FORESTRY . L075 



mine their tensile Btrength. The data obtained are tabulated and the following 

 conclusions drawn: 



"Ceylon fine, when used to denote the oriental source of fine Para, means a grade 

 lacking in uniformity when the tensile strength is considered. The curing qualities 

 of Ceylon fine indicate thai ii has a decidedly slower action than the South American 

 product. A future paper will Bhov this difference more clearly. Mill deportment 

 indicates thai all of these oriental samples are much softer and are less nervous than 

 the occidental types." 



The spiral system of rubber tapping, I. Etherington | Trap. Agr. <iu<l Mag. 

 Ceylon Agr. Soc., :■'■ ' 1905), No. 5, pp. 641-646, pi. 1 \.—A description of the spiral sys- 

 tem of tapping worked oul by C. Northway and E. I ». Bowman on the Deviturai 

 Estate in the Southern Province of Ceylon. This method of tapping is used on Il< r,<i 

 brasiliensis. It is employed only on tree- which have a girth of L8 in. or more :; ft. 

 from the ground, or when al I 5 j ears old. 



The firsl time trees are onlj lightly tapped up to a heighl of 4 ft. from the ground, 

 starting 1 ft. from the base of the tier. The firsl process is to mark the place for the 

 spiral cut. This is done in stenciling ink with a Bheet-tin guide. < m \ < ■ 1 1 1 1 *_r trees al 

 the firsl tapping 2 spirals only are cut parallel and 1 ft apart, each spiral going once 



around the tree. r I Mm spiral cut- are made al an angle of 15 or more; the younger 

 the tree, the greater should he the slope. ()n older trees the spirals are continued 

 up the tree to 6 ft. high or more. 



The first cut in the trunk is made with a special knife, which is used as if it were a 

 plane. The following day the cut is reopened with a paring knife having a steel 

 Bpring, which works againsl the trunk to prevenl cutting the cambium. < >n alternate 

 days the shaving knife is replaced with a pricking tool, which is a small revolving 

 spur fitted on a handle. This is run along the edge of the spiral cut, puncturing the 

 hark close against the previous day's wound and along the wound surface. The 

 object of the pricker is to save cutting away the hark so quickly. When the shaving 

 knife alone was used it was found that 2 in. width of hark was cut away in one month, 

 and when the pricker was used on alternate days only 1 in. of hark was removed 

 per month. The How of latex produced by the pricker Seems just as full as that pro- 

 duced by cutting the hark. 



The average yield of rubber by the V system of tapping on the estate was l lb. per 

 tree per annum and by the spiral system 5 lbs. per tree per annum, tn 1903, 248 

 trees of various girths gave 240 lbs. of rubber by the V tapping. These same trees 

 the following season by spiral tapping yielded 1,317 lbs. of rubber. The tapped 

 trees appear to be less injured under the spiral Bystem than under the old V system 

 oi tapping. 



In the case of joung trees it is believed thai tapping should nol Btart until the trees 

 begin to flower; that is, the fifth year. The labor required under this system is about 

 5 trained coolies per acre. Each cooly can tap about 400 lineal feet or 720 in. of 

 <rirth per day, or 30 to 4i) trees. 



The yields from the trees noted above were obtained on swampy land not believed 



to We especially suited to ruhher production. It IS Stated that this system ol tapping 



is pidly being extended. 



Ceara rubber m Brazil i Manihot gdaziovii), A. Mori. ay ( Unarbre d caoutchouc 

 du Brisil,le Manitoba. Paris: A. ChaUamel, 1906, pp. 31, figs. 16). A botanical descrip- 

 tion is given oi this Bpecies oi ruhher, with an account ol its culture in Brazil, includ- 

 ing methods of extracting the latex, and the production of hard rubber. 



Sapium aucuparmm in Ceylon [Drop. Agr. and Mag. Ceylon Agr. Soc., .'■'> (1905), 

 No. 3, pp. /.'•', ;.''•'>. it is stated that this tree is grown in Ceylon under the name 

 ot S. biglandulosum. It grows to a height ol about 40 ft arid Beeds freely. In tap- 

 ping experiments the latex dried to a brittle resinous Bubstance, and planters are 

 advised to wait and see w hat product- can be obtained by mixing the latex oi this 



