512 



in yield after two or three operations is much the same as on pre- 

 vious occasions 15! oz. represent the first seven days collections 

 and 29^ oz. the second seven; the greatest quantity at one operation 

 being the twelveth morning when 5} oz. were collected, and the 

 least on the first two mornings which gave respectively 1 oz. and 

 1 J oz. 



Whether tapping should be done every day or every alternate 

 day is perhaps a question that cannot be definitely decided with the 

 limited experience we have gained in tapping, but I am decidedly 

 of opinion that alternate days are preferable, and that the latex be- 

 comes more watery when the tapping is continued daily. As re- 

 gards the best season for tapping there appears to be no reason 

 why it should not be done at any time except in excessively dry 

 weather when the latex certainly does not run as freely as in wet 

 weather, and dull cloudy days appear to be favourable to the flow 

 of latex. 



By the method of tapping described, although it appears to me to 

 be the best I have seen, a great deal of rubber is lost in and attached 

 to the slices of bark that are removed at each operation, and the 

 less expert the operater the greater the loss. During the tapping 

 just now completed the overseer who performed the work saved all 

 these chips and by boiling and pounding in a mortar removed most 

 of the woody matter and produced a ball weighing half a pound, 

 but not quite dry, that looks not unlike a very poor dirty sample of 

 Rambong as sometimes seen in the market When operations 

 come to be carried out on a large scale 1 suspect that this will be 

 worth considering for although discoloured and containing a pro- 

 portion of woody matter there is no doubt it will find a market at a 

 price. A very neat little tool for tapping was recently sent me for 

 trial by Mr. R. S. ME1KLE which effects a great saving in labour 

 especially in opening the cuts on the first commencement of opera- 

 tions but whether it is as good as a chisel for subsequent operations 

 or for old trees is doubtful. My man discarded it in iavour of 

 the carpenter's chisel with which he thought be obtained a better 

 flow of latex and after trying it myself I came to the same conclu- 

 sion and the reason is that such a tool cannot be kept with such a 

 fine edge as a chisel. Any scratching or bruising of the surface of 

 the ruts must be avoided. The sharper the implement used the 

 better the flow and the less loss by coagulation in the cuts. The 

 objection to the chisel is that it does not remove the shaving unless 

 the cut is made very deep. 



C. CURTIS, 

 15th November, igo2. 



IRELAND'S INDIA RUBBER PEAT. 



Ireland may turn out to be a veritable Klondyke in a few years. 

 The latest scientific discovery is a method of manufacturing artifi- 

 cial r gutta-percha from peat, and if it turns out to be what is 



