HEVEA BRASILIENSIS 33 



bark incision employed by the seringueiro in the 

 Amazon forests. 



Bark-paring is now the general rule throughout 

 the Mid-East, and if in this connexion it were possible 

 to say that the great and irritating problems of bark 

 conservation has now been solved, then planters have 

 to thank Dr. Fitting, an eminent and painstaking 

 scientist, whose little brochure on the subject, written 

 after a visit to Ceylon and Malaya, and as the result 

 of a long series of experiments on the spot, should be 

 in every planter's bungalow. It is, however, too 

 early to declare for any system where bark excision is 

 the rule, for the simple reason that the tree itself has 

 not yet had time to answer the questions applied to 

 it in this matter. 



The fundamental principles of the " Fitting " 

 system of tapping are based on bark conserva- 

 tion and daily or bi-daily access to the tree for latex 

 gathering. With this end in view, planters are 

 exploiting their Heveas in the following manner. 



At the commencement of the season all trees that 

 have attained a girth of 17 inches three feet from 

 the base are marked for tapping in consecutive num- 

 bers. Each tree is then divided, so far as the tapping 

 area is concerned, into three parts representing three 

 years' work in bark excision and latex extraction. 

 During the first year part one only is exploited. The 

 next year part two is operated upon, part one being 

 allowed to rest for bark renewal, whilst in the third 

 year the remaining section of the tree is tapped, 

 section two resting, and section one, supposed now 

 to have fully recovered after the removal of the bark 



C 



