172 



eight-year old plants which came into bearing in their fifth year. 

 Records of individual yields have been kept for the past three years 

 and these compare favourably with yields obtained in Africa, the 

 home of the industry. It is stated that full grown trees in the 

 Western Province of Southern Nigeria yield from two to twelve 

 bunches of nuts annually ; an average sized bunch contains at least 

 200 nuts and the weight of the latter varies from 7 to 21 lbs. The 

 pulp of palm fruits -contain about 60 per cent, of palm oil while the 

 kernels yield, approximately, 48 per cent, of palm kernel oil. 



The oil palm is propagated from seed. The nursery beds 

 should be raised, made of fairly rich humus soil and near a water 

 course if possible, to ensure the proper humidity of the soil. The 

 seed may be planted about 18 inches apart each way at a depth of 

 from 1 to 1| inches. The beds require to be artificially shaded 

 and in dry weather regularly watered. When the seedlings are 

 1 foot high they may be transplanted into their permanent quarters 

 which may be fi'om 20 to 25 feet apart. Holing similar to 

 that of rubber planting is greatly beneficial and tillage around 

 the palm essential, if heavy crops are to be obtained. The palms 

 require to be kept entirely free from other plant growth which is 

 frequently found, particularly on the older uncultivated plants. 



In West Africa the oil palm trade is handicapped by transport 

 diflEiculties and lack of machinery. The industry is, more or less, in 

 the hands of natives and as long as it remains so it is unlikely that 

 there will be any rapid advancement. It has to be considered, 

 financially, how a well managed property in Malaya with good 

 transport facilities and modern machinery would compare with the 

 somewhat primitive methods of West Africa. It might be mentioned 

 that the world's demand for this oil is very large. 



Fibres. 



A sample of fibre, which would appear to be Furcrsea sp., grown 



at the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Plantation and prepared by 



hand labour, here, was forwarded to the Imperial Institute, London, 



to be examined and was reported on aS follows : The length of 



staple varied from 2 feet 8 inches to 6 feet, with an average of 



4 feet 3 inches. The fibre was examined for tensile strength and 



elongation in comparison with a standard sample of sisal hemp and 



ta,king the East African sisal hemp as the standard, the ratios are as 



follows : 



„ , Sisal hemp 



P^««7<^ from East 



sample. ^^^.^^ 



Breaking stress ... ... 56 ... 100 



Extension 225 ... 100 



The above figures indicate that the present sample has only 56 

 per cent, of the strength of the East African sisal hemp but it is 2j 

 times as extensible as the latter. The fibre was submitted to a firm 



