6 Indian lorest Records. [Vol. VII 
employed only in the case of really large and good Thitsi- 
producing trees. They are rarely seen. 
(7) Last but not least, Thitsi tappers, more especially in the western 
parts of the Myelat, furnish themselves with a Lethabo —a 
kind of trumpet made from the upper ends of a buffalo or 
bullock-horn—which when blown produces a weird sound 
* not much unlike a yodel. They blow this when moving 
about from tree to tree in the forests with the idea of 
frightening away bears—an animal greatly feared by them. 
During the past five years I have not heard of any Thitsi 
tappers having been mauled by bears while out tapping, but 
previous to this I understand tappers were occasionally 
mauled. 
(8) The above paraphernalia (except the ladder, of course) are 
carried in a roughly woven bamboo basket ( Palaing) about 
15"xl2"x8", slung across the shoulder like a haversack by 
i - means of a finely-woven bamboo or cane band. The tapper 
has thus both his hands free to proceed with the business 
of notching, etc. 
5. Method of tapping the trees. 
The spot where a notch on the tree is to be made having been selected, 
loose bark scales and rubbish on the surface are removed by passing 
the sides of the chisel backwards and forwards over the part. Two 
cuts in the form of a V are then made upwards with the chisel. They 
are from 8 to 10 inches long and of a depth sufficient to cut through 
the bark to the wood. At their widest point the cuts are from 6 to 9 
inches apart. The apex of the V points towards the ground—a line 
drawn vertically through the apex being practically parallel to the 
vertical axis of the tree. The chisel is then passed under the bark at 
the apex of the cuts, and pushed upwards in order to separate contact 
between the bark and the wood, without removing the former. A 
bamboo tube is then driven into the bark at the apex of the V-shaped 
cuts in such a way that the Oleo-resin which exudes from the cuts flows 
into the bamboo tube (See Frontispiece), the sharpened edges of the 
bamboo tube obviating the necessity of any special cut being made 
with the chisel to receive it before being driven into the bark. After 
a period of from 7 to 10 days any Oleo-resin contained in the 
bamboo tubes is collected by the tapper. It is scraped out of the 
tubes with the zunkaw and transferred to the sithkan or strainer 
whence it gradually drops into the Thitsi-laik pon in a more or less 
purified form. 
[ 80 ] 
