349 



a year sooner. This is distinctly . desirable. One might as well say 

 that all Malay Peninsula trees are precocious because they develop a 

 year sooner than Ceylon ones. 



Besides the early flowering and fruiting trees mentioned as occur- 

 ring in Johor, and referred to by Mr. Macmillan I have seen a very 

 compact tree flowering at little over 3 years old in the Chasseriau 

 Estate in Singapore, and in the last Bulletin Mr. Lease mentions a tree 

 on Sapong estate Borneo flowering at 20 months old. This latter does 

 seem absurdly young. 



H. N. R. 



RUBBER IN WESTERN SIAMESE STATES OF 

 THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



A report upon the trade of the Monthons of Saiburi and Puket by 

 Mr. Consul Frost states that, in consequence of the rubber boom in the 

 Straits most of the Tapioca raisers have taken to planting rubber among 

 the tapioca, the latter being treated merely as a catch crop. Near Alor 

 Star there -are two European-owned estates planted only with rubber, 

 which are doing well, and several other Europeans have applied for 

 land but it is too early to say much of the future of this product. 

 North of Kedah the only rubber to be seen was some recently planted 

 as an experiment in the public gardens at Trang, and it is doubtful 

 whether there would be sufficient rainfall all the year round to obtain 

 the best results. If many large estates should be opened in this state 

 the labour question is likely to be a difficult one. The Straits Govern- 

 ment, in obedience to the terms imposed by the Government of India, 

 prohibit as far as they can the immigration into Kedah of Tamil coolies. 

 As the local labour is unsatisfactory it is difficult to see what can be 

 found to take its place. A little Gutta-Percha is exported. 



— The India-Bubber Journal June 1st, 1908. 



FINE RUBBER FOR 12$ CENTS. 



The cost of tapping eight-year-old Hevea trees and curing the 

 rubber on an important plantation in the Malay States, according to a 

 report to the share holders in the company owning it, for the last half 

 of 1907 averaged 12| cents (gold) per pound. The average yield of the 

 trees for the year was about 3i pounds, just twice the average for the 

 preceding year, and a still larger yield is expected for 1908. 



The cost of extraction and preparing rubber for markets on this 

 estate (one of the Anglo-Malay Company's properties) has been reduced 

 steadily, due, it is to be inferred, both to the increased productiveness of 

 the tree — doubling in one year the output per acre — and to the increased 

 experience of the operatives. Doubtless we shall hear later of a still 

 lower production cost, but even 12^ cents per pound allows a very 

 handsome margin of profit for a product which realizes 90 cents a 

 pound or more after deducting freight and selling charges. 



Of course, cost of administration and interest on the investment 

 have to be considered, but the upkeep of mature rubber trees is inex- 

 pensive, and the leading plantation companies now selling rubber seem 



