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value of India-rubber has so steadily continued to increase, that 

 the desire for gain, and an improvident spirit has induced 

 the mountaineers to carry on this occupation throughout the 

 year ; and it is now by no means an uncommon thing to meet 

 with trees perishing from sheer mutilation. Prior to 1872, 

 when caoutchouc was simply used by the highlanders for torches, 

 and water-proof covering to baskets, the Ficus elastica was only 

 tapped between the months of December and March, and the opera- 

 tion confined to the higher portions of the trunk and woody 

 branches of mature trees. This system appears correct enough, so 

 far as it goes, and is one that would naturally suggest itself to all 

 familiar with vegetable life ; for the season chosen is when the tree is 

 richest in caoutchouc ; neither does the operation then interfere with, 

 or obstruct the vigorous vegetation of the tree in the hot months, 

 as it would, were the sap withdrawn during the period of rapid 

 growth. No doubt there is ample room for improvement in the 

 method of tapping, i. e., in respect to the position and direction of 

 the incisions, which should be regulated with regard to a copious 

 flow, and cicatrization. However, we have still a long time to wait 

 before our trees will be fit for tapping, and as I have not sufficient 

 knowledge from personal experience in this branch of the business, 

 I cannot offer better advice than, that we be guided by the opinion of 

 Mr. Gustav Mann, who has already submitted most valuable 

 reports to the Government of India on the Ficus elastica plantations 

 in Assam, of which he has been in charge for some years past. 



376. The age of the tree and other circumstances all have 

 their influence in regulating the proportion of caoutchouc in the sap, 

 but no reliable information could be obtained as to the yield per 

 annum of mature trees ; by some it was computed at fifty-six Diss, 

 though I am inclined to think fifty pounds would be nearer the 

 mark. 



377. Before concluding I will say a few words regarding the 

 preparation of caoutchouc, for it often happens that, for want of 

 care in the manufacture of the article, its price falls in the 

 home market, and gains a bad name for the province whence it is 

 exported, although the inferiority is wholely attributable to care- 

 lessness on the part of the collectors, who, in this instance, are 

 likewise the manufacturers of the raw material. For caoutchouc to 

 realize its highest value, it is not only necessary that it should be 

 free from adulterations and all impurities, but it is of still greater 

 importance that the aqueous portions of the emulsion should be 

 entirely expelled. From what I have, however, seen of the 

 rubber produced in Burma Proper, this last precaution is seldom 

 attended to ; the consequence is that, on cutting open the lumps 



