317 



Survey staft' is not augmented to avoid the long waiting for settle- 

 ment, which discourages those who have come and may deter those 

 who contemplate coming. 



Krian Irrigation Scheme. 



The Krian Irrigation Schetiie continues to be a great success. 

 The Department of Agriculture is paying more attention to the culti- 

 vation of rice : it is hoped that a branch of the department, with 

 Native Inspectors, will be formed, such as has been so usefully placed 

 in charge of the cultivation of coconuts. The padi borer is an ever 

 present pest, and it is clear that more effectual drainage is required 

 in some of the cultivated parts of Krian. The Government bunds 

 will do good and, as land is more and more taken up, the undrained 

 and uncultivated swamps will disappear. The Irrigation Scheme is 

 quite young yet : it has been nagged at far too much. The proof of 

 its value lies in the establishment of the Krian Rice Mill, and I invite 

 attention to the few and brief facts which I have written down under 

 the headings of Trade and Hospitals. 



I desire to endorse the views expressed by Messrs. Hale and 

 McLean in the following extracts from their reports : 



Mr. Hale— 



" I think that padi planting should be encouraged before 

 rubber, and one way to do this is to appoint an expert in 

 entomology to stay in Krian for a year or two. The outlay 

 is justified, because rice is the food of the people, and our 

 population must increase if all our rubber trees are to be 

 tapped : the improvement in the produce of the rice fields, 

 and thereby the ability of the people to pay rent and water- 

 rate, will quickly reimburse the Government." 



Mr. McLean writing of padi pests — 



" No remedy is likely to be devised unless a member of 

 the Agricultural Department spends the greater part of a 

 year in Krian. Experiments under the personal supervision 

 ot a scientist are obviously the only v/ay in which the exter- 

 mination of padi pests can be successfully attempted." 



The output of rubber-approximated one million pounds in weight, 

 or 435 tons. The planted area exceeds 68.000 acres. 



Para Rubber. 



The cultivation of rubber has made wonderful strides. The 

 appearance of the country is transformed. Numerous companies 

 have been floated. Most of the Government loans have been 

 repaid. All nationalities are acquiring land in various qualities to 

 plant it with rubber by varied methods. 



