SALE  OF  PARA  RUBBER. 
A small  case  of  Para  Ruhb'-er  obtained  from  the  Botanic  Gardens 
trees  was  recently  sold  in  London  by  Messrs.  BOUSTEAD  & Co. 
1 9 lbs.  of  Sheet  Rubber  fetched  4/-  per  lb.  and  2 lbs  of  scrap 
realised  3/-  per  lb. 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON  IN  THE 
FEDERATED  MALAY  STATES. 
Experimental  Flantation.s, 
Bahf  Tiga,  joth  October, 
Sir, — I ha\'e  the  honour  to  acknowledge  recei[)t  of  vour  letter 
No.  Misc.  7402/03  of  the  27tli  instant,  enclosing  three  copies  of  a 
"rper  by  Mr.  A.  S.  BaxendaLE,  on  the  Cultivation  of  Cotton  in  the 
Federated  Malay  States. 
r.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  criticise  this  letter,  as,  like  Mr. 
PjAXENDAi.e.  I iiave  not  had  the  opportunity  of  personally  e.K- 
periencing  the  conditions  prevailing  in  those  countries  where  the 
cultivation  of  cotton  is  carried  out  on  an  extensive  scale ; but, 
neve  theless,,  it  is  a subject  in  which  I have  for  some  time  taken  a 
keen  Interest,  and  I trust,  Uierefore,  that  I may  be  permitted  to 
venture  a few  remarks  upon  the  report — which,  under  the  circum- 
stances, will  not,  I hope,  be  taken  too  seriously — and  to  indicate  on 
what  lines  the  experimental  cultivation  of  this  crop  should  proceed. 
3.  The  first  seven  paragraphs  of  the  letter  under  consideration 
deal  with  the  disposal  of  the  produce,  and  there  can,  of  course,  be 
no  question  as  to  the  possibility  of  finding  a ready  market,  provided 
that  we  in  the  Federated  Malay  States  can  compete  successfully 
with  other  cotton-producing  countries  as  regards  the  quality  of  our 
produce — i.e.^  colour,  length  of  staple,  etc. — while,  if  selling  in  a 
European  market,  the  extra  cost  of  freight  as  compared  with  that 
from  the  United  States  and  the  West  Indies  must  not  be  over- 
looked. 
4.  I gather  from  Mr.  Baxendale’s  letter  that,  in  his  opinion, 
practically  the  whole  question  as  to  whether  the  cultivation  of  cot- 
ton in  the  Federated  Malay  States  would  prove  a profitable  under- 
taking or  not,  turns  upon  the  question  as  to  the  suitability  or  other- 
wise of  the  climate,  with  reference  to  which  there  are  practically  no 
statistics  upon  which  to  base  an  opinion.  But  assuming  that  the 
climatical  conditions  here  could  be  considered  suitable,  which  per- 
sonally I very  much  doubt,  remembering  that  the  monsoons  are 
scarcely  discernible  and  that  the  driest  month  of  one  year  may  be 
the  wettest  of  the  next.*  There  are  several  other  points  having  an 
Important  bearing  upon  the  question,  which  the  writer  has  entirely 
overlooked — e.g.,  fungoid  diseases,  insect  pests,  soils,  etc. 
* N.B. — The  rainfall  at  Batu  Tiga  for  October,  1902,  was  over  23  inches,  rain 
falling  on  29  days;  the  rainfall  for  October  current  (ist  to  28th)  is  5.10  inrlu-s,  3.30 
of  which  fell  on  one  day. 
