254 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



Tandjong Balei, where he is serving a term of four years' 

 hard labour for his crime. The other men received 

 similar sentences. Obviously, such punishment is quite 

 inadequate to meet the case. 



Accurate records of the yield per acre have not been 

 kept on the Sumatra estates. This is principally due 

 to the fact that the majority of the tapping hitherto 

 has been on trees planted amongst Liberian coffee and 

 other catch crops, and the growth has been so irregular 

 and uneven that the number of pounds of rubber to 

 the acre conveys no definite idea of the real condition 

 of the industry. Some returns of the yield per tree in 

 1911-12 are available, and they are given for what they 

 are worth ; but they must be considered as only an 

 approximate indication for a basis of calculation : 



No useful purpose can be served by quoting further 

 instances. As conditions in Sumatra are so very 

 similar to those existing in the Malay Peninsula, it is 

 safe, and more satisfactory in every way, to apply the 

 Malay averages to Sumatra. 



* From August i, 1911,10 March i, 1912. 



