40 
f file TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1903. 
October, 1902, the period therefoie under review 
is only for the last three months of the year. My 
appointment b^ing an entirely new deijarture, it 
was necessary for me to form my estaiilit-hment, 
which of iti^elf took some time, and, takins; this 
into account, and the many difficulties I have Iiad 
to contend against, I consider the [iroorres^ that 
has been made during the three montiisis satis- 
factory, and the means adopted, aliliouuh pio- 
gress lias been slow, have undoubtedly checked 
the ravages of the " beetles " and havoc done 
by them lo the coconut trees in a marked degree. 
In October 1 was able to make a partial 
inspection of the districrs of Knal.i Lumpur, 
Klang and Kuala Selangor, and owinj; to the 
serious harm I found being done by the " beetles " 
in these localities I deemeil it best to confine niy 
attention to the State of Selangor at I'irst, and, 
with the exception of a short visit to Negri 
Sembilan, I have devoted my attention entirely 
to this State, What little was done under tlie 
Enactment previous to my arrival, I honestly 
believe had a distinct tendency to increase rather 
than remedy the evil that existed. I found trees 
cut down under instructions either lying on the 
ground or half buried, rotten and simply full of 
the grub and beetles, while the stems that re- 
mained, perhaps 3 feet or so above the ground, 
in an equally infected condition. In addition to 
this, no proper steps had been taken by the autho- 
rities to have the numerous rubblish, refuse and 
manure heaps lying about in the vicinity of the 
towns and villages destroyed, the dumping grounds 
in a most unsatisfactory state and the owners of 
cattle sheds utterly callous as to the removal or 
where they put their manure ; in fact, the general 
state of affairs was such that no one with any ex- 
perience at all could have been surprised at the 
inroads and havoc done by the beetles to the trees 
adjacent with such a harvest of "hotbeds" for 
breeding grounds for these pests. lb is true that 
many of the owners where shamefully neglectful 
of their plantations, but the surrounding so con- 
ducive to the harbouring of the beetles placed thera 
without doubt at a great disadvantage. I may 
mention here that the few trees belonging to Govern- 
ment themselves were in a very bad state and as 
an example appeared to me to be deplorable. 
With this state of affairs, by no means exag^ei a- 
ted,andthe evil spreading, it is easily account- 
able how some hard things which appeared in the 
Straits Times regarding the difficulty of coconut 
cultivation in the States should be taken as having 
more than a semblance of truth in it. Referring 
especially to the localities where the beetles have 
proved most troublesome, I feel sure, slowly 
Eerhaps, but surely and in time, it will be possi- 
\ii to eradicate the evil and bring about a dis- 
tinct change tor the Ijeiter in the appearance of 
the plantations, and also I hope entirely to 
remove all grounds of complaint on which the 
correspondence above alluded to was founded. lb 
is very noticeable how much the plantations 
improve the further you proceed from the towns 
and villages, which strengthens the opinion which 
I first formed that the evil to a great extent 
was attributable to the large quantity of grub in 
the manure and rubbish heaps that have been 
allowed to collect in these vicinities, and the 
beetles, taking advantage of these breeding 
places and the shelter made by them in the 
trees attacked, have gradually spread their way 
to the plantations further away ; in a word, the 
plantations situated at any long distance from the 
towns and villages have not been infected by 
these pests in nearly as serious a degree 
and the trees here ought with proper 
supervision to recover themselves in a few 
months. I have naturally had great trouble witii 
the natives, who are very indifTerer.t to looking 
after their pLmlations, and ahhough I have done 
my best to use persuasive means and point out, to 
them how niucn it is to their benefit to keep the 
plantations properly cleaned, etc. I have not met 
with the re-iponse I v/ould have liked. However, 
it has not been entirely without success and some 
of the owners are at last beginning to see the 
a<ivantage of giving more attention to their gardens, 
and by perseverance and oth.er means I still hope 
that the nnjority may ultimately be brought 
round to see where their interest lies and become 
better agriculturists. In any case, it is encouraging 
to k iow that the cultivation is rapidly extending. 
The largest estates owned by Europeans are in the 
districts of Kuala Langat and Klang, and, as re- 
gards these plantations, I am pleased to say 
I am able to report most favourably. 
They vary in size from about 200 to 500 
acres in extent, trees looking strong and healthy 
and of superb growth. I may, in passing, mention 
Klanang Estate near Jugra, about 450 acres under 
cultivation, and although the oldest trees are not 
more than five years in age still several of them 
are now in bearing, lam sorry to say that the 
white ant has been very troublesome in these parts. 
There are many fine plantations aho all along the 
coast of Selangor, mostly native holdings. The 
land everywhere in these parts is most suitable for 
coconuts and for some miles inland. In my 
opinion, it is a " perfect ho.ne '' for coconuts, the 
trees come quickly into bearing, produce magni- 
ficent crops, imd osving to the fertility of the soil 
they absolutely require no manure ; it would 
therefore I think be difiicult to find any locality 
where the coconut palm can be grown under more 
favourable conditions. Whith these advantages I 
anticipate the cultivation of coconuts may prove in 
a few years to be one of the most important agri- 
cultural industries in the State, provided it is 
properly encouraged and guarded ; and I think I 
cannot do better than conclude this report by 
repeating the views I have previously expressed on 
this subject, which, though general, certainly 
apply to the State of Selacgor. I feel confident 
the encouragement and continued protection of 
the cultivation must add very materially to the 
future prosperity of the States, The area under 
coconuts is already very extensive, the soil excep- 
tionally fertile and particularly suited to the 
growth of the trees, while there is plenty more 
good land available. I may be considered partial, 
but I am of opinion, taking it all round, that 
the preduction of coconuts is probably one of 
the safest and most paying of the agricultural 
industries in the States and certainly the most 
lasting, with very ordinary care and practically at 
small expense ; but I think the great advantage 
lies in the fact that the native, with comparatively 
small means, who owns his 5, 10, or 20 acres, 
properly kept, ip, in his own way, as well and 
comfortably off as the more wealtiiy owners of the 
large estates, and for this reason alone the 
furthering of the cultivation must prove the means 
of subsistence in comfort to a large number of the 
inhabitants and add generally to their welfare as 
also to the benefit to the States both directly and 
indirectly. L. C, Bkown, Inspector of Coconat 
Trees, F.M.S. 
