Note 138 — Chapter XIII

“India rubber is obtained from the milky juice of different plants in hot countries. The chief of these are, the Jatropha elastica and Urceola elastica. The juice is applied in successive coatings on a mould of clay, and dried by the fire or in the sun, and when of a sufficient thickness the mould is crushed and the pieces shaken out.” Nicholson.

“It has been discovered that caoutchouc is not exclusively the produce of the Heven caoutchouc, but that it is furnished by several other plants. We know it to be obtained in large quantities from the Jatropha elastica of South America, and Dr. Roxburgh has given us a description of an Indian plant (Urceola elastica) which affords a juice that when thickened has all the properties of the caoutchouc. We moreover know that the milky exudations of the Jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) the Banyan tree (Ficus Indica) and also that of the Arasum tree (Ficus religiosa) possess nearly similar qualities.” Ainslie’s Materia Medica of Hindoostan.