THE MALAY PENINSULA 177 



lands near the seaboard situated about 4 feet above 

 sea-level ; (2) lands formerly cultivated with tapioca 

 and other products, and having an elevation of from 

 10 to 50 feet ; (3) old coffee estates lying some 50 to 

 150 feet above sea-level; and (4) forest lands opened up 

 during the past seven years, with an elevation of 100 to 

 300 feet. Above 300 feet practically no rubber culti- 

 vation has been attempted as yet ; but several experi- 

 mental stations have been established in the Federated 

 Malay States, and at these Pard rubber is planted at 

 varying elevations up to 2,000 feet, in order to ascer- 

 tain the suitability of the highlands for its culti- 

 vation. 



''The three characteristic varieties of soil in the rubber- 

 growing districts of Malaya are (i) A strong, grey 

 loam in the low lands near the seaboard, where sugar- 

 cane was formerly cultivated, and where the water- 

 level is only some 4 to 5 feet from the surface ; (2) a 

 hard, laterite soil preponderating in Malacca, in some 

 of the southern sections of Negri Sembilan, and appear- 

 ing in portions of Selangor and Perak ; (3) a deep, red 

 loam lying on a laterite subsoil, and found over a great 

 extent of Negri Sembilan, Selangor, and Perak. The 

 Para rubber-tree flourishes in all three of these soils^/ 

 In the first the root growth is chiefly lateral, the tap- 

 root disappearing when the water-level is reached. 

 Sluice-gates are necessary on these lands to prevent 

 inundations from high tides. The trees mature early 

 and yield, well, but are subject to damage from strong 

 winds, on account of the absence of deep tap-roots. In 

 the laterite soils the growth is slower, and the yield of 

 latex is smaller during the first two or three years of 



12 



