Sept. 1, 1902.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 185 
It should be said that the fio;nres of 1891 for 
Perak are considerably more reliable than thosa 
for the three other States The total cost of the 
Census amounted to <f^<3'K500, or under 9 cents per 
head of population. Mr. Hare's report abounds 
with iiiterestinij dedu(^tions from the figures at 
his di-ipo5al. I must content myselt with the 
foUowinof remarks. Principal naiionalities, exclu- 
sive of floaHno; population and prisoners :— 
Malays and other Natives 
of the Archipelago 312,456 increase per cent 3i.9 
Europeans and 
Americans 1.422 do 98.3 
Eurasiona 1,522 do 1G9 8 
Chinese 299,739 do 83.4 
Indians 58,211 do 188.8 
Average density of population per square mile 25.7 
Population of five principal towns : — Pei ak : 
Taiping, 13,.331 ; Ipoh, 12,791. Selangor : Kuala 
Lumpur, 3i,381. Negri Sembilan : Sereniban, 
4,765. Pahang : Pekan, 1,142. 
Chinese population of two British Colonies and 
the. Federated Malay States : — 
Hongkons; and Kau Lung . . 376,797 
Straits Settlements .. 281,933 
Federated Malay States ... 299,739 
Total .. 958, 
It is stated that during the years 1881-1900, 
1,681,711 Chinese immigrants have come to Perak 
and Selangor. Iti.*;, perhaps, unnecessary to point 
out that the attraction to the Chinese in the 
Federated Malay States is the tin mines, that 
not one quarter of the Chinese population can 
be considered to be " resident," and that the dis- 
proportion of the sexes amongst them is veryniarkel 
— the proportion of Chinese males over 15 years 
of age to Chinese females per 1,000 is 927 
males to 73 females ; the proportion of all Chinese 
males to all Chinese females per 1,000 is 910 males 
to 90 females. — Mr, Treacher's Annual Report. 
SEL.A.NGOR EXPORTS. 
Under the liead of e.xports the principal in- 
creases are found under lin an<l tin-ore, man- 
grove bark, charcoal, firewood, coffee and copra. 
It is to he regretted that, with an increase of 
nearly 3,500 pikulsint he amount of coffee exported, 
the value owing io the low i)rices luling during 
the greater part of the yeir, was less than in 
1900. The quantity of copra exported (5,544 
pikuls), though not very largp, was more than 
double the amount cxpui led in 1900. The price 
of lUU product has been stea<lily rising since the 
end of 1900, and with the increased attention 
wliicli is now being devotel to coconut growing 
copra should, before long, be one of the staple 
exports of the State. The principal decreases are 
to be found under ataps (ihe export of which was 
oidy about half that recorded in 1900), getah, 
hotel nuts, ganibier, blachan and .'-alt fish. The 
value of the gold exported fmm Pahang via 
Selangor rose from $366,369 in 1900 to $400,960 
in 19U1. 
THE PRODUCTION OF HEMP IN THE 
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 
The principal industry of the Philippine Islands 
is the jjrod action of hemp. The soutliern part of 
Luzon Island, and aU other islands to the south, 
are yiveii uji largely (o hemp cultivation, all of the 
product ijeing shipped to other countries to be 
manufactured. It is tiie industry w liicli supports 
a large proportion of the population of those 
islands where it is extensively grown, and, ac- 
cording to the opinion of those most familiar with 
the trade, there is no flanger of any over production 
and a consequent decrease in the selling price of tiii^ 
product ; at least so it is stated in an official report 
on the trade of the Pliilippines recently issued by 
the United St-ites War Department at Washing* 
to Manila hemp is n«ed in the n)anufacUire of 
cordage ot a supsrior class. For ships' purposes 
it is superior to any o'Jier material, considering its 
cost and wearing qualities. The cultivation of 
hemp, while carried on extensively in the Philip* 
pine Islands, is eomlucted in a most primitive 
manner. It is found nowhere else in the world, 
and while it is now exte;isively cultivated, and 
large tracts of land are planted with it ; it is still 
found growing wild in certain portions of the 
island, and in quantities which make it worth 
while to gather it for sliipment. Hemp, or "abaca" 
as it is calleil in the Philippines, is a product of 
a species of plantain tree. In its wild state 
it trrows to a height of from eight to twelve feet, but 
irnder cultivation it grows to a height of from fifteen 
to twenty feet, with a trunk from ei'/ht to tivelve 
inches in diameter. The stalk of this tree is in 
appearance something like the banana jilant-- 
rnerely a collection of fibrous leaves, which are 
closely joined together, and which can be easily 
cut witii a single blow of a sharp knife. The tree 
is allowed to mature, which requires about three 
years, i.his being dependent upon the soil and the 
elevation of the land >ipon which it is planted above 
sea level. When the tree has attained the proper 
age, it is cut down and divided into long strips 
which are put under a large knife, weighted with 
a lever, and under which the strips are drawn. 
This -separates the stalk and juice from the fibre, 
and the latter is then spread out on the ground 
to dry. Tliis work is all done at the plantations, 
and after the abaca or hemp is sufficiently dried 
it is gathered up and taken in bullock carts to 
the nearest waterway, and shipped to some port 
where it is made into bales ready for export. The 
production of hemp is carried on extensively by 
natives, by Spaniards, and by foreigners. The 
export business is practically all in the hands of 
foreigners— mostly English, Belgian, and German 
iiouse3.~-Jozt?'«n/ of the Society of Arts, June 27. 
« 
VANILLA CULTIVATION IN SEY- 
CHELLES AND CEYLON. 
The followiiipf remarks by a well-known 
planter will be read with interest : — " I have 
rea-d the inemoranduni issued from Seychelles 
Government House. The cost ot land in the 
Seychelles is very high R300 per acre. There 
is land suitable for such cultivation,— viz., 
cacao, vanilla, and should include rubber — in 
the Matale and Dumbara Valleys, available 
at R60 per acre. The cost of labour is also 
dearer than in Ceylon. The cost of curing 
Rl"2.'5 per lb. about ttie same as in Ceylon. 
As Vanilla grows very well on Dadaps, it is 
just as well to have these trees cultivated ;»long 
with cacao. The Sej'chelles' produce is pro- 
bably superior to that of Ceyloii : in fact, I 
believe, it to be the best v.milla produced. 
Five rupees per lb is about as much as can be 
obtained at the present time for good Ceylon 
Vanilla on the spot. I find that Vanillas 
