99 



3- TAPPING WITH A PRICKER. 



Besides the methods of working- already indicated, 

 tapping- may be effected by means of a pricker. Instead 

 of making" incisions down to the cambium, but without 

 touching it, the pricker is run along each of the side 

 lines. The point of the pricker should touch the cam- 

 bium. This method has some advantage in that the 

 cells around the spots which have been tapped are to 

 some extent protected, and the whole is less exposed to 

 drying out, as it is covered with a thicker layer of bark 

 than when tapping by incision. The pricker can be 

 used without cutting the bark away, or a light incision 

 may be made in the bark, and then the pricker run 

 over it, so as to enable the tool to get at the latex 

 vessels easier. 



I am told, however, that the pricking system is not 

 used on Estates in the Malay Peninsula. The wounds 

 do not heal well, the bark forms many stony cells, and 

 the production of latex is inferior to that obtained with 

 a knife. 



