512 
in yield after two or three operations is much the same as on pre- 
vious occasions 15! oz‘. represent the first seven days collections 
and 29^ oz. the second seven; the greatest quantity at one operation 
being the twelveth morning when 5f oz. were collected, and the 
least on the first two mornings which gave respectively I oz. and 
i£ oz. 
Whether tapping should be done every day or every alternate 
day is perhaps a question that cannot be definitely decided with the 
limited experience we have gained in tapping, but I am decidedly 
of opinion that alternate days are preferable, and that the latex be- 
comes more watery when the tapping is continued daily. As re- 
gards the best season for tapping there appears to be no reason 
why it should not be done at any time except in e^essively dry 
weather when the latex certainly does not run as freely as in wet 
weather, and dull cloudy davs appear to be favourable to the flow 
of latex. 
By the method of tapping described, although it appears to me to 
be the best I have seen, a great deal of rubber is lost in and attached 
to the slices of bark that are removed at each operation, and the 
less expert the operater the greater the loss. During the tapping 
just now completed the overseer who performed the work saved all 
these chips and by boiling and pounding in a mortar removed most 
of the woody matter and produced a ball weighing half a pound, 
but not quite dry, that looks not unlike a very poor dirty sample of 
Rambong as sometimes seen in the market When operations 
come to be carried out on a large scale 1 suspect that this will be 
worth considering for although discoloured and containing a pro- 
portion of woody matter there is no doubt it will find a market at a 
price. A very neat little tool for tapping was recently sent me for 
trial by Mr. R. S. MeikLE which effects a great saving in labour 
especially in opening the cuts on the first commencement of opera- 
tions but whether it is as good as a chisel for subsequent operations 
or for old trees is doubtful. My man discarded it in favour of 
the carpenter's chisel with which he thought be obtained a better 
flow of latex and after trying it myself I came to the same conclu- 
sion and the reason is that such a tool cannot be kept with such a 
fine edge as a chisel. Any scratching or bruising of the surface of 
the cuts must be avoided. The sharper the implement used the 
better the flow and the less loss by coagulation in the cuts. The 
objection to the chisel is that it does not remove the shaving unless 
the cut is made very deep. 
C. CURTIS, 
1 yth November , 1902. 
IRELAND’S INDIA RUBBER PEAT. 
Ireland may turn out to be a veritable Klondyke in a few years. 
The latest scientific discovery is a method of manufacturing artifi- 
cial "gutta-percha from peat, and if it turns out to be what is 
