Ch. XVI.] COPEEE-PLANTING. 267 



ment was the appearance of a small red beetle, which proved 

 very destructive to the pod. 



The same gentleman made a trial of planting CoiFee 

 (Coffea Arabica), and spent and lost many thousands of 

 doUars by the unthankful experiment. It has also been 

 attempted by others without success ; and a company formed 

 for that purpose failed. Here again the causes of failure 

 are chiefly natural ones, of the same kind as those already 

 aUuded to. The coffee-plants require shelter ; and the 

 indiscriminate cutting down of the jungle had left the coun- 

 try entirely open, and no shade could be obtained. Then 

 the irregularity of the seasons prevented the plants from 

 attaining that perfection which otherwise they might have 

 done, while the uncertain rains were a further source of 

 injury to the crops. The flowers might be in promising 

 profusion, when a heavy shower would suddenly fall upon 

 them and destroy two-thirds at one blow. Another difficulty 

 which interferes with this and other cultivation is the com- 

 paratively high price of labour. Anything which requires 

 much manual labour in the preparation is sure to languish 

 at Singapore from the difficulty of persuading the Malays 

 to work for any consideration ; and the Chinese are the 

 only people who can be induced to undertake laborious 

 occupations. 



This last cause has been mainly influential in preventing 

 the cultivation of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). 

 This tree, with very little care, grows beautifully in 

 Singapore, and would doubtless prove a source of wealth 

 were it not for the great expense of the manufacture. 

 The various and tedious processes which the bark has 

 to undergo in its removal and preparation cost more than 

 the spice will fetch in the market. In other cinnamon- 



