Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States, Vol.8, No.10

No. 10.] OCTOBER, 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. CONTENTS. Page. Rubber Cultivation on so-called Peat Soil 468 Cotton in Baram, Sarawak 470 Padi and its Relation to Beri-beri 472 The Cultivated Orotalaria 474 An American View of Agricultural Exhibitions 474 Rubber Areas and Production 475 Planters' Association of Malaya, Minutes of, 476 List of Prize Winners of the Penang Show 491 Weather Reports 509 From the first of January, 1909 The Price of the Bulletin will be as follows: Annual Subscription for Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States $5.00 Annual Subscription for other places in Malaya $5.50 Annual Subscription for India and Ceylon .. Rs. 9-8-0 Annua! Subscription for Europe (Thirteen Shillings) £0-13-0 Single copy 50 ots. or ».1/2d Whole Volume $5.00 All Subscriptions are payable strictly in advance. To be purchased at the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, from The Methodist Publishing House, Stamford Road, and from Messrs. Kelly & Walsh Ltd., No. 32 Raffles Place, and 194 Orchard Road. Printed at The Method Iouse, Singapore. Original from and ^digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries ! ir" ft 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.l, Sir James Bourdillon, k.c.s.i. the Hon'ble Mr. Stuart Fraser, i.c.s., the Hon'ble Mr. Williams, i.c.s. Terms Moderate For prospectus, Apply to the Principal' Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN of the STRAITS and FEDERATED MALAY STATES. No. 10.] OCTOBEfi 1909. [Vol. VIII RUBBER CULTIVATION ON SO CALLED PEAT SOIL. By H. N. Ridley. In many parts of the Malay Peninsula usually in the vicinity of large tidal rivers, we find a somwhat peculiar soil formation popularly known here as peat formation. It consists exclusively of dead timber roots and decayed leaves, to a depth sometimes of as much as twenty feet. Often no trace of clay, stone or other mineral matter is to be seen in it. The formation appears even if deep to be of comparatively modern date, geologically speaking. Before being cleared for planting it is seen to be covered with dense wet forests, in which grow a number of somewhat peculiar or local plants mixed with many trees which also occur on more ordinary soil. A characteristic tree is the Kempas, Cumpassia mala.ccev.sis, abundant too is the well known red stemmed palm, Cyrtostacliys lacca and the ground is often covered with an abundance of Gingers (Scitamineae) and ground orchids. Walking through these woods one often sinks deeply into a mass of wet decaying leaves, over and through which lie the great roots of the big trees. Below this great mass of decaying vegetation is usually a greasy blue clay lying at various depths and apparently mainly old Mangrove mud and over which this forest lias gradually grown. When felled and burnt this so-called peat after a period of exposure commences to shrink, the surface of the ground ■ often soon falling a foot or more. The exposed Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 469 surface wood decays and forms at last a brown powdery soil, mixed with fragments of sticks etc. and reminding one of the surface of an old tan yard. The water which fills the drains and streams from this formation is dark brown, re¬ sembling the brown peaty water of a Scotch moor, but is by no means safe to drink though it lias only a slight peaty flavour as it is apt to produce a violent diarrhoea and has been known to cause much sickness of this nature among the coolies working in such land. "We have not seen any analysis of either water or soil from such ground but it is probable that it contains an ex¬ cess of humic acid and also of salts of magnesia, sodium and potash. Not long ago I visited the fibre plantations of the Peneiro estate in Southern Joliore, recently floated as a Company. Here Sanseviera, Agave sisolemn and Four- croya gigantea were being cultivated on a large scale for fibre making. I was much struck with the appearance of the sisal hemp, Agave sisalana. This plant long in cultiv¬ ation in the Botanic Gardens in Singapore has never really made good growth, though being a desert plant, such as is scientifically called a xerophyte, it had been planted in the driest corners of the Gardens. In this damp mass of decaying logs and branches, it was growing luxuriantly. The plants were strong and healthy, in fact quite handsome and throwing up suckers in every direction. The suckers growing wherever they happened to be thrown. Fourcroya and Sanseviera, which however are much easier plants to grow here were also doing well. One would not indeed have been prepared to find a xerophytic plant cultivated successfully iu dry sandy places iu the West Indian Islands thriving in a strongly peaty damp locality. On exactly similar ground I have seen Para rubber planted ou a large scale. Now Para rubber is a typical hygrophyte, that is to say, a plant adapted for growth in the wettest regions of the tropics, the region known as the Tropical Rain-forest Region." For a. short time the little rubber plants looked all right, but only for a very short time. The mortality was frightful. The dead ones were replaced in vain. The plants all looked sickly and died, some from attacks of Fames, others perhaps from termites, some from unknown fungi. The dead plants were pulled up were remarkable lor their long tap root and for the fact that all the roots descended vertically parallel to the tap root. As every planter knows the Para rubber is a high rooter throwing Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 470 its roots out horizontally over a large area. Here the roots were descending vertically as if seeking to reach the clay bed which underlay the peat at a considerable depth. Where the clay came near the surface the plants undoubtedly did better but a depth of 12 feet or even less of the vegetable debris was fatal to them. It has been shown lately by experiment that a wet swamp of peaty soil, that is one with an excess of vegetable matter is not hygrophytic but xerophytic and that the plants naturally found there are specially adapted for drought, that is to say, a shortage of water. The reason for this is that these peaty soiLs contain in their water an excess of liumic acid. This acid has so deleterious an effect on the protoplasm of the plants' not specially adapted for growth in such soils that the water which should be taken up by the roots is actually poisonous and cannot be used by them at all. In fact it has much the same effect as sea-water. Nothing could be more unsuitable for the Hevea which requires a lot of water and requires it good. Plants in soil such as this become weak and very soon succumb to the attacks of fungus. They have no strength to resist any disease. Ira any case they could never make healthy trees even if there was no fungus about. In ground of this nature I have recently heard of a mortality of 100 per cent, and that the area planted has had to be entirely abandoned. In many parts of the Peninsula there are still left consider¬ able areas of similar soil to this I have described, and planters would do well to avoid this ground entirely for rubber planting. H. N. Ridley, COTTON IN BAR AM. SARAWAK. Some samples of cotton grown at Ba ram in Sarawak were forwarded by the Resident of Baram witb a request , for report as to value. Part of this was sent to Professor Dunstan of the Imperial Institute, whose report is an¬ nexed. Native cotton lias not unfrequently been reported on from the Malay Peninsula and Islands. It was formerly cultivated as half wild in Muar, The samples have some¬ times proved equal in quality to the Baram sample, that is to say while not of the very best quality, still a perfectly good saleable article. Could the Dyaks be induced to eon- Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 471 tinue the cultivation and to collect and send the cotton for shipment say to Singapore a trade might be made in this product. Imperial Institute, London, S. W. 12th July, 1909. Sir, I have the honour to enclose a report on a sample of cotton from Baram, Sarawak, which was forwarded for examination to the Imperial Institute by the Director of Botanic Gardens at Singapore with letter dated 22nd April 1909. I have the honour to be Sir, Your obedient servant, Sd. Wyndham R. Dunstan, His Excellency the Governor, Straits Settlements. IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. Results of the Examination of Cotton from Baram, Sarawak. Imperial Institute No. 28983. Date, 12th July 1909. Reference.—Letter dated the 22nd April 1909 from the Director of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore. Number of mark, and weight of sample:—"Cotton from Baram" If oz. Variety of Cotton. Not stated. Description.—The sample consisted of clean, ginned cotton which was harsh, fairly lustrous and of deep cream colour, with a pale reddish tinge.

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