215 



They are satisfactory figures in that they leave the conclusion 

 patent that rubber has led to an extension of cultivation instead of 

 making room for itself at the cost of other crops. 



It is of considerable importance that the extent of the private 

 holdings in rubber in Malacca, should be borne in mind, because of the 

 part that they might play in any outbreak of a serious disease. 

 There vi^ere in Ceylon among the coffee estates similar small holdings 

 with coffee on them, when the coffee-leaf disease broke out, and that 

 they played an important part in causing planters to give up coffee 

 is known; they harboured the disease that the planter was fighting 

 and were an ever-present source of re-infection along his borders. 

 So might these small holdings in rubber serve for mischief, if an 

 epidemic of like nature were to break out in Malacca. Some kind of 

 watchfulness over their state is desirable ; and the intelligence neces- 

 sary for it exists upon the company's estates, but it is uncertain how 

 far, those who might arrange for keeping an "eye on the little hold- 

 ings are alive to the need; reference seems rarely if ever to be made 

 to it from the chair at Company meetings. 



So many of the Rubber-planting companies began by the acqui- 

 sition of holdings, often small, planted with rubber, that a stimulus was 

 given to planting with a view to sale: doubtless a not inconsiderable 

 part of the ground so planted has come under the control of men with 

 a permanent interest in the crop ; but there is a little land which will 

 not fall into some planting scheme and bears trees which the owner 

 is not interested in tapping, such as would be more useful and less 

 dangerous to the state if the trees were replaced by something else. 

 The alternative of tapping or eradicating after a certain number of 

 years, perhaps in some cases, might profitably be imposed. 



It is certain that the protection belts devised several years ago 

 have not been retained. 



The planting companies in Malacca now possess about 105,000 

 acres, of which n per cent, is not yet planted. Some of the com- 

 panies admit that they have too much land ; thus, two are consider- 

 ing the getting rid of a not inconsiderable amount, and the Nyalas 

 Company during 1913 surrendered 5,700 acres ; two other companies 

 on the plea that the blocks were detached, and inconvenient therefore, 

 have surrendered 645 acres, and another company has surrendered 

 263 acres of genuinely sterile hill side. On the other hand four dollar 

 companies which are paying dividends have judged it to their interest 

 to acquire more land to the extent of about 815 acres; and as even 

 with these additions these four companies make but small charges 

 their further expansion would seem likely to be profitable. 



The land surrendered or which it is desired to sell, happens to be 

 considerably more than the land acquired by other companies ; 

 but it is in no case in rubber, whereas some of the land acquired is. 



