46 RUBBER 



thereon. The operator stands on the ground to make 

 the lower ones ; when he has reached as far up as he 

 can in this way, he climbs the tree by means of a bush- 

 rope ladder, or hauls himself up in a rope cradle, or on 

 stirrups made by twisting a rope spirally round the 

 trunk. At the base of the trunk a calabash is put, 

 and the latex trickles down into this by way of the 

 zigzag cuts. 



The latex is poured into the dabree, where it naturally 

 coagulates into sheets. These sheets are hung up first 

 on the framework of the dabree to drain, and then in 

 a shed to dry ready for being sent down to town, to 

 the owners of the grant. 



Under peril of losing their licence, the owners are 

 responsible for seeing that their labourers obey certain 

 regulations, which have been made with a view to 

 keeping the balata-trees in good condition. No tree 

 may be tapped until its trunk measures 3 feet round 

 at a distance of 4 feet from the ground. Only half the 

 trunk surface may be bled in one season ; the cuts 

 must not exceed a given depth, must not be more than 

 IJ inches wide, and there must be a distance of it 

 least 10 inches between any two of them. No part 

 of a tree may be retapped until the old wounds have 

 quite healed, a process which takes from four to five 

 years. 



Balata is largely used for machinery-belting. 



