65 



4. The native owners themselves would profit by being im- 

 mediately able to dispose of their produce and in addition they 

 ought to obtain a better price than at present and these advantages 

 might induce them with more ready cash in hand, to give more at- 

 tention to their plantations. 



5. The material gain and saving is in the transport and the pro- 

 ducer should certainly reap his share of it. Suppose for instance 

 such a depot was erected at Rembau in Tampin District, Negri 

 Sembilan, where there is a large area under coconut cultivation 

 belonging to natives and there is no nearer market at present for 

 their surplus than Seremban. The cart hire to Seremban from 

 Rembau is at least $3 per cart carrying say only 300 to 360 nuts 

 whereas quite seven times this quantity of nuts made into copra 

 could be carried at same cost. Kuala Pillah is also similarly situ- 

 ated and I should say there are other districts where the assistance 

 I have suggested might be found beneficial to the natives. 



6. Another matter I would mention is that I consider a great 

 deal might be done in the way of catch crops by the natives. Of 

 course as long as many of the plantations were in the lamentable 

 and unsatisfactory condition as when I arrived the matter appeared 

 utterly hopeless but now some of them are keeping their planta- 

 tions better, and with the conditions it was desired at the recent 

 Residents' Conference in Taiping to impose on newly alienated land 

 I shall endeavour during the current year to do what I can to give 

 them some hints on the subject. My staff too without necessarily 

 interfering with their present work might on their rounds perhaps, 

 under my instructions, render some assistance in teaching the 

 natives something about this. 



7. Alluding to para. 8 of Mr. Aruen's letter of 19th September, 

 1903, 1 believe many of the apparently abandoned coffee lands, where 

 there are few of the coffee trees still to be seen, might be well worth 

 recultivating by the natives; the ground would not be very difficult 

 to clean, many of the coffee trees could I think be brought into 

 bearing and the sale of the product go a long way towards expense 

 of upkeep. Coconuts and other catch crops could also be planted 

 where the useless coffee trees have to be dugout and in other vacant 

 spaces. 



8. In conslusion my further suggestion and one I strongly re- 

 commend, is that a system of rewards, for some time at least, be 

 introduced and prizes given for well kept plantations as an induce- 

 ment to the natives to take more interest in cultivation generally. 



I have, etc., 



L. C. BROWN, 

 Inspect or of Coconut Trees, F.M.S. 



The Federal Secretary, F.M.S. 

 Kuala Lumpur. 



