624 
THETROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 1901. 
PLANTING IN THE STRAITS. 
EXPEKIMENTAL PLANTATIONS r-KUHBER, 
GUTTA, SUGAR, COCONUTS, &c. 
REPORT BY SUPERINTENDENT OF EXPERIMENTAL 
« PLANTATIONS. 
Sir,— I have the lionour to submit a Report 
of my visit to Peiiang, Province Wellesley and 
Perak. 
Acting on instructions received from the Acting 
Resident-General, W. H. Treaclier, Esq., c.m.g., I 
left Kuala Lumpur on 23th October with the object 
of visiting the iiotanic Gardens in Penang and the 
estates of Perak and Province Wellesley, with 
a view of obtaining a knowledge of the country 
and the requirements of the planters, and, at the 
same time, selecting a suitable place as head -quar- 
ters for the Experimental Plantations which 
Government are about to establish. 
In Penang I met Mr. Curtis, the Superintendent 
of tlie Botanical Gardens, and with him visited 
lie Gardens, where rubber-tapping was in progress. 
Although the trees here are not growing under 
the conditions generally recommended for Hevea 
braziliensis (Para-rubber)— being planted on a dry, 
sandy bank — it is interesting to note that the 
returns are very favourable ; the average annual 
yield for the last three years amounting to rather 
more than 1 lb. of dried rubber. It appears, there- 
fore, that not only does Hevea thrive under varied 
conditions, but that it gives a fair return, which 
statement does not apply to Ficus elastica, the 
" Gutta rambong" of commerce. 
I journeyed to Kuala Kan^sa, and, accompanied 
by Mr. Derry, inspected the Para trees recently 
tapped by him, and other economic plants growing 
in the Government grounds. The average yield 
per tree was Iglb. of dry rubber, the trees ranging 
from six to thirteen yeai'S of age. As this Officer 
points out, "the tappings were not exhaustive," 
and it is probable that more might have been 
extracted without impairing the health of the 
trees. What this amount is, has yet to be deter- 
mined, neither Mr. Curtis nor Mr. Derry having 
attempted to decide the question. 
Kuala Kangsa having been suggested as a 
suitable place for head-quarters, I made the visit 
here a special feature of my tour. After duly 
considering the matter, however, I must say 
that I fail to see that this district offers any 
special advantages over other places I have visited. 
I am of opinion that Kuala Lumpur, or its imme- 
dite neighbourhood, would be more suitable, 
seeing that it is much more central. 
From Kuala Kangsar I proceeded to Suiigei 
Siput, and, after visiting the Kamuning Estate, 
went on to Ipoh, where I had the benefit of an 
interview with the Acting British Resident, 
Colonel Walker, c.m.g., who advised me to go to 
Batu Gajah to see the estates in the vicinity 
and the Government Plantations at Parit. This 
I accordingiv did, and, accompanied by Mr. Cecil 
Wray, I also drove out to see the large rambong 
and Para trees. 
In the limestone districts of Kinta rambong 
grows very luxuriantly ; but, so far as I am aware, 
it does not occur naturally either in the marshy 
districts or along the coast. 
On returning to Ipoh I had a further interview 
with Colonel Walker, and, acting on his advice, I 
retraced my steps to Taiping, with the object 
of visiting the Krian district and the Province 
Wellesley sugar estate-. I might here remark that 
it is the opinion of Mr. Turner, the Manager of 
Caledonia Estate, that sugar might be success- 
fully cultivated in some jiarts of the interior. 
This is somewhat important, in view of the fact 
that bect-root sugar cultivation is on the decline in 
Ji!urope. 
From Prye I proceeded to Teluk Anson via 
P^nacg. Here Mr, Brewster kindly enabled me 
visit the coconut estates on the Perak river and 
the rubber plantations at Setiawin, by placing 
the Goverament launch at my disposal. 
At Setiawin there are a number of fine specimens 
of Hevea and Ficus, which would be suitable for 
experimental work. 
In reference to F4cus elastica, I would like to 
point out that it has been proved in Bengal and 
elsewhere that " although it grows with undimi- 
nished rapidity and luxuriance in districts remote 
from the hills . . . it fails to produce caoutchouc." 
Dr. Morris also says that, in spite of the abun- 
dance of the tree under cultivation in the tropics 
of both the Old and the New VTorld, it has no- 
where proved so valuable for the production of 
rubber as in the mountainous part'^ of Assam. 
It seems, therefore, that there is a possibility of 
this tree fading to come up to the expectations of 
the planters of this country, and I would advise 
Government to allow me to proceed to Setiawin 
to experiment on these trees with a view to obtain- 
ing reliable data concerning their yield. It would 
be necessary to rent a sufficient number of Ficus 
from the Penghulu. The Para trees are Govern- 
ment property. 
STANLEY ARDEN, 
Superintendent of Expcr if mental Plantations, 
^ 
BIG TEA-GKOWING SYNDICAE IN 
CAROLINA. 
A syndicate has pmcUaj^ed 4,000 acres of land 
1.5 miles from Cliarleston, S juth Carolina, Uuited 
Slates of America, where a tea farm will be started. 
Unliinited capital is behind the venture and the 
syndicate will deliver at least 300,000 lb of tea 
for the American markets annually after the 
area is in bearing. It is evident that Americans 
are beginning to look upon tea as a possible indus- 
t y — Indian Planters' Gazette, Feb. 16. 
♦ 
The Use of Sorghums.— The use of the 
sorghums as forage plants is rapidly increasing 
in all countries which are semi-arid or subject to 
frequent Jong summer droughts. As the use of 
the plant increases there is an increasing desire 
to use it as pasture, but there is a reluctance to 
do so from the fact that there has sometimes been 
a loss of stock fed upon the growing plant which 
could not be accounted for upon the theory that 
death was caused by ordinary bloat. While these 
cases have been rare, yet they have occurred, 
and the cause is not yet known. The Nebraska 
Experiment Station has been thorough in its 
investigations, but so far has learned nothing. 
Samples of sorghum which had killed a cow 
within a few minutes after eating it disclosed 
no trace of any poisonous substance when 
analysed a few days later. The station autho- 
rities are forced to conclude that sorghum some- 
times, when growing or freshly cut, contains 
poison which soon disappears in the process of 
curing, so that by the time the samples reach 
the laboratory and are analysed they are harm- 
less. There is at any rate no danger in feeding 
cured sorghum, and a great deal of sorghum is 
pastured with no injurious results, and yet the 
fact that deaths, not from bloat, have sometimes 
occured from its use makes it an undesirable 
pasture crop until we know more about it. It 
is suggested by the station authorities that in cases 
where poisonous efiects followed its use the plant 
itself was probably unhealthy and yellow, but 
there are not sufficient data on that point to 
Justify a very strong opinioQ.- Weekly ChronicUs 
