26/ 



This "chain samma" was illustrated in the Agn'ciillunil Bulletin of 

 the Straits and F.M.S., vi., IQ07, p. 389. In it the side cuts as of 

 the herring bone alternate and each is prolonged downwards until it 

 meets the next cut of the other side, its lower part thus serving as 

 the conducting channel, the course of the latex flowing down to the 

 cup being thus along a zig-zag which has feeders at each of its 

 elbows. 



" A third report on the experimental tapping of para rubber" 

 was issued by Messrs. Ridley and Derry in the year, wherein (p. 2) 

 it was observed that "tapping on alternate days showed an advantage 

 over tapping daily" and which advocated tapping by a half herring 

 bones following basal tappings. The report further contains much 

 outside the subject of the treatment of the trees. 



Although tapping knives had now been adopted in the Gardens 

 and the damage to the trees had become very much less, the tapping 

 periods were still kept short under the argument that the "crop of seeds 

 was .... of the first importance .... and heavy tapping" might 

 be "detrimental to seed production" and ought to be avoided. 

 Therefore to carry through 30 successive tappings — sometimes a few 

 more and sometimes a few less — was the course pursued ; and after 

 the tappings a prolonged rest was given. 



In 1910 the last real tapping experiment was done on the 

 Singapore trees. It was a comparison of the full herring bone with 

 the half herring bone, and was done on the trees which had served 

 for experiment 7 in 1906 and 1907. Whether it influenced planting 

 opinion or not, it coincided with a breaking away from the old 

 practice of many cuts. 



In this year all the other tapped trees were tapped in a rotation, 

 some of course at a season favourable for a large flow of latex, others 

 at an unfavourable season. Comparisons of yield under such 

 circumstances are not worth much and do not concern us : what does 

 is that the trees were not being tapped in tapping experiments. 



From the year 191 1 to the end of the first quarter of the year 

 1914 the tapping rotation has been continued. In 1914 it was aban- 

 doned as it entailed unproductive work. 



Mr. Derry 's attention was meanwhile diverted to coagulating 

 experiments, and in 1912 the retirement of Mr. Ridley gave him 

 wider administrative duties, in consequence of which subordinates 

 were left to carry out the tapping and to enter the results. The 

 records of the years 1911 and 1912, have many mistakes in them. 

 These mistakes the writer considers as cases of the copying of wrong 

 numbers and not of the tapping of wrong trees, for it ought not 

 to have been possible by carelessnees for these men to tap wrong 



