217 



to the railway embankment damming' hack the water, some 

 5,000-6,000 acres con id still be selected: this part fronts on 

 the main trunk road. 



Lower Perak. 



Telok Anson is the only town of any size in this dis- 

 trict. It is the chief port of the district, about 30 miles 

 from the mouth of the Perak river, and has daily steam 

 communication with Penang. The District Officer, an As- 

 sistant District Officer in charge of the Land Office and the 

 District Surveyor are stationed here. The district is en- 

 tirely an agricultural one, and the soil will grow both coco- 

 nuts and rubber. The area between the Bernam and Perak 

 is being opened up by a new road, some 19 miles long, and 

 land along it a mile in depth will be available — the distance 

 from Telok Anson by road won Id be between 20 and 30 

 miles. Perhaps the best coconut land would be found in 

 the area along the sea coast, north from the mouth of the 

 Perak river, there is an agricultural path right through this 

 district from Kota Stia on the Perak river to Sitiawan. 

 From 10,000 acres upwards is said to be available. 



For rubber all the available open road frontage has 

 been taken up, but new roads are now under construction. 

 The one from Parit and the Bruas to Sitiawan has already 

 been mentioned, 13 miles of which will lie in Lower Perak. 

 The soil is very good and from 20,000 acres upwards is 

 available, and a still larger area if applicants are content to 

 take land some distance back from the road; it is easily 

 drained and not hilly. There is communication by local 

 steamer to Penang, one steamer calling regularly at Lumut, 

 a few miles from Sitiawan; while most of the Penang-Telok 

 Anson steamers call at Pangkor, near the mouth of the 

 Lumut river. A steam launch also runs from Telok Anson, 

 calling at Bagaii Datoh at the mouth of the Perak river, and 

 a Government launch from the same place once a fortnight 

 maintains, in addition, a regular service. The road above 

 mentioned will give communication both to Taiping and 

 Batu Gajah. The other new road is a continuation of the 

 Telok Anson-Changkat Jong road to join the Batang 

 Padang system from Bidor : this is the road referred to in 

 the previous section on Batang Padang. All the frontage 

 on the present road has been taken up and the extension 

 will add nearly 20 miles in all. The soil is good, and the 

 drainage will be less heavy than on the coast: some 20,000 

 acres would be available for selection. Most of the land 

 carries useful timber, and the distance from Telok Anson 



