296 



He was also a botanist and collected plants and made drawings 

 of them which are now in the British Museum. Cinnamon and 

 Pepper were also planted in Penang about this time, and from 1803 

 to 1820 there was a great development of the spice cultivations 

 which continued till i860, when the destruction of the Nutmeg trees 

 by disease, especially in Singapore, checked the cultivation. In 

 Penang, however, the cultivation never died out as it did further 

 South, but passed into the hands of natives, who maintain it to this 

 day. ' The descendants of Smith's trees still produce^ the most 

 valued Nutmegs and Cloves in the world. Gambier was introduced 

 in Penang, in 1807, but it was cultivated to a much larger extent 

 in the mainland. 



Thus things remained till Sir STAMFORD RAFFLES, in 18 19, 

 founded Singapore. He was one of the few people in those early 

 days who realised the importance of agriculture, and of introducing 

 new and valuable plants. He introduced Nutmegs and Cloves to 

 Singapore as early as 18 19 and planted them as well as Cocoa, in 

 the first Botanic Garden in Singapore, in 1823. 



He writes to MARSDEN, in January 31st, of that year, "I am lay- 

 ing out a botanic and experimental garden," and to Dr. WALLICH 

 (February 8th), "The Botanic Garden goes on well, I am now 

 employed in laying out the walks, and stones are collected for a 

 handsome hand railway round it" (Memoirs by his widow, pp. 535, 

 537). This garden was on the slopes of Fort Canning which was 

 then the Governor's residence. A gardener named DUNN had 

 arrived in Singapore previously in 18 19, with letters of recommenda- 

 tion from RAFFLES and a supply of spice-plants. 



BUCKLEY, in his Anecdotal History of Singapore, Vol. I, p. 74, 

 states that Botanical Gardens were established and that Dr. Wal- 

 LICH was appointed Superintendent, and that RAFFLES gave him 

 48 acres more land for the Gardens and Government House ground, 

 and a grant of 48 acres was given from the Government House 

 garden in 1 822 to the Superintendent and his successors to the 

 North-East of the hill. This, as will be seen from RAFFLES' letter 

 above quoted, is incorrect. The Gardens were commenced in 1822; 

 Dr. WALLICH, though he doubtless took much interest in the Gar- 

 dens, was not Superintendent of it, strictly speaking, as he had only 

 come down from Calcutta to recuperate after his Nepal trip and 

 returned to Calcutta, January, 1823. RAFFLES left Singapore in 

 June of the same year. WALLICH seems to have promised to send 

 a Superintendent for the Gardens from Calcutta, but it is not cer- 

 tain whether he did so. The monthly vote for the up-keep of the 

 Botanic Gardens then was 60 dollars. As happened with so many 

 of RAFFLES' plans for the development of the Colony, the Gardens 

 seem to have been neglected as soon as he retired and were 

 abolished altogether in 1829 by LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK, the 

 Governor-General, a man who seemed possessed with the mania of 

 retrenchment. Ten convicts, however, were employed to keep the 

 ground in order (Buckley, p. 206). I have been quite unable to 

 find any trace of this Garden now. 



