29$ 



resins and other vegetable products, which is now in the Botanic. 

 Gardens Museum. He left in 1 875. 



In 1875, Mr. A. J. MURTON was appointed Superintendent of the 

 Botanic Gardens, and shortly afterwards Mr. Walter Fox, his 

 Assistant. Mr. MURTON remained in charge till 1879. He intro- 

 duced a large number of useful, as well as ornamental, plants into 

 cultivation, mcluding Para Rubber, Castilloa, Cera Rubber, Liberian 

 Coffee, Ipecacuanha, and very many other plants. He also studied 

 the local flora, especially giving his attention to Gutta-Percha and 

 the wild rubber vines Willoughbeia, and made botanical excursions 

 into Perak and Kedah, during one of which he planted the first 

 Para Rubber trees in Perak in Sir (then Mr.) Low's garden at 

 Kuala Kangsa and at Teluk Anson. 



In 1880, Mr. MURTON was succeeded by Mr. N. CANTLEY, who 

 continued the excellent work begun by Mr. MURTON, and in 1884 

 managed to add to the Gardens a large piece of land known as the 

 Military Reserve, which was forthwith converted into the Economic 

 Gardens. This land, covered to a large extent with scrub, and some 

 Chinese vegetable and Indigo gardens, was a valuable acquisition 

 as the original Botanic Gardens were far too small for the propa- 

 gation of the useful plants required for the Colony and the Native 

 States which were now beginning to develop. 



Although the funds available for opening up this part of the gar- 

 den were not large, good progress was made. Numbers of new and 

 useful plants were introduced and those previously introduced were 

 extensively propagated and dispersed to various parts of the Peninsula 

 and elsewhere. Mr. CANTLEY published also a list and account of 

 the Economic plants under cultivation in the Gardens, a good deal 

 of his time also was taken up in framing the Forest Department 

 and experimental planting of timber trees. Mr. CANTLEY died in 

 Tasmania in 1887 and was succeeded in 1888 by the present Direc- 

 tor (H. N. Ridley). 



During Mr. CANTLEYS' superintendence, the present Botanic Gar- 

 dens of Penang were founded and put under the charge of Mr. C. 

 CURTIS in 1884. These Gardens were not only ornamental but 

 supplied a considerable number of useful plants to planters in other 

 pa.ts of Penang. and Mr. CURTIS made also many important con- 

 tributions to our knowledge of the cultivation of Rubber, Gutta- 

 percha, Sugar, and other useful plants. He retired in 1903. 



The small gardens of Malacca at Bukit Sebukor were founded in 

 1886, on ground presented by a Chinaman, on condition that it 

 should be converted into a garden, and should revert to him if the 

 garden was given up, which happened in 1894, when the Govern- 

 ment abolished the Garden. The Malacca Garden was under the 

 superintendence of Mr. Robert Derry. The use of this Garden 

 was simply to supply local requirements in shade and fruit trees and 

 other useful plants necessary for the inhabitants of Malacca, which 

 work it did very well, but besides this experi ments were carried out 

 by the Superintendent on Castor Oil, fibre plants, Mauritius hemp, 



