CEYLON 141 



seriously retarding the growth, and the practice has 

 been abandoned, with few exceptions. Tapping is 

 begun on trees of five years old if the girth is 18 inches 

 or more at 3 feet from the base, the methods in general 

 use being the single V, the half-spiral, and the herring- 

 bone. Women, and children of fourteen to sixteen 

 years, are frequently employed at this work, and become 

 expert tappers. Tapping begins at daybreak, and by 

 10 a. m. the bulk of the latex is delivered at the factory, 

 where it is mixed with an equal quantity of water and 

 then treated with acetic acid in the proportion of i part 

 acid to 1,000 parts latex, or an even weaker solution if 

 the density is high, to produce coagulation ; it is then 

 passed through the washing and creping machines, 

 and thence to the vacuum dryer or the drying-rooms. 

 The proportion of rubber to latex of average density 

 should be i pound of dry rubber to one-third of a 

 gallon of latex. When the drying machine is used, the 

 rubber after treatment is conveyed to well-ventilated 

 rooms, where it is hung for some days ; when no arti- 

 ficial heat is possible, the rubber is suspended in sheds 

 for several weeks to allow the moisture to evaporate. 

 It is then packed in wooden boxes containing 112 pounds 

 each, and is ready for shipment to Colombo, where it is 

 received and stored by agents until shipped or sold 

 locally. 



Opinion is much divided on the question of frequency 

 of tapping. In some quarters it is stated that practical 

 experience shows the trees tapped daily or on alternate 

 days yield an equal quantity of latex at the end of a 

 year. A few planters maintain that tri-weekly tapping 

 will produce as much latex as in the case of trees 



