692 RUBBER 



India, and adopted on some of the estates in Coorg in 

 preference to the above. This is the vertical system, in 

 which all the cuts are made vertically down the tree over 

 the tapped area. This system has the advantage of 

 giving a much longer cut, and in some cases it produces 

 an increased yield. The cuts heal rapidly and well if 

 care is taken not to wound the cambium. No figures are 

 available for a strict comparison between the two 

 methods, to which no objection can be raised owing to 

 the variability of yield of individual trees; but in Coorg 

 one large block of Ceara has been tapped on the vertical 

 system, and another near by has been tapped over the 

 same period of time on the herring-bone system, and the 

 results show that there is probably little to choose 

 between the two methods, and, as far as young trees are 

 concerned, it would appear that the choice between the 

 two methods depends largely upon the personal taste of 

 the manager and the ease with which the particular class 

 of labour employed can be taught to use either method. 



When we come to deal with old trees 8 years or 

 more the bark has become sufficiently thick and firm to 

 enable paring to be done, and they can be tapped in a 

 similar way to that adopted for Hevea, the half herring- 

 bone system being usually used with three or four cuts. 

 Here again the vertical system can be, and is, employed, 

 the vertical cuts being easily pared. 



By the adoption of these methods, and taking great 

 care not to wound the cambium and to dress at once 

 such wounds if made accidentally, it has been found quite 

 easy to tap large areas of Ceara successfully without loss 

 of trees and to make this industry a paying one. 



A few " pricking " methods of tapping have been ex- 

 perimented with, but they were not attended with success 

 under our conditions, and the systems described above, 

 or slight variations of them, have been finally adopted 

 after a large number of experiments, as most suited to 

 our conditions of labour and climate. Some tapping on 

 renewed bark has been done with excellent results. 



Whatever system of tapping is employed, the outer 

 bark, which is rough and leathery, must be first removed 

 from the tapping area, and it should be removed from 



