192 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



WEST AFRICAN RUBBER PLANTATIONS, LTD.) 



—had matured, say in three or four years' time, 

 perhaps less, results such as were now so com- 

 mon in the rubber Companies of the East would 

 be the pleasant experience of all who were 

 investors in similar enterprises in West Africa. 

 He had mentioned the Hevea species, but his 

 own hopes centred still more on the indigenous 

 Funtumia, which as far as experience had gone 

 promised to yield more rubber per acne, and 

 of a better quality. It was natural that they 

 in that Chamber should prefer West African 

 rubber enterprises to those in the Far East, 

 and they had, he thought, good reason. Thanks 

 to the efforts of the Tropical School of Medicine, 

 the climate was probably now as healthy as in 

 the Malay States— the 



LAND COULD BE OBTAINED FOR ONE-TENTH OF 

 THE COST 



— labour was abundant and cheap, and with the 

 railway, ere long, passing through their pro- 

 perties, they had every facility for doing as 

 well as their competitors in the East or else- 

 where. He had said as well as their com- 

 petitors — wasit known what they were doing ?— 

 let him at random take three companies, the 

 annual reports of which had appeared within 

 the last week or two; the Federated Selangor 

 Rubber Company, which pain 1 its maiden 

 dividend last year of 8 per cent., this year had 

 paid 30 per cent.; the Bukit Rajah, which for 

 the two previous years had paid only 30 per 

 cent., this year distributes 55 per cent.; the 

 Vallambrosa, which had only paid that same 

 amount of 55 per cent, in 1906 and 1907, this 

 year paid the immense total of 80 per cent. 



The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to 

 Mr Fisher ; the proceedings then terminated. — 

 Journal of Commerce, July 13th. 



RUBBER IN THE F.M.S. 



The following extract is taken from the Re- 

 sident-General's report on this Federation for 

 the past year :— 



According to the Report of the Director of 

 Agriculture, Mr J B Carruthers, the agricul- 

 tural acreage of the Federated Malay States, 

 excluding padi lands and horticulture, was 

 planted with staple products as follows : — 

 Coconuts ... ... 118,6.)7 acres 



Rubber .. 168/48 



Coffee ... 8,431 „ 



Other forms of cultivation, 



chiefly tapioca . 24,546 



Total 



319.72 > acres 



The lands under rubber in the several States 

 were : — 



Perak 

 delangor 

 Negri Sembilan 

 Pahang 



56,700 acres 

 82,246 „ 

 27,305 „ 

 1.791 „ 



Total 



168,018 acres 



etastica), which as being indigenous, as grow- 

 ing freely, and as yielding a rubber of excellent 

 quality, was regarded with favour by many a 

 few years ago. The symmetrical stem of the 

 para rubber tree, the regularity of its growth, 

 the facility with which the latex can be col- 

 lected and its reaction to wounds appear to com- 

 mend it to those engaged in rubber cultivation. 



The yield of rubber trees is, of course, a matter 

 of the fit st importance, and in this connection 

 the Director gives some interesting figures. The 

 average yield for 1908 over the whole Peninsula 

 the Director puts at 1 lb 15§ oz., an increase of 

 11 per cent as compared with the preceding 

 year. This he considers to be a satisfactory yield 

 having regard to the fact that most of the 

 trees that were tapped were in their first year. 

 In Negri Sembilan th e average was 3 lb 2J oz, 

 and this as the average yield of nearly a million 

 trees he regards as extraordinarily high. Negri 

 Sembilan trees show a higher average than other 

 trees because of their greater age, but the 

 figure in question is satisfactory as showing what 

 may be expected in respect of trees that have 

 been tapped for two or three years. — Malay 

 Mail, July 10. 



A feature of rubber cultivation is the extent 

 to which para rubber holds the field to the 

 almost entire exclusion of rambong {Ficus- 



RUBBER IN B. N. BORNEO. 



Mr W H Penney, Protector, visited Sekong 

 Estate on the 13th inst. He reports that the 

 Manager has had a letter from London inform- 

 ing him that a recent shipment of their Rubber 

 has realised 6a. 5d. per lb., also that he has 

 just received a telegram that the following 

 shipment realised 6s. lOd. A fine plant of the 

 latest type of Rubber Machinery has now 

 arrived, and as the preparations for fixing up 

 same are already made, it is expected that 

 another two or three weeks will see it running. 

 About 200 of the 400 acres estimated extension 

 for this year on the other side of the Sekong 

 River are felled; the work is steadily proceeding. 



A visit was recently made to Woodford estate 

 near Beaufort. Everything in the estate looked 

 remarkably clean, and all the trees were doing 

 well. The estate belongs to the Beaufort Borneo 

 Rubber Co., Ltd. Planted area in Para Rubber 

 about 800 acres, the trees varying in age from 

 3 years old. The jungle felled over and above 

 area planted and being cleaned is 250 acres. It 

 is expected to have over 1,000 acres planted by 

 end of 1909 and 1,500 acres by 1910. The Com- 

 pany owns 8,000 acres on 999 years' lease free 

 of rent. Woodford estate, the present estate, 

 is about 0,500 acres. It is expected to com- 

 mence tapppingin 1911. 



Information re Klias estate: — This estate is 

 about 5 miles from Beaufort. The concession 

 is of 500 acres and option of a further 500 acres, 

 on 999 lease free of rent and rubber free from 

 export duty for 50 years. Operations were 

 started in August, 1908. The planted ar^a to 

 end of May, 1909, in Para Rubber and Lime is 

 130 acres. It is expected to have upwards of 

 250 acres planted by end of 1909. The pro- 

 prietor is Mr Chee Swee Cheng. - British North 

 Borneo Herald, July 16. 



