268 



EAMBLES OF A NATUEALIST. [Ch. XVI. 



producing countries, as in Ceylon, these processes are per- 

 formed chiefly by children, who, of course, are paid at so 

 low a rate as to render the preparation remunerative ; but 

 in Singapore the population is not large enough for this ; 

 and expensive adult labour only is procurable, and that 

 with some difficulty. 



The Sugar-cane (Saccharum officinarum), on the other 

 hand, has failed from natural rather than economic causes. 

 The chief obstacle to its cultivation is the poorness of 

 the soil, which can only be remedied by adding plenty of 

 manure ; and when this source of additional expense is 

 added to the high price of labour, considerable margin is 

 subtracted from the profits. Still, with abundance of 

 manure, the sugar-cane thrives extremely weU; but now 

 another natural cause steps in and neutralises the result : 

 this is the rain, the uncertainty of which, or rather the con- 

 stancy of which, is a serious obstacle. The saccharometer, 

 instead of registering 11° in the sweet juice, is sometimes 

 reduced to 7^° after rains, which appear to dilute the sap 

 and deteriorate the produce. In a plantation ready for 

 cutting, perhaps 50 acres may be got down one day and of 

 good quality ; and then a heavy rain comes before the rest 

 can be cut ; and this proves to be of considerably inferior 

 quality. 



The late Mr. d'Almeida was the first to call the attention 

 of the pubhc to the substance now so well known as Gutta- 

 percha. At that time the Isonandra gutta was an abundant 

 tree in the forests of Singapore, and was first known to the 

 Malays, who made use of the juice which they obtained by 

 cutting down the trees, and which, when collected, they 

 boiled and purified. Mr. d'Almeida, unacquainted with 

 England and its institutions, and acting under the advice of 



