Automatic Age

th e a u t o m a t ic a g e
v °l- 2
CHICAGO, DECEMBER, 1926
No. 5
TH E AM ERICAN CHEW ING G UM
INDUSTRY
ORIGIN AND EXTENT OF THE INDUSTRY.
Chewing Gum Ingredients.
Chicle.
Chicle is a resinous gum derived
from the milky latex of the Nispero
(Achras sapota,) an evergreen tree
"which grows abundantly in the warm,
damp forest of Southern Mexico, Yu­
catan, Central America, British Hon­
duras, and adjacent South American
countries. Some interesting authori­
tative information on the chicle in­
dustry has recently been published1
from which the botanical data and
the information on collection and
Preparation is quoted.
Although the bulk of the world’s
Supply of chicle comes from Mexico
and British Honduras, nearly all the
central and tropical South American
republics are chicle producers, several
pf the latter having come into prom­
inence only during the last few years.
While the true chicle is produced
by the Nispero tree, the chicle ex­
ploited in Colombia is derived from a
different source, as is probably also
that obtained in the neighboring re­
publics. The exact botanical origin
° f the Colombian chicle is a matter of
some doubt, but it appears to be a
species of Couma. This genus be­
longs to Apocynaceae, a family con­
taining many economic plants of im­
portance, including several rubber-
yielding trees and vines.
The botanical source of chicle in
the different South American coun­
tries is apparently not known, but it
js not improbable that the tree may
be a species of Couma, as the Co­
lombian chicle tree appears to be.
As compared with the Mexico chi­
cle, the Colombian contains more
resin and less gutta, namely, 83.2 per
cent resin and 5.5 per cent gutta in
© International Arcade Museum
the wet material, as against 44.8 per
cent resin and 17.2 per cent gutta in
the Mexican material. The Colom­
bian product is therefore inferior to
the Mexican, and when used in the
manufacture of chewing gum, is
mixed with the latter.
According to the United States
Commerce Reports for June, 1920r
the total exports of chicle from Co­
lumbia for the year 1918 amounted to
690,496 pounds, about half of which
came from the Sogomoso river region
of the Magdalena Valley.
Collection and Preparation
The resiniferous latex from which
chicle is prepared occurs in the bark
of the tree, and is obtained by tapping
in much the same way as rubber or
balata. Incisions are made in the
bark, usually in V-shaped form, a
long knife known as a machete being
used for the purpose. The outfit of
a chicle collector, or chiclero, con­
sists of a machete, a rope for clinbing
the trees, and receptacles for collect­
ing the latex.
A series o f these V-shaped inci­
sions are made and usually connected
by a vertical channel, down which the
latex readily flows into receptacles
placed to receive it. Canvas bags
are preferred for this purpose because
they admit o f baling in large num­
bers, thus occupying the minimum
space for mule-back transportation.
The latex is conveyed to collecting
camps, where it is boiled down in
large vessels to a dough-like consis­
tency, then it is kneaded to remove
some of the water, and pressed in
wooden molds for exportation. The
largest quantity of the gum is pro­
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