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Tapping . — Almost from the beginning of the inspection work tlie 
European officers have given advice to small holders all over the 
country as to proper methods of tapping. During 1915 and 1916 
steps were taken to train the subordinate inspecting officers in good 
methods of tapping and advice as to reasonably conservative systems 
of tapping allowing a satisfactory bark renewal has since been freely 
given in all the kampongs by them. At the same time common errors 
in tapping, resulting in waste of baik, and the serious damage done by 
severe wounding, have been carefully pointed out. This advice was 
most urgently required as, on the older holdings in particular, the 
yield is often reduced to as little as 100 lbs. per acre per annum 
owing to excessive tapping in the past which has left the trees with 
a bark so thin that, properly speaking, it should not be tapped at 
all. Again in many instances previous severe wounding has left the 
surface of the bark so burred and rough that it is no longer tappable. 
The advantage of this advice can be clearly seen in parts of Pahang 
on small holdings which were opened in 1915 and 1916 under the 
advice of the local sub-inspectors. These trees have not been 
nearly so severely damaged as have those in some other parts of the 
State where they are three or four years older. The matter of 
giving advice as to tapping systems on small holdings is of very 
great importance, especially in view of the very large area of young 
rubber recently planted, which will be continuously coming into 
bearing in the future especially in the years 1919 and 1920 when 
the large plantings of the past two years will probably be opened. 
It may be mentioned that two court cases were taken, one in Perak 
and one in Selangor, during 1916 for failure to obey instructions to 
improve tapping methods on certain holdings where the whole of 
the bark had been removed practically down to the wood. It is 
held that a large number of trees in this condition are exceptionally 
liable to disease and might serve as a source for its rapid spread. 
Elsewhere, however, advice on this subject has been fairly welcome 
and has been followed fairly willingly. 
Removal of Dead Rubber Wood . — The result of the Mycologist’s 
work on Ustulina zonaia , the black line fungus, especially emphasized 
the importance of removing from small holdings all dead rubber 
wood, trunks or stumps, irrespective of whether their presence is 
due to death from disease, damage by wind, or thinning out. Four 
cases resulting in fines amounting to $30 were taken in Selangor in 
1916 in this connection. This is a point which will receive further 
attention during the coming year. 
Black Stripe Disease . — The most recent disease found to require 
attention in the kampongs is the “ black stripe ” disease of renewing 
bark. This disease was known to occur on certain estates in Perak 
and is now under investigation by the Mycologist who is also 
conducting experiments to determine its control and treatment. Up 
to the month of March last, the disease was not known definitely to 
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