3oo 



owning at least a garden, fruit in many parts is unac countably rare 

 and often unprocurable. The European in many eases consider- 

 ing he will only remain a short period in one place does not think 

 it worth while to plant fruit trees of which possibly he may not see 

 the produce. He contents himself with a few bananas, pines, and 

 papayas. This is not the way the fruit orchards of Europe and 

 America were formed. Many persons in cold climates plant trees 

 which they may never live to see the fruit of, but they know well 

 that to plant up the ground is not troublesome nor expensive and 

 that in any case as the trees grow up they add considerably to the 

 value of the land. It is even less expensive and onerous, to plant 

 trees here than in Europe. The trees are cheaper, labour is 

 cheaper, and the trees require less attention than in England. 

 Pruning, grafting, manuring would undoubtedly improve our trees 

 in many cases, but the orchard trees are not yet at that high state 

 of cultivation to which - the European trees have attained, and 

 much may be done with comparatively little trouble. So that 

 there is no excuse for owners of land not planting plenty of fruit 

 trees. As the Peninsula gradually opens up the local demand for 

 fruit must increase and with improved methods of transport all over 

 it can be sent to more populous parts of the country where the 

 demand is in excess of the supply. At present however the sys- 

 tem seems to be to wait until there is a big local demand and then 

 to plant our slow growing trees, which will not produce fruit for a 

 number of years afterwards. Where truit of different kinds is abun- 

 dant it is always in demand, but it there is little or none those 

 who ought to be consumers get ac customed to do without it. or it 

 they want fruit use American preserves. The demand for tropical 

 as well as temperate climate fruit in tin: crowded countries of the 

 North temperate region, both fresh and preserved, increases daily 

 and though at present the Malay Peninsula is too far off many of 

 the largest fruit markets to be able to get its fruit to the mouths 

 of the. people, it may reasonably be expected that we shall find 

 means sooner or later to do a good export trade at least in some 

 classes of fruits. At present we have a local demand which is 

 increasing, not only in or around the towns and villages, but in our 

 ports, where the passenger steamers should be able to provide 

 themselves with a sufficient supply for vovages. 



H. N. RIDLEY. 



SOME NOTES ON RUBBER-GROWING. 



A special article we give below is (says the Times of Ceylon) 

 valuable, coming as it does from a source which combines a long 

 experience of the rubber trade at home in its commercial aspect 

 with the growing of the article in more than one country abroad. 

 One of the first points dwelt upon is true promise of a large con- 

 sumption. It is not necessary to dilate upon the many articles to 

 which rubber is yearly freshly applied. Here in this small Colonv 



