6y 
stimulating  and  recuperative  power  to  it  and  prevents  other  beetles 
from  making  use  of  the  hole 
General. — While  the  plantation  is  young  or  if  there  are  a great 
number  of  trees  not  in  bearing,  it  will  of  course  be  necessary  to 
keep  some  coolies  to  look  after  and  give  special  attention  to  the 
beetles^  but  when  all  the  trees  are  in  full  hearing  or  nominally  so 
and  the  plantation  has  been  previously  well  maintained,  it  may 
possibly  be  sufficient,  to  keep  away  any  real  harm  from  attack  by 
beetle,  merely  to  employ  the  coconut  collectors  while  collecting 
the  nuts,  generally  every  two  months,  to  extract  the  beetles  from 
the  tree,  d'his  is  the  common  practice  in  Penang  and  other  places 
I know  of,  the  collector  usually  receiving  a cent  for  every  beetle 
he  catches. 
d'he  land  all  along  the  sea  coast  of  Selangor  and  some  miles 
inland  is  most  admirably  suited  for  the  cultivation  of  coconuts  and 
there  are  some  particularly  fine  plantations  to  be  seen  here.  Ac- 
cording to  my  idea  it  is  a perfect  heme  for  coconuts,  the  trees 
come  very  quickly  into  bearing,  (four  to  five  years  by  no  means 
uncommon)  produce  magnificent  crops,  and  owing  to  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  absolutely  require  no  manure  except  perhaps  at  the 
time  they  are  planted  so  as  to  give  the  young  plants  a good  start. 
With  these  and  other  advantages  it  would  be  supposed  that  owners 
would  give  the  plantations  every  care  and  attention  so  as  to  obtain 
the  best  possible  results  out  of  them,  but  I regret  to  say  from  what 
I have  seen  that  this  is  by  no  Fueans  always  the  case.  It  is  a well 
known  fact  that  a strong  and  healthy  tree  resists  the  attack  of  the 
beetle  far  better  than  a stunted  or  sickly  one,  and  I would  there- 
fore lay  particular  stress  on  the  very  great  importance  of  keeping 
the  trees  free  from  lalang  and  brushwood  of  all  sorts  and  point  out 
how  seriously  this  undergrowth  affects  the  well  being  of  the  trees. 
d'here  is  only  one  other  matter  that  I would  mention  which  I 
consider  bears  on  the  subject  and  may  pro^■e  instructive  where 
new  land  is  being  opened  for  the  cultivation  of  coconuts.  I have 
noticed  that  in  opening  up  forest  land  sufficient  precaution  has  not 
been  taken  while  burning  off  the  jungle  to  completely  destroy  all 
the  sago  and  serdang  palms,  also  the  soft  wood  trees,  the  conse- 
quence has  been  that  where  coconuts  have  been  planted  on  these 
clearings  among  coffee  and  rubber,  the  beetles  have  been  found  in 
considerable  numbers  owing  to  these  decayed  stumps,  and  as  the- 
coffee  and  rubber  will  not  stand  any  burning,  it  is  both  costly  and 
difficult  to  get  rid  of  these  pests.  Had  there  been  a little  extra  burn- 
ing, as  I have  explained,  when  the  place  was  originally  opened  up 
I feel  sure  the  present  trouble  would  have  beer,  very  much  mini- 
mised if  not  practically  avoided  altogether. 
L.  C.  BROWN. 
Kuala  Lumpur,  5.  /.  oj. 
SUMMARY  OP  RUBBER  PLANTING  IN  MEXICO. 
In  answer  to  a circular  letter  sent  by  the  India  Rubber  World 
to  the  various  incorporated  rubber  planting  companies  now  operating 
