TAPPING 



157 



the trees were tapped, but only on one side each alternate day. 

 The yield per tree was the same in each case, but the second 

 estate got its yield with only one-half the amount of bark 

 excised which was thought necessary in the case of the first 

 estate. 



FIG. 41. Tapping by Half-herring-bone, Quarter-section 

 System, Four Cuts. 



Tapping by means of spiral oblique cuts on a one-third 

 section of the trees is a system very popular in Ceylon and not 

 unknown in other countries. Each one-third section of the tree 

 has to last for a year, and thereafter, if and when the tree 

 has grown sufficiently, the tree is divided into quarter-sections. 

 The dangers of using up the bark too quickly is much greater 



