April 1, 1916.1 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



381 



RUBBER PLANTING IN THE FEDERATED MALAY 

 STATES. 



THE growtli of the automobile industry has brought about 

 a steadily increasing demand for high grade rubber. 

 The world was long dependent upon South and Central 

 America and the Congo region in Central Africa for its 

 supplies of wild rubber. This condition is greatly changed 

 today due to the successful cultivation in the Far East of 

 the Para rubber tree (llcxca Braziliensis). The original ex- 

 periments in rubber cultivation made in Kew, England, re- 

 sulted in a new and prosperous development in the Far 

 Eastern tropical regions. Nowhere in the world has the 

 rubber tree been found to thrive more luxuriantly or to yield 

 a more abundant flow of latex than in the Malay Peninsula. 

 The growth of the industry has been so rapid in the pasi 

 decade that it seems destined to outstrip tin mining as the 

 leading industry of the Federated Malay States. 



Rubber is the leading agricultural product of Maiaya and 

 the government, recognizing the importance of the new in- 

 dustry, has done much to encourage the taking up of land 

 by planters. In the early days, loans were granted from 

 the public funds, repayable on easy terms, and loans are 

 still granted to approved applicants. One of the handicaps 

 to the development of the country was the scarcity of labor. 

 The native population was altogether inadequate to cope with 

 the rapid rise of the rubber planting industry. The pioneer 

 planters endeavored to overcome this difficulty by importing 

 labor, mostly from India and China, and, to a lesser extent, 

 from Java. The government has cooperated in this effort 

 to increase the labor supply and now there is a steady influx 

 of free imported labor supervised and regulated by govern- 

 ment officials. There is a fairly constant elib and flow 

 among these laborers, but the treatment and wages they 



and medical treatment of the laboring classes throughout the 

 country. Water supply systems have been installed in new 



planting districts as fast ' ' ' " 



T.sppiNX n 



T.STIOX. 



receive causes every man and woman returning to India or 

 China to advertise favoral)ly the Malay States, which results in 

 bringing an increasing supply of laborers to the country. 



Quarantine stations have been established by the govern- 

 ment, which also exercises a praiseworthy care in the housing 



onditions permit. The 



CdlU.IES G.MHERIXG L.\TEX. 



cellent road system is rapidly extending to give access to 

 new estates, and the railway department keeps pace with 

 the agricultural development by opening up new territories 

 and providing new sidings at convenient centers. An agricul- 

 tural department under a highly qualified director and a staff of 

 trained mycologists, entomologists and chemists cooperates with 

 the planters in detecting and combating enemies of the ruliber 

 tree. 



For all purposes other than mining. State land is alienated 

 by the issue of a grant in perpetuity, or of a lease for a term 

 not exceeding one hundred years, upon payment of premium 

 or purchase money, in amount according to the position and 

 nature of the property. An annual quit rent is also reserved 

 in all cases, which rent may be revised periodically at inter- 

 vals of thirty years. Everything is done by the government 

 to facilitate opening up the land by planters. 



In order to encourage small capitalists to take up land in 

 the Malay States, the government has set aside small blocks 

 of land for planting purposes, and arrangements have been 

 made for assigning four young men to the forests and agri- 

 cultural departments for periods of six months. During this time 

 they have the opportunity of acquiring knowledge of the country, 

 the people, their language and customs, as well as familiarizing 

 themselves with market conditions. 



Bulletins of the agricultural department give valuable in- 

 formation in regard to ruljber cultivation and other agri- 

 cultural subjects. 



The following statistics show the growth of the rubber 

 industry in British Malaya: 



.Acreage under Quantitv Exported. 



Malaya. l<ul)bi;r. Pounds. 



1905 38,000 1,977 



1906 99,230 935,056 



1907 179,227 2,278,870 



1908 241,138 3,539,922 



1909 292,035 6,741,509 



1910 362,853 14,368,863 



1911 542,877 24,904,043 



1912 621,621 42,462,401 



1913 637,747 approx. 52,557,409 



1914 653,873 approx. 68,761,280 



1915 670,000 approx. 99,733,760 



