AND THE MALAY STATES 
89 
will develop into good straight trunks, and the keenest sort of watcli 
being kept for white ants, which are always to be found in the new 
land. As tapping will begin the next year, a rubber curing house 20X60 
feet has been built, and all preparations are being made for turning 
out the best quality of rubber. All of the trees seem to produce late .1 
abundantly, although there was a wide difference in the appearance 
of the bark, some being quite white, while others showed a distinct shade 
of red. There were a variety of theories as to the cause of this, but 
the real reason was not apparent. 
After the examination of the Selangor estate, and a very pleasapt 
visit with the manager, at his bachelor bungalow, where, bv the way, 
he presented me with a cane made of polished sections of a great variety 
of hard woods indigenous to that country, we again took train and 
started for the Pataling estate. The road ran for some miles through 
the densest sort of jungle, the land on one side for some six miles being 
owned by the Selangor company. When we reached Pataling we found 
that the superintendent, Mr. Rendle, was away, as was also his wife. 
His assistant, Mr. Smith, was there, however, and he urged us to come 
up to the bungalow, which was prettily located on an eminence over- 
looking the plantation, and ordered the Malay servant to prepare for 
us “mukan," in other words, food. While we ate, it rained very heavily, 
but soon after cleared up and we were so sure that the storm was over 
for the day that we allowed a black boy to take our mackintoshes down 
to the station while we examined the rubber. The soil here seemed 
a trifle hard and was more hilly than that which I had before examined, 
but the rubber looked well. After examining that on the hillsides we 
went down to a lower level and were just beginning to take measurements 
when the rain came down in torrents. We each selected a big tree, 
under which we stood for a while, but ere long even that was no pro- 
tection, so we started for the railway station. We were now drenched 
to the skin and the walking was very bad. We, however, caught our 
train, and in due time arrived in Klang, where, after a change of cloth- 
ing and a substantial dinner, we felt as well as ever. 
I had hoped to have time to run down to Port Dickson and visit 
Mr. V. R. Wick war, who has a fine plantation of Hevea, but I found 
my time would not admit of it. Nor did I visit the Pears plantation 
in Muar, as the owner, to whom I had letters, was absent in England. 
Speaking of close planting and hand weeding, I could not but be 
struck with the fear that the planters have of fire. Mr. Bailey, who 
at one time had charge of a large plantation in Johore, told me that 
