All the rubber we see leaving the machine is white. We go now to the drying-room, and there we find sheets and crêpe in all shades of yellow, hanging over the wooden rails that stretch from end to end and side to side of the apartment. The material turns yellow as it dries; sometimes it takes on a pale lemon tint, sometimes a rich, deep amber, or golden hue. The quality of rubber does not depend on the shade of the material, but if any dirt has been allowed to get into the milk, the light-hued strips tell tales more plainly than the dark ones. The rubber which is finished off in the drying-room is uncured. We are very anxious to see the smoking-room, for we know that every planter’s great ambition is to turn out of his factory rubber which is so thoroughly well cured that it can compete with the exceptionally well cured Brazilian Para. We are even more anxious to get out of that room. After a very few minutes we feel that not for another moment shall we be able to breathe in such an atmosphere. On the ground floor beneath us a big fire is consuming cocoanut shells, and belching forth clouds of smoke. We cannot actually see the smoke, but, like all the rubber around us, we are getting the full “benefit” of it as it finds its way through a double ceiling of perforated zinc. The smoke is turning most of the rubber in this room brown; some thin crêpe, which has been here nearly three weeks, and some thick crêpe, called “blanket,” which has been here over a month, are very dark brown. You are quite right in thinking they must be well baked. They will soon be taken from their present quarters, packed up and sent to market; and they are so well cured, and are of such excellent quality, that they will probably fetch a higher price per pound than the best quality wild Para. It is in this room that you happen to make your first acquaintance with some crêpe rubber of a greyish hue. It is made from scraps, which are collected by the tappers from trees, cups, and cans, after they have taken the day’s milk to the factory. The scraps are washed as clean as it is possible to get them, and then put through the crêping machines. Plantation scrap is far superior in quality to wild scrap. CHAPTER XVIII RUBBER GOODS In England, the chief markets for raw rubber, wild and plantation, are London and Liverpool. The other principal importers are the United States, France, Italy, Belgium, and Russia. The making of rubber goods is an important industry in all these countries. America is well ahead as the biggest importer and manufacturer. Germany and Austria also have some fine factories, and both were big importers of raw rubber in pre-war days.