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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



marked out with ease in practically any part of 

 the centre of the country. At Nhamacurra an 

 association has planted some 1,700 hectares 

 (about 4,200 acres) of sisal (Agave rigida sisalana), 

 which has already produced good fibre 

 and will undoubtedly give con-sistently 

 excellent results ; whilst, commencing 

 at Mixixine, the association possesses planta- 

 tions of coconut palms estimated to contain no 

 less than 700,000 trees, about one-fifth of which 

 are now coming into bearing. All round about 

 Quilimane, north, south and west, the cultiva- 

 tion of t he coconut palm has been steadily pur- 

 sued for some years past, until at present the 

 number of trees actually planted out and owned 

 by three prazo concessionuaires may possibly 

 aggregate a total of Dearly 1,500,000 trees; of 

 these, probably not more than one-fifth, or even 

 less, have begun to produce, but there is no 

 doubt that in the course of the next five years 

 the export trade of copra from Quilimane will 

 have become exceedingly important. ..The only 

 existing railway in Zambesia is one of 18-in. 

 gauge which runs between Quilimane and a 

 small settlement 18 miles away on the Macuze 

 river, called Maquival. 



THE PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY OF 

 SINGAPORE. 



Our readers and we are greatly indebted to Mr 

 It Derry, acting for the F.M.S. Director of 

 Agriculture, Mr Lewton Brain, for the infor- 

 mation he has supplied elsewhere regarding the 

 Pineapple Industry of Singapore, which is by 

 no moans defunct. To those who are developing 

 or reviving pine cultivation in Ceylon there is 

 much that is suggestive, and ought to be practi- 

 cally useful, in these notes to which we direct 

 special attention : — 



Botanic Gardens, Singapore, 

 Straits Settlements, March 27. 



Sir, — With reference to the article on Pine- 

 apple cultivation in the Ceylon Observer and 

 your letter of March 9th, I have to state that 

 the Singapore tinned Pine-apple has so far held 

 its own against fair competition for the reason 

 that, strange, though it may appear, the quality 

 of the pine comes out of the tins better than it 

 goes in ; but whether this result is due to cli- 

 matic influence, or chemical change, I cannot say, 



It would be more correct to say that land is 

 obtained, rather than selected, which has 

 partially recovered and partly reafforested itself 

 after a previous crop, and may have been un- 

 cultivated from a few to twenty years. Such 

 soils may vary from ordinary clay to hard 

 laterite, and the site may be undulating to 

 steep, and usually intersected with ravines and 

 swamps, but always hilly, as the flat lands are 

 more valuable for market gardens and sugar, and 

 the cultivation of pines has not extended far 

 from main roads owing to the cost of transport. 



The cultivators, Malays or Chinese squatters 

 after clearing and burning off the bluker (scrub 

 or secondary growth) usually line and hole at 

 right angles to the contour of the land for the 



purpose of easy collecting after plucking, i.e., 

 straight rows up and down not round a bill. 

 It is usual to hole three feet in, and four 

 feet apart between rows, and at inter- 

 vals wider spaces are left for the purpose of 

 collecting the crop. A bullock cart track is 

 left following the contour of the land, where 

 there is an easy gradient, which also serves for 

 draining and conducting heavy wash to the rav- 

 ines or swamps. On large clearings it is usual 

 to erect shelters with protected sides which serve 

 as shelters for watching the crop, particularly 

 at nights, against the ravages of pigs, and as a 

 store for fruit in wet weather. 



There is very little, if any, varietal distinc- 

 tion in the field Pine-apple; but the crops di- 

 minish in size considerably as the plantations 

 mature. Cuttings are obtained from off-shoots 

 or suckers from the base of the plant. Fruit cut- 

 tings take longer to come into bearing and are 

 usually, partially, sun-dried, and the lower leaves 

 removed before planting. The holes are fre- 

 quently prepared with a (local "planter" 

 wooden implement like a crowbar by Malays, 

 and with a changkol by Chinese, who add any 

 charcoal or burnt earth at hand. While the 

 plants are growing, or for the first 12 months, 

 the plantations are carefully weeded, but it is 

 not the custom to manure. Occasionally, burnt 

 earth or cow manure, is applied to a small, or 

 special patch, but general manuring on planta- 

 tions is not adopted. 



The first crop is produced from the original 

 cuttings in about 15 months ; subsequent crops 

 from off-shoots, and such crops are improved in 

 size if the off-shoots are reduced to two or three 

 growths. This is usually done for two or three 

 crops, but is gradully abandoned. After the 

 first crop the plantations furnish three or four 

 crops in the year according to the number of 

 off-shoots left. The crops fall off in dry weather, 

 an abundant rainfall is essential. 



As the plantations are native holdings, it is not 

 possible to state the actual crop per acre, but I 

 think 5,000 fruits per acre a safe estimate for 

 Malaya for the first three years. Plantations 

 are usually abandoned after six years and earlier 

 if driven out by Lalang. The practice however 

 is in process of alteration. At the present time 

 much of the accessible land is being leased for 

 Rubber, and the lessees sublet their land to 

 Squatters who plant and maintain the Rubber 

 according to contract, with the right to inter- 

 plant Pineapples, at a stated distance from 

 encroaching on the rubber. This alteration will 

 probably result in more careful cultivation of 

 the pine and better crops. 



Although not free from diseases, Pineapples 

 in Malaya are not sufficiently injured to receive 

 any special precautions. Mealy bug occurs, but 

 is not prevalent. Fruit rot, the result of a fungus 

 following on a punctured fruit, represents a small 

 percentage of discarded fruits. The worst pests, 

 for which precautions are taken, come from 

 Pigs, Porcupines, Musangs and sometimes Deer. 

 Most of the plantations are fenced against Figs 

 and Deer and all are trapped or shot. 



The crop is carted direct from the estate to 

 the factory in the town, in Singapore, and 



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