AND THE MALAY STATES 69 



temperature in the shade is from 80 to 85 F. The rainfall in Singapore 

 and the Malay States is from ninety to two hundred inches. The city 

 is under excellent control, the buildings in the business portion being 

 quite imposing, and the harbor, with its magnificent fortifications, most 

 excellent. The visitor at once notes the strange mixture of races that 

 place their impress on architecture, business, and modes of life. The 

 naming of the streets is an example of this. For instance, there is 

 Victoria Street and Bukit Timah Road, together with Orchard Road 

 and Teluk Blangah Road, and so on. 



After morning coffee, I took another ride through the crowded, 

 barbaric, festering, native quarters, and had my eyes opened to many 



FIELD OF PARA RUBBER ("HEVEA"). 



[In Singapore Botanic Gardens.] 



i 



things. The European and business parts of the city are really very 

 fine, and, except in the heat of the day, quite comfortable. It was not 

 the rainy season, yet heavy showers came up almost every afternoon, 

 and although it was cooler in the evening it was still hot and damp, 

 and few of the hotel people showed much energy. Nor did they take 

 any especial interest in the wants of their guests. No time tables were 

 obtainable, nor was it possible to discover from the clerks anything 

 about the departure of trains, the sailing of steamers, or the time when 

 the postoffice would be open. They were not in the least discourteous, 

 but simply weary and vacuous. 



