PARA RUBBER. 57 



different from any other pricking instrument known. In order to 

 distinguish it from others I propose to name it a " Comb " pricker. 

 It consists essentially of a flat steel blade or comb provided with a 

 dozen sharp teeth on one side ; the teeth are 5 mm. wide and 9 mm. 

 long and the blade is 1H cm. in length, so that a tapping line one 

 foot in length (30| cm.) could be pricked in three operations. The 

 blade slides along two side grooves and is provided with two project- 

 ing pieces of metal for handling during adjustment. The blade can 

 be pushed outwards or drawn inwards, thus allowing only a definite 

 length of each tooth for the pricking operation. The ease with which 

 the length of all the teeth can be adjusted is a great advantage, 

 as a cooly going from tree to tree can, though he only possesses one 

 piece of metal, accurately change the length of the teeth according 

 to the thickness of the bark on the trees being tapped. 



A further advantage in the " Comb " pricker is that the latex tubes 

 are incised by merely pressing the line of teeth against the cortex, 

 and dragging of the bark cells is therefore almost impossible. In 

 other prickers the tapper naturally draws or pushes the instrument 

 in a particular direction, and the unavoidable dragging may result 

 in a clogging up of individual milk tubes. The teeth of the " Comb " 

 are very easily sharpened and the simple and effective apparatus 

 is mounted on an arched handle whereby a good grip is obtain- 

 able, and the required pressure can be applied during tapping 

 operations. 



The Macadam-Miller Paring Knife. 

 This paring knife consists of two detachable paring surfaces 

 connected by a screw roller; the cutting parts are on opposite 

 sides and may be moved outwards or inwards by turning the 

 screw, and can therefore be adjusted according to the depth of 

 the bark to be excised. The essential parts are lodged in a 

 substantial steel head which is attached below to a wood handle. 

 The knife is constructed so that the operator may cut from 

 right to left or left to right, from above downwards or below 

 upwards. The essential parts are rather difficult to get at and 

 may prove troublesome to a cooly who is not accustomed to 

 adjusting the paring edges. 



(8) 



^<^ " g^)^ 



