Dec. 1&06.] 465 Saps and Exudations. 



on the V sytem many years ago. The principal part of the tree died down, and 

 for the last three years the stump has been in this condition ; so I thought we would 

 cover it up and see how many biscuits we could make from it. I may say this stump 

 has never thrown out a leaf for over three years. This (pointing to the tapping 

 mark) shows the difficulty of tapping over such an irregular surface. There is latex 

 in it yet, and I think it is a remarkable fact that a tree stump, which has never 

 thrown out a leaf for three years, should still give latex. Biscuits made from the 

 latex of this stump are of good quality. 



Mr. Brett -.—Have you got any biscuits you have made out of this stump ? 



Mr. Wright :— Yes, they are here. 



Mr. Parkinson here tapped the tree and latex immediately began to come. 

 An exposed root was tapped by Mr. Proudlock and the latex flowed freely, while the 

 wood looked quite fresh. , 



Mr. J. Sheridan Patterson asked Mr. Wright if the biscuits from this 

 stump were as good as the rubber from other trees. 



Mr. Wright :— In physical properties they seem to be the same. 



HIGH TAPPING. 



Mr. Wright then led the party to the trees where high tapping had been 

 carried on. At the first tree, he said, tapping was going on from the base to thirty 

 feet. There were only two coolies working on ladders. The tree, Mr. Wright said, 

 was marked L in the calculations he had given, and had been tapped ninety-three 

 times, and on eight occasions the latex could not be coagulated, which, of course, was 

 rather interesting. In the ninety-three tappings it had given 14 lb. 8 oz. of rubber. 



Mr. Cameron :— Over what period of time ? 



Mr. Wright :— From 26th September last year to the 30th August this year. 



Mr. Wright :— In this series, L, to W, the idea has been to determine the 

 weight of rubber obtainable from various sections from the base. 



At the next tree three coolies were working on ladders, and Mr. Wright 

 pointed out that they had not yet got half-way down the tree. In about eleven 

 months eighty -four tappings have given 15 lb. of dry rubber. That was the maximum 

 yield. 



Mr. Cameron :— What is the height of the tapped area ? 



Mr. Wright : — About fifty feet. You will see that we have only gone round 

 one-half or one-third of the tree, and I suppose it is no exaggeration to say that we 

 could get 45 lb. if we were to peel the tree and we had the coolies to tap it. We have 

 been tapping sometimes on alternate days and sometimes only once a week. 



In reply to Mr. Parkinson Mr. Wright said the tapping had been carried on at 

 irregular intervals on all trees marked W. All these trees were supposed to be twenty 

 to twenty-nine years old. The rubber-yielding capacity of the bark, of course, varied 

 as they went upwards. He had not yet had time to work out the yields according to 

 the excision of the bark in the different sections of the tree. That tree on live 

 occasions gave latex that refused to coagulate. 



The party next examined the tree marked M which was being 



TAPPED FROM 6 TO 16 FEET 



approximately. The next trees were tapped ten to twenty, and the next twenty t 

 thirty. The M trees had been tapped on ninety-five occasions and had given ah 

 average yield of 81b. 11 oz. from 6 feet to 16 feet. They wanted to find the yielding 

 capacity of each action. 

 61 



