28 



THE WHOLE ART OE RUBBER-CROWING 



possible that a neater and. more scientific application 

 of the principle he adopts (which is a magnified 

 " pricking " with the machette) would be found to 

 give results much more satis- 

 factory than those associated 

 with the herring-bone, half- 

 herring-bone and spiral sys- 

 tems now in general use among 

 planters. From personal ex- 

 perience ranging over a long 

 period in the whole realm of the 

 rubber zone, which embraces 

 countries as far apart as Brazil 

 and North Borneo, I am per- 

 suaded that the good method 

 is to be found in a modification 



a Vertical incision from tap- r ,1 „ , j t. wi- 



ping line to base of tree, ot the system pursued by the 



seringueiro in the tapping of 



the Hancornia or Mangabeira 



rubber trees. There is no need 



to describe this particular 



method in detail. Suffice it to 



say that it has some likeness 



to the sketch submitted herewith. 



In no case should the trees subjected to this system 



be tapped at a greater height than 20 inches from the 



base. The incisions should be made half-way around 



the trunk 6 inches apart, leaving room for the long 



vertical cut in the centre. As soon as the incisions 



are made a spray of ammonia water (1 to 100 



solution) may with advantage be applied to the 



20 inches in length convey- 

 ing the latex to the cup at 

 base of tree. 



b Tapping line, 20 inches from 

 base of tree. 



c Space between lateral in- 

 cisions = 6 inches. 



d Latex Cup 



