Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
.y.Kv'. Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries • V AGRICULTURAL BULLET 0 F THE STRAITS AND FEDERATED MALAY STATES VOLUME 8. 19 0 9 Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries No. 1.] JANUARY, 1909. [Vol. VIII. Agricultural Bulletin of the STRAITS and FEDERATED MALAY STATES. edited by H. N. RIDLEY, m.a., f.r.s., f.l.s., f.r.h.s. Director of Botanic Gardens, S. S. and J. B. CARRUTHERS, f.r.s.e., f.l.s. Director of Agriculture & Government Botanist, F.M.S. CONTENTS. Page. 1. The Treatment of Acid Soils for ltubber and Other Cultivations ... 1 2. The Copra Industry ... ... ... ... .. 2 3. Virus Kemedies Against liats ... ... ... ... 4 4. Two Manicoba ... ... Rubbers ... ... ... 5 5. Commelina Nudiflora, Linn ... ... ... ... 8 6. " The Tamil Immigration Fund Enactment, 1908." F. M. S. ... 9 7. The Composition of the Milk of the Dairy Cow and Buffalo in the Malay Peninsula ... ... ... ... 15 8. Singapore Market Report ... ... ... ... 23 9. Exports Telegram to Europe and America ... ... ... 24 10. Gow, Wilson and Stanton India Rubber Market Reports ... ... 25 11. John Haddon & Co's. Special Produce Letter ... 29 12. Weather Reports ... ... ... ... ... 32 To be purchased at the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, or from Messrs. Kelly & Walsh, Limited. No. 32 Raffles Place, and 194 Orchard Road, Singapore Singapore':'-. Printed at the Methodist Publishing House. Original from and digitized7 by National UniversityH „ of Singapore Libraries 'bra' BALDWIN BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL. Bangalore A High Class Institution for the Sons of Europeans Resident in the East. -♦ Beautifully situated 3,100 ft. above sea level a few hours run from Madras. Highly commended by Sir William Lee-Warner k.c.s.i., Sir James Bourdillon, k.c.s.i. the Hon'ble Mr. Stuart Fraser, i.c.s., the Hon'ble Mr. Williams, i.e. .s Terms Moderate. For prospectus, Apply to the Principal. Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN op the STRAITS and FEDERATED MALAY STATES. No. 1.] JANUARY, 1909. [Vol. VIII. THE TREATMENT OF ACID SOILS FOR RUBBER AND OTHER CULTIVATIONS. A series of experiments have been begun by the Department of Agriculture on some low lying flat land which has abnormally acid soil, rendering it unfavourable for the rapid growth of root growth of rub¬ ber or other cultivated plants. The presence of a too large proportion of acid in peaty soils is due to the existence of a large proportion of humic acid which is a brown or black substance produced by decaying vegetable matter. This de¬ composition is greatly facilitated by beat, air, and moisture and by the presence of putrefying nitrogenous matter. The conditions in many clearings in Malaya are therefore specially suited to the formation of an excess of humic acid which exists in many places to such an extent that the roots of young rubber are not able to grow and the plants grow without vigour and in some cases succumb. Such soils are physically and in other respects, most suitable for healthy and rapid growth of rubber and when the amount of acid has been reduced they often produce exceptionally fine rubber. The question of the neutralisation of such soils in the shortest time is of great importance. The only method used at present is to allow the sun free access to the soil and by this means and plentiful drainage to gradually eliminate a proportion of the acid. This is however a lengthy and not always successful method and a much quicker plan is to add such proportion of basic substance such as lime as is needed to neutralize the acid in the soil. A very large supply of natural phosphate is being extracted from Christmas Island and can be delivered comparatively cheaply at S. S. and P. M. S. ports. This raw phosphate not converted into the superphosphate will be tried on acid soils. The advantage in using this manure is that the arw phosphate i.e., phosphatic rocks exactly as they are obtained in Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 2 nature is cheaper than the manufactured superphosphate and the acid in the soil of the superacid lands will convert the phosphate into super¬ phosphate and by so doing the soil will more rapidly lose its acid and become neutralized and the available plant food in the soil greatly in¬ creased. The costs of such an application of raw phosphate will be deter¬ mined by experimenting with different quantities per acre to discover the smallest amount necessary to render the soil favourable to root growth of rubber. In certain cases the lack of vigour in the growth of young rubber on acid soils has been attributed to dampness of soil, fu,ngi or other diseases of the roots and it will be well if in eases where there is reason to sus¬ pect that the chemical condition of the soil is the cause of the lack of progress of rubber plants a portion of the field be treated to reduce the acidity. On some of the super acid soils a litmus paper pressed against a handful of the damp soil gives in a short space of time, some few minutes, a marked acid reaction i. e. is changed to a pink colour. This may be used as a rough test of the relative amount of acidity in the soil. J. B. Carruthers. THE COPRA INDUSTRY. It has been brought to my notice on one or two occasions recent¬ ly that the Singapore market price of Copra is nearly always less than that quoted for Ceylon and the Pacific Islands. In order to ascertain the reason of this I recently made careful enquiry into the state of the market and the quality of the Copra offered for sale. What surprised me most was the very poor quality of the Copra im¬ ported from the surrounding Islands and the Malay states compared with that from Java and other Dutch Islands. After examining num¬ erous samples taken from consignments from many different parts I am not surprised that Singapore prices do not compare favourably with those of other markets. There are several causes which account for the inferior quality and price of local copra. The principal cause appears to me to be the absence of some system of supervision over the native and Chinese grow¬ ers. I believe that in Java and other Dutch Islands the Dutch Govern¬ ment examines all Copra for export and only that which is up to stand¬ ard quality is allowed to be shipped. This in a great measure accounts for the excellence of Dutch Copra. The second cause is that it is a com¬ mon practice to pick the coconuts before they are quite ripe thus accounting for the large quantities of thin, soft and decaying Copra on the market. Quantities of good ripe Copra are frequently ruined by mixing it with this half matured stuff. The third reason is that the Copra is badly dried. That said to be sun-dried is only partially dried and as soon as put in bulk becomes mouldy and rots. That said to be kiln- dried is practically roasted. A fourth, and by no means least important, reason is the absence of any form of beneficial cultivation on the estates. In the majority of instances trees are never by any chance manured Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 3 nor is any form of beneficial cultivation practiced. The result of this neg¬ lect is an inferior Copra poor in oil producing' qualities. I am now referring to Malay and Chinese owned estates which comprise practically the whole industry. It is well known that European owned estates produce Copra of the very highest quality, but unfortunately, for their owners, the poor quality determines the market price. Ceylon Copra obtains a better price chiefly because the large majority of coconut estates there are owned by Europeans and under European management and every care is taken to turn out Copra of first quality. The Pacific Islands Copra maintains it advantage in price prin¬ cipally because Messrs. Lever Bros, and other well known soap manu¬ factures have extensive interests there. They have representatives on the spot who insist on first class Copra being supplied and in return pay the highest price. The difference in price between good and bad Copra in Singapore is about $1 per picul. The present price for first quality is about $7.50. As the price rises it is customary for many native and Chinese growers to resort to the injurious practice of rushing quantities of unripe badly dried Copra on the market in order to catch the higher rate. This is a practice which cannot be too strongly condemned. The principal sources of supply are Dutch Borneo, the Natunas and Anamhas Islands, Johore, the Malay'Peninsula, and the Dutch Islands generally. Singapore produces over 3,000 piculs of Copra per month chiefly from Tanjong Katong and Passir Panjang. This, with the exception of a small quantity from European estates, is badly dried and contains a large percentage of unripe nut. Dutch Copra from Billeton and Banka is principally kiln-dried and arrives clean, well dried and of good quality. That from Padang, Sumatra, is in small pieces well ripened, dry, dark and oily in appearance and contains more oil than any other Copra imported to Singapore. This is due to careful cultivation and none but well matured nuts being gathered.