233 



bellicosus. The latter I have in large numbers amongst the roots 

 of my Ficus elastica, you will find two queens, several winged 

 insects (the wings very much in embryo at present) soldiers and 

 workers. Can you identify these? and tell me if they are known 

 to do any damage to living trees ? so far, I do not think that I have 

 suffered from them, but their numbers rather alarm me. 



I am, Sir, 

 Yours faithfully, 



E. V. CAREY, 



P. S. — Has it ever been recorded that Para Rubber trees are 

 rarely attacked by termites until they are 2 years old? and that 

 when 5 years and upwards they seen to have grown too hard and 

 sturdy for the termites to damage them to anything like the same 

 degree as when they are younger? 



Klang, Selangor, 



i$th February, /po2, 



The Editor, 



Agricultural Bulletin, 

 Dear Sir, 



Coco-nuts are now being so much planted on the coast district 

 Estates that the following figures of the yield from a small native 

 holding, estimated age 10-12 years, will, I think be of interest to 

 many of your readers. This little patch of coco-nuts in the pro- 

 perty of the Klanang Produce Coy : Ltd., and now forms a por- 

 tion of the Klanang Estate, Jugra, of which Mr. W. GREIG is 

 Superintendent. It was purchased from a Malay man by the pre- 

 sent owners to secure a piece of road frontage, and was in a dis- 

 graceful condition when taken over, being grown up and choked 

 with lalang, all sorts of undergrowth and weeds, besides having a 

 number of fruit trees of various kinds in bearing growing under 

 the coco-nuts all of these things have no doubt impoverished the 

 soil to no small degree, and nothing in the shape of manure has 

 ever been applied. In addition, the coco-nuts were regularly 

 tapped by the former owner for toddy ; yet in 1901, 136 trees, of 

 which 6 were supplies not yet in bearing and 12 trees with only 

 3 to 4 and not exceeding 5 nuts each, yielded exactly 7,000 nuts or 

 an average of 59 3 nuts per tree for 118 bearing trees, or 51*5 

 for the whole 136 trees. No one looking at this little patch, would 

 say that it was exceptionally fine, yet the yield, I think it must be 

 admitted, leaves little under the circumstances, to be desired. The 

 soil I may mention is stiffish clay which, however, does not bake but 

 disintegrates and crumbles when exposed to the sun, and is ap- 

 parently identical with the rest of the alluvial all round our coasts. 

 It has been said by high authorities that though coco-nuts may 

 promise well during the first few years of their life on such soil, 

 they will never give really satisfactory returns, but I think in- 

 stances like that which I have quoted, show this to he a fallacy, and 



