54 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1900. 
trenching the land to a depth of 2 to 3 feet, reveals 
the tiatare of the subsoil and usually decides to what 
extent artificial draining is necessary. Subsoils of 
gravel, laterite, and sand would mostly affjrd natural 
drainage, except where the situation is lower than its 
surroundings. Drainage is most necessary in the case 
of a stiff clay. Fruiting plants are impatient of stag- 
nant moisture at their roots. For this and other 
reasons the latter should be kept as near the surface 
as possible. It is only in the case of large trees, 
such as the coconut and jak, that deep laud is needed 
for the cultivation of fruit.' Mr. Cameron concludes 
this intei e^ting section of the report under notice by 
Baying that all, or nearly all, the indigenous fruits 
would succeed in the maidan part of the district. The 
hog-plum, Spondias maynifera ; hill-gooseberry, I'hi/- 
salia peruviana; Korinda, Cartissu carandas ; and at 
least three species of Kubus (raspberry) were com- 
monly found all over the hills. Bananas and plan- 
tains are not uncommon in the hamlets skirting the 
paddy-fields up to 4,0U0 feet. — Planting Opinion. 
UNITED PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION 
(FEDER^iTED MALAY STATES). 
[EXTRACTS :] LATEST MEETING, MAY 7ib. 
COFFEE. 
The Chairman said that at the general meeting 
held on 14th August last the Association had expressed 
its cordial approval of a scheme for stimulating the 
consumption of coffee, proposed by the South AmeH- 
can Journal, and he had written to the Editor to 
that effect. Subsequently, the Editor abandoned hia 
original suggestion and proposed instead that a coffee 
roasting company or syndicate should be formed and 
invited our Association to take shares and supply 
coffee. This matter was considered at a Committee 
meeting on 12th January last, and it was decided that 
the Chairman should write and inform the Editor 
that we were not in favour of this idea and could only 
support the original proposal, which had been done, 
lu an editorial on 17th February, 1900, the Editor ex- 
pressed his pity that we should have come to such an 
important conclusion, especially after the arguments 
he had advanced, but we have our own opinion on that 
point and there the matter may rest. 
I Mr. T H Hill had written several letters to the 
Hon. Secretary, on the subject of sending regular 
supplies of coffee to Messrs. Sanderson and Company 
in London, with the view of bringing our coffee more 
into favour, and after consideration by the Committee 
the Chairman was asked to write to Messrs. Sanderson 
and Company on the subject, at the same time sending 
samples of machine-dried and sun-dried cofiee and 
asking their advice as to which was most suitable. 
This the Chairman had done, having sent two 
samples of machine-dried and two samples of 
sun-dried coffee, and nothing further could be 
done until we heard from Messrs. Sanderson and 
Company. Mr. Hill had also suggested that a small 
Bhipment of coffea should be sent to Aden and had 
taken a great deal of trouble io arrange for the 
treatment of the coffee there. The Committee 
thought favourably of the experiment, and the 
Co-operative Coffee Trading Company. Port Dickson, 
were prepared to arrange for the shipment. It was, 
however, stipulated that a sample of the coffee sent 
should be submitted to the United Planters' Associa- 
tion Committee, and also that the coffee should be 
submitted to an expert in London before being handed 
over to the Kajang CotTee Company for sale. The 
Chairman said he thought this a matter which the Asso- 
ciation might well take up, and it was for the meeting 
to decide as to guaranteeing payment for the coffee 
or not. After mj discussion, it was resolved unani- 
mously that the Associution should guarantee the 
payment. 
liUIiBKIl. 
The Chaiuman said there had been an idea that it 
would be a good thing to send a practical man to 
Brazil to enquire into the P: ra and other rubber ques- 
tions, and he had been asked by theCommittee to write 
to the new-papers on the subject, which he did. The 
article had been favourably received, but since then 
he had met Mr. Michie, a well-known Ceylon gentle- 
man, who had spent about a year in Brazil, and his 
opinion was that there was uothicg to be learned 
by going to that country and any money could be 
much better spent here. The whole of the system 
of tapping and curing was carried out in a crude 
and primitive way and no cultivation was attempted. 
Mr. Coates corroborated what Mr. Michie had said, 
as he was in Brazil with him when he made the 
enquiries. Mr. Bailey SJiid he, also, was of opinion 
th*t we could spend the money much better by ex- 
perimenting ourselves on trees in the Malay States 
and the Colouy. The Chairman said he was also of 
that opinion, particularly as a qualified man from Kew 
would soon be available to carry out such experimeuls, 
and in the meantime the Committee had instructed 
the Hon. Secretary to write to the Resident-General's 
Office asking them to get all possible information about 
P ira rubber and gutta rambong — such as method of 
tapping, yield, etc. — and suggesting Sumatra as a 
likely place to get information about rambong. 
PROSPECTS. 
The Chaieman said : Coffee was higher than 
last year, and, although there had been a slight 
drop in the market lately, the opinion of those 
in the trade was that the present depresssion could 
not last much longer. Rubber of all kinds was doing 
well in these States and coconuts also promised 
to be a good source of revenue. Our labour market 
was in a better position than it had ever been, no 
doubt greatly owing to the Indian famine, but they 
had also to thank the Resident-General for what he 
had done for them in connection with the exten- 
sion of the cheap-ticket system and the importa- 
tion of lt.b:iur by Government for Public Works. 
The Experimental Garden and Agricultural Depart- 
ment bad been, at last, brought to a definite con- 
clusion, and they had also to thank Sir Frank Swet- 
tenham for what he had done for them in this matter. 
As they would see in the report, there were now 95 
members on the roll, against 99 last year, and he 
regretted to say that Perak was responsible for this 
falling off, their 16 having dwindled away to two. 
He hoped that Perak would soon reconstruct their 
district Association. 
Mr. E. V Carey was re-elected Chairman, and as 
Mr. Tom Gibson could not stand again, Mr. M. Sidney 
Parry was elected Hon, Secretary. 
♦ 
GUTTA IN THE STRAITS. 
THE NEED OF PLANTING AND PROTECTION. 
(From Pahang Administration Report for 1899.) 
The gutta percha producing tree (Dichopsis 
gutta), known locally and in Singapore as " getah 
taban merah," is the one most in need of pro- 
tection. It is a very slow-growing tree, and, 
when it has obtained a girth of three feet in 
circumference, which it takes about thirty years 
to do, it yields about two katies, or 2§lb. of 
gutta, and the collection of this involves the 
felling of the tree. It is an essential material 
in the construction of submarine cables, anrt it 
is only to be found in the southern part of the 
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. It conse- 
quently commands a much higher price than any 
of the other guttas, and, for this reason, is much 
more liable to extermination. It is laid down 
in the Farm Rules that no trees of less than 
three feet in circumference are to be felled, but 
it is almost impossible to enforce this rule, and 
there is no doubt that a large number of imma- 
ture trees of less than the prescribed girth are 
baiug destroyed. Recently, a system of rewards 
foi information leading to a conviction for breach 
of the rules has been introduced. It is probable 
that this, when it becomes well known, will 
prove more efficacious in preventing the felling 
