579 



AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



No. 12.] DECEMBEE, 1908. [Vol. VII. 



ANALYSIS OF SOILS IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS 



SINGAPORE. 



We are indebted to Mr. C. Kelway Bamber for the following 

 analysis of soils in the Economic Gardens Singapore. The samples 

 were especially selected from certain spots in the gardens, with a view 

 of eliciting a comparison of those of the low damp ground on which 

 the rubber trees grow well, with the hilly parts, which for a long time 

 had been exposed by cultivations in past years and deprived of most of 

 their humus. 



Soil No. 1, was taken from the rubber plantation near the main 

 entrance gate of the Economic Gardens. The ground is low lying and 

 has water always at a foot or a foot and a half below the surface. It 

 appears to be the remains of a silted up river, originally tidal, as close 

 by nipa fruits are still to be met with at no great depth. The soil is 

 full of remains of old trees, which presumably grew there later, and it 

 was probably a thick forest. In early days of the settlement it ap- 

 pears to have been cleared, and cultivated with indigo by the Chinese 

 till 1884 when it was taken over by the Gardens Department. The 

 sample taken was from the vicinity of the big tree No. 2 figured in a 

 previous number of the Bulletin. 



No. 2, is taken from a hill of rather poor soil and somewhat rocky 

 with masses of laterite scattered through it. Here rubber trees were 

 planted some years ago, and they are now fine well grown but rather 

 short stout trees feathering to the ground. In some parts of this slope 

 plants like Hibiscus rosa sinensis have not grown at all well. 



No. 3, is rather low lying and somewhat sandy a considerable 

 quantity of sand being formed close by, rubber has done well here. 



No. 4, is a clayey slov with little humus. It has been long ago 

 cleared for Chinese cultivation, chiefly orchards, and then grew up in 

 secondary jungle. This was cleared off in 1890, and planted as 

 an arboretum. Lalang was very abundant and many leguminous trees 

 here have made very slow growth. 



