90 
Office of the Inspector of Coconut Trees, 
Federated Malay States, 
Kuala Lumpur , nth January , r$04. 
Subject. 
ENCOURAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
AMONG NATIVES. 
Sir , — 1 have the honour to refer to my letter Xo. 174-oj to ^ ,c 
Resident-General of 1 ith November, 1903, on this subject as I have 
some further suggestions to offer which the Government may per- 
haps care to take into consideration. 
2. In the first place, I am of opinion if Government were to 
erect central depots or store-houses for the collection of coconuts 
to be converted into copra in the districts where there are numerous 
native holdings scattered about and the means of transport both 
difficult and costly it would afford considerable assistance to the 
owners. 
3. Mv scheme is that the natives should bring in all theii sin- 
plus coconuts which they have to dispose of to this “central depot 
and that Government make arrangements with some Chinese, who 
are well up in the business for purchasing the nuts so collected 
for the manufacture of copra. I do not anticipate any Double 
about this, as provided the nuts are collected in sufficient abundance 
to allow of constant employment and this certainly should be so, it 
ought not to be difficult to find as at Jeram and other places, many 
small Chinese traders of this class who, I feel sure, will be very 
o-l ad of such an opening. The agreement between the contractors 
and the Government being that the former shall pay cash for the 
coconuts as received or delivered by the natives at the depot. 
4. The native owners themselves would profit by being immedi- 
ately able to dispose of their produce and in addition they ought 
to obtain a better price than at present and these advantages might 
induce them with more ready cash in hand, to give more attention 
to their plantations. 
5. The material gain and saving is in the transport and the 
producer should certainly reap his share of iU Suppose for instance 
such a depot was erected at Rembau in Tampm District, Negri 
Sembilan, where there is a large area under coconut cultivation 
belonging to natives and there is no nearer market at present tor 
their surplus than Seremban. The cart hire to Seremban from 
Rembau is at least $3 per cart carrying say only 300 to 360 nuts 
whereas quite seven times,this quantity of nuts made into copra 
could be carried at same cost. Kuala Pilah is also similarly situ- 
ated and I should say there are other districts where the assistance 
I have suggested might be found beneficial to the natives. 
6 Another matter l would mention is that I consider a great 
deal might be done in the way of catch crops by the natives. Ot 
course as long as many of the plantations were in the lamentable 
