Septemher i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



411 



and the keenest sort of watch being kept for white ants, which 

 are always to be found in the new land. As tapping will begin 

 the next year, a rubber curing house 20X60 feet has been 

 built, and all preparations are being made for turning out the 

 best quality of rubber. All of the trees seem to produce latex 

 abundantly, although there was a wide difference in the ap- 

 pearance of the bark, some being quite white, while other 

 showed a distinct shade of red. There were a variety of theo- 

 ries as to the cause of this, but the real reason was not ap- 

 parent. 



After the examination of the Selangor estate, and a very 

 pleasant visit with the manager, at his bachelor bungalow, 

 where, by the way, he presented me with a cane made of 

 polished sections of a great variety of hard woods indigenous 

 to that country, we again took train and started for the Patal- 

 ing estate. The road ran for some miles through the densest 

 sort of jungle, the land on one side for some six miles being 

 owned by the Selangor company. When we reached Pataling 

 we found that the superintendent, Mr. Rendle, was away, as 

 was also his wife. His assistant, Mr. Smith, was there, how- 

 ever, and he urged us to come up to the bungalow, which was 

 prettily located on an eminence overlooking the plantation, and 

 ordered the Malay servant to prepare for us " mukan " ; in other 

 words, food. While we ate, it rained very heavily, but soon af- 

 ter cleared up and we were so sure that the storm was over for 

 the day that we allowed a black bov to take our mackintoshes 

 down to the station while we examined the rubber. The soil 

 here seemed a trifle hard and was more hilly than that which I 

 had before examined, but the rubber looked well. After ex- 

 amining that on the hillsides we went down to a lower level 

 and were just beginning to take measurements, when the rain 



CUTTING A ROAD THROUGH JUNGLE. 

 [A scene in Selangor.] 



estate, and got very hot and damp. But it was well worth 

 while. 



The plantation is seven miles from Klang, on the railroad 

 that joins Klang with Kula Lumpur. There is also a fine gov- 

 ernment road soon to go through this estate. It consists of 

 5 1 50 acres, of which 1150 are already opened and in rubber. 

 To this will be added 300 acres this year, the trees being 

 planted about 200 to the acre. The soil is a rich alluvial, 

 slightly rolling, and is cut by huge drains that lead into the 

 Klang and the Damansara river. The oldest planting was 

 made in May, 1898, and was 24X36 feet, this planting being 

 quincunxed in the latter part of the same year and in October, 

 1900, was still further interplanted. The last planting, how- 

 ever, is so thoroughly shaded by the earlier that it is doubtful 

 if it amounts to anything. The trees in the first planting aver- 

 age 28'j inches in circumference, 3 feet from the ground, the 

 largest being 47 and 52'2 inches in circumference. Of the 

 plantings already mentioned, there were 90 acres 24 X 36 feet, 

 and 45 acres 14 X '4- These latter showed an average of 29^ 

 inches circumference at the base, and 19 inches 5 feet from 

 the ground. In 1899 there were 30 acres planted 12X12 and 

 90 acres 14 X 14. The former measured when I was there, on 

 an average, 26 inches at the base and 16 inches 5 feet from the 

 ground. In 1900 there were 2S5 acres put into Pari and 47 

 acres in " rambong " or Ficus elastica. There are also various 

 other plantings of Para and Ficus alternating, of Pard and cof- 

 fee, and of Ficus alone. The Ficus, when alternated with 

 Pari, seems to do wonderfully well, as does also the Para. 



The greatest care is taken of this plantation, the whole area 

 being weeded by hand until the shade becomes so dense that 

 no weeds grow, all of the aerial roots of the Ficus being cut 

 away except those that will develop into good straight trunks, 



"HEVEA" ON THE VALLAMBROSA ESTATE, KLANG. 



