98 



The ground of the waterfall valley had been a quarry and was 

 covered with lalang and huge blocks of stone giving it a most hope- 

 less appearance and an immense amount of labour was required to 

 get it into the semblance of a garden. But Mr, Curtis was a man 

 full of energy and skill as a landscape gardener and was not to be 

 daunted by difficulties. In a surprisingly short time, the lalang was 

 exterminated, the stones removed, the stream bridged in several 

 places, plant houses and ponds made, and an extensive collection of 

 rare and beautiful plants made. 



Meanwhile, during his excursions in the forests of Penang, the 

 Dindings, Perak and Lankawi, he collected specimens for the herba- 

 rium, and for the Garden, and the great number of plants associated 

 with his name attest to his success in this direction. He possessed 

 indeed the greatest skill not only in discovering but in importing 

 alive and cultivating plants worthy of the admiration of all lovers 

 of nature. A garden for trees was also formed by him at Kubang 

 Ulu in Province Wellesley, chiefly for roadside and forest trees for 

 planting out in the province, in 1887, and proved very useful for some 

 time, but was at length abandoned. 



The experimental nursery towards the fbp of the Government 

 Hill was intended for attempting to acclimatise European fruits, 

 olives, apples and peaches ; lemons and many other trees were planted 

 there, and the last two mentioned produced good fruit. The olives 

 formed large bushy trees but did not fruit. It was found, however, 

 that Ithis altitude, rather over 2000 feet, was not high enough for 

 European fruits and this little garden was not kept up beyond 1898. 

 At the top of the Hill was a small garden where flowers and vegeta- 

 bles were cultivated for the use of people occupying the Governor's 

 bungalow. Peas, leeks, kohlrabi, new potatoes, carrots, etc., were 

 grown here with great success, although the available space was 

 small and all manure had to be carried up by hand. Roses, carna- 

 tions and other European flowers were also cultivated here, and 

 numbers of Burmese orchids were planted on the trees. 



The waterfall gardens soon became the admiration of all visitors 

 to Penang, and Mr. J. H. Veitch, of Messrs. Veitch and Sons, in his 

 '* Traveller's Notes," written in 1896, gives an excellent account of 

 what he saw in his visit there, a description too long to reprint. Axel 

 Preyer, in his Indo-Malayishe Streifzuge, published in 1903, says "Der 

 Garten ist zwar nur klein aber gut gehalten und zeigt in seinem Orchi- 

 deen und Palmen charakterische formen der Malayischen Flora, Auch 

 die Gauze Anlagc un Englischen Parkstil gehalten bietet reisvolle 

 Bilder." 



1 he soil of the gardens was poor and sandy, but in spite of such 

 difficulties many fine and rare trees and shrubs were successfully 

 grown, while the plant houses beautifully kept and stocked with 

 indigenous and exotic plants were highly admired. In one spot 

 grew probably the biggest GrammatophyUum spedosm/i in cultivation 



