L15 



flecht Lewis and Khan for valuation, who reported it as " beautifu 

 rubber very well cured worth to-day 3s 3d per lb." This had simply 

 been dried in the sun and kept in the office for about a year. 



This time the tapping was commenced on the 16th November which 

 is generally about the end of the heavy rains, but there is here no season 

 that can be counted on as absolutely dry as in Burmah and India, and 

 in fact rain fell frequently while the operation was carried on which 

 was spread over a period of thirty-four days. Oblique cuts lead- 

 ing to perpendicular channels, were made in six places (subse- 

 quently increased to seven) at the bases of* which were affixed 

 by means of a lump ot clay and a nail, small tins to receive the 

 latex. An ordinary carpenter's chisel was used for making and 

 renewing the cuts, but both this and the tins can be improved on 

 when the work has to be taken in hand by the practical planter. 

 Earthenware glazed cups with a hole near the bottom so that the latex 

 can be drawn off without removing them will effect a great saving in 

 labour, as much time is taken up in fixing the tins securely when re- 

 moved every day, and some rubber is also lost in doing this. A better 

 cutting tool than an ordinary chisel can also be devised for the 

 work. At the beginning the milk comes slowly and at no time 

 continues running for long. With two exceptions the cuts were re- 

 newed between 7 and 8 a.m. and the tins brought in at 11 a.m. : but 

 the flow had always ceased before that time. The two exceptions were 

 when the operation was performed in the evening, but as there is always 

 a danger of rain during the night, and a very slight shower causes 

 water to flow into the tins as nearly all the water trickling down the 

 stem of the tree falls into the oblique cuts, and is thence led directly to 

 the tins, the work is best done in this climate in the morning. Gener- 

 ally the iatax had coagulated by the following morning, that is after 

 itanding about twenty hours, but on two occasions only partially so. 

 In these cases, and also when rain water had got into the tins, a pinch 

 ol powdered alum was added which caused perfect coagulation in a 

 •hort time. If the addition of alum does not affect the value of the 

 rubber, it facilitates working operations in wet weather, for a little 

 water getting mixed with the latex does not matter, provided the vessels 

 do not overflow. All the rubber can be recovered by the addition of 

 alum. 



On the morning the incisions were first made only £ oz. of wet 

 rubber was obtained, but by taking a thin shaving off the lower surface 

 of the oblique cuts on fourteen subsequent occasions, the following 

 quantities were obtained at each operation in ounces : — f , If, 3£, 3^, 3£, 

 6, 9, 6 J, 8J, 6, 6i, 10, 8i, 8 ; total 51b. 1£ oz. of wet rubber which 

 weighed when dry exactly 31b. As will be seen from this the last three 

 tappings gave a better result than any previous three and operations 

 were only suspended as it was not advisable to make the cuts any wider. 

 The time occupied in affixing the tins and renewing the cuts averaged 

 half-an-hour on each occasion, or seven-and-a-half hours in all. It may 

 therefore be taken that a man at say 30 cts. per day could attend to at 

 least fifteen trees per day, and that the cost of collecting will not exceed 

 10 cts. per lb. With larger trees and better appliances it will be pro- 

 bably much less. I have lately visited Bertam Estate in Province 



