CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION ON CHINA AND THE CHINESE Cornell University Library DS 598.P42L84 Notes on Perak ■*,|]'{j|,||||f|j|n|||i||i||f^^ ill 3 1924 023 184 090 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023184090 NOTES ON SKETCH OF ITS VEGETABLE, ANMAL yiAL AND MINERAL PRODUCTS, -"'t^^ Compiled by order of the Perak Government, to accompany the exhibits sent by the State of Ferah to the CohoiiiKL and Indian Exhibition, iSS6. 'A ^LlO ^ LONDON : WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS, Limited, IPnnttrs anS Pufilisfitts to tijt JSogal ffiommission, ''TIlifeNfeS CROSS, S,W., AND AT THE EXHIBITION. IRTHUR PROBSTHAIN 1886. Sriental Bookseller II Gt. Russell Street .ONDON, W.C. I ■ Mcdim NOTES ON PE SKETCH OF ITS VEGETABLE, ANIMAL AND MINERAL PRODUCTS, i-'CR f^r^^ Compiled by order of the Perak Government, to accompany the exhibits sent by the State of Perak to the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886. LONDON : WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS, Limited, '^vxA.m anS puWisfiers to tfjE Hogal Commtssion, 13 CHARING CROSS, S.W., and at THE EXHIBITION. 1886. LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limitsd, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PACK Geographical Position and Features S History of the State . . 6 Native and other Races 8 The Aborigines, Malays, Chinese Form of Government, &c ii Agriculture and Vegetable Products 12 Rice, Indian' corn, root crops and vegetables, fruits, bark used in tanning, rattans, bamboo, cotton, sugar, coffee, tea, cocoa and betel nuts, indigo, tobacco, gambier and pepper, incense, camphor and dammar, india-rubber, gutta-percha Animal Products 19 Fisheries, birds' nests, bats' guano, bees' wax, &c. Geology 21 Economic Minerals 23 Tin, gold, lead, iron, marble, granite, china clay, brick earth, pottery Railway .... 28 Posts and Telegraphs 29 Roads and Public Buildings ....... 30 General 31 Weights and Measures 31 a 2 NOTES ON PERAK. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND FEATURES. The State of Perak is situated between the parallels of 3° 45' and 5° 29' north latitude and 100° 22^' to 101° 40' east longitude on the western side of the Malayan Peninsula, and is bounded on the north by Province Wellesley and Kedah, on the south by S^langer, on the east by Petani, Kelantan and Pahang, and on the west by the Straits of Malacca. The coast line is about 90 miles in extent, the greatest length of the State in a north and south direction is 120 miles, and the breadth, in an east and west direction, 90 miles. It is estimated to contain 7,949 square miles, or 5,087,597 acres. That is to say, it is about the size of Wales and Mon- mouth joined together. It has been estimated that there are on the mountain ranges of the State 1,451,770 acres above 1,000 feet elevation available for cinchona, coffee, tea, &c., and that between 1,000 feet and the plains there are 588,422 acres suited to lower cultivations, such as Liberian coffee, tea, cocoa, cardamoms, &c. The State is well watered by numerous streams and rivers, of which the River Perak is the most important. This river runs nearly north and south until it turns sharply to the westward and falls into the Straits of Malacca. It is navigable for about 40 miles from its mouth by steamers of 300 to 400 tons burden, and for another 125 miles by cargo boats. The upper part of the river is rocky and abounds in rapids, and consequently, except for small boats and rafts, is impracticable. The Kinta, Batang Padang, and the Plus are the three largest tributaries of the Perak River, and all are navigable by cargo boats. These rivers rise in the main mountain range and flow west and south un-til they fall into the parent stream. NOTES ON PERAK. Of the other rivers the Bernam, Binding, Bruas, Larut, Sape- tang, Kurau and Krian may be mentioned. The Bernam River is two miles wide at the mouth, and is navigable for steamers to a greater distance (about loo miles) than any other river in the Peninsula. Matang, on the Larut River, was, until the opening of the railway to Port Weld on the Sapetang River, the chief port of the District of Larut. The mountain ranges, which occupy a great portion of the State, reach in some places altitudes of 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and run mainly in a north-west and south-easterly direction. They form two principal chains, besides a few detached groups. The larger of these is a portion of the backbone range of the Peninsula, and forms the eastern boundary of this State. The ksser (of which the highest points are Gunong Bubu in the south (5,450) and Gunong Inas in the north) rises in the southern part of Larut and runs in a north-easterly direction through the State to its northern boundary. Between these two ranges lie the valleys of the Perak and Kinta Rivers, themselves divided by a still smaller chain of hills, the highest point of which is Gunong Meru, about 3,500 feet. The climate of Perak is good, the temperature in the low country averaging from 60° Fah. in the night to 90° Fah. in the heat of the day. The average mean is about 70° Fah. in the night, and 87° Fah. in the day. Nights are uniformly cool. At 3,000 feet the average is 65° Fah. at night to 73 Fah. in the day. The rainfall varies considerably, Taipeng, the capital, registering occasionally as much as 200 inches, but the average elsewhere is about 90 inches. There is no true rainy season, but the wettest months are September, October, November and December, and the driest are February, March, June and July. HISTORY OF THE STATE.* According to local native tradition the district of Bruas, on the coast of Larut, was the place where a Kingdom and Raja * From ' The History of Perak from Native Sources,' and ' The Dutch in Perak,' by W. E. Maxwell ; ' British Connection with Malaya,' by A. M. Skinner; 'Some Account of the Independent Native States,' by f'. a! Swettenham ; and ' The Singapore and Straits Directory.' NOTES ON PERAK. were first established in Perak. Temong, a few miles above Kuala Kangsar, on the Perak River, was afterwards the seat of government. Early in the sixteenth century, after the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese, and the flight of Sultan Mahomed to Johor, a Prince of the Royal line of Malacca and Johor established himself in Perak as Sultan, and the members of the Royal Family now living claim to be descended from him. In subse- quent years Perak was twice invaded by the Achinese, and rajas and chiefs were carried in captivity to Sumatra. One of these was a Perak Prince who was afterwards Sultan of Achin, and became famous under the name of Sultan Mansur Shah. About the year 1650, the Dutch established, by virtue of a treaty with Achin, a trading station on the Perak River, and acquired a monopoly of the tin trade, which even then was of some importance. In the following year their factory was attacked by the Malays, and the Dutch were cut off to a man. The Dutch trading station, though again established, was aban- doned several times, owing to the hostility of the Perak people. The Island of Pangkor, or Dinding, was, about 1670, occupied by the Dutch, but was abandoned in 1690, and their fort, of which the ruins remain to the present day, was blown up in the last century. The last Dutch station in Perak was on the Perak River, at Pengkalen Halban, some miles below the present town of Teluk Anson, but it was deserted in 1783, though resettled some years afterwards. The Dutch were finally ejected by the English, under Lord Camelford and Lieutenant Macalister, in the year 1795. Perak was subdued by the Siamese in 1818, but by a treaty between the East India Company and Siam in 1824, its inde- pendence under British protection was secured. From that time until 1874 there was little political communication between Perak and the British settlements in the Straits of Malacca. In the latter year, internal disturbances and piracy on the coast of Perak, which injuriously affected the neighbouring settlement of Penang and the coasting trade in the Straits of Malacca, were put an end to by the intervention of Sir Andrew Clarke, R.E., G.C.M.G., then Governor of the Straits Settlements. A British Resident and Assistant Resident were, at the re- NOTES ON PERAK. quest of the Sultan of Perak, appointed to aid in establishing and mainta/ining a proper administration, while their powers and other matters were determined by a treaty concluded at Pangkor on the 20th January, 1874. The first British Resident, Mr. J. W. W. Birch, was murdered by the Malays while bathing at Pasir Salak, on the Perak River, on the 2nd November, 1875. A force sent to apprehend the murderers was resisted, and it became necessary to bring troops from India and China to obtain redress and secure order in the State. All the mur- derers were arrested and punished ; but, as it was found that many of the principal chiefs had instigated or been privy to the crime, it was found necessary to banish the Sultan (Abdullah) and three chiefs to the Seychelles, while the ex-Sultan (Ismail) was sent as a State prisoner to Johor. Raja Muda Yusuf, son of a previous Sultan, was then created Regent of Perak, and in February, 1877, Mr. Hugh Low (now Sir Hugh Low, K.C.M.G.) was appointed British Resident of Perak, a post which he still holds. Since Sir Hugh Low's appointment there has been no dis- turbance of the peace, while the State has made remarkable advancement, the revenue rising from $300,000 in 1874 to $1,500,000 in 1884. NATIVE AND OTHER RACES. No census of the population has been taken, but the figures may be stated approximately at — Malays 60,000 Chinese .. .. .. .. ., .. ., 55,000 Tamils and other Indians .. .. .. .. 3 500 Europeans and Eurasians .. .. .. .. 200 118,700 The Aborigines.— Besides those given above, there are in the wilder parts of the State some tribes of the aborigines ; but no estimate of their numbers is possible. These people are called Sakais and Semangs. The Sakais are short, but the men are strongly built, and in colouring they are rather lighter than the Malay. When not artificially coloured a yellowish brown their hair is black, rather long and wavy, and stands out from the head. They can hardly be said to wear NOTES ON PERAK. any clothes, a strip of bark cloth and a few rude ornaments being all that they consider necessary. The blow-pipe, or sumpitan, with its small poisoned darts and rude bamboo pointed spears constitute their weapons. They have considerable taste in decorating these and the few simple utensils that suffice for their wants. Even bamboos in which they cook rice, and which are only used once, are sometimes elaborately decorated with incised patterns. Nearly every tribe (and they are broken up into many) has a dialect of its own, showing that intertribal communication is rare. In some parts of Perak the general appearance of the Sakais is not much unlike that of the Malays of the interior, for the latter people had been, up to the time of the arrival of the English in Perak, in the habit of making raids on these aborigines, and the captives taken became the slaves, and in the case of females the concubines, of their Malay captors. This custom, carried on for a long series of years, introduced a large admixture of Sakai blood into the Malay population. In consequence of the ill-treatment which these people have suffered from the Malays they are very shy, and avoid strangers with the instinct of wild animals. Malays are Mahomedans, and it was not considered a crime to kill an unbelieving Sakai, any more than it was to kill a dog or other animal ; this state of things existed down to about the year 1874 or 1875. The Semangs inhabit the country to the west of the Perak River, and are smaller than the Sakais, but are rather darker and more negroid in appearance, with close curly black hair. They use bows and arrows in addition to the blow-pipe. They are said to have no permanent abodes, and not to plant any rice or other grain, but to lead a purely nomadic life in the jungles, living on what they can kill with their weapons, and on wild fruits, leaves, and roots. They chew the green leaves of tobacco, but prefer cured tobacco when they can get it. Neither Sakais nor Semangs have any idea of a Divinity, but they have a strong belief in good and evil spirits. Malays. — Into the much contested question of the origin of the Malays it is needless to enter, but it may be safely affirmed that they are only colonists, who, at no very remote period. NOTES ON PERAK. settled along the shores of the Malay Peninsula,- and on the banks of its rivers. They are an indolent, contented, thriftless, unambitious, polite, and peaceful race, mainly the reverse of the sullen, revengeful, silent, and bloodthirsty Malay commonly portrayed in books of travel. That there are bad characters amongst them is not to be doubted, any more than that there are such in all other nationalities ; but that they are more frequent among Malays than other nations is certainly not a fact. Malays do not cringe to white men, they are very punctilious, and they are apt to treat rudeness or insult in a serious manner, which sometimes leads to bloodshed. On their part they are retiring before strangers, grave in manner, and courteous. Between Malays homicide can usually be traced to jealousy, though for a Mahomedan race they allow their women much liberty. The Malay population seems to be about stationary. Fami- lies of more than two or three are not very common, and owing to their singular want of medical and sanitary knowledge, the death-rate among them is high. It seems to be doubtful whether the Malays as a race are susceptible of much improvement in their own country. Cer- tain it is, that they have not taken a leading part in commercial and other pursuits, but have allowed, both here and in other parts of the Straits, the Chinese, Tamils, and other foreigners, to become the leading shopkeepers, merchants, miners, and agri- culturists. The lower classes are content with a bare sub- sistence, while the well-born Malay is too proud (and often, it must be confessed, too indolent) to work ; he has not the com- mercial astuteness of the Chinaman, but prefers to live by taxing his labour, while he despises the Tamil and mixed races. Chinese. — The Chinese, who now form about one-half of the entire population, are the real workers in the State, and without them it is difficult to see how the Government could be carried on. Nearly all the mining, and also most of the trade, is in their hands. The Customs, or as they are called the Revenue Farms, are also held by them. Boat, cart, carriage and house building and most other trades are carried on almost exclusively by the Chinese. But it is a NOTB.S ON PERAK. mistake to suppose that they are good workmen, for in point of fact they are not so. There is a want of thoroughness and finish in all that they turn out, that is very disagreeable to any one accustomed to English-made articles ; and the prices charged are out of all proportion to the quality of the work. If the climate would permit the employment of European artisans there is no doubt that there would be a good field in the Straits for really skilled workmen. Considering that the Chinese immigrants who come here, are as a rule of the lowest class, it is surprising with what ease they are kept in order, and what a small proportion of crime is committed. Life and property are as safe, perhaps safer, than in England.* FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The Government of the State is carried on by a Council of State composed as follows : — His Highness The Regent of Perak, The British Resident, The Assistant Resident, His Highness Raja Idris, C.M.G., The Datoh Temenggong, Raja Mahkota, Chang Ah Kwi, 1 Tan Ah Yam, J and a large staff of European and Malay officials immediately subordinate to the British Resident. The Resident is appointed by Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, and acts under the instructions of the Governor of the Straits Settlements. The revenue and expenditure for the past seven years is shown in the following table : — I Malay Chiefs ; Leading Chinese ; Revenue. Expenditure. 1879 .. .. $388,372 .. $369,707 1880 .. 582,496 .. 521,995 1881 .. 692,861 .. 652,938 1882 .. 905.385 .. 918,914 1883 .. .. 1,474,330 •• .. 1,350,610 1884 .. •■ 1,532,497 •• 1,481,470 1885 (estimated) .. 1,650,334 ■■ .. 1,600,115 * Written four months before the London riots. NOTES ON PERAK. In the past ten years all the debts of the State (amounting to about $750,000) have been paid, and at the present time the assets exceed the liabilities by about $600,000. All the ports ' of Perak are now free, except for an import duty on opium and spirits. The other principal sources of revenue are an export duty on tin, land rent, fines and fees of court, certain municipal taxes, and the receipts derived from a short line of railway. The imports for the year 1884 were valued at $6,047,693, and the exports for the same year at $S,393i995- The principal imports are opium, spirits, wines, cattle, horses and ponies, gambler, hardware, machinery, kerosine and cocoanut oil, piece goods, rice, pigs, poultry, salt, tinned and other provisions, roofing and flooring tiles, tobacco, bricks, cocoanuts, sugar. The specie brought into the State during 1884 amounted to $2,285,148. The main export is tin, of which 38,034 tons have been exported in the last 5 years. Other exports are : bees' wax, elephants' tusks, buffalo hides, rhinoceros and deer horns, gutta, rattans, nutmegs, attaps, timber and varieties of jungle produce, &c. The whole trade is carried on between the ports of the State and Singapore, Penang, and Malacca. AGRICULTURE AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. At the present time a comparatively small area is under agricultural treatment. This is accounted for by the thinness of the population (15 per square mile) and the ease with which the natives can get the necessaries of life, either by working occasionally in the mines, or cultivating a small patch of garden and rice land. The cost of living to a Malay is only about three to four pence a day ; and wages, which are governed in a great measure by the proximity to the chief mining districts, range from one to two shillings per diem. When wages are reduced, as they will be by a more extensive immigration of Indian and Chinese labourers, the cultivation of rice, sugar, pepper, tea, coffee, nutmegs, cocoanuts, ginger, cocoa, &c., will no doubt be largely carried on ; but now, when it is possible to earn in a day enough money to procure six days' NOTES ON PERAK. 13 food, it is not to be supposed that the Malays, who are naturally indolent to a degree, will turn their attention to the growing of produce, except for the supply of their own wants. Rice. — Rice is at present the staple agricultural product, and is planted in two ways ; it is called either hill, or wet, paddy, according to its situation. The growing of hill paddy is dis- couraged by the Government, because it leads to the destruction of large quantities of valuable timber, and spoils the land for any other purpose for seven or more years afterwards. Only one crop is taken from the land, and then it is allowed to grow up in jungle again. Wet paddy is grown on the plains, and by means of artificial irrigation the fields are kept flooded with water while the rice is growing. The ground is prepared by cutting the weeds, &c., on it, letting them dry in the sun, and then burning them off; the ground is next turned by rude wooden ploughs drawn by buffaloes, and the young rice plants (which have been raised in a nursery) are planted out in the fields by women and children. Manure is quite unknown in rice culture in Perak, and after several years' cultivation, fields are sometimes, but not necessarily, allowed to lie fallow for several seasons before they are planted up again. A paddy crop does not really take much out of the soil, because only the ears are cut, all the straw being left standing in the fields to rot and so manure the ground. In 1884 1,042,117 dollars' worth of rice was imported into Perak, against an export of the same valued at $138,452. The State is therefore spending $903,665 a year in rice, which ought to be grown on the thousands of acres of waste land now lying idle. This sum equals one-fourth of the value of the tin raised in the State. The encouragement of the culture of rice is therefore one of the most important subjects to which attention can be drawn. Indian Corn. — This grain is grown in considerable quantities, but it does not flourish to the same extent as in colder climates. It is rarely that more than two cobs are borne by one plant, and very often only one is produced. 14 NOTES ON P^RAK. The corn is mostly eaten by the Malays before it is ripe, the whole cob being boiled for that purpose. A few years ago some superior varieties of maize were intro- duced from America, but they have not done any better than those commonly grown here. Root Crops and Vegetables. — The former comprise sweet potatoes, yams, caladium bulbs, cassava, and several others. They are only produced in sufficient quantity to supply the local demands. Potatoes will not grow, except on the mountains, but the market is well supplied by those imported from India and Australia. Other vegetables, such as onions, cabbage, lettuce, beans, egg-fruit, cucumbers, vegetable marrows, pumpkins, &c., grow freely, but cabbages, radishes, carrots, French beans, tomatoes, asparagus, and other European vegetables can only be raised with care from imported seeds, and usually at a consider- able elevation. The natives eat many leaves and plants that they find in the jungle, but Europeans, with the prejudices which they have to unknown and unfamiliar dishes, rarely ever taste these vegetables and nothing has been done in the way of trying to improve by cultivation the most promising and delicate flavoured of the plants ; but, judging from what has been accomplished in Europe with many of our garden plants, there seems to be a fair field for investigation in this line, and a want which is now felt might be satisfied. Fruits. — Owing to the highly-coloured descriptions that travellers have given, tropical fruits are supposed by the great majority of English people to be far finer, richer and better in every way than those grown in colder climates; but such is not the case; and though Malayan fruits exceed English fruits in size and often in strength of flavour and odour, a strawberry, pear or peach is, in the judgment of Europeans, quite unequalled by any- thing grown in Perak. The two Malayan fruits that stand out prominently are the Mangosteen and the Durian. The latter has often been described, but its smell and taste are not to be put into words. Many people can never bring themselves to taste it but when once this repugnance, which is caused by the overpower- ingly offensive odour, is overcome a liking for it is almost sure to NOTES ON PERAK. 15 follow. Among Easterns of all nationalities, an insatiable craving for it seems to exist, and during the season those who own many trees live almost entirely upon the sale of durians. The owners build themselves little houses perched on high poles near the trees, and arrange strings with wooden clappers and other noise- producing instruments attached to them, to drive away the animals which, undaunted by the thorny covering of the fruit, would otherwise strip the trees. Bears and squirrels are the chief thieves, but Malays say that tigers are also very fond of the fruit. Whether this is a fact or not remains to be proved : but certain it is, that elephants, cattle, goats, horses, dogs and monkeys, eat them whenever they get a chance. The tiger is more probably attracted by the men and animals who seek the fruit. The price of the durian varies from is. 6d. in Singapore, at the beginning of the season, to 2d. or 3d. each in the country. In Mandalay, Burmah, as much as two or three rupees is paid for a durian. The mangosteen is a pleasant fruit, slightly acid, and with a delicate but characteristic flavour. When opened, the contrast between the snowy white of the fruit and the dark red or purple of the rind is striking and beautiful. The price is about a halfpenny each. Mangoes, langsats, machangs, tampunei, rambei, shaddocks, rambutans, pulisam, papaya, guavas, pineapples, dukus, tam- puei, bananas and plantains, water-melons, limes, oranges, jackfruit, custard apples, sweet and sour sops, are the principal remaining kinds of fruits that may be mentioned. The pine- apples and oranges are in most cases inferior to those which are to be had in England, and the mangoes are not to be compared with those of Bombay, Siam, or Manila. One great want is a fruit that will cook well, and make tarts and preserves. The pine, sour sop, banana, rambutan, the guava and the mango are the only ones that are available for this pur- pose, and Europeans have to fall back on tinned and bottled English fruits. The large sale of these last is a convincing proof of the inferiority of the much-praised tropical fruit. Bark used for Tanning. — Considerable quantities of bark under the name of Kulit Kdyu, i.e., bark, are exported from the mangrove swamps that line the sea coast of Perak. The trees 1 6 NOT£S ON PERAK. which produce it are species of the genus Rhizophora. The mangrove forests which cover these sea swamps are called B&kau by the Malays, and the bark Kulit bdkau. There are many other barks which are used for the same purposes, but they are not exported at present. Of these Samak- pfllut, Klat, Paga-inak, KuHm, Sabdnoh and Samak rftia are said to be the best for tanning. Rattans. — Canes are collected and exported to a moderate extent — 6,ooo dollars' worth are stated to have been exported in 1884. They grow wild, and no attempt has ever, as far as is known, been made to cultivate them, though there seems to be no reason why they should not be planted and give good returns. The word rattan is a corruption of the Malay " Rotan," the generic name for several species of cane. Many other Malay words, which have been adopted into English, have been similarly corrupted, for instance, Manggis into Mangosteen, Getah into Gutta, Orang-Man into Orang-outang, A mok into Amuck, and so on. When it is remembered that final k's in Malay are silent, it will be seen how much this last word has suffered in English lips. Rotan Samambu {Calamus Scipionum), is known as the Malacca cane, and is exported in considerable quantity for the purpose of being made into walking sticks. It is used locally for the handles of the baskets used in tin-mines, and the frames of rattan chairs. Many other kinds of R6tan are used as walk- ing sticks, among others Rotan mS,noh and Rotan Dudok may be mentioned. For other purposes, such as baskets, mat and chair-making, house-building, and the thousand and one uses that the natives put this plant to, R6tan Sega, R. Ayer, R. BS.tu, R. Sindek, R. Dahanan, R. Tiga Sagi, and many others are used. R6tan Sega, before the introduction of matches, was in great request from the comparative ease with which fire may be obtained from a strip of it by rapid friction round a piece of dry wood. The dye, " dragon's blood," is obtained from the fruit of Calamus Draco, called by the natives Rotan jernang, and is used by them in staining articles, such as the rushes of a bright red colour used in mat-making. . Bamboo. — This gigantic grass grows luxuriantly throughout the State. There are about twelve varieties cultivated, or rather AOTES ON FERAK. . 17 planted by the Malays, and about an equal number growing wild in the forests. Its uses, like those of the rattan, are so numerous that it is impossible to enumerate them all. They range from house-building materials to the principal ingredient in a bamboo curry, and the young tender shoots thus treated make an excellent dish. Cotton. — The tree- cotton {Gossypiuin arboreum) is grown to a limited extent in Perak, but nothing like systematic cultivation has ever yet been attempted here. Silk-cotton, the produce of Eriodendron aufractuosicm, is also grown in Malaya, and is largely used for stuffing mattresses, pillows, &c. A species of the genus Bonibax, also yielding silk-cotton, grows wild in the jungles, and attains vast dimensions. If produced in sufficient quantity, silk-cotton seems well adapted to form an ingredient in the better class paper, and the seeds, which contain a very large percentage of sweet pleasant-tasted oil, might be turned to some account. Sugar. — Sugar to the value of $254,852 was exported from the Krian District of Perak in 1884. Its cultivation has not been extended to the remainder of the State yet, but there is an almost unlimited quantity of land suitable for its growth on the Mangrove swamps bordering the sea, and on the slightly undulating lands adjoining. The low price that sugar now commands in the European markets has injuriously affected the production here, and has led to the closing of some estates. The sugar is produced almost entirely by the Chinese, who, in some cases, employ European engineers in the works, but a European Company is now making successful efforts to open a large estate on the Gula River. Palm sugar is made in small quantities from the Arenga Saccharifera, the cocoanut and other palms. Coffee. — In the gardens of the Malays, native coffee of very fair quality is produced, and on the experimental hill o-ardens, opened by the Government of Perak and private enter- B 1 8 NOTES ON PERAK. prise, the cultivation of both Arabian and Liberian coffee seems to be an assured success. The greatest difficulty hitherto has been the high wages, and an insufficient supply of suitable labour, but the Government has recently (under the new Indian Immigration Enactment) brought over some coolies from India under agreement to work at a much lower rate of wages, and the planting industry now offers investors a reasonable chance of fair profits. Only 2,163 dollars' worth of coffee was exported in 1884, but then the local market was also supplied, as none was imported. The berry is not always used by the Malays, but a sort of tea made from the roasted leaves of the coffee-bush is often pre- ferred by them for their own drinking. Tea. — This has only been grown experimentally as yet. There are about 50 acres of Assam Hybrid on the Government hill gardens, at elevations varying from 1,600 to 3,000 feet, and this is pronounced by competent authorities to be doing as well as any in Ceylon. The tea made from the leaves is also of good quality, but none has yet been cured or sent to market to try its value. There is fine land in the low country suited to tea cultivation, and what has been planted on the plains has grown most luxuriantly. Cocoa and Betelnuts.— Cocoanuts were exported from the Krian District to the value of $46,900 in 1884, but in the other districts the production was no more than enough to supply the local demands. Many young plantations will soon however be coming into bearing in Laroot and other places. Betelnuts (A reca catechu) are not produced in sufficient quantity to supply the wants of the State, but can be grown to any extent. Indigo — Is cultivated and manufactured by the Chinese in Krian, and in 1884, 2,591 dollars' worth was exported. It is used locally in dyeing the dark blue cloth that is almost universally worn by the labouring classes of Chinese. Tobacco, Gambier and Pepper. — All of these products are grown to a small extent by the natives and in sufficient quantities to show the suitability of the soil and climate to their cultivation. NOTES ON PERAK. 19 Nutmegs, cardamoms, patchouli, citronella, khus-khus, and lemon grass, flourish wherever planted. Several kinds of nut- megs and cardamoms grow wild in the jungle and are collected by the natives for sale. Incense, Camphor, and Dammar. — Incense trees are plentiful in some parts of the jungle. Large nurseries have been made of these trees, and many thousands of plants will soon be ready for planting out on the waste lands of Laroot. The Camphor tree is also said still to grow in some parts of Perak. Formerly it was abundant, but it has been almost exterminated by the collectors in the more accessible parts of the country. Gharu, or Eagle Wood, is also occasionally met with. Resin, known here and in the market as dammar, or damer, is produced by many kinds of trees. The principal are Damer mata kuching, D. Meranti, D. Laut, D. Degou, Damer Batu. The stone-resin is found in the beds of tidal rivers. India-Rubber. — There are to be found growing in the forests of the State, besides the well-known Ficus elastica, a tree which attains immense dimensions, several creepers belonging to or nearly allied to the genus Willoughbeia, which produce india- rubber of excellent quality. The collection of the gum has however been prohibited, as it was feared that the trees and plants would be exterminated if the ruthless destruction so long practised by Malays was allowed to continue. The South American Caoutchouc-producing trees, Hevea Braziliensis and Manihot Glasovu, have been introduced into Perak, and have grown into large trees of 40 to 50 feet in height, although they are only now four or five years old. ANIMAL PRODUCTS. These are not important at the present time : the natives having little or no idea of raising or improving stock. The cattle are as a consequence few in number, of inferior quality, and for the most part imported. Buffalo hides were exported to the value of $2,932 in 1884. B 2 NOTES ON PERAK. A small quantity of elephants' tusks and rhinoceros' horns were also exported. Fisheries. — Malayan waters, both salt and fresh, contain many excellent fish, such, for instance, as the red and grey mullet, the pomfret, bldnak, pasir, slangin, lidah, tengah, and kUh. A considerable trade is done in salt fish ; 46,932 dollars' worth being exported in 1884. Dried prawns and blachang (an odoriferous condiment made of decomposed prawns) were also exported to the extent of 29,791 dollars. Sharks' fins, a delicacy much relished by the Chinese, are pro- cured in a quantity that shows how unsafe the seas of this neighbourhood are. 7, II 5 dollars' worth offish-maws, which are used by the Chinese in the manufacture of soup, were exported in 1884. Birds' Nests. — In the caves of the limestone hills, the swallow {Collocalia linchi, Hors.) builds its much sought-after edible nests. Up to the present time, however, these nests have not been collected in the State, except by the Sakais in Upper Perak, to a small extent. This neglect seems to be attributable to the apathetic indolence of the Malays, and possibly to the fact that the nests are but few in number, and of inferior quality. Bats' Guano ( Tahi Klawer). — To the same caves, enormous hosts of bats resort in the daytime to sleep, and as a con- sequence, the floors of these caverns are lined many feet thick with their excrement. As yet these stores of manure have been almost untouched ; but the guano is not rich in nutritive properties. Bees'-wax, Honey and Lac, or Lak.— Are collected in small quantities. Bees have not yet been domesticated in Perak, nor has any attempt been made to cultivate the trees on which the lac insect is found in the jungle, though both subjects seem well worthy of attention. NOTES ON PERAK. GEOLOGY. Of the Geology of Perak little is at present known. There are few exposures of rock, and no cuttings or mines in the proper sense of the term, and almost the whole country is covered with dense impenetrable forest : so that the difficulties in the way of acquiring exact information are very great. The forma- tions that have been observed are granite, gneiss and quartzites, slates, sandstones, clays and crystalline limestone, quaternery deposits, including river gravels and beds of clay, sands and tin- bearing drifts. Between the crystalline limestone (which from its position and from the apparent total absence of organic remains, may be assumed to be of great age) and the quaternery deposits, there is a vast gap in time, which has sufficed in other countries for the formation of the whole secondary and tertiary series of rocks. The question naturally arises : Have these rocks or any of them been formed and subsequently removed ? or has this country remained dry land for all these countless millions of years } At present no certain traces of the action of the sea have been found, and it need not be said that the sea always leaves such a wealth of organic remains, that there can be little doubt in respect of any rock which has been formed by its agency. It is not yet clear whether the limestone is older than the beds of clays, slates, and sandstones, or the reverse. No exposure has yet been examined by a geologist where a junction of these rocks is visible. The only evidence at present is a specimen of rock obtained from such a junction, and it seems to point to the greater age of the slates ; but of course it is hard to judge from a small specimen. The tin-bearing drift is distributed sometimes over limestone, and at other places on clays, slates, sandstones, or granite ; so that no deduction can be drawn from its position. The main ranges of mountains are composed almost exclusively of granite. Small hills and the spurs of some of the ranges are formed of slates, sandstones, and clay. These latter formations may "be from several hundred to perhaps two thousand feet in thickness, but nothing is definitely known on this point yet. NOTES ON PERAK. The limestone forms ranges and isolated hills of from a few hundred to one thousand feet in height. All the palaeozoic rocks have been much distorted, tilted, and altered by the upheaval of the granitic ranges, and it seems probable that heat action has indurated those portions of the limestone which yet remain scattered over the country ; other- wise it is hard to conceive why small isolated masses of rock of 1, 800 to 2,000 feet in thickness should have withstood the denuding action of water, while for miles around there is no trace of the formation of which they were once a part. But, presuming some such hardening action to have taken place, and remembering the vast ages which have elapsed since the forma- tion of these rocks, and during which erosion has taken place, there is no difficulty in understanding the appearance they now present. In Kinta, fragments of water-worn trap-rock are often met with in some of the tin workings. They were first noticed in 1883, and specimens were forwarded to the Perak Museum at that date. A little later, when cutting a road near Papan, a section of the rock itself was exposed. The only other evidence of volcanic action yet brought to light, is a small patch of trap, which occurs on a spur of granite hills between Changkat Serdang and Kurau in Larut. There are several hot springs in the State, and one visited in Upper Perak had a temperature of between go and 100° F., and smelt strongly of sulphuretted hydrogen, the water having a bitter taste. This spring rises through a greenish-grey compact trans- lucent silicious rock, which has probably been deposited by the spring's own action. Similar rock has been found at hot springs in Kinta, and does not appear to have been met with where such springs do not exist. A sample of the water not having been examined,- no reliable idea can be formed of its properties ; but the natives believe that its use will cure rheumatism and diseases of the skin. These springs are much frequented by elephants, rhinoceros, and other wild animals. One of the most important geological facts in regard to Perak which has come to light up to the present time is the evidence of a recent subsidence of the coast line to the extent of 105ft. or more. NOTES ON PERAK. 23 A short time ago a boring was made to a depth of 105 feet at Matang, about eight miles up the Laroot River, and a section was made from it, which shows that within quite recent times an important alteration of level has taken place. The ground at that place is six feet above the present high-water mark. Down to a depth of 17 feet from the surface, the formation is marine, but below that, beds of sands, clays, and gravels, with leaf bands and pieces of wood, are met with, of the same nature as the drift near the hills, and containing a small quantity of fine tin- sand ; these beds extend down to a depth of 105 feet and probably much further. It therefore appears that there has been a subsidence of at least 105 feet since the deposition of the tin-bearing drift of Laroot. An alteration of level of this extent must have made most important geographical changes in the configuration of the Straits of Malacca ; and the fact may help to solve some of the problems connected with the distribution of the flora and fauna of this interesting locality. In the first 17. feet of marine deposits there were found 16 species of molluscs, all identical with species now inhabiting the sea of the coast. In the remainder of the bore, no animal remains were discovered. According to Malayan tradition, some small hills near the mouth of the Perak River, which are now some miles inland, were formerly islands. This points to the rapid formation of the sea-swamps subsequent to the depression of the land ; and to the comparatively recent date of this change of level. ECONOMIC MINERALS. Tin. — The principal product by Perak is tin, and it was the presence of this metal which first attracted Chinese to the State. Disputes with reference to the possession of mines ensued, followed by bloodshed and failure of the Malay chief to preserve his authority. An appeal was then made to the British Government for assistance, and the present system of Protection established by treaty. Since that time (January 1 874) the revenue has increased seven-fold ; the export duty on tin contributing most largely to that result. The ore is found in" the form of " stream tin.'' 24 NOTES ON PERAK. The output of tin from Larut, the principal field, has risen from a monthly average of 54 tons, in 1874, to 629 tons, in 1884. The total output in the latter year for the whole State being 10,190 tons, valued at 13,640,924. Almost all the tin has been raised by Chinese miners with the most primitive appliances, and although, no doubt, much metal has been and is still lost by the imperfection of their methods of working, yet at the same time, owing to their inexpensive system and the lowness of the wages paid to the overseers, &c., land, which would not pay Europeans to work, has given Chinese a profitable return. The tin fields of Larut, which may be taken as typical of those of the rest of Perak, form a strip of land of from two to three miles broad along the base of a range of granite moun^ tains. These alluvial flats are composed of layers of clays, sands, and gravels, with beds of peat, containing the stumps of trees and fallen tree trunks, marking former swamps and levels of the plain. The tin-bearing stratum rests on a stiff gray or white clay bottom, and varies in thickness from a few inches to six or eight feet, and even more. Sometimes the stratum is divided by a layer of clay. The whole of the plains are composed of the detritus of the granite and the paleozoic slates and sandstones which form or have formed the ranges of hills. The tin is not evenly distri- buted over the plains, but is found to follow the lowest parts of the clay bed, or, in other words, the beds of the ancient rivers. The tin-sand is, as a rule, coarse-grained near the hills, and finer as it recedes from them. No lodes have as yet been discovered in the State, but speci- mens have been found which show that there must be large and rich veins near some of the present workings ; one block of tin ore now in the Perak Museum weighing 1 84 lbs., and larger ones have been found in the same mine. The method of working the mines is to remove the earth covering the tin-bearing stratum. This is what is called the " over burden " or " stripping," and varies from three or four to thirty feet in thickness. The work is usually done by contract in the Chinese mines. NOTES ON PERAK. 25 The tin-bearing layer called the " wash dirt " is then raised to the surface and washed with a stream of water in long wooden coffin-shaped boxes. The tin-sand being more than twice as heavy as the clay and gravel with which it is mixed, stops in the upper part of the box, while the lighter parts are carried away by the stream of water. The tin-sand is re-washed by hand in large wooden dishes, and is then sold to the smelters. The wash contains about one to two per cent, of ore as an average. There are portions of it which contain sometimes as much as twenty-five per cent, and on the other hand, very poor parts which hardly pay for the trouble of washing. The shifting and raising of the earth in the mines is all done by digging with large hoes called changkuls, and the earth is then filled into baskets, two of which are carried by each man by means of a yoke or stick over his shoulder. The water is pumped from most of the mines by Chinese overshot water- wheels, and endless chain pumps. In the larger mines steam-engines are used in conjunction with centrifugal pumps. The Chinese mines are worked on the truck system : all food and other necessaries being supplied by the mine owners or money advancers. Some mines are carried on which could not pay if the profits from the sale of food, &c., to the coolies did not come into the advancer^' hands. The commonest arrange- ment is called the co-operative system, where all the coolies have a share in whatever profit is made after repaying the advancers' loans, and settling with him for the value of food and other supplies. The tin-sand after being re-washed is smelted in rude wind furnaces, charcoal being used as fuel. The loss of tin is rather high in the poorer class of ores when treated in these Chinese furnaces, and the slag is several times re-smelted ; but it seems very problematical whether this loss is sufficient to ensure success to European smelters, when the first cost and working expenses of both systems are taken into con- sideration. This question is now being tested, as costly smelting works have been erected in Larut and Kinta, but it is too early to form any definite idea of what will be the result. Should the 2 6 NOTES ON PERAK. European methods be found to pay, the Chinese are too keen as men of business not to adopt them, and they will always be able to work at cheaper rates than Europeans can. The real difficulty, however, is that a large quantity of ore is required to keep this expensive machinery working, and in the purchase of that ore the European will find himself heavily handicapped. Gold. — Upper Perak and Batang Padang produce a limited quantity of gold. It is associated with the tin-sand in the alluvial drifts, as a rule, and the tin-sand is re-washed to separate it. There are no statistics to show the amount of gold that has been raised up to the present time ; some of the tin-sand gives as much as 6 ozs. to the ton, and some " wash " recently examined gave 7 dwts. per ton. Some quartz leaders showed as much as 132 ozs. of gold per ton of rock, but nothing has been done to prove the extent of the lode. It would be undoubtedly a calamity to the State if a rich gold field were discovered, because it would cause an influx of the most dissolute and lawless class of Europeans, and the effect would be, as it has always been in other countries, most de- moralizing on the native population. Lead. — Galena of very good quality has been found and worked in Petani, and should the territory which is claimed by Perak be restored, a large amount of lead may be confidently expected to be raised. Carbonate and phosphate of lead are also found in consider- able quantities. The galena is said to carry a paying percentage of silver. Iron. — Ores of this metal are to be had in many parts of the State, but would not pay to work, as there is no coal, notwith- standing what has been stated to the contrary by writers of books of travels. No diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or other precious stones, have yet been discovered in Perak. Marble. — There is an abundance of fine marble scattered over the State, some of it very handsomely veined with grey, red, and black, some again is nearly black, veined with white, NOTES ON PERAK. 27 while other kinds are mottled with different shades of greys and olive greens, and in Kinta there is some pure white marble. In many places the limestone mountains are near navigable streams, and there would be no difficulty in rafting down any quantity of the stone to the coast for shipment, if a market for it could be obtained. In Penang and Singapore, the houses of the wealthier classes are largely decorated with marble, which is now all imported from China. At present the only use which is made of the inexhaustible supply of this handsome and valuable material, is the conversion of a small quantity of it into lime at Gunong Pondok. The lime is of good quality, but, like all lime made from marble, is in the form of powder, and is therefore hard to burn, and in- convenient to transport, though not more so than the shell lime, which is generally used in the Straits Settlements for building purposes. When quarries are opened, as they are sure to be sooner or later, it will be possible, with a liberal use of this beautiful and lasting material, to vastly improve at moderate cost, not only in Perak, but in Penang and Singapore, the present class of un- attractive buildings. Granite. — The granitic ranges of which so large a portion of Perak consists afford an unlimited store of this useful stone. The granite that is worked near Thaipeng and at Bukit Gantang is of a grey colour, and rather large grained. It is quarried for road- making, Blake's crusher being used to reduce it ; blocks are also cut for building purposes, culverts, and landmarks. The work is principally carried on by convicts, a quarry having been opened near the gaol at Thaipeng, with a tramway running into the gaol yard, where the rough blocks of stone are dressed. China Clay. — In most of the tin fields of Perak the stratum underlying the " wash " or tin-bearing deposit, is pure white China clay or kaolin. There must be many millions of tons of this material in Perak, but it is doubtful if it could be worked with profit, on account of the cost of transport to Europe. If Chinese potters could be in- duced to start works here, a large trade might be carried on with 28 NOTES ON PERAK. such fine material to work upon, and white fire-bricks could be made of the refuse. Bricks are made from the same stuff in Cornwall, in the China clay works, and sell for a high price, being used both as fire and as ornamental building bricks. Brick Earth. — Plenty of good brick clay is scattered over the country, and the material for making fire-bricks is also to be had in abundance, as mentioned above. Vejry fair bricks are now made in Perak, and sell for about $7 per i,ooo ; but they are small, and like everything of Chinese manufacture, they are susceptible of great improvement ; and when the clay is weathered, well mixed, and moulded, and the bricks are equally burned, they will be of excellent quality. Tiles have not yet been made here, but there is no reason why they should not be. Pottery. — The manufacture of pottery is confined to the Malays, and is only carried on in a small way in two or three districts. It is mostly unglazed, or only glazed on the lower part. Some of the shapes are very graceful. The patterns are pressed into the work by means of stamps, and tools are used to pro- duce dots and lines. Raised work is also employed in decorating the ware, being put on in strips after the vessels are formed. Stamped raised work does not seem to be employed. RAILWAY. In 1 88 1, a trial cutting was made between Port Weld (then known as Sapetang) and Thaipeng, the chief town of Laroot, a distance of eight miles. The jungle was felled, and the line commenced the following year. Owing to the unstable character of the ground, which consists of sea and fresh-water swamps, with a little solid ground at the Upper or Thaipeng end, vast quantities of earth have had to be taken down from Thaipeng to make the embankment, and the line has proved much more difficult and costly than was at first anticipated. The line, which is of metre gauge, was opened for traffic on the ist of June, 1885, and the Port is now within half-an-hour's journey NOTES ON PERAK. 29 of the principal town of the State. It will remain to be seen whether rice and other provisions can be profitably carried by rail to, say, the tin-mining districts of Kinta, and the tin brought down to the coast, at a cheaper rate than is now paid. In those districts where there is no river transport, this might be possible, but in those more favourably situated it seems doubtful. This, of course, only applies to the financial side of the question ; but what would be considered a failure, if the line belonged to a private company, might be a success as a State undertaking, for many places which would not pay under present conditions, could, with cheap transport, be profitably worked for tin, and the increased yield of metal might produce directly and indirectly sufficient revenue to more than justify the outlay for the construction of a line. POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS The following return of the covers which passed through the Post Offices in Perak during the last four years will show what rapid strides the country is making. 1881 17,327 1882 65,035 1883 102,963 1884 160,328 Money Orders were issued from the Perak offices to the amount of $3S,ooo in 1884, payable in India, Ceylon, and the Straits. Post Office Orders are not yet issued in Perak for pay- ment in England. Until the year 1884, the only telegraph Hnes in existence in the State were those running between Matang, Thaipeng and Kuala Kangsa, a total distance of twenty-six miles. These lines, which met at a place called Simpang, were in a most defective state as regards insulation and resistance, and from their peculiar arrangement were most difficult to work. In August of 1884, a new line was opened to Krian, following the main road. This line has iron tubular posts, and white double invert insulators and No. 6 galvanised iron wire. The Matang and Kuala Kangsar branches have also been divided so as to form two separate lines. A line has been laid to Port 30 NOTES ON PERAK. Weld from Thaipeng, following the railway, and the line to Krian has been extended to Kuala Prai in Province Wellesley and thence to Penang by cable, so that Perak is now in direct communication with the Eastern Extension Submarine System. Another extension of 45 miles will be finished before the end of 1885, from Kuala Kangsar to Kinta ; and further sections — Tapa to Lower Perak, 24 miles, and Kinta to Ulu Bernam, 100 miles — ■ will be completed next year. Twenty-one thousand, seven hundred and eighty messages were sent over the Perak lines in 1884. ROADS AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Roads. — A great deal of road construction and river clearing has been done in the last ten years. Excellent metalled carriage roads connect Teluk Kertang, Matang, Taipeng, Kamunting, and Kuala Kangsar, while from this last centre 50 miles of bridle road has just been completed towards the northern limit of the State; about 50 miles out of 1 50 miles contracted for, to join Kuala Kangsar with the eastern boundary at Ulu Berman, is finished, and the remainder will be constructed next year, as well as a branch of 24 rriiles from Tapa to Teluk Anson. These roads are all graded to nothing steeper than i in 20, and will be converted into cart roads as the traffic justifies the increased expenditure. An unmetalled cart road runs from Simpang on the Matang- Thaipeng road across the railway to Krian and the western boundary of the State at Parit Buntar ; the Krian District also contains many miles of similar roads. Other short sections of cart and bridle roads have been con- structed in many parts of the State. Public Buildings. — A large number of important public buildings have been constructed in the various district head- quarters, but the principal buildings are erected at Thaipeng, the capital of the State. Of these, the following may be mentioned — the prison (where permanent wards on the separate system are now under construction), hospitals with accommodation for 1,000 patients, barracks for the Perak Sikhs, markets, police NOTES ON PERAK. 31 stations, court-house, treasury, post, and other Government Offices. A permanent library and museum has just been commenced. Water-works supply the town of Thaipeng, the gaol, hospitals, and other buildings with excellent water in ample quantity. GENERAL. '" General. — The military police force of Perak is nearly 1,000 strong; about eight-tenths of the rank and file are natives of Northern India, and the rest are Malays. The officers are British, holding, or who have held, commissions in Her Majesty's army. The force is thoroughly armed and drilled, and possesses a number of Field and Machine Guns, in the use of which the Artillery section is thoroughly efficient. The Thaipeng detachment furnishes a fire brigade. Thaipeng and other various district towns are well lighted. The State has five steam launches, available for police, survey- ing, and general service. An experienced botanist is engaged on a careful examination of the Perak Flora, and the result of his researches will in due time be published. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The Weights and Measures used in the State of Perak, and, more or less, throughout the Straits Settlements, are of the Malay and Chinese origin. The measure of length is based on the Depa, which is the span of the arms when outstretched horizontally. The subdivisions are the hasta, the forearm or cubit, and the jenkal the span of the hand. The Depa is now taken to be the equivalent of the fathom or 6ft., but the original Malay unit seems to have been from sft. sins. to 5 ft. 6ins. Linear Measure. 1 Jenkal 2 „ = I Hasta .. = 9 inches. 18 „ 2 Hasta 2 Ela 2 Depa 20 Jemba = I Ela .. = I Depa .. = I Jemba .. = I Orlang.. .. = I yard. I fathom. 4 yards. 80 „ 32 NOTES ON PERAK. The English foot is also in use among carpenters, builders and others, and is called Kaki ; inches, iiichi ; and eighths, hun. It will be noticed that some of th^ terms in these tables are used to designate different measures. The orlong, for instance, is used as a linear, and also as a superficial measure, and the Pikul is used as a weight, and as a measure, in the same way as we use the ton as a weight and measure, and the pound as a weight and coin. Land is measured by the orlong, which is 40 Depas, or 240 feet square. Its contents and subdivisions are shown by the following figures : — Superficial or Land Measure. I Square Depa .. .. ., .. = 4 „ „ . = I Jemba = 100 Jemba .. .. =1 Penjuru = 4 Penjuru .. .. =1 Orlong = 36 square feet. 144 •, 14,400 „ 57,600 „ Contents of an Orlong. A. Rd. Pis. sq. feet. I Orlong .. .. = .. I I 11 1551 „ ■• •• -. = 1,600 square Depa, or fathoms. „ •• •■ .• = 6,400 „ Ela, or yards. „ ■ • .. = 57,600 „ feet. „ ^ 132,231-44 „ links. One orlong is roughly one-fourth larger than an acre, but the constant 75625, or the reciprocal 1-3223144, will convert orlongs into acres, or the reverse, with exactitude, and of course the re- spective planting distances, manure, drainage, crop, etc., may be found by the same figures. The unit of weight is the Chinese Kati, which is equal to 9,333'4 grains troy, or one avoirdupois pound and a third. The constant -75 or reciprocal 1-334, will convert weights expressed in English avoirdupois pounds and ounces into pikuls, katies, and tahils, or the reverse. The following table gives the weights in use, with their corresponding equivalents in English and French weights. I Tahil .. = li oz. avd. = 37 '805 gramme 16 „ .. = I Kati = i|lb. » = 60-488 Deca „ 100 Katies . . = I Pikul . = 133* „ „ = 60-488 Kilo „ 3 Pikul .. = 1 Bhara . = .400 „ „ = >8i-465 „ „ 40 „ .. = 1 Koian = 5333i „ = 2,419-528 „ „ NOTES ON PERAK. 33 Chinese opium weight is based on the Kati, but the divisions are more refined than in the avoirdupois weight. Grs. Troy .. = 5'83 • • ■■= 58-33 .. = 583-33 ■• = 9333'4 Malay gold and silversmiths' weight is said to be based on the saga as an unit. The saga is the bright red seed of one of the acacias. These seeds on an average weigh 47 grains troy. I Hun ,. 10 Hun = 1 Chi 10 Chi .. = I Tahil 16 Taliil = I Kati I Saga 12 ,, =1 Maiam 16 Maiam = 1 Bungkal 12 Bungkal = i Kati Grs. Troy = 4-334 52 = 832 = 9984 281-97 Milligrammes. 3' 38 Grammes. 54-13 64*96 Decagrammes. The Gantang is the measure of capacity in use in the State of Perak ; its subdivisions and multiples are given, in the following tables, with their equivalents in English measure : — ■ 1 Pau 4 Pau 4 Chupak 10 Gantang 2 Para 40 Pikul 4 Chupak 10 Gantang 10 Naleh 5 Kuncha grills. pts. I Chupak I Gantang I Para = 9 I 7 I 95 I6-I 6| 63 I Pikul .. = 18 2 nh I Koian .. = 733 2 n\ Dry Measure. I Gantang I Naleh .. galls. = 9 pts. 7 I OZS._ 6f 6| I Kuncha = 92 6f I Koian .. = 460 1 I3j As there does not exist any standard measure in Perak, the equivalents here given are the average of a number of measures now in use. It is intended to adopt the English imperial quart as the standard from the ist January, 1886. Perak, \si Novmnber, 1885. L. WRAY, JUN. Curator, Perak Museum. LONDON : PRINTED BV WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.