IMPROVEMENT OF FORESTS. 
Natural Reproduction. 
11. Dipterocarps fruited fairly freely, and there was an average seed-year 
in the mangrove forests. Natural reproduction in Malacca is on the whole 
remarkably good, largely on account of the fellings of second-class trees 
which have taken place for many years in the reserves of that Settlement. The 
forests in the Dindings recpiire systematic opening up, if seed-years are to 
be taken full advantage of. Improvement fellings were cariied out over about 
30 acres in the Bnkit Sedanan Reserve in Malacca at a cost of $141, the natural 
regeneration in the area chosen for treatment being particularly plentiful. 
Plantations and Cultural Operations. 
12. A recently exploited area of 246 acres in the Tanjong Burong Reserve 
in the Dindings was planted with Bakau minyak at a cost of $763.77, but 
further expenditure will probably have to be incurred on the replacement of 
failures. In this plantation 1,020 seedlings were protected from the attacks of 
crabs by means of pieces of tin bent round the stem just above the ground. 
At the end of the year it was found that 84 per cent of the protected seedlings 
had survived and only 60 per cent of the unprotected. Seventeen acres in the 
same reserve were planted with tengar. The whole of this planting should 
have been done by the felling contractors, who paid $1,400 to Government 
as compensation for their failure to do so. 
13. There was no change in the area of plantations in the other Settle- 
ments, and the only work done in them was the eradication of lalang* at a cost 
of $151.50 from about 6 acres of Para rubber in the Bukit Bruang Reserve 
plantation in Malacca, and the cleaning of about 41 acres of Penaga in the 
same plantation by the subordinate staff. The taban, penaga, and merbau 
in this plantation are reported to be doing well, but the tembusu is sickly 
and hardly worth further expenditure. 
14. In Singapore the area of the Bukit Timah plantation is likely to be 
affected by the proposals for the improvement of the Singapore-Kranji Rail- 
way. Owing to the state of the rubber industry the rubber was not tapped, 
but a sum of $3,000 was transferred from deposits to revenue on account of 
previous working of the plantation. 
EXPLOITATION. 
Timber and Fuel. 
(a) From Reserves. 
15. Tn Singapore five reserves were worked as usual for mangrove fuel 
under the coupe system, the area under exploitation during the whole or part 
of the year being 319 acres. In addition, seven old coupes, which had not 
been fully worked out, were open to exploitation under monthly permits. 
The 128 acres newly leased realised $25.64 per acre compared with $31.38 per 
acre for the coupes of the previous year. The estimated outturn from the 
leased coupes was 2,350 tons, and from the coupes open itnder permit 1,220 
tons, compared with 3,620 and 460 tons respectively in 1920. The outturn 
from other sources was 54 tons of timber and 1,801 tons of firewood. The 
revenue fell from $8,031.38 to $5,003,05. 
