ACCOUNT OF A TRIP UP THE PAHANG, AND OTHER RIVERS. 55 



Many Dipterocarpous trees, such as Dipterocarpus pfery- 

 gocalyx which produces the wood-oil, (2^Iinyak Krueng), and 

 the SJioreas and Hopeas which produce Dammars were seen 

 throughout the jungles. 



Rattans are abundant, but near the villages we noticed 

 comparatively few^ of any value. The commonest near the 

 Pahang River is Rotan Chin-Chin, the Dcemonorops ctinitiis 

 which appears to be little valued by the Malays. In the 

 wilder parts, such as the Tahan valley, we met with many 

 other and more valuable species, which had escaped the search 

 of the natives. 



All these products are collected by the Sakais and sold to 

 the Malays who float them down the river on rafts of bamboo 

 to Pekan where the bamboos themselves fetch a certain price 

 as they are scarce in the low^er part of the river. 



Cultivation. 



The Pahang Malay does but little in cultivation and the 

 Chinese have not yet established themselves here as planters, 

 although the soil in many places is very suitable. In Pekan 

 a small quantity of copra is made, but the natives seem to 

 prefer to make coco-nut sugar rather than to attempt to grow 

 the coconuts for the fruit. Paddy is cultivated to a small 

 extent, and very carelessly, and here and there are patches 

 of Indian corn and Italian millet iPanicuin italicitni). Some 

 plants of Arabian coffee very strong and free from disease 

 were seen at Temerloh, in the garden of a Malay, who, how- 

 ever, was quite ignorant of the use of the berries, only using 

 the leaves to make tea of. 



The ordinary Malay vegetables and fruits were to be see \ 

 in the village gardens, but as the Pahang Malay does not care 

 to grow more than he actually requires at the time, they were 

 neither abundant nor very good. 



Fruit trees such as Durians, Rambutans, and Pulassan 

 were often found in dense jungle, but I doubt that any were 

 truly wild. They seemed to be either relics of deserted villages 

 or derived from seeds dropped in the jungles by wandering 

 Malays and Sakais. 



