307 



Tamarind. — Tamarindus indicus no doubt found its way hero 

 many years ago but whether regarded as a dye, drug, or condiment 

 the local supply is furnished by Indian bazaars. 



Cola acuminata and C . vera. — The Cola-nuts were introduced in 

 1 88 1 and not soldom sent to the Native States. Cola acuminata 

 has been cultivated for many years in Johore and Negri Sembilan, 

 and has fruited well in both places. There are, however, only a few 

 trees scattered about the Peninsula. 



Brucea sumatrana, "Kosam," was first obtained by Dr. Wallich 

 in Singapore, where it still exists in a wild state, though very scarce 

 owing to the ground it inhabited being built on. It had practically 

 disappeared from the Colony when MURTON reintroduced it from 

 Hongkong, in 1875, and I reintroduced it again from Pahang in 

 1890; since then, considerable attention has been called to it as a 

 drug for dysentery and a large number of plants were propagated 

 in the Botanic Gardens, and seeds distributed in 1901 to all the 

 District Officers in the Federated Malay States (although the plant 

 is quite common in the Federated Malay States) and elsewhere, and 

 a quantity sent to India and other parts of the empire. Reports 

 of experiments made with it have already been published in the 

 Bulletin. 



Ocinium viride, the " Mosquito-plant," obtained a great noto- 

 riety in 1903 as a deterrent of Mosquitos in Central and West 

 Africa. The Botanic Gardens Department, having several valued 

 correspondents in Tropical Africa, had no difficulty in getting two 

 lots of seeds within a couple of months of the publication of the 

 supposed use of the plant. These were cultivated and seeds from 

 them were distributed to all parts of the Malay States and elsewhere 

 in six months. 



The plant proved useless, but the rapidity with which the plant 

 was obtained, propagated and freely distributed all over the Penin- 

 sula illustrates the value of building up and keeping up an extensive 

 correspondence with all parts of the world. It is said that another 

 Botanic Garden, less fortunately supplied with correspondents, only 

 obtained 12 seeds from a dealer at a high price by the time that the 

 plant was being distributed in quantity all over the Peninsula. 



Coca, Eryihroxylon Coca and E. novo-granatense, was first in- 

 troduced by MURTON in 1875, an( ^ several forms at a later date. It 

 grows with great ease and rapidity, and being very prolific is very 

 quickly propagated. It has been supplied to a large number of 

 estates in the Malay Peninsula, and is now scattered about every- 

 where. The demand for the leaf is small, however, and the plant is 

 so readily grown that it is seldom really remunerative. 



Cinchona. — The Quinine trees were introduced by MURTON in 1878, 

 [Cinchona officinalis), (C. calisaya) in 1879 as well as other species. 

 Sir HUGH Low also procured C. succirubra from India, and tried 

 it at the Hermitage, Waterloo Estate, and on Thaiping Hills. The 

 result, however, proved a failure. The plants grew to bushes, seeded 

 freely and on the Thaiping Hills became naturalized, but failed to 



