396 
SALE OF PARA RUBBER 
A small case of Para Rubber obtained from the Botanic Gardens 
trees was recently sold in London by Messrs. BouSTEAD & Co. 
iq lbs. of Sheet Rubber fetched 4/- per lb. and 2 lbs of scrap 
realised 3/- per lb. 
THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON IN THE 
FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 
Experimental Plantations, 
Bain Tiga, jotk October , /poj* ■ 
Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter 
No. Misc. 7402/03 of the 27th instant, enclosing three copies of a 
e per by Mr. A. S. BAXEXDALE, oil the Cultivation of Cotton in the 
Federated Malay States. 
It is not mv intention to criticise this letter, as, like Mr. 
PjAXKXDALE, 1 have not had the opportunity of personally ex- 
periencing the conditions prevailing in those countries where the 
cultivation of cotton is carried out on an extensive scale ; but, 
neve, the less, it is a subject in which 1 have for some time taken a 
keen interest, and I trust, therefore, that I may be permitted to 
venture a few remarks upon the report — which, under the circum- 
stances, will not, I hope, be taken too seriously — and to indicate on 
what lines the experimental cultivation of this crop should proceed. 
3. The first seven paragraphs of the letter under consideration 
deal with the disposal of the produce, and there can, of course, be 
no question as to the possibility of finding a ready market, provided 
that we in the federated Malay States can compete successfully 
with other cotton-producing countries as regards the quality of out- 
produce — i.e.y colour, length of staple, etc. — while, if selling in a 
European market, the extra cost of freight as compared with that 
from ihe United States and the West Indies must not be over- 
looked. 
4. I gather from Mr. Baxexdale’s letter that, in his opinion, 
practically the whole question as to whether the cultivation of cot- 
ton in the Federated Malay States would prove a profitable under- 
taking or not, turns upon the question as to the suitability or other- 
wise of the climate, with reference to which there are practically no 
statistics upon which to base an opinion. But assuming that the 
climatical conditions here could be considered suitable, which per- t 
sonally I very much doubt, remembering that the monsoons are 
scarcely discernible and that the driest month of one year may be 
the wettest of the next * There are several other points having an 
important bearing upon the question, which the writer has entirely 
overlooked — eg., fungoid diseases, insect' pests, soils, etc. 
* N.D . — The rainfall at Batu Tiga for October, 1902, was over 23 inches, rain 
falling on 29 days; the rainfall for October current .(1st to 28th} is 5.10 inches, 3.30 J 
of which fell on one day. 
