CHAPTER VIII. 



WHEN TO TAP. 



Age or size as criterion— Resin in young trees of Castilloa Rubber- 

 Analyses of rubber from 2, 4, 6, 8, 10-12, and 30-year-old Para 

 rubber trees — Two-year-old tree illustrated — Age of tapping trees in 

 the Straits — Age of tapping trees in Malacca — Age of tapping trees 

 in Ceylon — Age and size considered — A manufacturer's opinion of 

 rubber from 8-year-old trees — Minimum size for tapping — How to 

 increase the tapping area illustrated — Measurements of forked and 

 straight-stemmed trees at Henaratgoda — The best season for 

 tapping - Atmospheric conditions and the flow of latex— Results in 

 Ceylon. Java, F.M.S.. & ■. — Latex flow during the leafless phase 

 — Use of ammonia and formalin — What part of the day to tap — 

 Yields in morning and evening — Compass tapping — Frequency of 

 tapping and results at Henaratgoda. 



IN discussing this part of the subject it is necessary to take into 

 consideration the age and size of the tree, so as to determine 

 when it may be tapped for the first time. 



Several botanists have argued the question, and as it is one which 

 concerns the quality and quantity of the latex and the dimensions 

 and physical condition of the tapping area, it needs to be con- 

 sidered carefully. 



Importance of Age. 



Ule and Seeligmann state that in the Amazon District the tree 

 requires 15 years to come to tapping maturity in open plantations 

 and 25 years in the forest, and one cannot help concluding from this 

 statement that either the cultivated plants in the East thrive much 

 better in their land of adoption Hum the wild ones in their native 

 habitat, or that the collectors are less eager to commence tapping 

 operations in the Amazon District than in Ceylon and the Straits. 



Cross stated that in Para the trees were tapped if they had a 

 circumference above 18 or 24 inches, the operations being carried 

 out until the trees were killed. On plantations in the East such 

 dimensions may be attained in four to six years. 



Trimen, in 1884, believed that the trees in Ceylon should be ten 

 years old before commencing tapping operations. 



Johnson is of the opinion that the size, and not the age, of the tree 

 indicates when it can be safely tapped, and that tapping may be 

 commenced when a tree has a girth of 20 to 24 inches a yard from 

 the ground. 



