and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— March, 1912. 



285 



growing, I would like to draw the attention of 

 those of your readers who may be interested in 

 the subject to the official "Kelantan Administra- 

 tion Report" for 1910, signed by Mr. J Scott 

 Mason, the remarkably able British Adviser to 

 the Government of Kelantan. 



On page 3, paragraph 4, Mr. Mason writes : — 

 u At the Agri-Horticultural Show held in Singa- 

 pore in August Kelantan nuts were awarded the 

 first prize for husked coconuts, and the first 

 prize for the best bunch of coconuts. Tungku 

 Besar, who exhibited for the first time, informed 

 me that 180 nuts were sufficient to make one 

 picul of copra : a wonderfully good return." 



I venture to say in all confidence that neither 

 in Ceylon, the Philippines, nor the West Indies 

 can such a return be shown, the coconuts of 

 these countries averaging 220 to 225 to the picul 

 of copra, — I am, &c, 



A Believer in Coconuts. 

 London, W., Feb. 25th. 

 — Financial Times. 



COCONUT-GROWING IN THE 

 PHILIPPINES 



is already an industry pressing close on the heels 

 of that of Ceylon. We estimate that 1,000 to 

 1,200 million nuts are produced here yearly by 

 coconut-palms not reserved for other purposes 

 than nut-bearing. Our Manila correspondent 

 writes below on the subject and sends an 

 extract, showing 965 million nuts were har- 

 vested in the Philippines last year ; and ex- 

 tensions are proceeding apace. The " Consols 

 of the East " are free from the depressing 

 influences that could lower their value like those 

 affecting British Consols ; it is no wonder that 

 Ceylon men who have made money in rubber, 

 or inherited it, or both, come back here to look 

 out for coconut property to invest in and seek 

 a safe return in double-figure interest thereon. 



Manila, March 4th. 

 Dear Sir, — The Malanao Coconut Co. gives 

 some interesting particulars. <-oconutspay well 

 hero, with very little cultivation. The trees 

 are not pruned at all, aud the nuts are allowed 

 to fall. Dead trees are not cut down and the 

 fallen trees are allowed to rot on the ground, 

 and become a breeding-place for beetles. 1 

 saw coconuts at Dogupan which are about 20 

 per cent larger than any nuts I saw in Ceylon. 

 There is also a small nut. There are no de- 

 siccated coconut factories, and one would pay 

 well. Coconuts are only grown for ornament in 

 Manila, and the nuts are 5 cents in the market, 

 and drinking coconuts, or " curumbas " cannot 

 be bought. People do not eat curry here, and 

 it is a rare dish at a Restaurant, and made 

 without coconut milk, with old curry powder 

 prepared in Loudon by Cross and Blackwell. 

 Au Indian merchant has recently imported 

 curry powder from Calcutta and told me that 

 he sold a large quantity to the army, but I 

 am sure that the army soldier cooks cannot 

 make a good curry, and would not thiuk of 

 putting coconut milk in it. — Yours, &c, 



MANILA COK. 



(Extract,) 

 " Do 5Tou Know That 

 " Coconut growing offers an almost assured 

 certainty of large and steady returns from com- 

 paratively small investment? That in 1911 the 

 copra exports equalled 24 89 per cent of all 

 Philippine exports. That about 965,155,699 

 nuts, making 1 15,602 metric tons of copra, worth 

 $19,798,914 00, were harvested during 1911. 

 That an annual profit of at least 2 pesos per 

 tree is being made from hundreds of present 

 bearing groves. That with proper selection of 

 seed-nuts, proper planting and care this profit 

 could be greatly increased. That a safe and 

 reliable company has been incorporatei in 

 Manila for the purposes of growing 100,000 

 trees by the most approved methods in one 

 of the best locations in the Philippines— free 

 from typhoons, droughts, wild hogs and coco- 

 nut beetles. That stock in this company can 

 be secured at par with payments for tamo 

 covering e. period of five years. That all money 

 paid in will be held by the bank of the Philip- 

 lines until 85 per cent is subscribed thus as- 

 suring the presence of sufficient fuu.ls to pro- 

 perly develop the plantation. That the pro- 

 posed plan in detail can be secured by addres- 

 sing. The Malanao Coconut Company, 9 Pliza 

 Cervantes, Manila. 



BUILDING IN THE EAST AND THE 

 TEAK MARKET. 



In view of the large amount of building ex- 

 tensions proceeding in various towus in the 

 East, Colombo most especially, the outturn of 

 teak (which figures so much in our buildings) 

 is of considerable interest. We see that the 

 Siam Observer understands that there is a slight 

 upward tendency in the Bangkok teak market 

 at present, owing to the smaller arrival of 

 rafts from upcouutry last season, which ended 

 in January. The rise is principally in first- 

 class wood, quality squares and planks beiug 

 in particular demand. Both in Siam and Burma 

 there has been a certain shortage in the sup- 

 ply. A few of the sawmills have ceased work- 

 ing for some time past. The coming season 

 which opens in June next is expected to be a 

 good one, but nothing definite can be stated 

 just now by the dealers as everything depends 

 upon the water supply. 



QUICK RUBBER AUCTI ON RETURNS. 



fen Seconds Par Lot. 



The rapidity with which over 800 tons of plant- 

 ation rubber were sold at the last auction sales 

 is most gratifying and businesslike. It must be 

 remembered that the sale practically lasted only 

 two days, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, less 

 li hours for lunch. A turnover of approxi- 

 mately £400,000 in such a short period stands 

 as the record. 



As an instance of the rate at which business 

 was done it is interesting to place on record that 

 Mr. Oliphant Devitt (Lewis and Peat) disposed 

 of 494 lots in one hour, twenty minutes, or at 

 the rate of about six lots per sixty seconds. 

 Well might we remark, *' like father like son." — 

 India Rubber Journal, Maroh 2. 



