and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



89 



THE NEW SYSTEM OF TAPPING. 



' Notwithstanding recent adverse criticism, 

 Mr. North way's faith in his tapping system, our 

 representative learned in conversation with him, 

 remains absolutely unshaken ; and he has every 

 confidence that it will yet justify his belief 

 in it on any estate where it is properly carried 

 out and given a fair chanoo. Discussing the 

 question of the ,; rubber pads," Mr. North way 

 explained that before tapping a tree, in order 

 to get a good result, it is 



NECESSARY TO CLEAN THE TREE, 



by scraping off the dry bark. The effect 

 of allowing the light and heat on to the 

 green bark is to attract the latex there. If 

 the tree is not tapped soon after the dry bark 

 is scraped off, the latex stagnates there and 

 pads are formed. Many people who tried the 

 system cleaned their trees days ahead of tap- 

 ping. Mr Northway does not fear that the action 

 of the pricker will prove destructive to the 

 tree. The pricker goes into the cambium, he 

 stated, but the cambium heals very rapidly. 

 Tho wound begins to heal almost immediately 

 on the cessation of the flow of latex. What 

 he did considet bad was 



PRICKING WITH A BLUNT PRICKER 



which, instead of distinct pricks, gave a kind of 

 ragged cut all round. Distinct pricks were 

 essential to success. A consignment of 



2,000 PRICKERS SPECIALLY SUITABLE FOR THE 

 SYSTEM, 



and on which the depth of the teeth can bo 

 regulated, is expected in Ceylon shortly. Mr 

 Northway is quite satisfied that he can get in- 

 finitely bettor returns from his trees by this 

 system than by any other. He has many expla- 

 nations to offer which would account for the 

 failure of other planters to secure equally good 

 results by the adoption of the system ; and he 

 hopes that some time in the near future his own 

 business may be so arranged as to permit of his 

 occasionally visiting other rubber estates and 

 personally instructing brother planters in how 

 to successfully apply the system. 



Personally we must adaiit that the reports 

 which have been reaching us have not been vory 

 favourable; but we hear of 



ONE ESTATE IN THE KKLAN1 VALLEY WHICH IS 

 DOING EXTREMELY WELL WITH THE SYSTEM. 



It may be that Mr Northway is right and now 

 that the first wild rush into the system has been 

 checked by the unsatisfactory results obtained 

 those who take it up calmly and carefully 

 will get the results and reap the benefits of it. 



Mr H B Kirk, of Penyar Rubber Estate, 

 Muvattupuzha, is. India, writes as follows to 

 the Local " Times ; ' : — 



" The fallacy of the figures given by the 

 witnesses to Mr Northway's demonstration on 

 December 19th, 19U8, was that they omitted to 

 mention that December is the best yielding 

 month in the year, and, having observed Mr 

 Northway's best cooly extract 4 lb. 14 oz. of dry 

 rubber from one acre of rubber on a most 

 favourable yielding day, they then multiplied 



it by 36 days and gave the result. If you apply 

 this method to tea and turn on your best 

 plucker to a given area during your best crop 

 months, and then multiply it by 300 plucking 

 days, you Will establish a record new plucking 

 system. Mr Northway's check-roll figures in 

 May show us 



WHY SO MANY SUBSCRIBERS ARE DISAPPOINTED 



in their results. Here he has six of 

 his best tappers working for 23 days and 

 averaging 1 lb. 1 oz. per diem, presumably 

 obtained from 100 trees which, taking 200 trees 

 to the acre, gives you 80£ lb. dry rubber, 

 including scrap, against 176g lb. on December 

 19th, 19U8. Mr Northway, in December, con- 

 sidered 36 days tapping ample for the year, but 

 he now advocates 60 days, which, on May 

 results, will give him a yield of 131 lb. an acre. 

 Mr Northway, in reply to Mr Carson, said : — 

 " The trees are not at their best. It is too 

 soon after wintering." Quite so ! His happy 

 selection of December to demonstrate it shows 

 us this. Had he demonstrated on May 7th, 1909, 

 his yield per acre for 36 days would have 

 been 55 lb., and for 60 days 78 lb., or about 3-8th 

 of a lb per tree. But I find May is a fair 

 "'average'' month, and I attach, for your perusal 

 only, my yield per tree for each month of the 

 year, which seems to show that, in July, August, 

 September, October, February, March, or 

 April, Mr Northway will got less yield per 

 tree than in May. To obtain a yield of 1 lb 

 per tree on the Northway system, we will have 

 to tap about 95 average days in a year. Or, if 

 the trees will stand it, tap them from December 

 1st until January 15th, the whole acreage 

 with 2 coolies an acre, sail for home with your 

 crop, and return in November. Only you must 

 increase your factory accommodation slightly. 



Seriously, will Mr Northway oblige us with 

 figures showing his yield per acre, or per tree, 

 for each month of the year ?- and many disap- 

 pointed subscribers will take heart and try 

 again in December who now sleep ill of nights, 

 writhing under Mr Wiggin's stigma. And I 

 would suggest our being informed as to the 

 average cost of tapping per lb. in each month. 

 Sadris Appu brings in l| lb. of dry rubber a day 

 in May, while Theneris can manage but 1 lb, 

 and Pouchi Nona is not quoted. I would be 

 obliged if you could inform me what the maxi- 

 mum and minimum temperatures were ou 

 December 19th, 1908, compared with other 

 December days. 



LANADRON GO. EXPERT'S VIEWS 

 ON RUBBER. 



June 17th. 



Dear Sir, — In the Ceylon Observer of the 14th 

 you publish a very full report of the Lanadron 

 Rubber Estates Co. I had the pleasure of 

 being a fellow-voyager of the Chairman of this 

 Co (Mr. Andrew Mcllwraith) to Ceylon from 

 Marseilles last November, and he favoured 

 me with the opinion the Consulting Chemists 

 of the Company, Messrs. Clayton Beadle and 

 Stevens of London, had formed regarding rubber 

 from their estates as follows : — 



12 



