YIELD AND DENSITY OF LATEX 



81 



The quality and quantity of the latex varies con- 

 siderably during the tapping season. From the middle 

 of June to the end of July the density is high and the 

 yield abundant; in August and September there is a 

 marked diminution in quantity, and this is attributed 

 locally to the fact that in these two months the trees 

 are wintering, and the rainfall is much less than at any 

 other time of the year ; in October the quality falls off, 

 owing to the trees flowering during this month. To- 

 wards the end of the tapping season the density is 

 lower than in June and July, showing that the trees 

 feel the effects of the daily extraction of latex. It is 

 interesting to note these facts, as they differ widely from 

 the conditions prevailing in Ceylon and the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



A few of the tests made in 1913 demonstrate clearly 

 the average density of the latex obtained from trees 

 in the districts adjoining the Rivers Madeira and 

 Purus. They also permit some comparison in the 

 quality incidental to the use of the machadinho and the 

 gouge. On the Madeira the tests were made during 

 the first fortnight in September, and the results 

 were 



