For over a year our writers have been working on our reference section to prepare for the launch of Latin Art Mall. We have hundreds of articles on the History, Arts and Crafts, Cuisine, Flora and Fauna of Mexico, Central and South America. In addition to articles about the products we sell, there are hundreds of interesting articles about the life and culture of various countries and just about everything you could imagine. From the Inca, Mayan, and Aztec civilizations to the Best resorts in Mexico; you will find it all.

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For the very first of the rubber story we may thank a little wood-boring beetle, and the way nature has of helping her children to protect themselves. The thistle of the meadow is as safe from hungry cattle as though fenced in by barbed wire. A cow must be starving that would care to flavor her luncheon with the needles that the thistle bears. The common skunk cabbage would make a tempting meal for her after a winter of dry feeding, had not Nature given it an odor that disgusts even a spring-time appetite. The milkweed welcomes the bees and flies that help to distribute her pollen where she wants it spread, but she has her own way of punishing the useless thieves that trespass up her stalk. Wherever the hooks of an insect’s feet pierce her tender skin, she pours out a milky juice to entangle its feet and body, and it is a lucky bug that succeeds in escaping before this juice hardens, and holds him a prisoner condemned to die. All over the world there are plants with the same ability that the milkweed has, but it is especially true of certain trees and vines of the tropics. As soon as the little beetle begins to bore into the bark of one of these trees, there pours out a sticky, milky fluid that kills the insect at once. If this were all, the wound would remain open, ready for the next robber who came along. In order that the break may be healed, a cement is necessary, but not a hard, unyielding one, for that would crumble away with the motion of the tree in the wind. This juice is not the sap of the rubber tree. Sap, which is the life-blood of the tree, flows through the wood, but the juice we are describing is contained in the inner bark, a thin layer directly below the outer bark. Scientific men call this juice latex. It is like milk in three ways: it is white, it contains tiny particles that rise to the top like cream, and it spoils quickly. The Hevea tree grows sixty feet tall, and when full grown is eight or ten feet around. It rises as straight as an elm, with high branching limbs and long, smooth oval leaves. Sprays of pale flowers blossom upon it in August, followed in a few months by pods containing three speckled seeds which look like smooth, slightly flattened nutmegs. When the seeds are ready to drop the outer covering of the pod bursts with a loud report, the seeds shooting in all directions. This is Nature’s clever scheme to spread the Hevea family. The tree grows wild in the hot, damp forests of the Amazon valley and in other parts of South America that have a similar climate. The ideal climate for the rubber tree is one which is uniform all the year round, from eighty-nine to ninety-four degrees at noon, and riot lower than seventy degrees at night. The Amazon country has a rainy season which lasts half the year, though the other season is by no means a dry one, and so for half the time the jungles are flooded. These rubber storehouses had been growing for thousands of years in the Amazon jungle with their wealth securely sealed up in their bark, the peck of a bird, the boring of a beetle, or the scratch of a climbing animal being the only draft upon their treasure. The trees around the mouth of the river supplied whatever was needed for the little manufacturing that was at first done. But the discovery that made a universal use for rubber changed all this. Brazil was surprised to find what great treasure her forests contained. Large rubber areas were found a thousand miles up the river and she began in a serious way to develop a large crude rubber business. 

The Jaguar

The jaguar is the Western Hemisphere’s most powerful and largest wildcat, even larger than the leopard.  The jaguar is a magnificent animal with a multiple colored coat although typically, this animal has a brown/yellow coat with black spots although a few are white.  The adult male can reach between four and seven feet in length, not counting the tail, which can measure an additional 17 to 30 inches and approximately three feet tall.  A full-grown jaguar can easily weigh as much as 300 pounds, making it a fierce competitor. With a body consisting of heavy muscled shoulders and forearms, the jaguar is capable of finding and capturing prey.  The head is huge, the legs thick and long, and the hind legs are flexible and strong for climbing.  Each of the front paws has long claws that retract, which is also used for climbing and holding onto prey.  The tongue is similar to that of a standard housecat, so rough it can actually peel skin off the prey’s flesh and meat from the bones.  Interestingly, while the jaguar is strong and built for endurance, it also has a soft, loose underbelly that when kicked by other animals, does little, if any injury. Jaguars are found in the United States to include Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, along with Asia and Africa. However, jaguars are also common in both Central and South America, particularly in the rainforests.  One of the most spectacular of all jaguars is the black species that can be found in South America.  This particular animal likes to live in lowlands, tropical rainforests, or swampy areas.  On occasion, you will also find jaguars in grasslands and forests, generally around lakes, rivers, marshland, in caves, or under rocky ledges, and sometimes, in shrubbery.  However, wherever jaguars live, they prefer the ground to be soft, often using things like leaves to rest on. While some cats such as lions live in families or packs, jaguars tend to be loners.  In fact, they become exceptionally protective over their territory, not wanting any other animal to come near their den.  The behavior of the jaguar is fierce, in fact being the fiercest of all cats.  As outstanding hunters and swimmers, this cat will find food both on land and in the water.  When on land, they will often stay hidden in the shadows, watching and stalking prey.  As other animals stop by the water’s edge to drink, the jaguar will quickly pounce and devour. In all, about 80 different animals are the jaguar’s prey.  For example, they often feed off cattle, making them a threat to ranchers, as well as rodents, sheep, birds, deer, turtles, tapir, fish, armadillos, wild pig, iguana, capybaras, and even crocodiles.  Jaguars are even known to hide tall in rainforest trees where they prey on monkeys.  Even with such a great appetite and variety of food supply, it is rare for a jaguar to attack a human.  While there have been some reported instances, again, this is very uncommon. When jaguars live in the rainforest, they will generally mate any time of year whereas when in other regions, they mate only late in the year.  During the mating and pregnancy season, the male and female will cohabitate.  The female will remain pregnant 95 to 110 days at which time she will have a litter of one to four cubs.  Weighing just two pounds or so, the cubs will not reach maturity until age three for females and age four for males.  Regardless, both the male and female jaguar lives about 20 years. While the babies are growing up, the male jaguar will remain with the female, teaching them to hunt, defend themselves, find shelter, and all the necessary life lessons.  The mother’s role is to feed the cubs and to help them hunt during the first two years of life.  Sadly, jaguars are hunted in Central and South America for a number of reasons.  Sometimes, they are hunted to protect cattle, sometimes for sport, and sometimes for the beautiful hide, which has great demands.  While poaching of these fine animals continues today, it is not as bad as it once was.  When in Central or South America, perhaps you will be fortunate to see one of these amazing and beautiful animals up close.