One of the remarkable plants that Mother Nature has filled our land is the Hevea tree.What is special, what he came up with the use of man, and how does it look like?Let's face it.
The appearance and features of the plants
Hevea (rubber tree) - is a tropical plant that is found in Indonesia, Malaysia and South America.It is especially the fact that when the incision of the cortex to the outside appears milky white juice, which resembles the familiar milkweed juice and dandelion.Frozen mass of Indians was used for the manufacture of various household items, including balls for ritual games.
Hevea tree itself belongs to the genus of red trees, so different extraordinary strength and hardness of the wood, which is also easy to process.Products made him resistant to decay, so it is very durable and beautiful.But the main value of this evergreen plant up to fifty meters is its juice.
rubber milk
That's what the people of the tropics called juice, which gives the plant Hevea.Latex (the same juice scientifically) is not extracted from each tree.First of all it must reach the age of ten or twelve years.And to determine the age of rubber trees helps only its height and trunk diameter as the rings on the cut and texture, it does not matter."Adults" can be considered a plant height of 24 meters and a diameter of 75 centimeters.To produce rubber from a single tree can be up to thirty years, then he cut down and replaced with a young plant.But do not put special geveyu: in moist and warm environment of its large seeds that resemble chestnuts, themselves sprout.Therefore, workers are even forced to thin out overgrown young plants so they do not become a jungle.
It is worth noting that the latex is extracted not only from Hevea.Has similar properties of thick juice of some species of figs, yet the Brazilian plant - the most productive, and rubber from it it is of higher quality.That's why the tree Hevea filled all the world's plantation.
How to collect rubber?
The juice which is extracted from rubber trees, contains, in addition to the rubber, water, proteins, gums, ash and sugar.Therefore, after collection and purified fluid "squeeze" of water.This so-called crude rubber, which is subsequently transformed into a material for various rubber products.
Every morning tree Hevea undergoes such an operation: on the trunk of a special knife incision, deep and sloping.Underneath attached container for collecting milk juice - clay or porcelain cups are small.One day per plant can be gathered about two hundred grams of juice.After lunch, working bypasses rubber plantation and merges all the content in a can.And then the "harvest" is sent to the factory for further processing.
Hevea juice factory
what to do with the juice collected from an unusual tree?His filter, acetic acid and poured into large trays.There's plenty of compacted and freezes.Then they rolled across the white cloth patterned iron rolls and dried.The final stage - smoking, whereby the rubber gets voskoprozrachny color and protection from hungry ants.
Life One Tree
It is worth noting that the old rubber tree looks very bad.He had been every day for fifteen or twenty years disfigure cuts.This crust covers the entire trunk from the ground up to human height (above the juice collecting uncomfortable).Each new groove is lower than the previous total on the part of the cortex, and when one side of a tree covered with notches, then move on to another.When and where there will be no place untouched, a worker returns to the front of the trunk and cuts tightened scar "wounds."Total for the life of a rubber trees on her body cause about ten thousand cuts from which to collect two tons of rubber.
It should be noted that the content of rubber plantations - it is very profitable.On the world market a ton of raw material costs about six dollars, and one tree can give a year juice for 40-50 dollars, without requiring special expenses.That's why in the Malay Archipelago on every available piece of land was growing Hevea.Wood photo that is presented in this article is considered the gift of the gods, and it is an important part of the economy.
Afterword
It is worth noting that today often use wood and rubber wood for furniture, frames, kitchen accessories, floor.Especially good cutting boards out of it, because they do not absorb moisture.A special coloring Hevea allows exclusive things and implement the most fanciful imagination of designers.Here it is, a unique tree from the New World, which has made human life more comfortable.And now the main task of Homo sapiens is a preservation of this plant, because it can disappear from the face of the earth because of the intensive use.
