3^3 



For this opening of what was unremunerative forest and its con- 

 version into remunerative estates, the Federated Malay States have 

 to thank the first Head of the Botanic Gardens of Singapore, Mr. 

 MURTON. Other Coffee plants were also introduced experimentally 

 by the Botanic Gardens. 



Cape Coast Coffee, by Mr. MURTON, in 1875, Maragopie Coffee 

 and a Mauritius variety Caf'Nain by Mr. CANTLEY in 1882 and 

 Coffea bengalensis. 



Of these most have dropped out of cultivation from one cause or 

 another, but usually because they did not fruit as well as the Liberian 

 Coffee. Maragopie Coffee, however, is still sometimes asked for 

 though it never seems to have been really disease-proof or come up 

 to what w r as claimed for it. 



Coffea stenophylla was introduced in 1 895 from Kew, and distri- 

 buted as quickly as might be to the Coffee planters. A small berried 

 Coffee of very high quality and fruiting well, it would probably 

 have been largely planted, but for the rise of Rubber cultivation 

 shortly after its discovery. One of the first trees received was given 

 to Mr. W. W. Bailey of Klang, who tended it carefully, and with 

 much pains and skill produced the grand hybrid between it and 

 Liberian Coffee, of which Dr. Treub, the Director of Buitenzorg 

 Gardens, stated on seeing it that it would entirely revolutionize 

 Coffee-growing. 



During 1900, Coffea Laurentii robusta^ a very handsome Coffee 

 bush, was introduced. It has hardly had a fair trial as yet, but at 

 present it appears in the Gardens to be a most floriferous plant, but 

 not fruitful enough to please the cultivator. 



Nyasa-land Coffee was introduced in 1902, Angola Coffee, a varie- 

 ty of C. arabica and Zanzibar Coffee, in 1904. 



Chocolate. — The first record I have of the cultivation of Chocolate 

 in the Peninsula is the mention of a tree in a garden in Malacca by 

 KOENIG, in 1779. It is next mentioned in the Life of Sir STAMFORD 

 Raffles as one of the trees planted in the ground round the Govern- 

 ment House in 18 18. THOMSON writing in Logan's Journal in 1850. 

 says that there were a few trees in Singapore at that time. It 

 seemed to be scarce, however, and Murton reintroduced it in 1877, 

 and supplied Perak with plants in 1879; about 1880, a series of the 

 best Trinidad varieties was introduced to the Singapore Botanic 

 Gardens and some of these plants are still fruiting at the present 

 day. 



At one time there was a good demand for Cocoa plants and seed 

 and a considerable number were distributed to various planters. Very 

 little success, however, has attended the cultivation of this plant here. 

 The soil of much of the Peninsula is too poor for it, and it suffers 

 very much from the attacks of fungi and vermin, perhaps worse 

 from the raids on the fruit made by squirrels (tupais) and civet cats, 

 and consequently it has never been a popular plant here. The tree 

 however, often grows and fruits well and fine pods have been fre- 

 quently shown from the Botanic Gardens trees and from the gar- 



