— 97 — 



3. Spare Tapping (Yojogaki). 



Gashes are made almost like those in the Ordinary Exhaustion 

 Tapping. The main feature of this tapping is that it does not injure the 

 growth of the tree greatly in the first year, and successive tapping is 

 kept up for the ensuing two years. To this end, far fewer gashes are 

 cut and the tapping of " Original lac " starting at the beginning of July 

 terminates at the end of August or at the beginning of September. No 

 further collection of " Short lac " (Urame-urushi) is underkaten, and the 

 trunk is left to grow for the next year. The tapping is carried on 

 successively every ensuing year till the tree finally dies. Only well-grown 

 large tree over 15 years old are suited to the purpose. 



4. Three Years' Spare Tapping. 



The tapping differs but little from the preceding in principle. Its 

 peculiarity is the duration of tapping which lasts only for three years, 

 at the end of which exhaustion is effected. Thus, the number of gashes 

 is more greater than in the 3rd method and the tapping goes on from 

 the end of June up to the middle of August. At the end of the 3rd 

 year, the tree is subjected to the same treatment as in the Ordinary 

 Exhaustion Tapping. 



In comparing the four methods of tapping above described, in the 

 first two methods, total exhaustion is aimed at in one season since the 

 trunk is killed after a single year's tapping while the other two aim to 

 have successive production for ensuing years. We shall only compare the 

 first two methods, since the other two are quite different in the principle. 



II. Quantities of Lac produced by " Ordinary Exhaustion " 

 and "Prime Exhaustion" Methods 



According to the result of experiments carried out in Hatano, Kana- 

 gawa Prefecture, in 1906, the quantity of the lac obtained by both 

 methods was inconsiderable till the end of June; from the beginning of 

 July to the end of August, the production was the largest, and it fell 

 from September when the vegetation was greatly checked partly by the 

 fall of temperature and partly by the continued tapping, and the vigor of 



