April 1908,] 



305 



Saps and Exudations. 



Another interesting fact mentioned by- 

 Mr. Jenman is that Touchpong was one 

 of the trees, the latex of which was 

 employed by the collectors of balata for 

 adulterating that product, the quoted 

 price of which at the time in the English 

 market was Is. 3d. per lb., i.e., half or less 

 thau half Che value of the adulterant. 



METHOD OF COLLECTION. 

 The Indians still employ the same 

 method of collecting the rubber as that 

 described by Mr. Jenman more than 

 twenty years ago, which causes very 

 considerable injury to the trees. By 

 means of a cutlass two horizontal in- 

 tersecting cuts are made, so that a large 

 wedge-shaped piece is removed, includ- 

 ing not only the bark but some of the 

 wood beneath. Prom specimens of the 

 bark of trees tapped in this way, 

 obtained by Mr. Ward, I should say that 

 it would be impossible for the tree to 

 repair the damage done, and that a few 

 of these cuts would be sufficient to 

 completely ring and kill any but a very 

 large tree. The danger of exterminat- 



ing the Sapiums by this destructive 

 mode of bleeding must be greater at the 

 present day than formerly, because the 

 ready sale found and the good price 

 obtained for the rubber has within the 

 last few years considerably increased the 

 amount collected. 



EXPORTS OP RUBBER. 



Rubber first appears under a separate 

 heading among the articles exported 

 from the colony in the Blue Book for 

 1904-1905 ; the following are the quanti- 

 ties iu pounds annually exported and 

 their value for the last three years :— 



Quantity. Value. 



1904- 1905 ... 951 lbs. ... $ 003 20c. 



1905- 1906 ... 4,114 „ ... $2,575 40c. 

 1908-1907 ... 2,503 „ ... $1,613 70c. 



Total for three 

 years. ... 7,628 lbs. $4,792 30c. 



(To be concluded.) 



39 



