THE MALAY PENINSULA 167 



The rubber industry in the Malay Peninsula originated 

 from plants sent from Kew Gardens in 1877, and germ- 

 inated from seed collected by Mr. Wickham during the 

 previous year in the Amazon Valley. The establish- 

 ment of plantations of rubber-trees was due mainly to 

 the persistent efforts of Mr. Henry N. Ridley, the late 

 chief of the Botanic Gardens at Singapore. For years 

 " his voice was as the voice of one crying in the wilder- 

 ness," for nobody was inclined to give credit to his 

 assurances of the profitable future of rubber production. 

 At length he induced a few planters to give the new 

 cultivation a trial, but it was not until 1898 that any 

 serious attention was devoted to it, and only then 

 because the production of coffee and sugar-cane became 

 unremunerative. Then coffee and sugar estates were 

 interplanted with Para trees, and many tapioca planta- 

 tions, owned in great part by Chinamen, were treated 

 in the same way. /It was not until 1905 that the true 

 value of Para rubber plantations was appreciated and 

 understood. Since that date the area has increased 

 from some 40,000 acres to the extent of 680,000 acres. 

 It says much for the hardy character of the Hevea 

 Brasiliensis that this development has taken place ; for 

 very little attention or care was given to the trees in 

 the early stages of the industry, and even when large 

 areas were opened up a great lack of knowledge existed 

 in regard to methods of cultivation and treatment. 

 Evidence of this is seen everywhere on the older estates, 

 where trees are crowded together without any regard 

 to adequate space for futuradevelopment, and also in 

 the damage done to the stejps when tapping was begun. 

 It is only within the last fiye years that planters gener- 



