144 



RUBBER AND 



encouragement before it will flow smoothly in the right 

 direction, without overflowing the channel. The merits 

 of good tapping consist in taking off the thinnest 

 possible shavings compatible with a free flow of latex 

 and preserving an even depth of cut, close to the 

 cambium but never touching it. The cuts should be 

 as clean and as sharp as possible. 



Tapping Tools. 



Of tools used in paring there is a great variety upon 

 the market. Many of these are highly effective, and it 

 is not our business here to puff the goods of any 

 particular maker. The writer's view is that the simplest 

 tools are the best, and that a great deal is to be said for 

 the original and primitive forms the gouge and farrier's 

 knife or slight modifications of these. Such tools are 



Fig. 21. Gouge and Farrier's knife. 



very widely used in the Malayan plantations, but the 

 Ceylon planter seems generally to prefer a more compli- 

 cated weapon. The simpler tools may necessitate 

 greater care at first on the part of the tapper, but 



