450 
THE CHINESE METHOD OF .ROTATION OF CROPS 
AND RECLAMATION OF LALANG LAND. 
The most conspicuous evidence of the folly of the Government 
leasing of agricultural land in the Straits Settlements, is the existence 
of enormous tracts of valuable land, now overgrown with lalang 
(Imperatia cylindrica) and consequently thrown back upon the Govern- 
ment as a practically valueless asset. It generally takes about ten 
years for such land to be covered with good secondary forest growth. 
Had the Government stipulated that every acre of land should be re- 
planted with some permanent trees, or had they made the conditions 
of the lease such that it would be more profitable to cultivate such 
land than abandon it and take up new virgin jungle, we might have 
had all these waste areas beautifully afforested or at least yielding some 
returns. Fortunately since the cultivation of Para Rubber has proved 
to be a success, even with tapioca as a catch crop — thanks to the 
pioneer work of Mr. Tan Chay Yan at Bukit Asahan — now the Malacca 
Rubber Plantations Limited, the Government or the officials of the 
land office, are quite awake as to the necessity of preventing tapioca 
and other lands going into waste under lalang. 
It may therefore be of considerable importance to planters to 
know that Chinese vegetable growers practice an economical method of 
reclaiming lalang land. In discussing this, it may be interesting also 
to note in passing their system of manuring, for the lalang is not merely 
weeded out but is also choked out by a careful rotation of valuable 
crops. As a rule, it costs about twenty dollars at least to clear one 
acre of lalang. The Chinese, who pay their farm hands at $12-$ 15 
a month, manage to get good returns within two years by reclaiming 
lalang land, and to convert it into a useful vegetable garden. 
The fact that this system has succeeded so well in Singapore, 
where the soil is generally poor, argues that it should be more success- 
ful, wherever the soil is more fertile. It must be admitted that with- 
out the use of farm-yard or human manure this system cannot succeed 
very well. 
The essence of it may be explained in a few lines. The stems of 
the lalang are exposed by hoeing or deep ploughing, and removed by 
the rake and burned. The soil has to be turned up two or three times 
if necessary to remove the weed completely. 
At the same time, the aid of nature is called in. Rapidly growing 
plants are planted at once in carefully manured beds. A struggle for 
existence is thus artificially introduced, and within three months or so, 
the patch of waste land is covered with green vegetables. The trans- 
formation is very impressive, but the steps require to be seen. The 
change affords a striking object lesson of the importance and value 
as well as feasibity of permanent cultivation of the soil. 
But unfortunately in Singapore, cultivation of the soil is nob 
profitable unless “ night-soil ” is utilised. Human excreta constitute 
the most efficient and at the same time the cheapest manure. The 
Municipal authorities evidently do not take the slightest interest in 
the utilisation of this refuse. They proposed an extensive scheme of 
casting it out to sea, and dumping it all into the deep ten miles off 
