the continent of ,south      
,america4 ,their settlements were near  
the coast and they did not begin to     
explore the great ,amazon region for a  
hundred years or so4 ,the journey down  
this great river--which ,theodore       
,roosevelt took so many years later--was
 first made by a ,portuguese missionary1
 who found the same kind of gummy tree  
juice as that of the ,west ,indies4 ,but
 the natives along the ,amazon had      
discovered that besides being elastic it
 was waterproof1 and they were making   
shoes that would keep out water4 ,you   
can picture a native boy spilling some  

of this liquid on his foot1 then        
covering it1 as he might with a mud pie1
 and when it dried wiggling his toes to 
find that1 he had the first and perhaps 
the best fitting gum shoe that ever was 
made4  ,little by little samples of this
 new substance found their way to       
,europe4 ,it was another hundred years  
before thoughtful men believed it worth 
while to investigate this gum4 ,in #agca
 the ,paris ,academy of ,science sent   
some explorers to learn about it4 ,one  
of these ,frenchmen1 ,la ,condamine1    
wrote of a tree called ,hevea#a ,there  
flows from this tree a liquor which     
hardens gradually and blackens in the   
air4 ,he found the people of ,quito     
waterproofing cloth with it1 and the    
,amazon ,indians were making boots      
which1 when blackened in smoke1 looked  
like leather4 ,most interesting of all1 
they coated bottle-shaped moulds1 and   
when the gum had hardened they would    
break the mould1 shaking the pieces out 
of the neck1 leaving an unbreakable     

bottle that would hold liquids4   #a    
,hevea is pronounced ,hee'-vee-uh4      
,caoutchouc is pronounced koo'-chook4   
,it was not long afterwards that ,lisbon
 began to import some of these crudely  
fashioned articles1 and it is said that 
in #agee the ,king of ,portugal sent to 
,brazil several pairs of his boots to be
 waterproofed4 ,a few years later the   
,government of ,para1 ,brazil1 sent him 
a full suit of rubber clothes4 ,for all 
that1 this elastic gum was for the most 
part only a curiosity1 and few people   
knew there was such a thing4  ,about the
 year #aggj1 a black1 bouncing ball of  
caoutchouc1 as the ,indians called the  
gum1 after many travels found its way to
 ,england1 and ,priestley1 the man who  
gave us oxygen1 learned that it would   
rub out pencil marks4 ,then and there he
 named it what you have probably guessed
 long before this3 rub-ber4 ,nearly     
every language except ,english uses in  
place of the word rubber some form of   
the native ,word caoutchouc1 which means

 weeping tree4 ,after ,priestley's      
discovery1 a one-inch rubber sold for   
three shillings1 or about seventy-five  
cents1 but artists were glad to pay even
 that price1 because their work was made
 so much easier4     ,,chapter #b       
,,charles ,,goodyear   ,in #ahjj ,brazil
 was the only country manufacturing     
rubber articles1 and her best market    
soon proved to be ,north ,america4      
,probably the first rubber this country 
saw was brought to ,new ,england in     
clipper ships as ballast in the form of 
crude lumps and balls4 ,rubber shoes1   
water-bottles1 powder-flasks1 and       
tobacco-pouches found buyers in the     
,american ports1 but rubber shoes were  
most in demand4  ,soon some ,americans  
began to import raw rubber and to       
manufacture rubber goods of their own1  
and in the old world a ,scotchman named 
,macintosh found a way of waterproofing 
cloth by spreading on it a thin coating 
of rubber dissolved in coal naphtha4    
,many people still refer to raincoats as

 mackintoshes4 ,rubber clothing shared  
favor with rubber shoes1 but its        
popularity was short-lived for it did   
not wear well and was almost as         
sensitive to temperature as molasses and
 butter4 ,the rubber shoes and coats get
 hard and stiff in winter and soft and  
sticky in summer4 ,a man wearing a pair 
of rubber overalls who sat down too near
 a warm stove soon found that his       
overalls1 his chair and himself were    
stuck fast together4 ,the first rubber  
coats became so stiff in cold weather   
that when you took one off you could    
stand it up in the middle of the floor  
and leave it1 for it would stand like a 
tent until the rubber thawed out1 and   
when thawed it was almost as            
uncomfortable as is fly-paper to the    
fly4  ,one day ,charles ,goodyear1 a    
,connecticut hardware merchant of an    
inventive turn of mind1 went to a store 
to buy a life preserver4 ,he could find 
only imperfect ones1 but they drew his  
attention to the study of rubber1 and   

presently he was thinking of it by day  
and dreaming of it by night4 ,rubber    
became a passion with him4 ,he felt sure
 some way could be found to make it firm
 yet flexible regardless of temperature1
 and for ten years he experimented with 
different mixtures and processes1 hoping
 to find the right one4 ,so intent was  
he on his search that he found time for 
nothing else4 ,due to neglect his       
business went to pieces and he became   
very poor4  ,finally1 in #ahci1 when he 
was on the point of giving up in        
despair1 he accidentally came upon the  
solution4 ,he was experimenting in his  
kitchen1 a place which1 through lack of 
funds1 he was often forced to use as a  
laboratory4 ,part of a mixture of       
rubber1 sulphur and other chemicals1    
with which he was working1 happened to  
drop on the top of the stove4 ,it lay   
there sizzling and charring until the   
odor of the burning rubber called his   
attention to it4 ,as he stooped to      
scrape it off the stove he gave a start 

of wonder as he noted that a change had 
come over the rubber during its brief   
contact with the stove4  ,to his        
surprise the mixture had not melted1 but
 had flattened out in the shape of a    
silver dollar4 ,when it had cooled      
enough to be handled1 he found that it  
bent and stretched easily1 without      
cracking or breaking1 and that it always
 snapped back to its original shape4    
,strangest of all1 it was no longer     
sticky4 ,apparently half the problem was
 solved4 ,whether his new mixture would 
stand the cold he had yet to find out1  
so he nailed it on the outside of the   
door and went to bed4 ,probably he slept
 but little and was up early4 ,at any   
rate he found the rubber unaffected by  
the cold4  ,then he knew that he had    
made a real discovery and he named the  
process vulcanizing after ,vulcan1 the  
,roman god of fire4 ,vulcanizing means  
mixing pure rubber with certain         
chemicals and then applying heat4 ,on   
this process1 which is by no means      

simple1 the great rubber business of the
 world has been established4            
,practically everything made of rubber1 
or of which rubber is a part1 has to go 
through the vulcanizing process1 whether
 it is a pair of ,keds1 a tire1 a fruit 
jar ring1 or a doormat4  ,so many people
 had been deceived by previous rubber   
ventures that ,goodyear had great       
trouble in finding anyone with enough   
faith to invest money in his discovery4 
,it was some time before he was able to 
take out the first of the more than     
sixty patents which he was granted      
during his lifetime for applying his    
process to various uses4 ,under these   
patents he licensed several factories to
 use the process in the manufacture of  
rubber goods1 but required them to stamp
 all goods with the words ,goodyear     
patent4 ,scores of companies have since 
used the name ,goodyear1 but the only   
factories that he licensed which are now
 in existence are parts of the ,united  
,states ,rubber ,company4  ,goodyear    

often had to defend his patents in      
court4 ,in the most famous of these     
suits1 he was defended by ,daniel       
,webster and opposed by ,rufus ,choate1 
so that we see interwoven in the story  
of rubber the names of two of the       
greatest statesmen this country has     
produced4     ,,chapter #c  ,,the       
,,hevea ,,tree   ,for the very first of 
the rubber story we may thank a little  
wood-boring beetle1 and the way nature  
has of helping her children to protect  
themselves4  ,the thistle of the meadow 
is as safe from hungry cattle as though 
fenced in by barbed wire4 ,a cow must be
 starving that would care to flavor her 
luncheon with the needles that the      
thistle bears4 ,the common skunk cabbage
 would make a tempting meal for her     
after a winter of dry feeding1 had not  
,nature given it an odor that disgusts  
even a spring-time appetite4 ,the       
milkweed welcomes the bees and flies    
that help to distribute her pollen where
 she wants it spread1 but she has her   

own way of punishing the useless thieves
 that trespass up her stalk4 ,wherever  
the hooks of an insect's feet pierce her
 tender skin1 she pours out a milky     
juice to entangle its feet and body1 and
 it is a lucky bug that succeeds in     
escaping before this juice hardens1 and 
holds him a prisoner condemned to die4  
,all over the world there are plants    
with the same ability that the milkweed 
has1 but it is especially true of       
certain trees and vines of the tropics4 
,as soon as the little beetle begins to 
bore into the bark of one of these      
trees1 there pours out a sticky1 milky  
fluid that kills the insect at once4 ,if
 this were all1 the wound would remain  
open1 ready for the next robber who came
 along4 ,in order that the break may be 
healed1 a cement is necessary1 but not a
 hard1 unyielding one1 for that would   
crumble away with the motion of the tree
 in the wind4  ,so with ,mother         
,nature's perfection in doing things1   
the very plant juice that has done duty 

as a poison is hardened into an elastic 
stopper1 with the result that1 no matter
 how far the tree may sway and tug at   
the wound1 the filling gives and        
stretches1 true to the task it has to   
perform4  ,this was the juice the crafty
 savage induced the tree to give up4    
,wherever the bark was cut1 the fluid   
poured forth to heal the break and      
hardened like blood on a cut finger4    
,the native caught it while it was still
 soft and applied it to his simple      
needs4  ,this juice is not the sap of   
the rubber tree4 ,sap1 which is the     
life-blood of the tree1 flows through   
the wood1 but the juice we are          
describing is contained in the inner    
bark1 a thin layer directly below the   
outer bark4  ,scientific men call this  
juice latex4 ,it is like milk in three  
ways3 it is white1 it contains tiny     
particles that rise to the top like     
cream1 and it spoils quickly4  ,the     
particles in cow's milk are full of fats
 which make it good for us to drink4    

,but a rubber tree's milk has tiny atoms
 of rubber and resin and other things1  
and it took time to discover which of   
the vines and trees was the prize milker
 of the tropics and gave the largest    
amount of pure rubber4 ,finally1 the    
,hevea1 the very tree the ,frenchman    
wrote about1 proved to be the best1 and1
 although by no means the only rubber   
tree of commercial value1 it is         
acknowledged the greatest of rubber     
trees4  ,the ,hevea tree grows sixty    
feet tall1 and when full grown is eight 
or ten feet around4 ,it rises as        
straight as an elm1 with high branching 
limbs and long1 smooth oval leaves4     
,sprays of pale flowers blossom upon it 
in ,august1 followed in a few months by 
pods containing three speckled seeds    
which look like smooth1 slightly        
flattened nutmegs4 ,when the seeds are  
ready to drop the outer covering of the 
pod bursts with a loud report1 the seeds
 shooting in all directions4  ,this is  
,nature's clever scheme to spread the   

,hevea family4 ,the tree grows wild in  
the hot1 damp forests of the ,amazon    
valley and in other parts of ,south     
,america that have a similar climate4   
,the ideal climate for the rubber tree  
is one which is uniform all the year    
round1 from eighty-nine to ninety-four  
degrees at noon1 and riot lower than    
seventy degrees at night4 ,the ,amazon  
country has a rainy season which lasts  
half the year1 though the other season  
is by no means a dry one1 and so for    
half the time the jungles are flooded4  
,these rubber storehouses had been      
growing for thousands of years in the   
,amazon jungle with their wealth        
securely sealed up in their bark1 the   
peck of a bird1 the boring of a beetle1 
or the scratch of a climbing animal     
being the only draft upon their         
treasure4 ,the trees around the mouth of
 the river supplied whatever was needed 
for the little manufacturing that was at
 first done4 ,but the discovery that    
made a universal use for rubber changed 

all this4 ,brazil was surprised to find 
what great treasure her forests         
contained4 ,large rubber areas were     
found a thousand miles up the river and 
she began in a serious way to develop a 
large crude rubber business4  ,less than
 twenty years ago ,brazil produced      
practically all the rubber used in the  
world4 ,but to-day she furnishes less   
than one-tenth of the world's supply4   
,how ,brazil1 possessing in her vast    
forests millions of rubber trees of the 
finest quality1 has been forced by      
unfavorable conditions to permit the    
,far ,east to sweep from her in this    
short time the crude rubber supremacy of
 the world is one of the most unusual   
chapters in modern industrial history4  
,,chapter #d  ,,wickham',s ,,idea   ,the
 story of the success of the ,east      
,indies in wresting the crude rubber    
supremacy from ,brazil1 begins with an  
,englishman named ,wickham1 who might be
 called the father of plantation rubber4
  ,wickham1 who had spent some years in 

,south ,america1 understood the         
difficulties of gathering rubber in the 
jungles4 ,he believed that if rubber    
could be cultivated it might prove a    
good crop on the coffee plantations in  
,india which a blight had recently      
rendered valueless for coffee4 ,what a  
strange fact it is that this blight gave
 ,brazil a chance to go into coffee     
growing1 and that while ,brazil was     
losing the rubber supremacy to the ,far 
,east1 the ,far ,east at about the same 
time was surrendering the leadership in 
coffee to ,brazil4 ,the latter now holds
 first place in coffee growing as firmly
 as does the ,far ,east in rubber       
growing4  ,wickham saw that there were  
difficulties that would prevent the     
gathering of wild rubber from keeping   
pace with the growing demand4 ,although 
millions of rubber trees still stood    
untouched in the ,brazilian forests1    
only those trees near the river banks   
could be tapped because of the          
impossibility of getting the rubber out 

of the dense vegetation4 ,life in the   
jungle was dangerous and lonely1 and    
therefore rubber gatherers were not easy
 to find4 ,they were compelled to work  
far from their families and friends1 and
 in constant danger from wild beasts1   
reptiles and death-bearing fevers4 ,it  
is no wonder that rubber obtained in    
this way came to be known as wild       
rubber4 ,moreover1 transporting the     
crude product through the jungles was   
hard and expensive and the rubber       
obtained under these conditions was not 
always so clean or high in quality as   
might be wished4  ,if rubber trees grow 
from the seeds which nature scatters in 
the jungle1 said ,wickham to himself1   
why should they not grow from seeds put 
into the ground by hand8  ,if rubber    
trees could be raised from seed1 they   
could be planted in the open in rows    
where they could easily be tended and   
tapped1 and the rubber gathered quickly 
and safely4 ,instead of having to brave 
the dangerous jungles1 men could plant  

and cultivate rubber in spots of their  
own choosing so long as they chose      
places where the climate was right4     
,for many years people only laughed at  
,wickham's great idea1 but like         
,goodyear he had faith enough to        
persevere4 ,while in ,brazil he planted 
some rubber seeds to see what would     
happen4 ,the seeds ,,did grow1 and the  
book which ,wickham wrote about his idea
 and his experiments finally came into  
the hands of ,sir ,joseph ,hooker1 the  
,director of the ,botanical ,gardens in 
,kew1 near ,london4 ,so interested did  
he become that he called ,wickham's plan
 to the attention of the ,government of 
,india1 and finally ,wickham was        
commissioned to take a cargo of rubber  
seeds to ,england1 so that his idea     
might be tried out4  ,this commission   
was more difficult than one might think1
 and all of ,wickham's faith and        
perseverance were needed to carry it    
out4 ,indeed for a time it seemed       
hopeless1 principally because the seeds 

so quickly dry up and lose their        
vitality that they must be planted very 
soon after being gathered4  ,but        
,wickham watched his opportunity1 and   
finally he was able to charter a ship in
 the name of the ,indian ,government4   
,about a third of the way up the ,amazon
 ,river he placed in her hold several   
thousand carefully packed seeds of the  
,hevea ,braziliensis1 or rubber tree4   
,let ,wickham1 himself1 tell how he     
surmounted the next difficulty3  ,we    
were bound to call in at the city of    
,para as the port of entry1 in order to 
obtain clearance papers for the ship    
before we could go to sea4 ,any delay   
would have rendered my precious freight 
quite valueless and useless4 ,but again 
fortune favored4 ,i had a 'friend at    
court' in the person of ,consul ,green1 
who went himself with me to call on the 
proper official1 and supported me as ,i 
presented to ,his ,excellency 'my       
difficulty and anxiety1 being in charge 
of1 and having on board a ship anchored 

out in the stream1 exceedingly delicate 
botanical specimens1 especially         
designated for delivery to ,her         
,britannic ,majesty's own ,royal ,garden
 of ,kew4 ,even while doing myself the  
honor of thus calling on ,his           
,excellency1 ,i had given orders to the 
captain of the ship to keep up steam1   
having ventured to trust ,his           
,excellency would see his way clear to  
furnishing me with immediate dispatch4  
,an interview most polite1 full of      
mutual compliments in the best          
,portuguese manner1 enabled us to get   
under way as soon as the captain had got
 the dinghy hauled aboard4  ,can you    
imagine ,wickham's sigh of relief as his
 vessel1 with its freight of perishable 
treasure1 steamed out of port1 and began
 the long journey to ,england8          
,,chapter #e  ,,plantation ,,development
   ,the transporting of the rubber seeds
 from the ,brazilian forests to ,england
 was only the first step in ,wickham's  
project4 ,the real test was still to    

come4 ,the seeds were planted in the    
famous ,botanical ,gardens of ,kew1 and 
on ,august #ab1 #ahgf1 the several      
thousand seedlings which had been raised
 from them were packed in special cases 
and shipped to ,ceylon on the other side
 of the globe for the final and most    
important stage of the experiment4  ,how
 long the next five years must have     
seemed to the anxious ,wickham1 for it  
was that long before the first rubber   
tree flowered in the gardens at         
,heneratgoda1 sixteen miles from        
,colombo1 where the trees had finally   
been planted4 ,in this year1 #ahha1     
experiments in tapping began1 and it was
 plain that ,wickham's dream was to be  
realized4  ,from these few trees1 so    
carefully tended in their youth1 has    
sprung the whole rubber industry of     
,ceylon and the ,far ,east4 ,wickham    
must indeed have been proud to see the  
plantations spreading from ,ceylon to   
,malaya1 where rubber was eagerly taken 
up by planters who were despairing of   

ever making a living out of coffee1 and 
later to ,sumatra and ,java and ,borneo4
 ,to-day rubber plantations cover an    
area of over #c1jjj1jjj acres1 with a   
yearly output of almost #cfj1jjj tons1  
or about ten times the average yearly   
output of wild rubber4  ,there is a     
curious coincidence in the fact that    
,wickham got his idea about planting    
rubber trees in ,india at about the same
 time that men in ,america began to     
experiment with the horseless carriage4 
,you may never have stopped to think of 
it1 but mechanical experts say that     
without rubber pneumatic tires1         
automobiles could never have become the 
fine1 swift vehicles they are4 ,it was a
 wonderful thing that when in the early 
part of this century the automobile     
industry suddenly burst forth with a    
demand for rubber so great that ,brazil 
could never have hoped to supply it1    
there was found ready in the ,far ,east1
 as a result of the planting that had   
been done there1 a supply that took care

 of the sudden emergency4  ,a little    
more than ten years ago ,american       
business men began to take an interest  
in the rubber plantations4 ,they have   
shown characteristic energy in the      
field1 and the greatest single rubber   
plantation in the world is owned by an  
,american company1 the ,united ,states  
,rubber ,company4 ,this plantation is on
 the island of ,sumatra in the ,dutch   
,east ,indies1 one of the best governed 
colonies in the ,east4 ,on this island  
is an orchard of rubber trees1 as       
beautifully laid out and as well cared  
for as any orchard of fruit trees in our
 own country4 ,for seventy square miles1
 an area as large as the ,district of   
,columbia1 the orderly ranks of trees   
fill the gently rolling landscape1 every
 inch of which is weeded as carefully as
 a garden4 ,it takes twenty thousand    
employees to care for the trees1 which  
number more than #e1jjj1jjj4  ,on this  
plantation the science of growing rubber
 trees has been brought to a perfection 

known nowhere else in the world4 ,groups
 of botanists1 chemists and             
arboriculturists study constantly tree  
diseases1 methods of increasing the     
yield1 and the other problems of growing
 fine trees that will produce high grade
 rubber4 ,here1 by experiment and       
inspection1 the secrets of the rubber   
tree are being brought to light1 so much
 so that growers look to this plantation
 for leadership in methods of rubber    
culture4 ,this great project so far from
 ,american soil and in a field so new   
gives a thrill of pride to the          
,americans visiting ,sumatra on their   
way around the world4     ,,chapter #f  
,,plantation ,,life   ,the moist but    
very hot climate which rubber trees     
require is found only in a zone around  
the world between the parallels of      
latitude thirty degrees north to thirty 
degrees south of the equator4 ,within   
this zone there have been found more    
than #cej rubber bearing trees1 shrubs  
and vines4 ,for this reason this zone is

 called the ,rubber ,belt4 ,as most of  
the rubber used commercially is gathered
 from trees growing within a zone       
extending from ten degrees north to ten 
degrees south of the equator1 this      
latter zone is sometimes called the     
,inner ,rubber ,belt4  ,if you will     
trace this belt on a map of the world   
you will see that it includes the       
,amazon region which produces more than 
three-quarters of the wild rubber used  
in manufacturing4 ,most of ,south       
,america's wild rubber is obtained from 
,brazil1 the remainder from ,bolivia1   
,peru and ,venezuela4 ,now continue the 
belt across the ,atlantic ,ocean to     
,africa1 where you will strike the      
,belgian ,congo which produces a small  
quantity of wild rubber4 ,partly owing  
to the careless manner of gathering and 
partly to the fact that it is not       
originally of as good quality as        
,brazilian rubber1 ,congo rubber is not 
as valuable for manufacturing as        
,brazilian4 ,then complete the circle by

 following the belt across the ,indian  
,ocean to ,ceylon and the ,east ,indies 
which contain the great rubber          
plantations where most of the rubber    
used to-day comes from4  ,to establish a
 rubber plantation requires very careful
 planning4 ,the choice of a site is of  
first importance1 for the planter must  
find a locality having a moist climate  
with an evenly distributed rain-fall    
where the temperature throughout the    
year does not fall below seventy degrees
 ,fahrenheit1 and where there is        
protection from the wind4 ,there must   
also be1 of course1 access to a steady  
labor supply and a convenient shipping  
port4 ,as the proper climate is a       
tropical one1 there is usually dense    
jungle to be cleared away4 ,immense     
trees and thick bushes1 rank straggling 
weeds and vines form an almost          
impenetrable jungle4 ,to turn such a    
place into a garden spot means a genuine
 battle against jungle conditions4 ,but 
gradually trees1 shrubs and undergrowth 

are torn out and burned1 laying bare the
 rich soil ready for the plow of the    
planter4  ,meantime the rubber seedlings
 have been sprouted in nurseries4 ,when 
the ground is ready they are carefully  
taken up and transplanted to the holes  
which have been made for them in the    
field where they are to be permanently  
planted4  ,though the growth of the     
trees is very rapid1 sometimes as much  
as twenty feet in the first year1 there 
are five years of anxious waiting and   
guarding against winds and disease      
before they are ready to be tapped and  
so begin to reward the planters4 ,at    
first the yield of a tree is only about 
one-half pound of rubber a year1 and    
this increases so slowly that it is many
 years before it amounts to as much as  
ten pounds a year4 ,the highest yield   
ever recorded was given by one of the   
original trees set out in the gardens at
 ,heneratgoda1 which gave ninety-six and
 one-half pounds in one year4  ,how     
different is life on the rubber         

plantations of to-day from the life of  
the gatherer of wild rubber in the      
jungle4 ,in ,brazil1 the solitary       
workers have to plunge at dawn into the 
perilous forest1 with its lurking       
wildcats and jaguars1 its coiled and    
creeping serpents4 ,the dwellings are   
flimsy huts1 food is scarce and         
expensive1 and disease and fever cause  
many deaths4  ,on the other hand1       
workers on a well-managed plantation    
live in comfortable houses in healthy   
surroundings and are supplied with      
plenty of good food4 ,in fact the       
conditions are so much better than      
generally prevail among natives in the  
,orient that work on a plantation is    
considered more desirable than most     
other forms of labor4 ,the unmarried men
 live in barracks1 but the men with     
families have individual houses with    
garden plots adjoining4 ,big kitchens   
prepare and cook the food in the best   
native style4 ,schools for the children1
 recreation centers for old and young1  

and hospitals to care for the sick1 are 
all parts of the plantation             
organization4  ,in erecting hospitals   
and caring for the health of its        
plantation workers1 as in other branches
 of the rubber industry1 ,america has   
taken the lead4 ,so well is this        
recognized1 that the ,dutch ,government 
has awarded a medal to the ,united      
,states ,rubber ,company for the        
efficiency and completeness of its      
plantation hospital1 which happens to be
 the largest private hospital in the    
,east ,indies1 having accommodations for
 nearly a thousand patients4            
,,chapter #g  ,,harvesting ,,the        
,,rubber   ,it is a cheerful sight to   
see the workers1 men and women1 dressed 
in all the colors of the rainbow1       
trooping out from their quarters to     
begin the day's work4 ,the tapping must 
be done early in the day1 for the latex 
or rubber juice stops flowing a few     
hours after sunrise4  ,when the trees   
reach eighteen inches in girth at a     

point eighteen inches from the ground1  
they are ready for tapping4 ,this growth
 is usually attained when the trees are 
about five years old4  ,in tapping1 a   
narrow strip of bark is cut away with a 
knife1 the cut extending diagonally     
one-quarter of the way around the tree4 
,at each succeeding day's tapping the   
tapper widens the cut by stripping off a
 sliver of bark one-twentieth of an inch
 in width4#b ,he must be careful not to 
cut into the wood of the tree1 as such  
cuts not only injure the tree but permit
 the sap to run into the latex and spoil
 the rubber4 ,when the tapper has made  
the proper gash in the bark he inserts a
 little spout to carry the dripping     
latex to a glass cup beneath4   #b ,this
 method of tapping is shown on the front
 cover4   ,later in the morning the     
workers make the rounds of the trees    
with large milk cans1 gathering the     
latex from the cups4 ,when the cans are 
full they are carried to a collecting   
station1 called a ,coagulation ,shed4   

,it is as clean and well kept as a      
dairy4 ,here the latex is weighed1 and  
when each collector has been credited   
with the amount he has brought1 it is   
dumped into huge vats4  ,the next step  
is to extract the particles of rubber   
from the latex and to harden them4 ,the 
jungle method of hardening rubber is to 
dip a wooden paddle in the latex and    
smoke it over a fire of wood and palm   
nuts4#c ,it is a back-breaking process  
to cover the paddle with layer after    
layer1 until a good-sized lump1 usually 
called a biscuit1 is formed4 ,the       
plantation method is a quicker and      
cleaner one4 ,into the vats is poured a 
small quantity of acid1 which causes the
 rubber cream to coagulate and come to  
the surface4 ,the coagulum1 as it is    
called1 is like snow-white dough4 ,it is
 removed from the vats and run in sheets
 through machines which squeeze out the 
moisture and imprint on them a          
criss-cross pattern to expose as large a
 surface as possible to the air4   #c   

,see picture1 page #ab4   ,these sheets 
of rubber are then hung in smoke houses 
and smoked from eight to fourteen days  
in much the same way that we smoke hams 
and bacon4 ,after being dried in this   
way they are pressed into bales or      
packed in boxes ready for shipment4     
,,chapter #h  ,a ,,last ,,word   ,it    
would be an adventure to follow a bale  
of plantation rubber as1 carefully boxed
 or wrapped in burlap1 it starts on its 
long and picturesque journey4 ,bullock  
carts1 railroads1 boats and steamers    
bring it at last to one of the world    
markets1 ,singapore1 ,colombo1 ,london1 
,amsterdam or ,new ,york1 where it is   
bought by dealers1 and then sold to     
factories which make rubber goods4  ,an 
equally fascinating story might be told 
of its progress through the factory1 how
 it is kneaded and rolled1 mixed with   
chemicals1 rubbed into fabrics1 baked in
 ovens1 and finally emerges as any one  
of the tens of thousands of articles    
that are made wholly or partly from     

rubber4  ,rubber manufacturing is       
peculiarly an ,american industry4 ,south
 ,america gave us the original rubber   
trees1 and the one man who1 more than   
any other1 was responsible for making   
rubber useful was the ,american1        
,charles ,goodyear4 ,to-day1 two-thirds 
of the entire output of rubber is sold  
to the ,united ,states1 whose           
manufactured rubber goods set the       
standard for the whole world4  ,in spite
 of the wonders which rubber has already
 accomplished1 and the adventures1 which
 have colored its history1 only the     
beginning of the romance of rubber has  
been told4 ,the plantation industry is  
still in its infancy1 and experiments   
are constantly being made to determine  
the best methods of planting1 the most  
fruitful number of trees to the acre1   
the most advantageous way of tapping4   
,in the laboratories of the great rubber
 manufacturers1 scientists are at work  
improving old methods of using rubber   
and devising new ones4  ,rubber is a    

substance of so many important          
characteristics that its uses are       
countless4 ,it is used for certain      
purposes because it stretches1 for      
others because it is airtight and       
watertight1 for others because it is a  
non-conductor of electricity1 for others
 because it is shock-absorbing1 and for 
others because it is adhesive4  ,it is  
on rubber that infants cut their teeth2 
after all the teeth are gone old age    
makes use of rubber in plates for false 
teeth4 ,ten million motorists and other 
millions of cyclists in the ,united     
,states ride on rubber tires that are   
durable1 noiseless and airtight4        
,balloons of rubber float aloft1 and    
huge submarines plow their routes       
beneath the ocean's surface propelled by
 electricity stored in great rubber     
cells4 ,sheathed in rubber1 the         
lightning makes a peaceful way through  
our homes1 offices and factories1       
furnishing light and telephone service4 
,divers sink out of sight beneath the   

waves in rubber suits4 ,rubber air-brake
 hose on railroad trains makes safe the 
travel of a nation1 air-drill hose      
rivets our ships1 fire hose protects the
 properly in city and town and garden   
hose brings nourishment to our growing  
plants4 ,rubber clothing protects       
against storm and rubber footwear guards
 us against cold and wet4 ,tennis balls 
and golf balls and rubber-cored         
baseballs give healthful sport to the   
millions4 ,in hospitals and medical work
 the uses of rubber are without number4 
,to select the most important use to    
which rubber is put would be difficult4 
,one student of the subject says3  ,of  
all the applications of rubber1 that of 
packing for the steam engine and        
connecting machinery appears to have    
been the most important1 as it has been 
an essential condition of the           
development and extended use of steam as
 a motive power4  ,even as you read     
this1 rubber may be in the act of       
performing some new magic1 some fresh   

service to mankind4 ,and who knows which
 one of us will1 in the years to come1  
write a chapter in the story of rubber  
more thrilling than we are able to      
imagine to-day6     ,a ,,review ,,and   
,,questions   #a4 ,who was the first    
white man to see rubber8  #b ,what use  
were the natives making of it8  #c4 ,who
 was the first white man to go up the   
,amazon8  #d4 ,of what nationality were 
the explorers who were sent to find out 
about rubber8  #e4 ,who was the first   
,european monarch to use rubber8  #f4   
,how did rubber get its name8  #g4 ,how 
did rubber first come to the ,united    
,states8  #h4 ,why are some raincoats   
called mackintoshes8  #i4 ,why is       
,charles ,goodyear called the father of 
the rubber industry8  #aj4 ,what is     
vulcanizing8  #aa4 ,what famous men     
fought in court over the patents8  #ab4 
,what has a beetle to do with rubber8   
#ac4 ,name and describe the liquid in   
which rubber is found8  #ad4 ,in what   
part of the tree is this liquid found8  

#ae4 ,what is the difference between    
this liquid and the sap of a tree4  #af4
 ,name and describe the best rubber     
tree4  #ag4 ,how are the seeds spread8  
#ah4 ,what climate is needed for rubber 
trees8  #ai4 ,which country formerly    
supplied all the rubber used in the     
world8  #bj4 ,who first thought of      
growing rubber trees on plantations8    
#ba4 ,why did he think it was better to 
grow them on plantations8  #bb4 ,how    
were the rubber seeds taken from        
,brazil8  #bc4 ,on what tropical island 
was the first plantation started8  #bd4 
,where are rubber plantations found     
to-day8  #be4 ,what is the yearly output
 of the plantations8  #bf4 ,what was the
 curious coincidence in the growth of   
the plantation industry8  #bg4 ,what is 
meant by the ,rubber ,belt around the   
world8  #bh4 ,what countries are the    
principal producers of rubber8  #bi4    
,why is the worker on a plantation      
better off than one who lives in the    
jungle8  #cj4 ,when are trees ready to  

be tapped8  #ca4 ,how are trees tapped8 
#cb4 ,how is rubber cured in the jungle8
  #cc4 ,how is it cured on the          
plantation8  #cd4 ,why is rubber        
manufacturing peculiarly an ,american   
industry8     ,,rubber ,,products       
,there are so many different articles   
made in whole or part of rubber that it 
would not be possible to list them all  
on this page4 ,the following list of    
just a few of the thousands of rubber   
products made by the ,united ,states    
,rubber ,company1 the oldest and largest
 rubber organization in the world1 will 
help you to think of many other articles
 made of rubber4  ,,tires  ,u4,s4 ,royal
 ,cord ,automobile ,tires4  ,u4,s4      
,mono-,twin ,truck ,tires4  ,u4,s4      
,traxion ,tread ,motorcycle ,tires4     
,u4,s4 ,bicycle ,tires4  ,u4,s4 ,royal  
,tubes for ,automobile ,tires4          
,,clothing  ,raynster ,raincoats4       
,naugahyde ,belts for ,men1 ,women and  
,children4  ,bathing ,caps and ,suits4  
,,footwear  ,keds1 the ,standard ,canvas

 ,rubber-,soled ,shoes4  ,u4,s4 ,boots4 
,u4,s4 ,arctics and ,gaiters4  ,u4,s4   
,rubbers4  ,,hard ,,rubber ,,goods      
,battery ,jars4  ,radio ,parts4  ,dye   
,sticks4  ,,household  ,hot-water ,bags4
  ,rubber ,gloves4  ,ice ,caps4  ,tubing
 and ,sheeting4  ,nursing ,bottle       
,nipples4  ,toys4  ,fruit ,jar ,rubbers4
  ,,mechanical ,,goods  ,u4,s4 ,rainbow 
,packing4  ,u4,s4 ,rainbow ,transmission
 ,belting4  ,u4,s4 ,elevator and        
,conveyor ,belts4  ,u4,s4 ,hose for all 
purposes1 including ,garden1 ,steam1    
,suction1 ,water1 ,fire1 ,oil1          
,irrigation1 etc4  ,paracore ,insulated 
,wire and ,cable4  ,moulded ,goods in   
thousands of varieties1 as1 for example1
 ,washers1 ,gaskets1 ,plumbers' ,rubber 
,goods1 ,drainboard ,mats1 ,bath ,mats1 
etc4  ,u4,s4 ,tile and ,sheet ,flooring4
  ,,sundries  ,naugahyde ,traveling     
,bags4  ,u4,s4 ,royal ,golf ,balls4     
,balloons and ,balloon ,fabrics4        
,,notice ,,to ,,teachers   ,these       
booklets are intended for presentation  

to your pupils4 ,a full supply will be  
sent to you1 free of charge1 if you will
 indicate the number of students in your
 class4  ,please address    ,educational
 ,department   ,united ,states ,rubber  
,company   #agij ,,broadway   ,new ,york
 ,city