140 Statistics of Xuti/ie^s. 



Settlements the cultivation is extending very largely, and the 

 production, of course, keeps pace with it. It was only in the 

 beginning of the present century that nutmeg planting was 

 introduced into Pinang, a number of spice plants having been 

 imported from Amboyna by the East India Company.* The 

 Government, after some time, sold their gardens in which 

 they had planted the clove and nutmeg trees, but the culti- 

 vation would appear to have made little progress at first, as, 

 in 1810, we find that there were only about 13,000 trees on 

 the island, a few hundreds being all that were in bearing. 

 In 1818, the number of bearing trees had increased to 6900. 

 In 1848, there were 75,402 trees in bearing, and 111,289 not 

 in bearing, besides males, and 52,510 in nurseries. The cul • 

 tivation has been steadily increasing since that date, and the 

 greater part of the trees then planted out, but not bearing, 

 must now be yielding fruit. The number of bearing trees in 

 Province Wellesley, in 1843, was 10,500, not bearing 7307, 

 besides males, and a number in the nursery. The total num- 

 ber of nuts produced by the Pinang and Px'ovince Wellesley 

 trees, in 1842, were 18,560,281, and 42,866 lb. of mace. 



Nutmeg trees were first inti'oduced into Singapore in 1818. 

 In 1843, the total number of trees were estimated at 43,344, 

 of which 5317 were in bearing, the produce being stated at 

 842,328 nuts. In 1848, according to the table given by Dr 

 Oxley,t the total number of trees planted out was estimated 

 at 55,925, of which, the numbers in bearing were 14,914, and 

 the produce 4,085,361 nuts, besides mace, which is estimated 

 about 1 lb. for every 433 nutmegs. In Singapore, the culti- 

 vation is extending very rapidly. The inci'ease does not take 

 place gradually, but every now and then. When some person 

 with capital enters upon it, it seems to receive a large impe- 

 tus, the example set by one appearing to incite others to em- 

 bark in it. In one district in Singapore this has been very 

 apparent. The district of Tanglin, in the beginning of 1843, 

 consisted of barren-looking hills, covered with short bnish- 

 wood and lalang, which had sprung up in deserted Gambia 

 plantations. Immediately upon the regulations for granting 



* Low's Dissertation on Pinang and Province Wellesley. 



t .T'lurnal of tlie Indian Archipelago for October 1848. 



