i 4 8 RUBBER AND 



from the lowest cut was more concentrated and con- 

 tained a higher percentage of rubber. 



The trees described above were old, and possessed a 

 good thickness of bark. In the case of younger trees 

 we should probably expect the difference to be still 

 greater. On the other hand, the rate of tapping was 

 exceedingly rapid, the whole of the bark being removed 

 from one side of the tree in six months. The evidence 

 on the whole, however, seems to point to the conclusion 

 that the distance between successive cuts may profitably 

 be made greater than 12 inches. In other words, a 

 reduction in the number of cuts on a given area of bark, 

 as compared with the systems now generally adopted, 

 would probably lead to more satisfactory results. 



The above experiment shows further that in the case 

 of mature trees there is little difference between the 

 initial yields of latex from areas of bark situated at a 

 height of I 3 feet and 4 6 feet from the ground 

 respectively. Generally speaking, there is a slight 

 falling off in yield as we pass up the trunk from ground 

 level, owing to the diminished thickness of bark and the 

 smaller girth of the tree. In the lower part of the 

 trunk of mature trees this falling off is not very rapid, 

 and the fact that tapping is often confined to the lowest 

 six feet of the trunk is largely a matter of convenience. 



It must be remembered that the lowest cut of all 

 drains a larger area of bark than any of the other cuts, 

 a fact which partly accounts for the very much larger 

 yield obtained from it. 



