September i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



409 



MR. BAILEY'S BUNGALOW, KLANG. 



FOUR YEAR OLD HEVEA." KLANANG ESTATE. 



speak Malay and are content with 35 to 40 cents, Mexican, a 

 day, and find themselves, they are much sought after. Besides 

 they had far rather work for an Englishman than a Dutchman. 



After visiting Highlands estate and looking ovei the coffee 

 mill, Mr. Bailey took me for a drive out in the outskirts of 

 Klang, that I might see the small plantings of the Chinese. 

 These were of no especial moment, being chiefly coffee gardens 

 grown up with grass, with a few Ficus elastica or Hevea trees 

 put in at haphazard. One Chinaman, Cong Limb, however, 

 had'about 20 acres of coffee and lltvea planted 15X15 feet, the 

 trees looking about 5 years old and quite well grown. 



But the plantations owned by Chinamen and run by Euro- 

 peans are another matter. For example, the Kong Yaik estate, 

 which is managed by Mr. E. V. Carey. Here are 30oacres con- 

 taining some 60,000 trees that average 3 years of age. Most of 

 this rubber is planted 20 x 10 feet, although there is some 

 10 x 10 and 15 x 15. One advantage of the 10 x 10 planting 

 was that almost no weeding was necessary, the ground being 

 absoutely free from all vegetation. While going over this 

 plantation Mr. Carey and I experimented with a two handled 

 tapping knife, an invention of his, which certainly did very 

 effective work. 



Next to the estate of which Mr. Carey has charge is the Batu 

 Unjor plantation owned by a wealthy Chinaman, Loke Yew, 

 on which there are some 17.000 %'/i year Htveas which looked 

 first rate. 



The land in Selangor belongs to the state and is acquired by 

 the payment of §2, Mexican, an acre cash, and $1 an acre an- 

 nual rental in perpetuity ; 25 per cent, of the land taken must 

 be under cultivation within five years, or it reverts to the gov- 

 ernment. At the same time the powers that be are very 

 lenient and disposed to help all honest effort by granting time 

 extensions. There is also a 2>j per cent, ad valorem export 

 duty on such products as rubber that is a part of the land grant. 



That evening many friends of Mr. Bailey's dropped in and 

 dined and later visited the Klang club, where I met a score or 

 more of young Englishmen who were connected either with 

 the government or with the plantations in the neighborhood. 



The next morning my host took me by rail to Batu Tiga, 

 where is another big rubber plantation in which he is inter- 

 ested — the Selangor Rubber Co.. or, in the native, Sungei 

 Rengam. We put in three hours of hard tramping over this 



FOUR YEAR OLD PLANTED FICUS 



[On the Lowlands and Highlands estate. Showing the Aerial Roots as thrown 

 down at this age. Hevea trees ill the background.] 



..WILD_"FI£US_ ELASTICA" IN SELANGOR. 



