derived  from  the  wild  jungle  plants.  The  Malays  and  Dyaks  merely 
eut  the  long  climbing  stems  and  beat  and  j)ull  off  the  spiny  sheaths 
with  sticks,  lay  them  out  to  dry  for  a short  time  and  then  coil  them 
up  and  bring  them  down  for  sale.  In  a few  places  attempts  have 
been  made  to  cultivate  rattans  for  profit,  chiefly  in  Muar,  Johor 
and  I am  informed  also  in  Borneo. 
The  plant  cultivated.in  the  Peninsula  is  Rotan  Se^ar.  I'he  seed 
is  raised  in  abed,  till  the  plant  is  about  6 inches  tall  and  then 
planted  out.  This  rattan  seems  to  do  better  in  tolerably  dry  spots, 
damp  or  wet  ground  not  suiting  it.  Like  all  rattans  the  growth  is 
rather  slow,  at  first,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  make  a bush  at  first 
of  short  stems  as  the  Duemo}iorops  and  Plectocomias  do.  Seeds 
obtained  here  from.  Muar  in  1902  have  noAv  developed  into 
plants  about  5 feet  talk  Rattans  undoubtedly  ‘make  the  best 
growth  in  open  jungle  as  they  certainly  grow  faster  when  they  can 
climb.  The  best  way  to  grow  rattans  would  certainly  be  to  plant 
them  out  in  open  woods,  with  sufficient  trees  for  them  to  climb,  but 
enough  light  for  them  to  develope  well.  Though  rattans  should 
be  cut  before  flowering  it  would  of  course  be  necessary  to  leave 
some  stems  in  a plantation  to  reproduce.  In  many  species  a large 
number  of  shoots  are  first  thrown  up  forming  a bush,  later  some  or 
all  of  these  develop  into  climbing  shoo's,  but  it  is  not  till  the  bush 
is  fairly  large  that  the  climbing  shoots  begin  to  develop,  then  the 
rattans  begin  to  come  faster,  and  there  are  a considerable  number 
produced,  each  shoot  climbing.  The  slender  Calami  as  a rule  make 
but  small  bush,  i.e.,  each  shoot  starts  climbing  almost  at  once. 
The  preparation  of  ordinary  rattans  for  the  market  is  very  sim- 
ple, the  canes  as  brought  in  being  washed  in  a running  stream,  and 
well  rubbed  with  sand  till  they  are  quite  smooth.  They  are  then 
straightened  by  being  pulled  round  posts  fixed  in  the  ground  and 
eventually  tied  up  in  bundles.  Malacca  canes  and  others  generally 
intended  for  walking-sticks,  are  smoked  as  described  later. 
The  greater  number  of  the  canes  exported  from  Singapore  are 
obtained  from  the  Malay  Islands,  especially  Sumatra  and  Borneo. 
The  uses  of  rattans  are  very  varied.  For  walking-sticks,  the 
Malacca  cane  Calamus  scipioniim,  C.  0 mat  us,  C.  a qua  til  is,  and 
other  smaller  species  are  used.  For  basket  work,  chairs,  tables 
and  furniture  generally,  the  Rotan  Segars,  Rotan  Bakau.  For 
fenders  for  ships,  cables,  bridges,  chicks,  floor-coverings,  baskets, 
saddlery,  rattans  of  various  kinds  are  extensively  used.  The  shields 
of  the  Malays  in  old  times  were  often  made  of  coiled  rattan.  In 
house  building,  fish-traps  and  fishing  stakes,  a great  quantity  is  used, 
both  in  the  form  of  split  rattan,  and  whole  canes.  Split  rattan  is 
necessary  for  attap-making  to  fasten  the  pandan  leaves  together. 
In  Europe  “crushed  cane”,  rattan  waste  cut  into  small  bits  is 
used  for  stuffing  cushions  being  apparently  preferred  to  coir. 
The  uses  being  almost  endless,  and  the  demand  being  very  great 
both  for  local  and  foreign  consuniption,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  supply  of  an  almost  exclusively  jungle  product  is  not 
adequate  for  the  demand.  Soom  r or  later  it  will  be  doubtless  re- 
quisite to  institute  plant  itions  of  rattans  on  a larg-*  scab',  to  supply 
