CHEWING GUM

     In the early 1870s an American school boy, Horatio Adams, was assisting his father Thomas, In experiments with chicle, the dried sap of a Mexcian jungle tree. Thomas originally tried to make rubber out of it. When this failed, he and young Horatio idly chewed pieces of chicle - and discovered its most promising use. They soon established a business to manufacturing it for chewing. Although various types of tree gum and even flavored paraffin wax had been chewed in the U.S. since the mid 19th century chicle based gum soon replaced all others