Fruit \ 
A LTHOUGH there are numerous varieties of 
fruits represented in Malaya, yet their 
quality, with very few exceptions, leaves 
much to be desired. Until recently, local fruit trees 
rarely received the necessary amount of cultivation 
and careful propagation, and it is to these causes 
that the present unsatisfactory position is due. The 
fact that, in spite of this lack of care, native-grown 
fruit trees frequently bear large crops, points to 
the conclusion that considerable improvement both 
of yield and quality is possible if scientific methods 
of cultivation were the rule rather than the 
exception. 
Considered as a possible commercial undertaking, 
it is probable that a well managed orchard, in which 
good varieties of fruits were grown, would be 
successful. With the exception of pineapples and 
limes, no Malayan fruits have received the applica- 
tion of modern methods; but this, and the intro- 
duction of improved strains from other sources, are 
problems that require attention. 
The favourable qualities of selected trees can only, 
in many instances, be perpetuated by asexual pro- 
pagation, and it appears possible that many of the 
fruits suitable for local cultivation may eventually 
be propagated by means other than seed. There 
are but few varieties that can be raised from cut- 
tings with any degree of success; layering is little 
practised, propagation by seed or by marcottage 
being the usual system employed. The problem 
