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and sustained effort on the part of the authorities to rid the country 
of these pernicious insects, which, if not dealt with systematically, 
render a cultivation that should be attractive in appearance as well 
as lucrative, little better than a hideous eyesore. In this connection 
much assistance might be rendered to the Government by planters 
reporting every case which they may observe of trees being neg- 
lected ; at the same time there are so many instances of groves of 
coconuts, actually within town limits, being riddled through and 
through with beetle and never attended to, that it is difficult to 
realise that any ordinance providing for their extermination exists 
at all. The Bee Hawk moth has reappeared in numbers on several 
Estates, principally in the Klang district, and though moths, chry- 
salids, caterpillars and eggs have been steadily collected and des 
troyed, a considerable loss of leaf has been experienced, bo ar, 
hand picking, and catching the moths in nets, have been the only 
methods employed in fighting this pest, and as the moths are day 
and not night insects, their capture by the medium of powerful 
lamps is of course not feasible. This method is however to be 
tried with respect to coconut beetles, and the result will be awaited 
with great interest. Ficus Elastica borers and several different 
kinds of caterpillars have been reported, but only in comparatively 
small numbers. 
Chief Planting Products, 
COFFEE. — The export returns for Perak, Selangor and Negri 
Sembilan show an increase in 1901 of 6,476 piculs, this must be 
considered a satisfactory result in view of the fact that prices aver- 
aged $18.29 per picul as against $20.80 in 1900. Moreover, ex- 
change fell from 2/- (demand selling rate on London) 111 January to 
i/io| in December, but for which fact, dollar quotations would 
presumablv have been lower still. A good deal of Coffee has never- 
theless been planted in 1901, mostly in conjunction with Para rub- 
ber, and cultivation has been well maintained, whilst quality has 
improved, and complaints on this score have been much less fre- 
quent, Reports from Brazil go to show that the coming season’s 
blossoms have to a great extent failed and there is a widespread 
belief that 6,000,000 bags will be the limit of the crop actually 
gathered in Rio and Santos, though the unloading of heavy stocks 
may to a great extent counteract the hardening effect which such a 
phenomenally poor crop should exercise upon the market. It is a 
somewhat debatable point whether the failure of the blossoms in 
Brazil is to be attributed to the impoverished condition of the trees, 
consequent upon inadequate cultivation and a succession of abnor- 
mally heavy crops, or whether the season has been unpropitious. 
If the former assumption b- correct, then there can be little doubt 
that a steady and continued improvement may be confidently anti- 
cipated, but advices are so conflicting that it would be premature 
in the extreme at this stage to attempt any reliable forecast. 
COCONUTS, — Owing to the ravages of beetle and the cost of 
keeping the trees clean, Coconuts are not as much planted as their 
