September i, 1885.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



i95 



ARECA-PALM CULTIVA L'lON. 



{By an Old Palm Planter.) 



Results op Experiexce and Observation in 



tue lowcountry. 



I have DOt been followioji the j,iiwak- discussion very 

 closely, but that makes lutle diflerence, as my opiuion 

 ou that as on most subjects is entirely independent, 

 though that again is no measure of thuir value. J ick 

 Buuaby's opuiiona were hud to get at and turned out 

 hardly worth the trouble of rtachiig them, so it may 

 well be with mine. 



My tirat proijosition is, that every plant that needs 

 sunshine reipdrej the space it can cover, at thriving 

 maturity. In the case of all palnis, the length of 

 tbe leat from the stem to the e.vtremity of a mature 

 aud healthy tree is one half the distance that the trees 

 should be planted in a tield. This rule however, in the 

 case of the coc 'nut, is modified by the habit ol the tree. 

 The coconut leif is eiylitten fiet, and by the abjve 

 rule should be planted thirty-tix feet apart, but the leaf 

 oulj descends to a right-augle with the stem after it has 

 done its duty and been succcei'ed by others ; twenty- 

 tive feet is therefore fuund in that case to be the best 

 practical distance. 



The leaf of tlie artcaiiut is only from three to 

 four fest in length, at its miturity, and raaiutains 

 its position at au acute upward angle with thesfeu; 

 therefore at six feet apart, the leavts of opposite 

 trees will barely touch. I am thert-fire of opiuiou 

 that ten feet apart, is more space than is necessary 

 and that 435 trees will rot take out of an acie of 

 laud all it IS capable of \ielding. I think seven feet 

 ample space, aud at that diatance, we get 888 plants 

 into the acre. 



My own experience is the utter failure of nursery 

 plants, and tolerable success frrni pacing the seed 

 at stake. Were I now goini; into this cultivation, I 

 would dig eighteen inch holes, ar.d at the beginning 

 of the S. \V. rains place the seed three inches deep 

 in the centre of holes. 



I believe the Ceylon arecauuts are the lowest 

 priced in the markets, and anyone going into the cultiv- 

 ation should secure the best varieties from ohter 

 lands. I have seen a kind that would save the vast 

 labour needed for husking the uxtive varieties, as 

 the out has a smooth surface aud t'.ie husk is clean 

 tibre. 



THE ACCOUNTS OB" INDIAN TEA COMPANIES. 



"Spectator" writPS to the Statist the fillowing 

 letter wh ch was alluded to in our review of Indian 

 Tea Companies the o'h-r day: — 



"The Indian tea industry r- presents a capital'zed 

 value tf s 'me ten millions sterling, aud a cultivated area 

 of from 200,000 to 250,000 acres of plaating, producing, 

 roughly nearly 70 miili pu pounds of tea. OAing to the 

 large increase in the production, aud the tendency to a 

 progrefsive shiiukage in prices, it becomes a niacter of 

 increasing importance lor ownen ofe::tat'S to secure — 

 (I), the highest elKcicucy in management; (2), the 

 utmost economy io expenditure. The attain njent of 

 these t«o requisites concurnntly appenrs at first sight 

 scarcely practicalle. Thr.n'Ughly ethcien': management 

 and administration ("Bpecially of landed property, 

 where the local executive is to far removed from 

 central control) must, almost of necessity, be pretty 

 costly ; and, ou the other hard, any approach to 

 pinching economy tienches dangerou'ly U|<on efliciency. 

 In the large m Kufic'.uring indust;rips of this count. y, 

 however, where conip-'litiou has rendered existence a 

 simple question 01 '.sui vival of the fittest,' it has been 

 found pra ticable to combiue the two apparently op- 

 positej couditioni?, and it is iu tho:^e industries where 

 the two factors go haud-in-haud that the grealtat 



vitality is found to exist. One of the causes which 

 has mainly contributed to this result is, that by col- 

 lating and comparing results of working under difi'er- 

 ent conditions, it has been found practicable to arrive 

 at the highest point of economy in all the processes 

 of mauufacture : and to ascertain that what one can 

 do another can achieve has been mainly attained by 

 a careful and intelligent comparison of accounts. Iu 

 the ease of tea-garden compauies and partnerships, a 

 I more or less systematic method of accounts hns long 

 existed, and many of the larger concerns publish very 

 clear and intelligible figures. But the great defect 

 which at present characterises tea accounts is the 

 absence of uniformity, which renders it difficult, even 

 for an expert, intelligently to compare the working of 

 dilferent gardens, or to draw any rational conclusions 

 as to their relative economic merits. As this is the 

 season when most of the companies make up their 

 balances, I think it is an appropriate time to direot 

 attention to the que-ttion. If some simple and uniform 

 method can be adopted, I venture to think that a 

 much more intelligent interest in the working of pro- 

 pertie« will be aroused among shareholders, and much 

 d scontent, as well as sharp and unfair criticism of 

 executive agents and managers, might be avoided. 

 I throw out these suggestions in a gineral way, but 

 should he glad in a subsequent letter to indicate in 

 detail the forms which, so far as my experience goe?, 

 would seem most amply and suitably to meet the re. 

 quirements of the case." 



« 



NOTES OF A JOURNEY ACROSS THE MALAY 



PENINSULA. 



Four days after starting from Kuala Bernam, Mr. 

 Swettenham and his party arrived at the upper reaches 

 of the Bernam river, which are beautiful and pictur- 

 esque. Mr. Swetteuham considers thie i ivdr couid ho 

 shortened by 57 miles by the c nstruct.on of 7 miUs 

 of cacal, which would require to be both wide aad 

 deep, the influence of the tide being felt 80 miles 

 from the mouth of the river. Four days later, tlia 

 watershed was crossed at an elevation of 3,1.')0 fi et 

 above the sea level. This ridge is very sharply de- 

 fined, for not far from the source of the Bernam, 

 which flows westward, are found the sources of nine 

 streams which converge at no great distance. Tiieir 

 confluence forms the Lipis which, together with the 

 Jelei and Time'lin, forma the Pahang river. About 

 a mile before PC'rmdtang Linggi is reached, the Lipis 

 floiss over a slate bed, and gold is found further 

 down. Toh Bakar, the headman of the district, in 

 a conversation with Mr. Swettenham, coinplnined 

 bitterly of the manner in which taxes were squeezed 

 out of himself aud his people. An annual census is 

 made, and a tax called hasil banchi, amounting to 

 Sl'33 is levied from each person, while a more ex. 

 tortionate system of obtaining money consists in the 

 Kajah sending worthless articles to his subjects, for 

 which they are obliged to pay a slated price. AU gold 

 must be sold to the Kajah, and, when a chiif 

 visits him, every man in the district has to pay §2 

 towards his representative's travelling expenses. .Short- 

 ly after leaving Suiebu, a rock called Batu Kinuui was 

 passed. The natives suppose that this is the petrilied 

 body of a tiger, the head being in Jf-lei. At a spot 

 near Kuala Trucang, 20 Chinese were digging gold. 

 About a quarter of an acre had been worked by former 

 miners, who were said to have obtained oA kalis from 

 a hole 60 feet in diameter, but were obliged to dis- 

 continue their search because a p"ll tax ot §8 a hea.l 

 had been imposed. At Penjum, the Chinese Karmeri 

 hold a complete monopoly, ami hence the great cost 

 to consumers of ordinary articles. Kor instance, a 

 tin of keroaine oil costs §2; a kati of tobacco, $1; 

 10 pieces of gambicr, S cents ; and a ball of cpiuin 22. 



