PARA RUBBER. 



One disadvantage in the use of this instrument is that pieces 

 of bark get jammed in the apex of the triangular cutting portion 

 and cause it to split It is patented by the Eastern Produce and 

 Estates Company, Ltd., 41 Eastcheap, London. 



The following specification of the patent taken out for the 



instrument is given here as it 

 appears in the India-rubber 

 Journal of February 1904: 



Patent No. 25,973 (1903)- Date 

 of application, 27th November 1903. 

 Accepted, 1 7th December 1903. The 

 Eastern Produce and Estates Com- 

 pany, Ltd., 41 Eastcheap, London, 

 merchants. 



It is well known that india- 

 rubber is the exudation of a tree, 

 and is usually obtained by "tap- 

 ping" or "bleeding" the tree by 

 making slits, grooves, or cuts in the 

 bark, generally in a slanting direc- 

 tion. As the gum exudes from the 

 tree and flows down to the lower 

 end of each incision, it is received 

 into a small can or other vessel at- 

 tached to the tree for that purpose. 

 It is most important that the 

 "tapping" or "bleeding" operation 

 should be carefully and properly 

 performed, or the health and pro- 

 ducing properties of the tree might 

 be affected, or the tree might be 

 killed. For example, the depth of 

 the slits, grooves, or cuts should not 

 be excessive, and the lower ends 

 of two adjacent incisions should not 

 meet or intersect, but should be 

 stopped short before forming a 

 complete V at the point of attachment of the collecting can or other vessel. 



The implement forming the subject of this present invention enables the 

 " tapping " or " bleeding " operation to be performed with facility and 

 expedition without endangering the life or health of the tree. 



In the accompanying drawing Fig. i illustrates the implement in side 

 elevation, Fig. 2 is a view looking from right to left in Fig. i, and Fig. 3 is 

 a projection of the underside of the cutting end of the implement. 



a is a wooden or other handle of suitable size and shape, preferably 

 furnished at one end with a stabbing or piercing point b for the purpose of 



FIG. 6. An Implement for Tapping 

 Rubber Trees. 



