2 



plants or stools of high class timbers, showing clearly that the 

 first class timber was formerly plentiful but has all been extract- 

 ed, yet an ordinary observer would never guess that the wood- 

 cutters had b<-en at work here. As the laroer higher class timber 

 trees such as Kranji, Balau, Serayahs, &c. seldom fruit till they 

 are of very large size, the constant selection of practically all the 

 fruiting trees eventually completely exterminates them, as there 

 is no possibility of their reproducing themselves. The same re- 

 marks apply to other jungle produce such as Gutta Percha and 

 Rattans. In Pahang, near Pulau Tawar, I noticed that the rattan 

 thickets, which were very dense, consisted almost exclusively of 

 Dce7iionoi ops crinitus, as a rule, a rather uncommon rattan and I 

 found that this was considered bv the Malays as valueless. The 

 district being fairly po ; . ulous and rattans in request, the natives 

 had practically exterminated the useful kinds bv taking the long 

 stems before they had fruited, so the reproduction of these was 

 impossible. In the same way Gutta Percha, though widely scat- 

 tered over the Peninsula, was so persistently sought for and all 

 trees big enough to fruit invariably cut down, that the plant ran 

 a great risk of being absolutely exterminated, had not means been 

 taken lately to protect and encourage the growth of the plant. 

 Among the trees which have suffered most in this way are such 

 valuable ones as Kranji, Chengai or Penak, Tampinis, Damar- 

 laut and Balau. Though these trees appear to have been abun- 

 dant enough to be used formerly in building, they have practically 

 disappeared altogether from the Singapore sawmills, and are 

 replaced by inferior timbers mainly obtained from Sumatra, Rhio, 

 and Banca, and other Dutch islands. Chengai valued for boat- 

 building is replaced by Penaga and Champedak Aver. Tampinis 

 one of the most indestructible woods formerly used for beams in 

 houses is replaced by Balau and other inferior timbers, and even 

 Jelutong which some years ago was considered good for nothing 

 but clogs, models and such work is now worked up into planks 

 as a substitute for Serayahs. Much of the timber also to be seen 

 in the sawmills has a very large proportion of sapwood which is 

 cut into rapidly perishable planks, for the bigger trees having 

 been mostly used up, young trees are now constantly felled which 

 have but little heartwood. Formerly these trees would not have 

 been cut at all in the forests, but left till they had more fully 

 developed. 



Forests. — The trees in the South of the Peninsula are almost 

 entirely ever-green, that is to sav, the leaves are shed at no regular 

 intervals but a few every few days, some remaining on the boughs 

 for a very long time. A few trees are deciduous, suddenly shedding 

 all their leaves, rerraining bare for a day or two and then bursting 

 out again into leaf. The deciduous trees are chiefly some species 

 of Ficus, Lagerstrcemia, Termina/ia, Cratoxylon, Parishia, Pero- 

 nema, and a few others. 



Besides these, a number after shedding a large proportion of 

 leaves, but not becoming bare, throw out a large number of fresh 

 shoots the leaves of which are often coloured blue, red or white, 



