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Botany of the island. 

 Soil of the island. 



SINGAPORE. 



Ride outside the town. 

 Mode of conveyance. 



inhabitants, and are to be known by their red and 

 black sashes, and turbaned heads. Without the 

 precincts of the town, a regiment of Sepoys, six 

 hundred strong, and officered by Europeans, is sta- 

 tioned. These are to be seen habited like English 

 soldiers, in close-bodied red coats, than which a 

 more inappropriate dress in such a climate as this 

 can scarcely be imagined. 



The island of Singapore is composed of red clay, 

 sandstone, and in some places granite. The locality 

 of the town appears to have been a salt-marsh, 

 with a narrow strip of rocks and sand near the 

 beach. In consequence of its rapid increase, they 

 are beginning now to fill up the low ground 

 with the surplus earth taken from the surround- 

 ing hills. 



The highest point of Singapore is called Buhit 

 Tima, and does not exceed, it is said, five hundred 

 feet in elevation. Although this height is but 

 seven miles distant from the town, I was told it 

 has never yet been visited by a European and sel- 

 dom by natives, on account of the obstructed nature 

 of the intervening country; there are a few small 

 fishing or piratical establishments (the two names 

 are synonymous here, for when the people are not 

 engaged in the one, they are in the other), on the 

 north and west end of the island. The length of 

 the island is twenty-seven miles, and its greatest 

 breadth is fifteen. It is divided from the peninsula 

 by the old strait of Singapore, so long followed by 

 navigators, for reasons it is now difficult to surmise, 

 when the short, wide, and safe channel was open 

 to them, which is now altogether used. 



The botany of Singapore is far from being 

 thoroughly known, notwithstanding so many scien- 

 tific expeditions have visited it; nor is it likely to 

 become so very soon, infested as the woods are 

 with tigers. It is remarkable that before the 

 island was inhabited, tigers did not exist in it, 

 although there were great numbers of them in the 

 peninsula opposite; and it is said that they have 

 only made their appearance here within the last 

 six or seven years. Indeed, one of the reasons as- 

 signed for its selection, was the absence of this 

 ferocious animal, and of the wild elephant. It is to 

 be presumed, therefore, that the tigers come in 

 search of food, by swimming over the narrow straits. 

 Some fifty persons have been killed by them within 

 the last two years, within two miles of the centre of 

 the town, and two hundred in all are reported as 

 having become victims to these beasts. Criminals 

 and thieves were formerly in the habit of escaping 

 to the woods or jungle, but of late years this has 

 not been attempted by them. 



The government, in consequence of the attacks 

 of tigers becoming so frequent, and of the jungle 

 being so much infested by them, offered a premium 

 of one hundred dollars for every tiger's head that 

 should be brought in. This induced large parties 

 to hunt them; but since the government have re- 

 duced the reward to fifty dollars, this daring busi- 

 ness has not been followed; not, however, from any 

 scarcity of the animals, for they now frequently 

 seize men working in the immediate vicinity, but 

 because the sum is too small to be an equivalent for 

 the risk and trouble. 



The soil of the island is a stiff yellow loam, in 

 which the nutmeg, coffee, black pepper, chocolate, 

 and gamboge (garcinia), grow to a great extent. 

 The three first appear to be particularly well 



adapted to the climate and soil. The cultivation 

 of sugar is attended with success. Captain Scott is 

 planting the durian, which, independently of its 

 fruit, yields a timber highly valued for ship-build- 

 ing. This gentleman has left numerous forest trees 

 standing on his plantation, many of which are of 

 large dimensions, being full one hundred feet in 

 height. These consisted chiefly of species of 

 quercus, myrtacese, melastomacese, and rubiacese. 

 The undergrowth is almost impenetrable, on ac- 

 count of the vast number of creeping plants which 

 intertwine and clasp around the trees. Two spe- 

 cies of nepenthe (pitcher-plants) were found in the 

 swamp, which were preserved and brought to the 

 United States. 



Fruit seemed to be very abundant, and it is 

 said, that there are one hundred and twenty 

 kinds that can be served as a dessert: among these 

 are pine-apples, mangosteens, melons, bananas, 

 oranges, &c. The pine-apples are remarkably 

 fine, and not in the least acid; in proof of which, 

 they do not turn the knife black in cutting them, 

 and to eat them is considered wholesome at all 

 hours. The season for this fruit was just coming 

 in at the time of our arrival, and large boat-loads 

 were seen lying at the quay. They are usually 

 planted along the roadside, and though, when 

 small, rather stiff-looking, yet when full-grown and 

 in bearing, they are a pretty object. Of all the 

 plants we saw, the nutmeg requires and receives 

 the greatest care. The trees are planted in or- 

 chards, and while young have a sort of arbour 

 erected over them, to protect them from the ver- 

 tical rays of the sun. 



The gambeer (nauclea) also claims much of the 

 attention of the cultivator: it is a low-sized tree, 

 or bush, of no beauty. Its bark is used for tanning, 

 and it is said to be the most powerful astringent 

 known for this purpose. It is to be seen in the 

 shops in the form of a powder, of a reddish brown 

 colour. We did not learn how this was prepared, 

 or how it was used: it appears, however, to be in 

 great demand. It is occasionally used by the 

 Chinese, with their betel-nut, of which there is a 

 great consumption here, although it is not sold in 

 the streets, as at Manilla; but quantities of the 

 nuts are seen for sale in the market. From the 

 leaves also a powerful astringent is obtained by 

 boiling. 



The gamboge tree is also cultivated here, but 

 more extensively on the shores of the straits than 

 at Singapore, and is a very considerable article of 

 trade. 



The ride outside of the town to the hills is plea- 

 sant, passing through plantations loaded with fruit, 

 and the air at an early hour of the morning is 

 filled with a spicy fragrance. The vivid green of 

 the woods and grass is also remarkable, and con- 

 tinues throughout the whole year, for scarcely a 

 day passes but a refreshing shower falls. The 

 roads are thus kept free from dust, and at all times 

 in good order. The usual mode of conveyance is 

 in a palanquin, which is capable of containing two 

 persons. The cooley, or Hindoo who attends his 

 horse, usually runs by the side of the palanquin, 

 and seldom tires. The charge for one of these 

 conveyances is a dollar, whether for a whole or a 

 part of a day, and a douceur is paid to the cooley 

 according to the time he has been employed. The 

 palanquin is a very convenient vehicle, and its use 



