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tend and higher along the horizontal branches, chopping at intervals 

 of every few inches, the cuts answering as well for their foothold as 

 for the sap to exude from. Were the base of the tree alone tapped 

 the yield would be very insignificant, especially in trees that have 

 been frequently tapped before. And as the trees occur very sparsely, 

 and long distances have to be gone over to meet them, it becomes an 

 object to get as much off at each cutting as possible. The trees must 

 be twice climbed, once to cut it and a second time after the gum has 

 dried (which takes a day or two) to gather it. This is done by pul- 

 ling off the tear which gathers below the wound, which brings away 

 with it all the gum that has exuded, and these tears have only to be 

 moulded together to agglutinate into a ball. The quantity that can 

 thus be collected at one cutting does not exceed 8 to 10 lbs. Of 

 course no mercy is shown to the trees, all of which suffer severely ; 

 and many are killed outright. The damage they sustain is apparent 

 in the large cankers, and buttresses rotted off, owing to the bark 

 being unable to heal over the frequent wounds they have received all 

 round. The foliage is wanting in luxuriance, and dried branches and 

 roots lying about testify to the injury in health that the tree has sus- 

 tained. 



Mr. Mann specially insists on the following points being observed : — 



" (1.) Fresh cuts to be made only in February, March and April, and 

 the trees to have rest for two years between each tapping. 



" (2) The cuts to be at least 18 inches apart, to penetrate into the 

 bark only, not into the wood, and to be made with an instrument 

 more suitable than the ones at present used. Mr. Mann prefers the 

 German timber scoring knife. 



" (3) As far as possible, the milk to be collected in a fluid state in 

 narrow-mouthed rattan baskets, and to be brought to central manufac- 

 tories. 



" (4) Endeavours to be made to convert the milk into a solid state 

 by a process of slow drying similar to that practised in Para. 



" (5) Those varieties of caoutchouc which dry naturally on the tree 

 to be collected with care, and to be picked so as to get rid of all im- 

 purities. 



Planting. — In his report for 1884, Mr. Mann gives the following 

 particulars : — " The present area under cultivation is fully stocked, 

 containing 12,511 trees : they have been planted at 25 feet apart in the 

 lines, which latter are 100 feet apart : this is double the number of trees 

 that was planted on an acre at the commencement. The oldest trees are 

 about 30 to 40 feet in height, and a few from 45 to 50 feet but this can- 

 not be put down as the average growth of Ficus elastica in ten years, since 

 half this time and longer, these plantations were entirely experimental, 

 and everything had to be learned, as, for instance, the first trees were 

 all raised from cuttings, which mode of propagation has been given up, 

 since the trees raised from seed have proved much hardier and faster 

 growing, and as to the planting of rubber seedlings high up in the 

 forks of other trees, this also has almost entirely been given up, be- 

 cause such trees in most instances, did not make more than a few leaves 

 in the year, and it would, as a matter of course, be out of the question 

 to plant rubber trees where they would take a century to become large 

 enough for tapping, when such trees can be grown in a different way 



