198 FORESTRY IN THE LANDES 



so-called scrape is collected in a bucket at each tree, or is allowed to fall 

 on a piece of cloth spread around the base of the tree. 



(6) Palette (or Palinette). — A flat trowel, or scrape, for transferring 

 the soft resin from the pots (attached to the trees) to the collection 

 bucket. The short handle shown in the figure (b) is of wood, usually 

 reinforced with an iron band. The wooden bucket, or "I'escouarte," 

 usually holds 5.2 gallons. When the bucket is full the resin is trans- 

 ferred to a barrel, used for transport to the turpentine still, or is stored 

 temporarily in a "bare," a wooden tank sunk in the sand and protected 

 with a wooden cover. A bare holds 60.7 to 92.4 gallons. 



(c) Hapchot (new model is called Bridon). — This is the special axe 

 for clipping the face. The successive shavings are made from right to 

 left, or from the top downward; the left hand is placed on top, resting 

 against the iron of the axe; the right hand underneath grips the wooden 

 handle (see Fig. 17b). Each shaving is cut clean and thin and starts 

 the resin canals flowing again after they have become clogged up. The 

 length of handle depends on the height of the incision above the ground; 

 it is used for clipping faces of the first, second, and third year periods. 

 If used for the fourth and fifth years (fifth year now generally abandoned) 

 the workman must use a ladder, usually simply a notched pole. 



(d) Rasdet. — The curved cutting edge (at the right) is used for 

 clipping the high faces of the fourth or fifth years of tapping. The tool 

 has a long handle and is used like the hapchot, described above. The 

 straight cutting edge (at the left) is used for making incisions to hold thin, 

 flat pieces of wood which prevent the gum from dripping on the ground 

 and guide it into the pot. 



(e) Place-Crampon (or Pousse-Crampon). — The place-crampon is 

 used for inserting at the base of the face the zinc blade, or crampon, 

 which finally guides the resin into the pot without any waste. The 

 workman holds the place-crampon in his left hand with convex face 

 (shown in Fig. 18) toward the soil, the edge on the lower part of the 

 face where he wishes to insert the gutter. It is then tapped with a wooden 

 mallet, held in the right hand, and an incision made about one-fifth of 

 an inch into the wood of the tree. The place-crampon is then pulled 

 out, the gutter tapped into place, and the pot is then hung below the 

 gutter. The tin trays which hold the resin (in use at La Teste) were 2.3 

 by 6 inches; but usually earthenware pots are used of the same capacity.'* 



^ In 1836 (according to J. H. Ricard) H. Serres suggested terra cotta troughs in- 

 stead of the wasteful "box" cut in the base of the tree. Hughes, in 1841, suggested a 

 small earthenware pot but the improved methods were not adopted until about 1855 

 or later. Galvanized sheet-iron "cups" have been tried because they are Ughter 

 than the earthenware pots. The nail to hold the cup is a bad feature, since it might 

 be left in the butt log and cause damage to saws at the mill. Probably the ideal "cup" 



