THE COCONUT BELT 39 



with regard to coconuts in the Federated Malay 

 States, as it comprises 27 per cent, of the total 

 acreage in the country. A very large acreage is 

 in course of development by an important Euro- 

 pean company in the Kuala Langat Coastal dis- 

 trict. A vast area of excellent coconut land exists 

 uncultivated in the northern part of the Kuala 

 Selangor district, but access to it at the moment 

 is not easy. 



At present the area under cultivation yields 

 sufficient nuts to manufacture about 65,500 tons 

 of copra, should all the nuts be used for that pur- 

 pose. There is here an immense and profitable 

 field for the collection and utilisation of the various 

 products of the coconut, some of which are now 

 wasted. 



These States have in coconuts a rapidly- 

 developing and profitable industry ; the acreage of 

 this product in the Peninsular (exclusive of the 

 native kampongs and inclusive only of estates of 

 over 100 acres in extent) aggregate 73,467 acres at 

 the end of 1912. Most of this was under coconuts 

 alone, but there were 12,470 acres interplanted with 

 coffee and other crops. Even during the past 

 few months the developments have been increas- 

 ingly rapid. It is calculated that at the present 

 moment the shipments from the Straits Settle- 

 ments (Singapore) aggregate about 2,300 tons per 

 week, or at the rate of about 120,000 tons per 



