231 



metalled road with probably shortly join Besserah, 2^ miles 

 distant, with Kuantan. This land is said to be of first class 

 quality, high and well drained. 



Along the line of the Blat-Kuantan road there are at 

 least 10,000 acres available, but the land is swampy and 

 would require considerable drainage. The possibility of 

 the vast areas of virgin jungle in this and other districts 

 in Pahang is only limited by the difficulties of access and 

 communication. 



Communication by sea with Singapore is maintained 

 by an almost daily service of steamers in the south-west 

 monsoon ; in the north-east monsoon — say, from October to 

 March — communication is much less regular, and is fre- 

 quently interrupted. 



Pekan. 



The head-quarters of the district — which is also the 

 seat of the residence of His Highness the Sultan— is Pekan, 

 a few miles from the mouth of the Pahang river. The bar 

 has silted up so much in recent years that steamers have 

 to lie off a considerable distance from the shore; passengers 

 and goods are conveyed ashore in surf boats, a proceeding 

 fraught with both difficulty and danger in the north-east 

 monsoon. The District Officer and an Assistant are sta- 

 tioned at Pekan. 



Communication at present is entirely by water and 

 jungle path, the district being practically roadless except 

 where the line of the Benta-Kuantan road crosses the north- 

 ern part. Little is known of the country away from the 

 rivers, and it will be a considerable time yet before the dis- 

 trict can offer any attractions to the planter. 



CONCLUSION. 



It may be said in brief that there are hundreds of thou- 

 sands of acres in the Malay States yet available for agri- 

 culture. In the foregoing paragraphs only a small per- 

 centage, which is fairly easy of access, and may reasonably 

 be expected to return good results, has been dealt with. 

 What great possibilities lie buried in the immense tracts of 

 virgin forest which still occupy a great portion of the 

 Peninsula only time and the advance of the Federation will 

 reveal; but it is a fact not entirely devoid of significance 

 that wherever the Government has pushed forwards its 



