Rubber

T and W Musgrove discuss the origins and early uses of rubber  A The plants that produce rubber are spread right across the globe, and grow in many different habitats. One might think it likely, therefore, that humankind has known about rubber for thousands of years. Yet, unlike other crops of economic importance, rubber led a relatively anonymous life until the last 150 years or so. The Indians of South America ‘appear to be the first people to have understood the properties of rubber...