MAXIHOT GLAZIOVII 



centre of the section — which must on no account 

 face the sun. Into this channel the communicating 

 incisions or ribs of the her- 

 ring-bone converge, and the ID) ^"" [ j" 1 ^ 

 latex is thus conveyed to the 

 Collecting-cup at the base. 

 The vertical incision must 

 be a full J inch wide, whilst 

 the proper width of the com- 

 municating cuts depends of 

 course upon the length of 

 the period over which it is 

 intended to tap the tree. 

 Thus, if it is intended to ex- 

 haust the tapping area in 

 one season, it will be neces- 

 sarv to make J-inch in- 

 cisions over each of the 

 1 2-inch sections, embracing 

 the full herring-bone, every other day. A solution of 

 i per cent, ammonia water should be employed to pre- 

 vent premature coagulation in the collecting-cups. 

 Tapping should begin soon after 6 a.m. and finish by 

 9 a.m. Evening tapping is to be recommended, as the 

 latex invariably flows more freely at that period, 

 but the work should be concluded before sunset. All 

 reagents in coagulating the latex of the Manihots 

 exercise a more or less deleterious effect on the 

 finished product, and should if possible be avoided. 

 In the case of a large plantation where time and 

 expediency are of prime importance, and it is essen- 

 tial that the rubber should be made and despatched 



f 2 



(a) Length of tapping area. 



(b) Tapping sections, which aie 

 operated upon every other day. 



(c) Latex-collecting cup. 



(d) Circumference of mature 

 tree. 



