34* THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURItT. [October r, iSqi. 
TKE ANNUAL EEPORT OF THE KINTA 
DISTRICT, PEEAK, 
ilBtea : — 
Land and Agricidturc. — During the year 1,649 acres 
of land were alienated— minins' 1,550, agricultural 99. 
Agriculture in the district, it will be seen from this, 
maki'B little progress except in the shape of small 
gardens. It is true there are constant applications 
from Malays for forest land, for the purpose, they 
say, of planting coffee, pepper, and nutmegs, but on 
enquiry these applications turn out, almobt without 
exception, to be put in for the purpose of evading 
the Government order prohibiting the felling of 
" rimba " for ladungs, and where the land has been 
given, and the heavy forest felled and destroyed, the 
land is always abandoned after one c.'op of dry padi 
has been taken cff it, and the applicant surrenders 
the title, saying the coffee which he never planted 
Vfould not grow. 
To prevent this 1 have during the year always in- 
sisted on natives who apply for " rimba " land finding 
security that they have sufBoient captal and bona fide 
mean to plant the land before I grai t d it. The 
Acreage above-mentioned is small, but it has been 
issued to men who will really work it, and, con- 
sidering the greater attractions held out by the 
mines to invite iuvestorn, it cannot be considered 
unsatisfftotory. A great portion of it is being planted 
with Liberian coffee and pepper, but it is too toon 
6t to express any opinion as to whether tliese small 
plantations will be a success or not. 
Minis. — The number of mines now registered in the 
Kinia L^nd Office as h(-ld under Leases and Agree, 
meiits for Leases is 850, and comprises an area 
of 10,948 acres. During the year 1,650 acres of new 
mining land were granted to 62 applicants, and that 
number of titles issued, and at the end of the year 
47 further applications were registered in the District 
Land Office, and the land applied for is being demar- 
cated and surveyed. 
The alluvial mines are as a rule, well worked, but 
there are several mine", notably those of His Higbuess 
the Sultan in Kamp^r, of Joh Domba, in Sungei 
Eiya, and of Fu Chun at Lihat, which have been 
worked in the most wasteful way, small pits being 
sunk in their land by men who have no capital to go 
deep enough, and are only able to lift a small portion 
of the tin-bearing strata, the balance being afterwards 
left and covered np wiih over-burden from the adjoin- 
iog ground. The well known Sorakai mine, worked by 
Fu Chun for Captain Ah Kwi, has been spoilt in this 
way, as after getting down over 100 feet through the 
wash without reaching the bottom, the engines were 
not sufficiently powerful to pump any deeper, and some 
sort of winding gear having become necessary to lift the 
wash-dirt at a profit the Chinese, sconer than spend the 
necessary capital on n-.aobinery, abandined the mine, 
and have since filled it np by sluicing sand from the 
arijoiniDg hill into it. L gislatiou of some sort has 
become necessary to prevent another ca.se of the tort 
occuring. The land of His Highness the Sultan in 
Kampar, 1 am glad to say, is now being better worked, 
owing to a change in the agent in charge of his 
mine. There is little more to be said as regards the 
alluvial mine-i, but a remarkable find of tin ore at 
Sayak is worthy of mention. The mine belongs to 
the Datoh Pangliaa Kiuta, and is let to a Chiuese 
towkay who works it on the oo operative system. 
L'lte in the year his coolies sunk two holes, one thirty 
feet square and the other twenty-iour feet square. In 
the first hole in 12 days 11 mtn lifted 450 pikuls of 
tin sand, worth SJS.IOO, and in the sec nd 23 men 
lifted in 5 days 200 pikuls of tin sand, worth §3,600. 
Nine-tenths of this goes lo the coolies, who have in a 
few days become comparatively rich men. 
There are 50 steam pumping ergines now in the 
district, of which 42 were at work at the end of the year. 
The 3 ear has been remarkable for the numerous 
difcoveries of lode out-crops made in the district, and 
the aticntion given to that branch of miu ng, 
A remarkable change has come over the transport 
of the district during the y«ar owing to the Chinese 
hnving almost entirely abandoned elephant transport 
and bubstitnted wheel-barrows for them. The change 
was brought about by the elephant-owners demand- 
ing such exorbitant prices for the use of their 
animals that the Chinese refused to submit to such 
extortion any longer, and introduced wbeel-barrows, 
which are cheap and work very well on the jungle 
path. 
New Minerals Discovered in Kinta Distbict 
During 1889-1890, and Localities. 
1. Asbestos (K. O. S. Q.)— This mineral was foan l 
associated with ferruginous quarlz iu lode-etuff at 
Hsji Latif's mine, Kledong. It is in very small 
quantities 
2. Cerusrite (carbonate of lead).— This mineral was 
also found in Haji Latif's mine at Kledoag, atso- 
oiated with lode-stuff. It is not in sufficient quhiitities 
to be of any commercial value. 
3. Pyromorphite (photphate of lead). — This mineral 
was also found in Haji L^tit's mine at KleJong, also 
in several of the different lodes in Kiuta. 
4. Apatite (phosphate of lime). — This mineral waa 
first found at Tempurong, near Gopeng ; after this a 
big dyke of it was found runnin? through the limestone 
hills at Si Lunah, Tambuu. This pho?pbatc, treated 
with sulphuric acid, which could be obtained from the 
ore smelted by the lode-mining companies, forms a very 
valuable manure. The apatite at Tempurong occurs as 
small VI ins and leaders running through the country 
limestone, and is very rich in tin. 
5. Wolfram (tungsiate of iron and mangarese). — 
This mineral was first found in the Kilian Eepoh lode 
atTamban; it occurs there in large qumtities; feince 
then it has been fouud to be a«sociated to a large ex- 
tent with the tin ore iu Kinta. The presei.t low price 
of this mineral would not admit of its being exported 
at a profit. 
6. Bismuth (native). — A small piece of this valuable 
metal was loimd in the limostone hills at Tambun ; no 
trace of ithasboen found since. 
7. Fluorspar (fluoride of calcium). — This mineral 
was first found at Lahat ; since it has bean fouud 
associated with the lode taken up by Mr. Taylor at 
Kedong. 
8. Sapphire (pure alumina).— Sapphires have baon 
found at Suu^^ei Raya, but tliey have no commer- 
cial value, although of good colour. Thoy a e veiy 
opaque, which renders them useless as gem». 
9. Chalcedony (bilica oxjgen). — This mineral has 
also been found i i Sungei Baya, and some of tho 
varieties ot chslcedony are prec'ous stones of value, 
Buch as ajat-', onyx, and cornelian. 
10. £ro/t?.— This has been fouud in small quanti- 
ties at Ulu Tekah ; it has not been worked. 
In the Kin'.a Monthly Report for July, it is 
stated ; — 
On the 3rd Mr. Marks, Superintendent of Govtrc- 
ment Plantations, arrived nnd inspec'cd the lauds 
at Fusing planted by Raj* Mahomed and his 
followers. 
As Mr. Marks tells L,ie l.e has nnrseriea of coffee, 
pepper, coc mut, and o Ler;lautsac Kuala Kangfar, 
from which he can supply young plants at low 
jirioep. I have sent noticei to th it. effect to tho Pen- 
ghu'u?, and have already had several applicatiouB 
for plants. 
An Italian marble cutter named Bauardo applied 
for permission to work marble et the Ipoh quar- 
ries. I gave him the pcrujission. He states that 
the marble is of the best quality, i nd easily worked. 
There are three sorts in the quarry— pink, white and 
b'ue veined. 
PaopofeED QciNiNE-F^cTOEY IN JivA,— Mr. p. van 
Leersum, assistant director of the Government 
cinohoni plantations in Java, has received per- 
mission from the Dutch Indian Government to 
prooeed to British India on behalf ot the Bandoeng 
and Soekbcemi Agricultural Association for the 
purpose of investigating the manufaoiure of quinine 
in the Indian Government factories, and with the 
ulterior objeot ot establishing a quiuiue-faotory in 
J&y&,— Chemist and Druggist, 
