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throw light on the history of the cultivation and introduction of 

 plants, as far as I could procure from these various sources. 



It must be remembered, however, that this article is not a review 

 of the work of the Botanic Gardens Department, but merely a review 

 of that part which relates to the development of agriculture in the 

 Colony and the Federated Malay States. The introduction of new 

 and useful plants, their propagation and dispersal to whatever place 

 they could be of use, forms but a small part of the work, extensive 

 though it is. In a properly organized Botanic Garden, experiments 

 have to be made not only with the plants which have proved suc- 

 cessful but also with a larger number of plants which may prove 

 failures. Before the Botanic Gardens were founded, planters lost 

 money, often to a large extent, by introducing and attempting to 

 cultivate plants highly recommended as valuable crops in other 

 countries, but which were complete failures in this country. MURTON, 

 for instance, mentions that, before his arrival in the Colony, much 

 time and money was wasted in an attempt to grow the Prickly 

 Comfrey, Symphytum tuberosum, a native of the Caucasus, as a fod- 

 der plant ; utterly unsuited for this country it failed. Hundreds of 

 other plants, possibly suited for this country, and of considerable 

 value, if successful, have been at different times introduced, and 

 failed to grow satisfactorily. Thus several attempts were made here 

 to grow the opium poppy, and seed was distributed to all parts of 

 the Peninsula. It failed to stand the wetness of this climate, but 

 though the experiment was not successful it was of the utmost 

 importance that it should be tried, for the knowledge that a plant of 

 economic importance will not thrive in this country is of nearly as 

 much importance as the knowledge that it will prove successful. 

 For, in these cases, if no profit can be made on the plant, still, there 

 is no need that any money should be thrown away on it, as was too 

 often the case formerly. 



Again, the researches in propagation, cultivation and preparation 

 of different vegetable products, the study of the Botany of the coun- 

 try, of the various insect and fungus pests, and the means of com- 

 batting them, and the immense mass of correspondence with planters, 

 merchants, enquirers of all sorts, form no small items of the work of 

 a large Botanic Gardens Establishment, none of which labours can be 

 gone into in this paper which simply deals with one branch of the 

 various works of the Botanic Gardens, viz., the part which it has 

 played in the introduction of the more useful plants of cultivation. 

 But it may be mentioned that since the foundation of the Botanic 

 Gardens to the present day, the Federated Malay States have 

 enjoyed the benefits of all these various works of the Colonial Gar- 

 dens fully as much as the Colony itself has. 



Our first records of what was cultivated in the Malay Peninsula 

 dates from the close of the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese 

 were occupying Malacca. At that time and for centuries later 

 what are now known as the Federated Malay States were entirely 

 uncultivated trackless forests, as also were Singapore and Penang. 

 iney produced nothing but a little jungle produce and tin and gold. 



