0?i the Climate, Productions, fyc. of Singapore. 153 



in the ordinary sense of the word, although there is a manifest dif- 

 ference between the months corresponding to our winter and sum- 

 mer months, the winter months being more wet and the summer 

 months more dry than at other times. 



It is now about twenty three years since the island was settled 

 by the British, and the population already amounts to about forty 

 thousand. This population is composed chiefly of Malays and 

 Chinese. The settlement is in every respect in a thriving con- 

 dition. New roads are making around the island and into the 

 interior. New streets are opening and new buildings going up in 

 all parts of the town. In some directions as you ride along, you 

 might imagine yourself in one of our new western settlements, 

 from the vigor with which the agriculturalist is clearing and cul- 

 tivating the land. 



The investment of capital in agriculture, by Europeans, was 

 retarded for a long time by the uncertainty which existed as to the 

 terms on which the government would sell or let out the land. 

 But this difficulty has been removed to a great extent within two 

 or three years, by the adoption of definite regulations on the sub- 

 ject, putting the land at low rents on long leases. None of the 

 land is sold by the government, in fee simple, but is let out on 

 leases for a term of years. 



Nutmegs, coffee and sugar are the principal products of the 

 plantations of. Europeans, while gambir, pepper, siri, betel-nut, 

 and vegetables, are the products of the native farms. The clove 

 was formerly cultivated with the nutmeg, but it is not much at- 

 tended to now. It is regarded as more troublesome, less produc- 

 tive for the time being, and less durable than the nutmeg. 



The nutmeg is usually planted on the hills or rising grounds 

 in the vicinity of the town. Being a handsome tree, and usually 

 set out with great regularity and carefully cultivated, it is contin- 

 ually adding to the beauty of the place. The trees, if well at- 

 tended to, usually begin to bear fruit pretty well by the seventh 

 or eighth year, and are said to go on increasing in value for many 

 years. After the trees begin to bear well, say by the tenth year, 

 they are said to yield a very large return on the capital invested. 

 It is also said that should the price of nutmegs in commerce 

 diminish one fourth, or even one third, that they would still 

 afford a fair return. The trees are generally set out from twenty 

 to thirty feet apart in the quincunx order, with the view of hav- 



Vol. xliv. No. 1.— Oct.-Dec. 1842. 20 



