February, 1910.] 



147 



Miscellaneous. 



Of the miscellaneous fruit there is 

 nothing special to report, as they are 

 practically the same as those grown 

 here. 



As previously stated, fruit and veget- 

 ables form a large part of the staple 

 food of all classes, and, this being so, I 

 am of the opinion that there is a good 

 market for these fruits, which we can 

 grow, but which cannot be grown in 

 equatorial countries. When at Singa- 

 pore I noted large numbers of oranges, 

 mandarins and persimmons on the 

 market. These were not local produc- 

 tions, but were imported from China. 

 There is a good demand for citrus fruit, 

 as shown by the fact that during the 

 last quarter of 1007 and the first quarter 

 of 1908, no less than 2nl,509 dollars worth 

 of fruit was imported from China, the 

 bulk of which was citrus. During the 

 second and third quarters of 1908, the 

 off-season for citrus fruits in China, but 

 the season for our fruits, only 37,014 

 dollars worth of fruit was imported 

 from China. From these figures it will 

 be seen that there is a large market for 

 our oranges and mandarins in Singapore 

 from April to September. There is no 

 cold season, and citrus fruits meet with 

 a ready sale at all times, 



I am also of the opinion that we can 

 obtain a good market for good apples, 

 and prime fleshed peaches aud plums 

 from the Stanthorpe district. We 

 should have no difficulty in landing our 

 fruit in good condition, provided that 

 extra care is taken in packing, and that 

 suitable cases are used, as cold storage 

 is available on the steamers that trade 

 direct from Brisbane to Singapore. 



In addition to fruits, there is a good 

 market for first-class vegetables of 

 European varieties. There are any quan- 

 tities of vegetables grown locally by 

 the Chinese, but they are unable to 

 produce a good onion, cabbage, or potato, 

 and these vegetables would meet with 

 a good sale at any time. 



There are many kinds of locally-grown 

 vegetables, some of which should be 

 grown here to a much larger extent 

 than they are, viz., the different kinds 

 of Brinjals or egg fruits, the lady's 

 finger, or landacoy, a species of Okra, 

 both of which are excellent both in 

 curries and as vegetables. 



Economic Products. 

 Rubber is the one product talked 

 about throughout the Malay Peninsula, 

 and it is estimated that on 1st January, 

 1907, some 10,000,000 trees had been 



Elanted, and since then the number has 

 eeu considerably increased, and it ie 



thought that an area of not less than 

 100,000 acres will shortly be under crop. 



The variety planted is almost ex- 

 clusively Para, the seeds of all the fruit 

 plantings being obtained from the old 

 trees growing at the Singapore Botanic 

 Gardens. The oldest trees were obtained 

 from Kew in 1879, and the largest tree 

 is now 3 ft. in diameter, 4 ft. from the 

 ground. The bulk of the plantation 

 was, however, set out in 1884, and these 

 trees yield an average of 6 lb. of rubber 

 per tree. 



They were planted very irregularly, 

 some trees being not more than 4 ft. 

 apart, whilst others are 12 ft. or more 

 apart. There is still a difference of opi- 

 nion as to the right distance apart at 

 which to plant, but from 15 to 16 ft. 

 seems to be the most general. 



Rubber is by no means a cheap crop 

 to grow, as it is estimated that by 

 the time a plantation comes into bear- 

 ing, the cost of the land, preparation, 

 planting, and maintenance amounts to 

 about £20 to £25 per acre, so that con« 

 siderable capital is required to go in for 

 a large area. The land must be kept 

 clean round the young trees, for the 

 first few years, and where lalang (blady 

 grass) is present, this is a serious item 

 in the cost of establishing a plantation. 

 The trees are tapped at from 5 to 6 

 years of age, the herring-bone system 

 being commonly employed. 



In addition to Para several other rub- 

 ber-producing trees are grown to a 

 small extent, including Rambong (Ficus 

 elastica) ; Funtumia elastica, much like 

 Para, but a slower growth ; Manihot 

 glaziovii, said to be hard to tap; Castilloa 

 elastica, subject to injury by borers, 

 and a very irregular grower ; but the 

 one variety grown in quantity is Para. 



Tapioca.— Manihot utilitissima, Cas- 

 sava, is grown in large quantities in 

 the Federated Malay States. It is found 

 to exhaust the soil very quickly, seldom 

 more than two crops being taken off 

 the same land. It thrives best in a free 

 soil. On no account must it be grown 

 between young rubber trees. 



Citronella.— Thanks to the courtesy 

 of Mr. D. R. Conan, of the Persever- 

 ance Estate, Singapore, I was able to 

 make an inspection of a Citronella 

 plantation and factory for extracting 

 the oil. 



Citronella is obtained from a strong- 

 growing grass, a species of Audropogon. 

 The method employed for its culture is 

 as follows :— The land, a damp sandy 

 loam, with water 2 to 3 ft. from the 

 surface, is first well worked to get into 

 a fine tilth, and to get rid of weeds aud 



