AND THE MALAY STATES 89 



will develop into good straight trunks, 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 late A 

 abundantly, although there was a wide difference in the appearance 

 of the bark, some being quite white, while others showed a distinct shade 

 of red. There were a variety of theories as to the cause of this, but 

 the real reason was not apparent. 



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 Pataling 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, however, and he urged us to come 

 up to the bungalow, which was prettily located on an eminence over- 

 looking 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 after cleared up and we w.ere so sure that the storm was over 

 for the day that we allowed a black boy 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 examining that on the hillsides we 

 went down to a lower level and were just beginning to take measurements 

 when the rain came down in torrents. We each selected a big tree, 

 under which we stood for a while, but ere long even that was no pro- 

 tection, so we started for the railway station. We were now drenched 

 to the skin and the walking was very bad. We, however, caught our 

 train, and in due time arrived in Klang, where, after a change of cloth- 

 ing and a substantial dinner, we felt as well as ever. 



I had hoped to have time to run down to Port Dickson. and visit 

 Mr. V. R. Wickwar, who has a fine plantation of Hevea, but I found 

 my time would not admit of it. Nor did I visit the Pears plantation 

 in Muar, as the owner, to whom I had letters, was absent in England. 



Speaking of close planting and hand weeding, I could not but be 

 struck with the fear that the planters have of fire. Mr. Bailey, who 

 at one time had charge of a large plantation in Johore, told me that 



