336 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



CONDITION OF TREES. 



At regular intervals during the three 

 years of operation, careful study was 

 made of the condition of the trees in 

 each half of the crop. The results 

 of these studies by years follow : 



TABLE IV. Record of down and of 

 dead trees. 



Of the 44 trees blown down in the 

 cupped half of the crop during the 

 three years of operation, only 8 fell 

 because they were being turpentined. 

 These 8 were small trees on which 

 too deep incisions had been cut by the 

 broadax. Of the 78 trees blown 

 down in the boxed half of the crop, 

 the fall of 59 was due to the cutting 

 of the boxes. The larger number of 

 cupped trees blown down from causes 

 other than the method of collecting 

 the resin is due to the fact that many 

 had doty hearts and were unfit for 

 boxing, but just as well suited to cup- 

 ping as sound trees. Many of these 

 were snapped off above the turpentine 

 face by a storm in the spring of 1903. 



TABLE V. Productive surface lost 

 from all causes. 



By far the greater part of this loss 

 in both half crops was due to con- 

 stantly increasing "dry face." It is 

 evident that in the first year the box 

 cutting was largely responsible for the 

 wide disparity in the amount of dry 



face in the two half crops, but after 

 the first year the chipping was the de- 

 termining factor. In fact, the rate of 

 increase of dry face after the first year 

 is greater in the cupped than in the 

 boxed trees, and is due, no doubt, to 

 the higher average number of faces 

 per tree in the cupped half. (See 

 Bulletin 40, page 27.) 



IMPROVEMENTS. 



Since the cup and gutter system has 

 been in use, a number of improve- 

 ments in the equipment and in meth- 

 ods have been made. 



Cups. The quality of the cups has 

 been materially improved. Many of 

 those first used allowed the resin to 

 seep through. This was due to the 

 fact that the cups were made in molds, 

 a method of manufacture requiring a 

 soft, wet clay. This objection has 

 been entirely overcome by the use of 

 machinery and a stiff and much drier 

 clay. The new cups allow no seepage 

 and are just as desirable for collecting 

 the resin as if they had been glazed 

 at considerable cost. 



Shipping the cups. The complete 

 success attained in shipping the cups 

 in bulk has effected a saving to the 

 operator, both in decreased breakage 

 in transit and in the cost of the wooden 

 crates formerly used. 



Dipping. At the time cups were in- 

 troduced it was hoped that with expe- 

 rience the dippers would be able to 

 collect as much gum per day from j 

 cups as is usual from boxes. This I 

 hope has been more than realized, for 

 in practically all cases it has been 

 found that the dippers are able to col- 

 lect more gum per day from cups than 

 from boxes. Difficulty was frequent- 

 ly experienced in getting good box 

 dippers to undertake the dipping of 

 cups, but after the change was once 

 made a preference for cup dipping 

 was uniformly noticed. 



Use of the broadax for facing. 

 The most important advance made ini 

 the application of the cup and gutter 

 system has been the substitution of 

 the broadax for the club ax in making 



