&3 



the percentage increase is not much, and with the use of a washing 

 machine scrap will be very little less valuable than fine rubber. 



The half herring bone differs from the full herring bone in that 

 the lateral cuts are made on one side only of the vertical channel. 

 The cuts may be to the right or left as in found most convenient to 

 the coolv in 'cutting, and the cuts are twice the length of those in 

 the full herring bone. 



This method will, I believe, shew advantage over the full herring 

 bone in so far as it will adapt itself to the general right handedness 

 of the cooly if all the cuts slope up from right to left, and this 

 method of cutting is I believe the best that will be adopted. 



The advantages may for the sake of clearness be recapitulated: — 

 The number of cups is a minimum. The wear and tear of the 



cups is reduced to the smallest value. 



The method is capable of being systematically carried out on a 



large scale. 



The plan of cutting is simple and adapted to quickest and easiest 

 manual labour. 



From the foregoing consideration it may, I think, be fairly as- 

 sumed that the "half herring bone" is the method to ba adopted, 

 and it now remains to shew how the areas for tapping may be 

 plotted out and systematically arranged. 



Here I fee! to be treading on rather dangerous ground in so far 

 as lack of knowledge of practical planting may subject me to the 

 accusation of meddling with things outside my own domain. That 

 I have no intention of doing, all that relates to the tapping and 

 collection of latex, the effect of wounding rubber trees, the age at 

 which tapping may be safely begun and kindred subjects are fit 

 and suitable for discussion by any ope who troubles to read the 

 evidence by which controversial opinions are formed. But to return, 

 assuming the half herring bone with lateral cuts half way round the 

 tree, assuming the cuts to be reopened nineteen times and one-eighth 

 of an inch removed in each of these occasions — taking the initial cut 

 as being about half an inch in width, there will finally result a scar 

 three inches wide. For the purpose of illustration wo may suppose 

 the trees after tapping are given a rest of six months and then again 

 tapped, this time on the opposite side of the trunks, after another six 

 months they will be again tapped on the original side, opening 

 lateral cuts immediately below the original ones, at the end of a 

 further half year the similar process with be applied to the opposite 

 side of the tree. In this way, if the orginal lateral cuts were at 

 intervals of six inches the whole of the area of the trunk suitable 

 for tapping would be worked over once in two years, by which time 

 the first formed scars would be completely healed. 



It is clear too that each tree would be in use, that is being tap- 

 ped, on two occasions of twenty days each during the year, that 

 is to say would be in milk on 40 days in the year. It therefore 

 follows that J--^ total number of trees tit for tapping must be 



