249 
TAPPING. 
Daily Versus Alternate Days. 
The process of tapping Para rubber trees can be carried out at 
various seasons and periods of time and also by different methods ; 
but the real result of observations and experiments must be measured 
by averages and such analyses to be complete should be compiled 
from the records of two or three years. Possibly no other cultivated 
product exhibits so much diversity under normal conditions as is the 
case in the yield of latex or rubber crop. 
There are many factors which may vary the yield of latex at any 
particular season (to be dealt with in a subsequent chapter). The fol- 
lowing statement shows for one year’s working that the quantity of 
latex required to produce I oz of dry rubber-including some added 
water to retard rapid coagulation— varies from 2 H fluid ozs. in April 
and May to 8 % ozs. in February and March. These two latter 
months however represented the principal resting season or foliar 
periodicity between 1908 and 1909. Following the end of March the 
tapping season for 1909 began in April and continued good for the 
remainder of the year as follows 
TABLE I. 
Effect of Tapping at different seasons during th e year 1909- 
No. of 
Experi- 
ment. 
Total fluid 
Total dry ] 
rubber 
avoirdupois. I 
Comparative 
yield of fluid ozs. 
to ozs. of dry 
rubber. 
7 
ozs. c/c. 
2826 
lbs. 
21 
ozs. 
ioy 2 \ 
c/c. 
sy 2 
2 u 
I 
3323 
75 
4 
2 
7718 
128 
7 
3 
7861 
115 
7 
3H 
1st 11323 
181 
15 
1% 
4 1 
2 nd 5575 
75 
12 
6 
18748 
251 
8 
4% 
9 
3433 
43 
— 
4 is 
8 
3981 
48 
— 
5 lls 
sh 
5 
11957 
175 
8 
10 
3511 
37 
— 
5 If 
Season 1909. 
February.— March. 
April.— May. 
May, June. — July. 
May, June.— July. 
August. — Sept. 
Dec.— Jan. 
Nov.— Dec. 
Oct.— Nov. 
Sept. 
Sep.— Oct. 
Nov.— Dec. 
This diversity is again shewn in the following record for three years 
of the same group of 200 trees 
TABLE II. 
Experi- 
ment. 
No. of 
trees 
tapped. 
No. of 
times 
tapped. 
Season, i 
Fluid 
ozs. 
obtained 
Weight 
of dry 
rubber. 
Comparative yield 
of fluid ozs. to ozs. 
of dry rubber. 
1 COS 
200 
25 
Oct.-Nov. 
11746 
lbs. ozs. 
199— 
3U 
j 7 
y j 
iqo 5 
200 
25 
March-Ap. 
10943 
154 — 
4ts 
3it 
y 
1909 
200 
32 
Aug.-Sep. 
11323 
181— 15 
