'58 
THE TROPICAt AGR ICULTURIST. fJuLV i, 7893. 
Bagar planting in Kriao, and they hope to form a 
company. I should have thought that a good ceatral 
factory woald have been a more attractive ventare, 
because it would give quicker returus. Of conrae 
it must be ceitaiv that ide supply of oacea would 
be adequate, but it would be difBcalt to import Obinese 
and to make arrAngements with the Perak Govern- 
ment. By this means an assured acreage would be 
planted up by the time the factory was ready. The 
new canal and road which has been ordered to be 
made from Bagan Ser&i for biz miles to Ayer Itam, 
near the Gula Estate, will bring a good deal of laud 
into a state fit for cultivation. 
At the mouth of the Kucau river is a flourishing village 
where every kind of fiBb-caring is carried on and a good 
deal of money is being made. Aft:r stcamiUK past it 
we retotned np the river and lauded ut Bagau 
Siakap, a rising pluco. A sale of land in a back street 
had recently gone off very well. There should be 
a bund up and down the river for some way to keep 
out the tides, or it will never be a satisfactory site lor 
a township. 
An enterprising Ohinaman has started a padi huek- 
ing and pounding eatablisbmctit and profited ooi:- 
■iderably thereby. He pays the cultivators, if delivery 
la taken on their land, $5 for 100 gantangs of padi, 
and if they deliver it at his shop, §5.50, and as be 
can sell often at his earnings may be easily 
gauged. I feel very strongly that the Perak Govern- 
ment wonli do well to get in a oapitaliiit to stort s 
good mill , Hud to pay the people a fair price for 
their padi. Ooe, Leng Ohiak, very bueinesi-like Ohius- 
man in Poaang, did enter into negotiations with the 
Perak Government last year, but nothing came oi it. 
He has a rice mill in Kedab, and is not unlikely 
to come to Krian, if encouragement is given to him . 
At this moment he will not be nble to do sp, bat ho 
promised me in Peoane, when I sent for him to see 
me, to think the matter over and see wluther he could 
not approach Government early next year. He wan's 
protection, and if he will give gcod prices fur the 
grain, I think it would be well to give him tliu induce- 
ment he asks for. 
From Bagan Siakap to Parit Hunter (9 miles) one 
passes thiough kamponga and padi fields btretchiog 
miles on loth sides of the road the whole way. An 
enormous quantity of pnmpkms are growu here by (be 
Malays and heaps of them are stacked for sale ai.d ex- 
port all along the road, and in almost every thop 
and under almost ever bou^e. Tbey are taken to Fenaag 
and largely used by the Chinefe for cakes, and a* a 
vegetable. The ro.id between these points is met»l ed 
with the laterite brought from Pulau Kra, anl is in 
good order. It only cost $1,500 a mile to metal, and 
is very creditable to the Assistaot Engineer, Mr. 
G. F. Bird. 
A CEYLON PLANTER ON CALIFORNIA. 
[Mr. W. Laing-Maloolmson referred to in the 
toilowing long paper from the Gardeners'' Chronicle, 
will be remembered as a Ceylon planter who went 
first to New Zealand and then to California and who 
has kept up hia assooiatioa with oar Tropical 
Agriculturist &xid Overland Observer, — Ed .T,A] 
Mr. Malcolmson^ a native of Aberdeen, but settled 
in California, and now on a visit to his old 
home, Gommunioates bis experience as follows : — 
" The great industry of California today, and 
one that in a few years will overshadow ail 
others, is fruit-growmg. While froitbas been grown 
in the States for over a century, having been in- 
trodaoed by the Mission Fathers over a hundred 
years ago in the southern part of the State, and 
by the Russian traders early in the present century, 
in the northern portion, it is only during the past 
twenty years that any rapid progress has been made 
in this direction. But in that time California has 
forced her way ahead of all other States in the 
Union, until the is today the garden and orchard 
of the world. With a continuilly w d^ning market 
for our orchard products, with stories of fabulous 
returns from investments in fruit farms, it is n«taral 
that people of small means, deeiroos of making 
a home and an income, E-hould seek for infor- 
mation in regard to it. To this class of my coun- 
trymen, I have much pleasure in giving the follow, 
ing particul irF, and I think the information I give 
can b3 rilied up n as authentic, I myself being 
one of tha largest raiein-vioe growers in the State, 
and owning a vineyard of over iCO acres. The 
intending settler will naturally aek— ' What assur- 
anoe have I that my investment will be permanent 
as well as profitable ? What are th^ oaus'^a that 
make California superior to other parts of the United 
States as a fruit producer ? Will not other por- 
tions of Amer^ enter into competition with us, 
and overstooBr^''the market, and Ihas make our 
investment unprofitable, and our labonr a fai'iire ? 
These doubts will quickly disappear wi'h a know- 
ledge of the advantages that California enjoys. 
These are climate, ceograpbical position, and physi- 
cal peculiarities. While descriptions of California's 
climate have become a household word, it is 
nevertheless, the one great cause of its snperiority 
as a fruit Sfction, and its climate depends upon 
its g ographicjl position. California's position also 
gives it the world for a market ; and while, with 
the continually-increasing home market, it is now 
beginning to ship large quantities of fruit to Aus- 
tralia, China, Japan, and India, and within the last 
few months shipments of fruit have been made to 
Great Britain. With, therefore, the United States 
and the rest of the world for a market, and the 
constantly-developing taste for Oalifornia Insoioua 
fruits, there is no danger of over-production. 
" To give some idea of the profits that can be 
ma le out of fruit-growing, I shall cits one cr two 
instances which will go to show what one may 
expect for his labour and capital on only a 
moderate-sized orchard in California. Major 
Robert H. Nolton, formerly a railroad employe, nine 
years agi purchased the Mountain View Orchard, at 
Vernondale, consisting of 19 acres. It had been 
planted in fruit six or seven years before. He 
manages everything with railroad precieion and 
neatness, and the following is his report from 
December 1890, to December 1891. (I give Major 
Nolton's report as an example of the various kinds 
of fruits that can be grown on such a small orchard 
as 19 acres, and the net results will, no doubt, 
startle many readers) : — 
I.NCOME. £ B. d. 
2,500 boxes of Oranges ... 500 0 6 
1,500 boxes of Lemons ... 400 0 0 
37,000 lb. of Peaches ... 148 0 0 
•2,000 lb. of Pears ... 8 0 0 
3,500 lb. of Apples ... 24 0 0 
1,0(X) lb. of Walnuts ... 16 0 0 
500 lb. of Crab-apples ... 2 0 0 
400 lb. of Nectarines ... 2 0 0 
Expenses. 
Two men employed 
Hay and grain for three horses 
Taxes 
Family and domestic expenses 
Net income over all expenses... 
£1,100 0 0 
£ s. d. 
146 0 0 
54 0 0 
24 0 0 
248 0 0 
629 0 0 
£1.100 0 0 
" Major Nolton's family consisted of six. In this 
report no account is made of eggs, fowls, and two 
cows, the retorns being consumed ; but at a glance 
it will be seen that the handsome return of £629 
was netted off such a small orchard as 19 acres. 
"As another illustration, I quote the returns of a 
property near my own— that of the late Mr. F. R. 
