VALUATION OF ESTATES 295 



The valuer can take the selling-price of rubber for each 

 succeeding year, for the purposes of his valuation, at such 

 figures as seem to him most likely to be realized. It is always 

 well to lean to the side of safety in arriving at final figures. 

 Some take an optimistic view, others a pessimistic view, of the 

 future of prices, and truth generally lies between extremes. 



When endeavouring to arrive at the valuation of an estate 

 there are many other factors besides the future selling-prices of 

 rubber to be taken into account. 



Rainfall should never be lost sight of. An estate with 100 

 inches of rainfall all other things being equal is worth much 

 more than an estate with nearly 80 inches of rainfall per annum. 

 The crops harvested from rubber in bearing from the estate with 

 100 inches of rainfall per annum will be at least 50 Ibs. per acre 

 per annum higher than from the estate with only 80 inches 

 of rainfall. Rainfall records should, therefore, be consulted. 

 Virgin soil is worth very much more than land formerly cropped 

 with gambier, tapioca, coffee or cacao, but this fact seems to be 

 often overlooked. 



Flat land, if not too low-lying, is always worth more than 

 land where there is a constant wash of soil to be guarded against. 

 If an estate is weedy with lalang or other bad grasses, at least 

 5 per acre ought to be deducted from the valuation. If very 

 bad, 6 to 7 per acre would not be too much to deduct. 



The condition and the growth of the trees are matters to be 

 carefully taken into account. The distances at which the trees 

 are planted is also of great importance. If too closely planted, 

 so that they have to be thinned out, with the risk of loss and 

 damage to the remaining trees, then allowance should be made 

 on this account. That a rubber plantation should be a per- 

 manent investment must not be lost sight of. If too closely 

 planted the estate must be thinned some time, and the sooner 

 the better. For the cost of this allowance must be made. On 

 an estate which has been too closely planted, the trees, even 

 after thinning, can never have the same vigour and vitality as 

 they would have if they had received fair treatment from the 

 start. 



The following statistics, issued in 1911 by the Klanang 

 Produce Company, not only show the value of the returns from 

 rubber, as compared with coconuts, " the consols of the East," 



