86 MOZAMBIQUE 



fifty four-year-old trees tapped on six successive 

 days by twelve men. This was probably wet 

 rubber, so 40 to 50 per cent, may be deducted 

 for drying ; a further deduction has to be made 

 for impurities such as bark, which it was 

 admitted was present ; but the results are still 

 remarkably good. 



I tapped some thirty trees, and the flow of 

 latex from them being such as to promise that 

 under proper management the trees should yield 

 handsomely. 



The deadlock which the management of this 

 plantation had apparently reached, and the rich 

 returns that might have been and still may be 

 obtained each year as more trees come into 

 bearing, is an example of the importance of 

 securing skilled management, and the folly of 

 thinking that any one who can speak the native 

 language can manage a rubber estate. 



The principle of stabbing or pricking is now 

 generally accepted as the most successful system 

 for the East Coast of Africa, but it is important 

 that this system should be applied in the right 

 manner. The stabs should be made with the 

 flat of the knife held horizontally, not vertically, 

 as was being done in this case, and they should 

 be made close together. The trunk of the tree 

 may be divided for the purposes of tapping into 



