3 5 



nised by its leaves, which arc coriaceous, oblong or obovate oblong, 

 and obtusely acuminate; in colour they arc of a beautiful coppery 

 gold colour on the under surface, and dark glossy green on i he- 

 upper. In a mature tree the leaves are about two inches long, but 

 much longer in the young plant. In the forests this tree appears 

 to be very free from the attacks of disease, the only one I have seen 

 being in plantations, and caused by the larva ef a moth which I 

 believe to be Rhodoneura, sp. This larva eats the young shoots 

 and leaves, and has done appreciable damage in Malacca. 



II. — Measures of Protection. 



The qualities of Gutta Percha became known about 1845, ar * 0< the 

 demand steadily increased from that time, till in the seventies there 

 was a rush for it by the natives of these States, the price rising rapidly 

 till 1902. Between 1895 and 1900 the exports from Singapore rose 

 from 2,642 tons to 5,831 tons. It may safely be said that from 1890 

 onwards the natives of these States were doing their best to obtain 

 Gutta Percha. Their method of extraction consisted in felling every 

 tree they came across and extraction of the latex in a wasteful rough 

 and ready manner, so that by the time the authorities awoke to the 

 fact that Palaquium was being wiped out (about 1898), it was too 

 late to save trees large enough to produce Gutta Percha. It is 

 difficult to see how this could have been prevented, however, as at 

 the time there was no properly organised Forest Department, and 

 whatever measures might have been adopted it would have been 

 impossible to effectively carry out in these dense unpopulated, 

 evergreen forests. 



In Perak the export of Gutta Percha was prohibited in 188 1, but 

 allowed again in 1887, the issue of passes to collect being prohibited 

 in 1900. The first timber rules, published in 1898 by the British 

 Residents of the various States, contained a protective measure which 

 was to the effect that no rubber bearing tree should be felled if of 

 less than 8 inches diameter. This rule could not, I imagine, be 

 enforced in practice, owing to want of an organised staff. In 1899 

 and 1900 the matter was taken up by the High Commissioner and the 

 Resident-General, and in the latter year the British Resident, Pahang, 

 issued orders to all his officers to do all that lay in their power to 

 prevent the destruction of Gutta Percha producing trees. 



The question of planting was also discussed, but not in a very 

 practical manner. 



The Forest Department was stalled in each State by the appoint- 

 ment of a local man, in Perak in 1895, in Selangor in 1898, in Negri 

 Sembilan in 1899, and in Pahang not till 1902, when a member of 

 the Indian Provincial Forest Service was sent over on deputation at 

 my request, I being deputed from India in October 1901, as Con- 

 servator of Forests. 



Early in 1902 I suggested that an expoit duty of 80 per cent ad 

 valorem be imposed on all Gutta Percha leaving these States, as a 

 means of putting a stop to the extraction and collection of this pro- 

 duct, a considerable period of absolute rest being obviously indica- 



