It grew to a considerable size, and yielded a peculiar sap
or gum. It was the custom of the natives to make several incisions in
each tree with an ax, in the morning, and to place under each incision a
cup or jar made of soft clay. Late in the afternoon, the fluid thus
obtained was collected in a large clay vessel, each incision yielding
about a gill of sap per day. This process was repeated for several days
in succession, until the tree had been thoroughly drained. This sap was
simply a species of liquid gum, which, though clear and colorless in its
native state, had the property of becoming hard and tough when exposed
to the sun or artificial heat. It was used by the natives for the
manufacture of a few rude and simple articles, by a process similar to
that by which the old-fashioned "tallow-dip" candles were made. It was
poured over a pattern of clay or a wooden mold or last covered with
clay, and successive coatings were applied as fast as the former ones
dried, until the article had attained the desired thickness, the whole
taking the shape of the mold over which the gum was poured. As the
layers were applied, their drying was hastened by exposure to the heat
and smoke of a fire, the latter giving to the gum a dark-black hue.
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