Rubber plantation in India, in Kerala

From the archive record

A rubber plantation in Kerala, India. Cups are placed next to grooves notches on the tree's trunk, to allow the sap to gently drip into them, for collection. Natural rubber, also called India Rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer (an elastic hydrocarbon polymer) that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be 'tapped', that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined into a usable rubber. The purified form of natural rubber is the chemical polyisoprene, which can also be produced synthetically. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, as is synthetic rubber. It is normally very stretchy and flexible and extremely waterproof. Source - Wikipedia Th