The latex thickens during the day, forming a sort of flat ball or biscuit of rubber, which goes on augmenting as the tapping process is multiplied. At the end of a week the rubber which has been obtained, is gathered together and washed in cold water, with a view of eliminating the remains of the serum and other impurities. This method, although primitive, permits of the production of pure rubber. The trunks and branches of the maniçoba are also cut; however, such system occasions great inconvenience. The extensive flaws heal up with difficulty, as the bark of the tree is relatively thin the lactiferous vessels are located in the deep layers; it is not a rare thing that the death of the tree is caused thereby or that the attack of rodent insects or mushrooms is thereby facilitated. It may be of importance to note, that the incisions made simultaneously on the trunk, the branches and the underground parts, speedily exhaust the maniçobeiras; and so the system of an alternate cutting is preferable. The tappings are practiced during the first six months of the year and extend themselves over a period of from 50 to 60 days. Owing to the lack of data, the average yield of production, which varies according to the age of the trees, cannot be determined, however, the average production of the planted maniçobas may under reserve, be calculated to reach during the space of 60 days 120, 180, 240, and 300 grammes per tree of 2, 3, 4 and 5 years respectively, in accordance with a calculation made by Dr. L. Zehnter. The actual cost price in the plantations does not exceed 1$500 per kilo, and might be reduced through an improvement in the systems employed; the cost price of rubber from the native maniçoba is higher, due to the dearness of labor and of freights. * * * * * There is so far no process which may be called the best for extracting rubber from the mangabeira; the process in use varies with the region, all of them, however, leading to the complete extinction of the plant. Under the pretext of the cupim destroying the plant, attacking the incisions that have been made, the latex is usually extracted at a small height from the ground. In the “sertões” or wild woodlands of Bahia, Pernambuco and Parahyba, the extraction is done by making a spiral cutting from the thickest branches to the ground, where the cavity is made for receiving the latex. Nevertheless, the incisions with the cup attached is now being employed, in the same manner as is customary with the seringueira; for that purpose, the exploiters make horizontal incisions or in shape of a V, with a small instrument called an =alegre=, penetrating the entire coating of the bark, in the full length of the trunk, from the thickest branches down to the base, about 45 centimetres distance one from another.