arid Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



287 



PRUNING OF CAM PHOR. 



Naduyatam', Aug. \st. 

 Deau Sik,— Has Mr. Bamber, or any other 

 Ceylon authority, considered the result of 

 manipulating the camphor bush, in accordanca 

 with the proposed method of taking branches 

 and twigs at frequent intervals ? With respect 

 to the tea bush, as only the three leaves at the 

 end of branch or twig are removed from the bush, 

 the stem does not develop into any tree-like 

 girth, but can easily be renewed. The growth 

 of the camphor tree is, however, different ; 

 namely, much more rapid, and its tendency to 

 form stems of great thickness very decided. 

 I, therefore, fear that by cutting away branches 

 and twigs from the camphor bushes frequently, 

 we should soon have nothing left but a 

 number of hardened thick stems which would 

 send out only a very feeble growth of weak 

 twigs. How would Mr. Bamber guard against 

 such an undesirable result '?— Yours faithfully, 



TODA. 



[All Mr. Nock says about Pruning in his 

 pamphlet is as follows : — 



" The first clipping, to shape the bush, might 

 take place in the fifth year— though Camphor has 

 been obtained from bushes only 2£ years old — 

 and as only young twigs and leaves are required, 

 should be scraped up and placed round the trunk 

 to rot (and so benefit the tree) if too woody. 

 When the bushes become too high or unwieldy 

 to be effectively clipped, one-third of the estate 

 should be pruned or coppiced in three successive 

 years, thus maintaining yield each year, though it 

 would not take so long to again come into bear- 

 ing." Mr. Nock, we now learn, does not think 

 there need be any fear of camphor bushes ceasing 

 to yield through being continually clipped. He 

 seen them, after the fifth clipping, looking per- 

 has fectly vigorous and sending out fresh strong 

 shoots. If they begin to get "crow-footad" and 

 shut up, the thing would be to cut again below the 

 original cuts. An 8-year-old tree at Hakgala, 

 sawn off at ground level has — Mr Nock tells us — 

 sent up dozens of strong branches and the plant 

 is now bushier than ever. He thinks that con- 

 tinuous clipping will necessitate the application 

 of manures after a time. — A. M. & J. F.] 



PROVINCE WELLESLEY AND ITS 

 PRODUCTS: AND SUG AR IN PERAK. 



It is evident that the comparatively limited 

 division of the Malay Peninsula officially con- 

 nected with Per.ang is not to be left behind in 

 the cultivation of new as well as old products. 

 The island of Penang comprises an area of 107 

 square miles and Province Wellesley on the 

 mainland does not include more than 288 

 square miles. Not much scope here, one would 

 think, when contrasted with the 26,000 square 

 miles comprised within the Free States. And 

 yet, given a province of 180,000 acres, nearly 

 all of which is rich cultivable land, it will 

 be seen that its planting importance, if once 

 fully developed, might be very considerable. In 

 the past, sugar has been the most import- 

 ant product from Province Wellesley and it 

 requires rich, easily worked land to grow 

 this staple. The profitable days of sugar 

 in the Malay Penin&ula are well-nigh over 



-—the tendency ia not to extend, but to con- 

 tract cultivation and to intermix if not rjupor 

 sede cane with other and more promising pro- 

 ducts. In this way groves of the coconut palm 

 are found where once cane sugar was cultivated; 

 considerable expanses of tapioca and evenjot 

 indigo are seen on old cane-fields ; and last but 

 not least, rubber trees aro freely dotted over the 

 land, getting ou very well with tapioca and 

 forming boundaries if not interplantings with 

 other products. The future of Province Wel- 

 lesley and Penang, from a planting point of view, 

 would seem to rest with the coconut palm and 

 Para rubber, and of both it is quite possible we 

 may learn of a very appreciable acreage yielding 

 good and profitable returns before many years 

 are out. With us, coconut palms require at 

 least 7 to 8 years to come into real "bearing"; but 

 on favoured plantations in Province Wellesley 

 one if not two years are saved, and a palm may 

 be as advauced there at five, as it is here at seven 

 years. In the same way with rubber, Para trees 

 are being systematically and profitably tapped 

 at 5 to 5A years, with results that in Ceylon 

 could scarcely be equalled at 6i to 7.j years, ex- 

 cept in specially favoured situations. It will 

 be interesting to watch the future of both pro- 

 ducts in this long-exploited division of the 

 Peninsula ; and while there is very little, if any, 

 Crown reserve land available for would-be in- 

 vestors, we may congratulate the shareholders 

 in the " Bertam " S. S. Rubber Company on 

 their fine property— extending altogether over 

 15,000 acres, nearly all available for cultivation 

 and of which only a limited proportion has as 

 yet been opened with coconuts and rubber. 

 Province Wellesley and its Products will be 

 more and more heard of, as time runs on. 



Here is the list of estates appertaining to 

 the two Companies with which the Hon. "Mr. 

 Turner is specially identified as Managing 

 Director. It will be observed that in the 

 " Penang " Company, thwre are seven properties 

 comprising altogether 23,099 acres, of which 

 H 3i 305 are in cultivation made up as follows :— 

 Sugar ... 3,130 acres 



Coconuts ... 2,085 ,, 

 Rubber ... 6,090 ,, 



Total ... 11,305 „ 

 The full table is as follows : — 



Estates Belonging to the Penang Sugar 



Estates Company, Limited. 



Estate 



Area of 



Nature 



Area in 



Estate 



of Culti- 



Cultva- 





Acres. 



vation. 



tion 

 Acres. 



Caledonia 





Sugar 



3,130 



Caledonia ! 



12,607 



Rubber 



2,848 



Caledonia 





Coconut 



980 



Golden Grove 



2,165 



Coconut 



258 



Talie Ayer 



1,654 

 2,600 



Rubber 



1,369 



Selaba 



Rubber 



1 ,265 



.Strashmashie 



2,933 



Coconut 

 Rubber 



847 

 363 



Sabrang 



64U 



Rubber 



200 



Johore 



500 



Rubber 



45 



Total 23,099 





11,305 



Next we have four properties of the 



' ' Straits 



Sugar Company, Limited," all situated in Perak 

 comprising 15,421 acres, of which 5,578 acres are 



