Part VI.] Preparation of Turpentine , Rosin and Gum. 
13 
longitudinal cracks, which in large trees had exposed the wood and 
caused serious damage. 
In the case of the trees tapped by Mr. Benskin, in which only a 
narrow band was cut and freshed at intervals, the Conservator stated 
that the trees did not show such decided injuries, but from former 
observations he anticipated that the injury would develop after the 
second year. As a note of alarm had been sounded as to the effect of 
tapping on the trees, and with a view to ascertaining whether the damage 
only develops after the second, year, as anticipated by the Conservator, 
the writer inspected the above-mentioned area three years after tapping 
had taken place. All tapped trees were inspected, counted and classi¬ 
fied, with the result that 20 trees were found to be dead, 10 very hard 
hit and 993 had, for all intents and purposes, completely recovered, 
the wounds having healed up, the trees being in full leaf. Those trees 
that had died were old trees, in some cases faulty, in all cases smothered 
with Loranthus and severely attacked by insects. Whether tapping 
or insect attack had killed the trees it is not possible to say, as trees 
were found dead outside the tapping area, some of which were, and some 
not, attacked by insects. 
In the case , of the trees which had been tapped by the Divisional 
Forest Officer, Nimar, and on which a 4-feet broad band had been cut,, 
the blazes had developed by cracking, and resulted in very severe wounds. 
Though many of the trees had recovered to a surprising extent, such 
drastic tapping is not advocated. 
The most definite proof is available from Gwalior that no serious 
damage is done to the trees by tapping, provided the operation is con¬ 
fined to a 8 inches to 12 inches band and then freshed. In that locality, 
the trees had been tapped in this way year after year for generations, 
and not a single trejfjvas found to have been killed. Plate III illustrates 
the average state of a tree, which has been subject for years to tapping 
and which, when photographed, was growing vigorously. 
3. (ii) Conclusions based on the Tapping Experiments. 
The conclusions arrived at from the experiments carried out in Nimar 
and Khandesh, as also from the corroborative evidence available from 
Gwalior, are that— 
(а) The method of tapping should be by shaving off a thin band 
of bark some 6 inches broad, 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches from 
the base of the tree. 
(б) Tapping should generally be commenced in November and 
should stop before the break of the monsoon. 
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c 
