of bamboos upon which the sheets of rubber are hung to dry, and a 
few pans of charcoal to hasten the process, and keep off mildew, 
are Mr. STEPHENS’ stock-in-trade. His latex shed is an attap build- 
ing about 12 ' square, his drying-house an enclosed space under his 
Bungalow, say 18' square. With this simple equipment and limited 
accommodation, he is able to turn out rubber which, l venture to 
think, will command the highest prices. The tapping coolies, with 
their six months’ training, are doing fast, and at the same time 
most careful, work, and each man brings in two large pails of latex, 
equal I should say, to about a kerosine oil tin full. Mr. STEPHENS 
swears by the old “ herring-bone” system of tapping, which he has 
proved to give him the best results. He drives a small nail into 
the foot of his tree, hangs his tin upon it, and leaves the tin there 
until that particular tree is finished with. He says that perhaps he 
gets more scrap in consequence, but then of course he is saved the 
enormous cost of tin distribution and washing. His methods may 
not be as clean as you would expect to see in a first class dairy, but 
as he gets the best results at a minimum cost, 1 judge that his ex- 
ample is well worth following. He taps as a rule from 5.30 until 
1 1 A. M.. and if he sends his coolies out in the afternoon, he finds 
that they get only about jjrdsas much latex. His trees are tap- 
ped once every other day. Having been very short of labour, it 
was impossible for Mr. Stephens to keep his weeds in hand, so he 
set to work with scythes and now succeeds at a cost of about 50 cts. 
an acre a month, in mowing his land so close that from the colour 
of the coffee trees, which still grow amongst his rubber in some 
fields, it is evident that not only do the latter in no way suffer from 
the grass, but the remarkable freedom from white ants, which 
[ebong en joys, rather points to there being some truth in the theory 
that the presence of grass keeps these mischievous insects away. 
This does not pretend to be at all an elaborate report upon Mr. 
Stephens’ work. It would take me much longer than I have time 
for to treat the subject as it deserves, but 1 think that when a 
planter does what Mr. STEPHENS has succeeded in doing, with a 
force of (I may say) 50 coolies on an Estate of 380 acres opened, 
and in face of difficulties which would have made many a good man 
o-ive up, it is about time that his fellow planters, at any rate, should 
hear of it, and if they are wise and want to see for themselves what 
can be done by a man who puts all his heart into his work, they 
had better start for Jebong without waste of time, and they will not 
only find that this account is in no way exaggerated, but they will 
be given every opportunity of seeing a very fine Estate in the 
bargain. 
I am, Dear Sir, 
Yours faithfully, 
E. V. CAREY. 
The Editor , 
A crricultural Bulletin , 
Sinpnpo re. 
