RUBBER 707 



The Castilloas there, if any are still alive, merely cumber 

 the ground. 



Some ten years ago a tapping knife was evolved, I 

 believe, on the La Zacualpa Estate which is still in use. 

 There are varieties and perhaps improvements, but all 

 are much alike, and the principle of all is the same. The 

 depth of the cut can be regulated from about J in, 

 upwards; the width of the cut is about J in. I have 

 personally tried almost all kinds of tapping knives on 

 Castilloa rubber trees, but only one, in addition to the 

 knife now referred to, was of any utility. The exception 

 I refer to was an exhibit at the Rubber Exhibition held 

 at the Agricultural Hall. The name of the inventor or 

 originator has escaped me, but he came from Mexico, and 

 I tried his knife on some Castilloa rubber trees at that 

 Exhibition. It may be remembered as having a handle like 

 that of a saw and as running on wheels. It did the work, 

 but was not nearly so simple and effective as the knife 

 which is in use to-day on the largest estates in Mexico. 

 The latter is rather a murderous-looking implement, but 

 it must be remembered that the delicate tools used for 

 tapping Heveas are of no use whatever for tapping 

 Castilloas, the reason, I understand, being that the latex 

 cells of the Castilloa are long and vertical, one transverse 

 sloping cut completely draining some 4 to 6 or more 

 inches above it, while the Hevea latex cells are more like 

 a honeycomb, in which the slightest paring of the bark 

 should open up fresh cells. All Hevea tapping tools that 

 I have ever seen are useless for Castilloa. I have tried 

 triangle-shaped tools which would cut sufficiently deep, 

 but the waste bark choked them up at once. Any 

 Castilloa tool must have a free vent, with the cutting 

 edges of the blade nearly i in. apart. It must also have 

 an extra blade for opening the cuts. Such a knife makes- 

 a great gash in the tree nearly as wide as one's finger,, 

 but that would appear to be necessary, as Castilloa latex 

 at certain times of the year will not flow readily, and has 

 to be wiped out of the cut with the forefinger of the 

 tapper. The depth of the cut can be regulated according 

 to the age of the tree and consequent thickness of the 

 bark, and this matter should be carefully attended to by 



