the percentage increase h not much, and with the use of a washing 
machine scrap will be very little less valuable than fine rubber. 
The halt herring bone differs from the full herring bone in that 
the lateral cuts are made on one side only of the vertical channel. 
The cuts may be to the right or left as in found most convenient to 
the coolv in cutting, and the cuts are twice the length of those in 
the full herring bone. 
1 his method will, I believe, shew advantage over the full herring 
bone in so far as it will adapt itself to the general right handedness 
of the cooly if all the cuts slope up from right to left, and this 
method of cutting is I believe the best that will be adopted. 
[ he advantages may for the sake of clearness be recapitulated : — - 
The number of cups is a minimum. The wear and tear of the 
cups is reduced to the'smaliest value. 
1 he method is capable of being systematically carried out on a 
large scale. 
1 he plan of cutting is simple and adapted to quickest and easiest 
manual labour. 
from the foregoing consideration it may, I think, be fairly as- 
sumed that the “half herring bone” is the 'method to be adopted, 
and it now remains to shew how the areas for tapping mav be 
plotted out and systematically arranged. 
Here I tee! to be treading on rather dangerous ground in so far 
as lack of knowledge of practical •planting may subject me to the 
accusation of meddling with things outside my own domain. That 
I have no intention of doing, all that relates to the tapping and 
collection of latex, the effect of wounding rubber trees, the age at 
which tapping may be safely begun and kindred subjects are fit 
and suitable for discussion bv any one who troubles to read the 
evidence by which controversial opinions are formed. But to-return, 
assuming the half herring bone with lateral cuts half way round the 
tree, assuming the cuts to be reopened nineteen times and" one-eighth 
ol an inch removed in each of these occasions — taking the initial cut 
as being about half an inch in width, there will finally result a scar 
three inches wide. For the purpose of illustration we may suppose 
the trees after tapping are given a rest of six months and then again 
tapped, this time on the opposite side of the trunks, after another six 
months they will be again tapped on the original side, opening 
lateral cuts immediately below the original ones, at the end of k 
further half year the similar process with be applied to the opposite 
side ot the tree, 'in this way, if the orginal lateral cuts were at 
intervals of six inches the whole of the area of the trunk suitable 
tor tapping would be worked over once in two years, by which time 
the first formed scars would be completely healed. 
ft is clear too that each tree would be in use, that is being tap- 
ped, on two occasions of twenty days each during the year, that 
is to say would be in milk on 40 days in the year. It therefore 
follows that -.rLf--? total number of trees fit tor' tapping must be 
