238 



It is difficult to prophesy with regard to rubber, but I should 

 judge that for the next four years the increases for Malaya should be 

 at least 10,000,000 lbs. for 1911, 15,000,000 lbs. for 1912, 15,000,000 lbs. 

 for 1913 and 20,000,000 lbs. for 1914, provided that the supply of 

 labour is sufficient to perform the necessary tapping and other 

 agricultural operations on the acreages opened up during the past 

 few years. After that the output should show a steady increase for 

 the follovv'ing four years, provided, of course, that nothing unforeseen 

 arises to cause the abandonment of already planted land, after which 

 the increase may be slighter. In 1916 the output tor Malaya should 

 be at least 65,000 tons, on the present acreage alone. 



Crops grown with rubber may be divided into two classes : catch- 

 crops and cover crops. Catch-crops are those grown with the object 

 of obtaining revenue for the land, during the first four or five years, 

 up to the time when the rubber is at the producing stage. Agricul- 

 turally they are not to be recommended. The growth of the rubber is 

 materially retarded, the catch-crop yields returns for only a few years, 

 then unless the stumps of these plants are left to serve as reservoirs 

 for root disease, there is considerable expense to be incurred in clearing 

 them out. The principal catch-crop in Malaya is coffee. In the 

 Federated Malay States only less than 6 per cent, of the rubber 

 acreage is planted with catch-crops as against 10 per cent, for 1909, 

 while for the Straits Settlements the percentage is only 28 per cent, 

 against 40 percent, last year. Evidently the practical planter is 

 realising more and more the disadvantage of the method of cultivation. 



Cover crops are planted between rubber, at present principally 

 with the object of reducing the expenditure on weeding, until the 

 rubber trees have grown sufficiently to kill out the weeds by their 

 shade. Where labour is insufficient to keep an estate clean weeded, 

 the use of a cover crop may be recommended as it may require less 

 keeping in order than the original weeds and at the same time be less 

 harmful to the trees. There is, however, no cover crop that can be 

 unconditionally recommended in Malayan plantations, and undoubted- 

 ly the best procedure at present is absolute clean weeding, where the 

 labour force is sufficient to obtain it. If a leguminous cover could be 

 introduced, which could be easily kept under control, it might be 

 preferable even to clean weeding, particularly if it could yield 

 sufficient revenue to pay for the cost of its own cultivation. At 

 present the department is experimenting with ground-nuts, to deter- 

 mine if this crop will satisfy the conditions named, besides a number 

 of non-revenue producing covers. 



Tapping is a subject that demands mention. In spite of numer- 

 ous new inventions, the favourite instruments are still the simpler 

 tools, the gouge (straight or bent) and the farrier's knife or jebong. 

 Which of these is best depends really on which the tapping cooly is 

 used to. Where there is sufficient European supervision and a stable 

 labour force, the tapping in Malaya is usually excellently done, with 

 consequent good renewal of the bark. Where one or other of these 



