馬來吉打州北半部,盡是廣大的原野,自然賦與了農耕的優良條件,這裏才成為馬來亞穀倉。原始肥沃的土壤,曾經替耕者增加不了少財富。但土地畢竟也像人體一樣,經不起長期的剝蝕和消耗,必須加以滋補的養料,然後才能保持其健强的生殖率,於是肥料一項,顯出在農作上的重要性來了。亞羅士打市的北面,約六英哩處,有一個土丘,遠遠地看去,它的形狀彷彿一隻大象,所以就稱它為象嶼。這土丘,高度不超過四百呎,長約二英哩,浮面是一層極薄的石皮,石皮下面是‘雀糞土’(即用以為肥田料者)。挖掘這些雀糞土以為生活的勞工,現在有一百多個,販賣這些雀糞土以為生活的两家,现在有幾十戶,依靠這些雀糞土來保持耕地的生產力者, The northern half of Malaya Kedah is full of vast fields, naturally endowed with the fine conditions of farming, here to become a Malayan barn. Primitive fertile soil, who have increased for the tiller wealth. However, after all, the land, like the human body, can not withstand long-term erosion and depletion. It must be nourished and then maintain its strong reproductive rate. Therefore, the importance of fertilizers to work on the farm comes. About six miles north of Alor Setar, there is a mound that, viewed afar, is shaped like an elephant, so it is called an elephant island. This mound, no more than four hundred feet high and about two miles long, has an extremely thin layer of stone skin on the surface of the earth. There are now more than a hundred laborers digging for these muddy soil and living there. There are now dozens of people who sell these muddy soil and live there. Now there are dozens of laborers who depend on the soil to keep cultivated land productive.