222 



Excess exports of areca-nuts over imports :— 



1909 ... ... ... 10,282 pikuls. 



1910 ... ... ... 12,579 .. 



1911 .. ... ... 9.176 



1912 ... ... ... 12,210 



1913 ... ... ... 11,085 „ 



Ginger, like betel-nuts, was in 1911 less, in the amount exported. 

 Excess exports over imports of ginger: — 



1909 ... ... ... 3.907 pikuls. 



1910 ... ... ... 1,771 



1911 ... ... ... 1,119 



1912 ... ... ... 2,069 



1913 ... .. ... 1,266 



'Jlie export of Pepper has decreased much. 



F.vcess 

 Year. K.rport.'i over Imports over 



Exports. 



1909 



I9I0 

 I9II 



1912 — 81 pikuls. 



1913 20 „ — 



Padi and coconuts happen fortunately to be the only crop plants 

 which the locusts, PathytyJus daniciis, have damaged as yet by eating, 

 and this in Malacca only to a slight extent. The insects feed on the 

 coconut leaves; but the padi, they nibble and damage, biting through the 

 haulms but not devouring then; however, the result is as injurious. 

 They were reported as doing damage in this way in the Alor Gajah Dis- 

 trict,' in 1912, and they repeated it in 1913, locally. From other pests 

 the padi has been relatively free. But the crop has suffered from the 

 effect of the removal of forest about the sources of the streams, 

 wherefrom these come in spate after heavy rain and then run low 

 until the next storm. The result has been that the fields near to the 

 central water course of each valley have been flooded out, 

 and are now often in rough sedges. As a remedy it is intended to 

 spend larger sums than usual in removing obstructions from the 

 channels, so that the water may run otT freely ; but it is doubtful if 

 anything short of tank-irrigation will make the crop what it might 

 be. The extent of the crop has been nari'owed, because of the Malay 

 labour drawn off into the rubber estates, but the new reduction 

 of wages operates against a continuance of this. In order to protect 

 those who do plant against the ravages of verm.in finding a har- 

 bourage on the fallows, pressure is being put on the owners of the 

 holdings, under the Malacca Lands Ordinance, 1886, to make them to 

 cultivate and to make them to keep clean the borders of their hold- 

 ings. The effect of the pressure was not evident in the returns of 

 lirea for 191 3. 



