56 



circulation among officers who have a knowledge of the country 

 and native character. 



I have, etc., 



A. M. BURN-MURDOCH, 



Conservator of Forests, F.M.S. and S S. 



The Resident-General, F.M.S. 



British Resident's Office, 

 Xo. R-G. 4967/03 Negri Sembilan, Federated Malay States, 



Seremban, ryth November, 1903. 

 Subject : 



Encouragement of Agriculture among the Natives. 

 Sir,— 



I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter No. 

 7259/03 of the 7th instant, forwarding a letter by the Superintendent, 

 Government Experimental Plantations, on the subject of the en- 

 couragement of agriculture among natives. 



2. I am of opinion that the introduction of such a scheme as 

 Mr. Arden suggests would be of great benefit, but fear that it 

 would be very difficult to ensure a sufficient supply of any product 

 to render the scheme self-supporting. 



3. The hesitation of natives to follow advice tendered to them 

 by Government officers in regard to cultivation, and probably their 

 reluctance even to cultivate rubber at present, is due to the losses 

 they incurred some years ago by cultivating coffee at the instance 

 of Government. 



4. I am afraid it is too late now to take any action in regard to 

 coffee cultivation, otherwise arrangements might be made with the 

 Port Dickson Coffee Curing Company to buy bv the pikul cherry 

 collected in small quantities by Government. 



5. The difficulty of finding a market for small quantities of pro- 

 duce will disappear with the development of the States. I might 

 instance that in Malacca the roots they grow on their small allot- 

 ments are readily sold by Malays to competing tapioca planters ; 

 w hile the owners of dusuns at Labu now find a market in Kuala 

 Lumpur for the duriens they export by rail. 



I have, etc., *\ 

 W. EGERTON, 



The Resident-General, F.M.S. British Resident. 



