Two inclined converging incisions are then made, one across each flat 

 face, for the reception of the two sheet-iron gutters. The incisions are 

 made by a right-handed and a left-handed workman, each with a broad- 

 ax, having a straight-edged blade 12 inches wide. The men work on 

 opposite sides of the tree ; each man directs the head of his broadax 

 somewhat downward, and w r ith one stroke makes an inclined gash about 

 one-fourth of an inch deep, across the flat face on his side of the tree. 

 The incisions are made slightly deeper at their lower ends. The gash 

 on one side should be made about an inch lower than on the other, but 

 both should be so placed that there will be a space about 3 inches .wide 

 above them for the passage of the hack in the later chipping of the faces. 

 Into the incisions thus made the galvanized iron gutters are firmly inserted , 

 either by pressing one edge upward into the cut, or, better, by slipping 

 the gutter endwise into the upper end of the cut and pushing it downward 

 into place (fig. 1). The lower end of the upper gutter is brought to, 

 and then forced down one-fourth of an inch beyond, the angle where the 

 two faces meet ; while the inner end of the lower gutter should pass beyond 

 the angle about one and one-half inches, thus forming a spout to convey 

 the resin from both gutters into the cup below (fig. 1). 



In hanging the cup, care should be taken to drive the nail (a com- 

 mon 6-penny wire nail) at a sharp downward incline, and deep enough 

 to leave only about three-fourths of an inch exposed. The nail is 

 driven on the same side of the tree with the upper gutter, so that the cup 

 when hung shall not be more than half an inch below the end of the spout 

 of the lower gutter, and the nail shall be as far as possible from the 

 dripping resin. This point is of great importance, for when the cups 

 are filled with rain water, the fresh resin, lighter than water, at first 

 forms a floating disc on the surface. As more resin drops on this, the 

 disc enlarges until it touches and becomes anchored to the wall of the 

 cup. If the cup is properly placed, this point .of contact will be well 

 away from the nail-hole, which will consequently not be clogged by the 

 resin. As more resin drops upon this floating disc, the growing weight 

 will shift the center of gravity and cause the viscous mass to sink lower 

 along the side of the cup nearest the spout ; at the same time, the water 

 level will rise until the nail-hole permits an overflow. Thus each fresh 

 drop of resin will force out a drop of water, while as the water does not 

 rise to the top of the cup no resin is floated over the edge. After the 

 streak has practically ceased running, the water above prevents the resin 

 in the cup from losing its spirits of turpentine by evaporation. 



Where the equipment is to be placed on trees which have previously 

 been worked under the box system, it is unnecessary to provide the 

 flat faces described, as the surface left by the chipping of the previous 

 season answers the same purpose. One of the chief advantages of the 

 new method is that the cup and gutters are placed each season imme- 

 diately below the streak, thereby insuring a yield greater in quantity and 



