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Vegetables. 
T HE Malay Peninsula is exceedingly well 
adapted to the cultivation of tropical vege- 
tables, which can be grown more or less 
throughout the year. The quantity produced locally, 
though large, is not sufficient for the requirements 
of the country, consequently the inhabitants have to 
rely to some extent on the importation of vegetables 
from Java and China. There is ample room for 
extensive development in this form of cultivation, 
both on the hills and in the low country. Chinese 
small-holders and “Squatters” are the chief growers, 
and their plots are well distributed throughout the 
country; but, even in the neighbourhood of large 
towns, no well-known market garden is to be found. 
These Chinese obtain extraordinarily good results; 
but, unfortunately, their produce is not always 
grown in strict accordance with sanitary principles 
and therefore fails to command as large a market 
among Europeans as it would command, were it 
grown under better supervision. One is surprised 
by the immense trouble and care that a Chinaman 
takes in his garden, and the high state of fertility 
which is ultimately reached. He has an intimate 
knowledge of this branch of agriculture and uses 
it to considerable ‘ advantage, but his small capital 
limits him to production on a small scale, with only 
the simplest of cultural implements. The Tamil 
rarely grows more than is sufficient for his own 
requirements, while the Malay takes little or no 
part in the production of vegetables. The European 
