RUBBER 61 



other a stirrup in which he keeps his left foot. By 

 moving the rope up the tree the ascent is quickly accom- 

 plished, and when stationary, both hands are left free. 

 The climber carries a gouge, or semi-cylindrically-faced 

 chisel, with which he cuts vertical as well as transverse 

 oblique grooves, forming a rough " herring-bone " pattern, 

 which may be continued for the whole length of the 

 trunk, and even extend on to the main branches. To 

 make the cuts the tool is either used in one hand or is 

 held in the left and driven by blows on the end of the 

 handle, given with the palm of the right hand. The 

 flow of latex commences at once, and is directed down 

 the vertical channel into a calabash placed at the base 

 of the tree, into which the latex is guided by a lip of 

 clay or a chip of wood. The illustration shows a native 

 in Ashanti tapping a tree (Fig. 18). The quantity of latex 

 procured at the one tapping varies; an exceptionally 

 large amount being about two quarts from a large tree. 

 The tree is not tapped again for several months and until 

 the wounds have healed. On the second tapping the 

 same form of cuts is made upon the opposite side of the 

 tree, and the transverse channels often intersect those 

 made previously ; besides this, owing to the want of 

 regulation in the depth of the cuts, the inner or cambium 

 layer of the bark may be so damaged that the intersecting 

 cuts may ring the tree and cause death. Few trees 

 probably survive the third or fourth tapping. 



If the herring-bone cuts were made carefully upon the 

 lower part of the trunk, and attention given to their 

 depth and direction, the tree might be preserved for a 

 longer period. An illustration given shows the incorrect 

 mode of tapping, where the transverse cuts are opposite 

 instead of alternate (Fig. 21). Experiments seem to show 

 that there is not the same " wound response " in the case 

 of Funtumia trees as is found in that of the " Para " 

 tree (Hevea brasiliensis) ; the paring of the wounds some 

 days after tapping yielding no flow of latex similar to 

 that procured in the first instance. On cutting the bark 

 area between the transverse channels, the latex cells 

 appeared to be empty and to indicate that a large area 

 is drained on the first tapping. Further investigation is 

 necessary in order to compare the results obtained from 

 this tree with those of Hevea. 



