We have come out to the East, to see for ourselves how rubber is cultivated. And we have chosen to spend most of our little remaining time together in the Malay Peninsula, since this is the country where the largest area of land has been given over to rubber-trees, where many of the finest plantations are situated, and where advanced methods of cultivation and manufacture are most generally practised. Our surroundings are very Oriental, yet there are many signs that Western civilization is playing an important part in the life of this country. When our ship dropped anchor in the harbour at Singapore, we imagined that by some mistake we had been brought to a Chinese port, instead of to our proper destination in the British Straits Settlements. The quay was packed with Chinamen, or “boys,” as they are all called when they belong to the working class, no matter whether their age is six or sixty. When our luggage had been seized by as many of the pig-tailed brigade as could manage to secure any one of our belongings, when we and our traps had been taken possession of by Chinese rickshaw coolies, and at last we were on the Now that we have come up-country in the Malay Peninsula, it is more difficult than ever to tell from our surroundings who is the ruling power in the land. We see a few Europeans among a host of Orientals, all of whom are called “natives,” although they represent many races. We are in the midst of a highly cultivated district, which is entirely devoted to rubber-growing; through its midst runs a railway, and the interior is served by excellent roads. Yet everywhere in the background The Malay Peninsula consists of the Straits Settlements—Singapore, Malacca, Province Wellesley, the Dindings, and Penang, which are British—and of a number of Native States. But British influence is quickly becoming as active in the Native States as in those parts of the country which are British possessions. Indeed, four of the native divisions—Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, and Pahang—are united as the Federated Malay States, and administered on up-to-date progressive British lines by a Federal Council. The Governor of the Straits Settlements, who is High Commissioner of the Federated Malay States, presides over the Council, and its membership consists further of the Sultans of the four States in question, the British Resident of each, and four unofficial members, three of whom are British and one Chinese. Three other States have a British adviser, and the Sultan of Johore has availed himself of the aid of a similar official to help him develop his territory, particularly with a view to furthering the interests of rubber-growing. The principal rubber lands in Malaya are situated in the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and Johore. We have come to a rubber estate in the heart of the Federated Malay States, where the plantation area is about to be enlarged. Another tract of jungle is to be cleared and planted with Hevea. Little Heveas are now brought from an open-air nursery and planted in rows, between the stump and trunk ghosts of the dead jungle. These little Heveas have been grown from seed on a very much smaller piece of ground than that over which they are now distributed. They do not want very much room until they are about a year old, and by the method of putting treelings, instead of seeds, in a clearing, the plantation is brought to bearing-stage in about four years instead of five. There is a great difference of opinion as to what distance apart the young plants should be put in the ground when they are transferred to their permanent home in the clearing. Some planters put in three or four hundred to the acre, and obtain quite good results; others maintain that the trees are overcrowded, and cannot possibly grow to their full size, if more than fifty occupy one acre of land. Generally speaking, from one hundred to two hundred trees are planted per acre at the present time. Jungle clearing is always done in the way we have seen up to the bonfire stage of the proceedings. But in some cases, further preparations are made before Grassland is sometimes used for rubber-growing. Paths are cleared and the rubber is planted in rows, between strips of grass; or the whole of a given area is completely cleared before planting is begun. The most common grass, called lalang, is the worst pest with which many of the planters have to contend. It is difficult to uproot, and any that may be left in the ground spreads very rapidly. In Malaya the work of clearing is nearly all done by Sakai and Malays. The Sakai are the aborigines of the country, who live in the jungle. They are very skilful woodcutters. The Malays, it is believed, are descended from natives of Southern India, who emigrated to Sumatra. In 1360 some of the emigrants made the short journey over to the mainland, and settled in the country which we call the Malay Peninsula. They increased and multiplied, and became more and more powerful, although first the Portuguese, and then the Dutch, tried very hard to get the upper hand of them. When the British succeeded the Dutch as the chief European power in the Peninsula, the Malays were at first left in undisputed possession of the interior of the country. But they quarrelled and fought so much amongst themselves that the interior was always in a state of Generally speaking, the Malays are very different from the Sakai. The jungle-men are savages. The Malays are a civilized people; they have a national style of dress, their conversation is witty and is frequently carried on in poetic language, they have produced some literature, and they are most artistic metal-workers. But the Malays and the Sakai are alike in that they both want but little here below except time to loaf in the sun. Regular work they heartily dislike, and will not do. But, as a rule, they are quite pleased to make a clearing for the planter. That is a job which will come to an end some day not so very long after it is begun, and it will bring in enough money to carry them through another lengthy spell of leisure. |