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tacked by red bug, they like the others suffered badly from the pod 

 destroying caterpillars, which of course being inside the pods could 

 not be destroyed by spraying. The soil and constant wet of the 

 Peninsula makes it at least in the Southern part quite unsuitable for 

 the plant, but the pests alone would be sufficient to destroy _ any 

 chance of' successfully growing the plant on a large scale. 



COTTON CULTIVATION IN THE FEDERATED 

 MALAY STATES. 



Si r? — .1 have the honour to submit, at your request, a short report 

 on the cultivation of cotton in the Federated Malay States. 



2. But little progress has been made in this direction at the 

 Experimental Plantations, Batu Tiga, and the results so far obtained 

 are far from encouraging. The Egyptian variety was tried last year: 

 the seeds germinated very well and for a time the young plants 

 looked very promising; but, during the long spell of wet weather 

 which followed, they were attacked by a mite, and a large percent- 

 age destroyed. The plants which survived the attack were allowed 

 to remain with the object of procuring seeds from the more robust 

 plants for a further trial. During the unusually dried weather ex- 

 perienced during the early part of the present year, these plants 

 improved considerably, and are now fruiting though the crop is 

 poor and the cotton much stained. A picked sample of this cotton 

 is being forwarded to the Imperial Institute for valuation and report. 



3. About an acre of land was planted early in the present year 

 with 'Upland,' 'Sea-Island' and Egyptian varieties, but not more 

 than about 1 per cent, of the seed germinated, and it is impossible 

 to estimate from the few remaining plants, what the result would 

 have been had the seed been good. 



4. Another batch of seed, consisting of some 22 varieties, has 

 been recently planted. These have germinated well and so far are 

 apparently free from disease. 



5. There appears to be little to add to my letter No. Ex. Plants 

 121/03 of October 30th last, when I pointed out that the uncertainty 

 of the seasons, the peculiar susceptibility to pests— both insect and 

 fungoid— and the limited labour-supply, are in themselves sufficient 

 to deter agriculturists from embarking upon this cultivation. 



5. Experiments on a small scale are being continued at Batu 

 Tiga, and if the work results in the establishment of a type suited 

 to the conditions obtaining in the Federated Malay States, it is 

 possible that natives and Immigrant coolies may (with Government 

 Assistance) take up the cultivation of cotton ; but it is, I think, prac- 

 tically certain that it will never pay for European supervision, the 

 profits being too small and the venture too risky. 



