251 



fell to him and let the records fall into an incomplete state, so that 

 corroboration for the statement cannot be found in Ceylon. In the 

 second place the Kew records, which must be supposed accurate, 

 show that Kew had not 100 plants from Cross' collection in a con- 

 dition fit to send, and has recorded no such sending. In the Kew 

 Bulletin, 1914, p. 164, Sir David Prain writes, that of the l,o8o seed- 

 lings without soil which Cross deposited at Kew, on November 23rd, 

 1876, 680 were sent to Mr. William Bull, the horticulturist, (and their 

 condition on sending is carefully recorded) whereof he saved 14 ; and 

 400 were retained at Kew, whereof 3 per cent, were saved alive. 

 Thus about 26 plants alone remained of Cross' collecting ; and after 

 recording this the Director of the Royal Gardens says, that there is 

 no entry in the Kew archives which can be interpreted as implying 

 that any of the saved plants ever grew strong enough to be sent to 

 Asia. 



It seems then that the accepted origin of our Singapore trees, 

 viz., the plateaux over the Tapajos is correct ; and not only is this 

 so, but all seeds and seedlings subsequently obtained from Ceylon 

 to augment the Singapore Gardens' plantation were no more than 

 of the same stock ; for Ceylon also had no other. 



Thwaites, Director of the Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, in 1876, 

 following a lead given by Kew found means of increasing his supply; 

 for he discovered that he could take cuttings from the seedlings, by 

 using the side branches ; and it has been recorded that in 1878 and 

 1879 he raised and distributed a large number. Mr. Fetch {Annals 

 of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, v., 1914, p. 460) asks, how- 

 ever, whither went the 1500 plants from the original stock whose 

 disposal in unrecorded unless they were sent out with (or as) cuttings ; 

 and it is evidently possible that the Conductor of the Heneratgoda 

 plantation packed and despatched original stock, Thwaites living at 

 a distance being under the impression that cuttings were going out 

 and recording the despatch as such. Moreover Mr. Fetch quotes a 

 statement made by Trimen in 1881 to the effect that propagation by 

 cuttings was "extremely difficult and that out of many thousand 

 attempts a very small number" had "succeeded," which throws 

 doubt upon the raising of such large quantities of cuttings as 

 Thwaites' despatches would demand. It is recorded that he sent 500 

 of these cuttings (we may substitute the word plants for cuttings) 

 to Mergui, a few to Ferak, and others (but without success resulting 

 in cultivation) to Madras, Calcutta and Assam. A few years later 

 cuttings (? plants) were sent to the Andaman islands. 



The same method of propagation was tried in Singapore and 

 at Kwala Kangsar, but with small or no success (vide Annual Report, 

 Botanic Gardens, Singapore, for 1 878, p. 3; for 1 879, p. 4; and for 

 1881, p. 4). 



The following table gives the early wanderings of Hevea ia 

 Asia: — 



