255 



The actual yield of the half herring-bone trees (Ex. X) was 3511 

 ozs. for 24 times tapped, the dift'erence being added b}- computation, 

 rhis group of trees was tapped on three occasions during 1909 with 

 the following result : — 



TABLE 7. 



No. of trees 

 tapped. 



No. of times 

 tapped. 



1 



Method of Total flluid 

 tapping. ozs obtained. 



i 





90 . 



34 



* Basal 



i 24 II 







90 



34 



* Basal 



i 12 61 



*1 



J 



Without added 

 water 



90 



24 



Half 

 Herring- 

 bone. 



j| '''' 





including water. 



It should be pointed out that on both occasions of the basal tap- 

 pings there was no water in the collecting cups as the latex was 

 required for curing by smoke. Compared with the half herring-bone 

 tapping the latter was plus added water and both basal tappings 

 minus water and the further loss, at least measurable loss, of clotted 

 latex which always occurs (with young trees) unless the latex drips 

 in a small portion of water. It emphasises the fact however that a 

 half herring-bone tapping can follow basal tippings with advantage. 

 There is also a still further advantage in first tapping young trees 

 by basal excisions in respect of uniform bark recovery. As a con- 

 sequence of a vertical channel with herring-bone excisions the re- 

 newed bark is occasionally turgid, sometimes suppressed buds appear, 

 while — so far as we have observed — this does not occur with trees 

 first tapped at the base for the reason, we suspect, of the new bark grow- 

 ing upwards or downwards only while bark tension has been relieved. 



It is sometimes stated that in bark renewal the new bark grows 

 best, if not entirely, in a downward direction. It is not what actually 

 occurs and if an excision of one, two, or more, inches wade is left 

 intact for a sufficiently long period it will be found that the line of 

 union between the downward and upward bark is in the centre of the 

 excision. When, however, the tappings of the bark is being excised 

 for a long period and the dowmward bark has commenced growing, 

 the line of union will be below the centre, but the upward growing 

 bark continues — as well as the two sides of the vertical channel in 

 the double herring-bone tapping — towards the vertical — with the 

 result that the renewed bark is turgid and frequently accompanied 

 with various protuberances. 



