213 
come quickly into bearing and produce magnificent crops; he is 
of opinion that this cultivation will be one of the safest and most 
paying of the agricultural interests of the States, and the most 
lasting and least costly. It is an industry suited to both the 
European and the native. The area under coconuts is given 
approximately at 40 700 acres. 
Coffee . — The Liberian Coffee estates have, to a great extent, 
been planted up with Para, which will eventually dispossess the 
coffee. The export during the year reached the largest figure yet 
recorded — 62,580 pikuls — and well-opened and well-managed es- 
tates on well-selected land yield a small profit even at present low 
prices. 
Tapioca . — The demand for tapioca appears to be increasing and 
the East Coast districts of Pahang afford a fine field for those who 
may be desirous of undertaking the cultivation of this product. 
Agriculture . — From an excellent report by Mr. F, BELFIELD, 
Acting Commissioner of Lands and Mines, I quote the following 
remarks : — 
In accordance with a suggestion contained in the Resi- 
dent General's Annual Report for 1901, an endeavour has 
been made to obtain particulars of the areas under different 
forms of cultivation, with yield of the various products. 
I he year was well advanced when the collectors were noti- 
fied that this information was desired, and the particulars 
given in the attached return G (3 not printed ) must be taken 
as approximate only ; but from these it would appear that 
some 382,000 acres, or about one-haif of the total area of 
agricultural land returned as ‘‘occupied,” was actually under 
cultivation at the end of the year. 
The collectors have experienced great difficulty in obtain- 
ing information as to yield of the various products, and 
from the districts of Larut, Matang, Selama, Upper Perak, 
Kinla, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Selangor and Kuala Pilah, no 
information at all on this subject is forthcoming; so far as 
the other districts of the Federation are concerned the 
returns supplied, which make no claim to be more than a 
rough approximation, indicate that the year’s agricultural 
product included 14,000,000 gran tangs of padi, of which 
Pahang contributed about 6,000,000 and Perak 5,500,000; 
90.000 pikuls of tapioca, mostly from Negri Sembilan ; 
43.000 pikuls of coffee, of which nearly three-fourths came 
from Selangor and one-fourth from Negri Sembilan, and 
20,000,000 coconuts of which Perak was the principal pro- 
ducer. 
The padi crop appears to have been a poor one in Perak 
and Selangor and over the greater part of Negri Sembilan ; 
but throughout the small district of Jelebu it is described as 
exceedingly good, the best for several years. From Central 
Pahang also an excellent crop is reported, while in Ulu 
Pahang and Raub it \vas fairly good. 
