482 FETCH : 



since about 1893 J Iii the " Home and Colonial Mail " of June 

 5, 1896, it was stated : " The boom in rubber goes on merrily. 

 The price of best Para has gone up within the last few weeks 

 from about 2s. 9d. to 3s. Orf. per lb., and it is thought by 

 the trjide that 4s. or so may be reached." ^ Aiid the " Colonies 

 and India " (March 20, 1897) referred to " the coming rubber 

 boom " when the hard Para reached 3s. Id.^ 



The Selangor Resident's report for 1897 stated that exj)eri- 

 ments were being made with Para rubber, and exceptionally 

 favourable terras for the acquisition of land for that purpose 

 were sanctioned duiing the year, and the monthly report of 

 the Acting District Magistrate, Matang (? December, 1897), 

 records that Mr. Stephens, of Jebong estate, had applied for 

 some 3,000 acres of land for lubber planting in accordance 

 with the terms of the Circular lately issued.* The report of 

 the Selangor Planters' Association for 1898 states : " Probably 

 no more important evidence that planters are at last realizing 

 the futiUty of risking their all on any one product has been 

 afforded during the past year by the energy with which large 

 areas have been planted up with Para rubber. Had it not 

 been for the shipments of seed from Ceylon, operations would 

 have been .considerably restricted, as the local supply was 

 nothing like sufiQcient to supply the demand." 



389,500 Hevea were planted in Selangor during 1898 



(P. A. report). The reference to Hevea in the report of the 



Planters' Association, Selangor, for 1899, is as follows : — 



Para Rubber. — The low prices for coffee dui'iiig 1899 stimulated 

 the ciiltivatiuii of this product very considerably, and no less than 

 1. (»<>(>,()(»() import<'d and locally ^rown seeds wen^ put into nurseries 

 in Selangor, whicli have prodvieed. say, 1,000. (>(>() lu^altliy plants, 

 all of whicli either have been or are being planted out. On all 

 estaU's in Selangor when^ Para nil)her lins I)een planted it is doing 

 extremely well, and at present it seems as if rubber was goijig to 

 bo one of tlie leading ])roduct8 of tlie State. ... It is satisfactory 

 t()repr)rttliut through the representations of the V. P. A.,F. M. S., 

 the Fcdcrat-ed Miiiay Stat<\s (jovernment iiave voted a sum of 

 $4,000 in the 1900 Estimates for the jjurpose of carrying out 

 **X])erimpntK with rubber and other products. 



« "Tropical Agriculturist," XI 11.. p. 11. 



* "Tropifiil A-riculturisl." XVI., p. 102. 

 » "'IVopical Agriculturist," XVI., p. 782. 



* " Tropical Agriculturist," XVII., p. 480. 



