Aug: 1, 1892.] 
THE BEITISH IS'OETH BOENEO HEEALT). 
these are Coeoaouts, already 2 and o feet high, sugarcane, [ 
tapioca and other plants some intended for tlio support 
of life while the others, the hemp, cocoanuts &q. are 
maturing. These men pay no rent, hut will give half 
the hemp they produce. The rest of the produce is 
their own. No wonder Lucio, the mandor, and Pcpita 
his wife seemed contented. 
In the large tract of 45000 aci'cs there are different 
soils, but most gf the places seem to be well drained or 
such as can easily bo made so, while Mr. Pryor’s system 
of planting a little of everything in each place will at 
any rate prove cr)nclusiveh' what each district and soil 
will grow. Of the (j^uick growing things like sugar, 
Manila hemp, tapioca and cotton, there can be no doubt 
whatever. But two short months ago I visited these 
very places, and the jungle was so dense, and the place so i 
little known, and the felled spaces so impassable, that i 
even with a guide it took me 4 hours to do the distance 
the road now enabled me to travel in one. IS’ow there 
are lanes everywhere, cottages, fruits and vegetables; and 
in a few months there will be cotton, sugar, dnd hemp to 
send away. I'hc roads have been run through belts of 
jungle, so one has no scorching tramp as along the more 
open roads of a tobacco Estate : but lovely cool paths 
in the shady jungle, bringing hack to one's mind the 
Classic Addison’s walk at Oxford. It will he a matter 
of congratulation if these can be ever retained, for not 
visitors alone but labourers also profit by tbeir shade. 
The fringing borders too afford many a sheltered spot 
for nursery l)eds, thousands of well grown and healthy 
Coffee, Gutta and other plants testifying to their utility. 
The B}'tc trul}' promises to he a very Arcadia to the j 
Chinese and Bajows, Sulus and Malays ; all alike seem 
content: and I heard (what 1 imagine is not often 
heard elsewhere), the manager telling his labourers to go 
home us it was getting late, and the labourers protesting 
that they would not go uutil they had got some more 
plants in. 
I believe the first tree was cut in January last; the 
Estate builds its houses of its own timber and attaps and 
makes its own planks; I was most hospitably enter¬ 
tained for two days on (inter a/ia ) fowls eggs Indian 
Corn and vegetables coming off the property. Sugar 
canes reaching ten and twelve feet in lengtli and of 
8 and 10 stalks each! Young pinaug trees looking 
very healthy, hemp of all si^^es up to <S or 1) feet, banana 
trees just bursting into fruit from stems of nearly 2 feet 
diameter: surely this is a good record since January. 
]Mr. Piyer very kindly too let me cut and manufacture 
the first IManila-herap. No very great skill was re¬ 
quired, a plank and an ordinary knife, (the whole en¬ 
gine being worth perhaps 20 cents) a steady pull and I 
had drawn the first fibre manufactured at the Develop¬ 
ment Corporation’s property. 
Jllv, 25th. L. P. B. 
"■ r 
A 
In these hard times wljen banks break, tobacco crops 
suffer from adverse seasons, labour is ( said to be ) 
scarce and dear, i>opulation scanty, and agricul¬ 
ture neglected ; it may not i)erhaps he imiuterest- 
ing to i)lace on record in the colmmis of the Herald 
our impressions after a visit to the small hold¬ 
ings, and the- cultivation that is going on in them 
Ifnviiiff Mettleiiieiit. 
beyond Bokara [toiiit. The place being hut infrequent¬ 
ly visited except ly those few specially interested in 
the matter, and by a few pleasure riding paivties; it is 
we think an almost uuknowii region to the great majo¬ 
rity of Herald readers, who reading of the nps and 
downs of large planting companies have no record ol 
smaller enterprises. Embarking at the Government 
House pier on the steam launch Thistle, we first of all 
2 )aid a visit to the Himuiial Bajows at Bokara village a 
deseription of wliich will befound iiumothcT column, and 
after inspecting this place w'e proceeded in the launch to 
the Penkalan Attup. Here we found a thriving village, 
the dwellers in wbieb were busy at the attap making 
industry. 8tretehiiig away inland beyond the village 
lies a well cleared plain some hfty or sixty acres in 
extent, and bevond again about as many acres of low 
lying and gently imdulatiug hills, and at the foot of 
these gentle nndnlations is a cosy village of small 
S(|Rattors, or Jackaroo farmers as an Australian would 
describe the dwellers therein. The village consists of 
some dozen comfortablv built houses containing as 
many hai)py and contented families numbering in all 
over fifty souls. The sites for the various houses have 
apjiareutly been well and carefully selected on raised, 
old and cleared laud, and each is surrounded hv a well 
tendcLl garden which extends down the slopes to the 
plain, and in which various sorts of vegetables are 
planted. The gardens all possess the advantage of 
having a clear stivam or rivulet of good water in their 
immediate ueighbonrliood thus assuring the gardener 
of a })lentifn! sn[)[)ly of his chief necessary. In 
addition to his vegetable garden each sqnattei’ de¬ 
votes some considerable attention to the raising of pigs, 
the porkers looking uncommonly well and in good case, 
while dogs of various lu’eeds attach themselves to, and 
guard tlieir owner’s property. We were struck by the 
contented look of these squatters, whom we found on 
enquiry to be enjoying the best of health, sickness be¬ 
ing an almost unknown evil among them, while they 
all proudly informed us they were quite fortified 
against illness, all Iteing iu possession of a certain 
amount of quinine and Iain inacham ubat which their 
master had presented them with to meet any emergen¬ 
cy. The vilhigers are principally Chinese, coolies and 
others who lui.ve settled down after leaving tobacco 
estates, and who were provided with wood and attaps 
to construct houses, and food money for three 
months to keep tliem going Avhile tlieir crops 
were coming up, and till tliey were fairly settled 
Now they have conquered their first difficulties and fair¬ 
ly taken to the life, each man is in possession of what to 
him is a real independence and is cheerful and contented 
in proportion; and perfectly satisfied in looking after 
his vegetables, his pigs and his dogs. The proprietor of 
this prosperous little settlement advanced the money and 
he assures us ho has seldom been disaj^pointed with his 
action in the matter; and material confidenee between 
master and man is the result. Large quantities of 
mangos, 2 )isam/s and cocoanuts have been planted and 
are all thriving capitally. The rivulets and streams in 
the settlement form the sources of the Bokara river and 
the site has proved admirably adapted for the experi¬ 
ment. In conclusion we would point out that equest- 
lians wishing to combine amusement with healthy exer¬ 
cise, and a search for information, may do worse than pay 
a visit to the villages beyond Bokara point. 
