and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society,— May, 1912. 



DYSENTERY 



is common in this climate. The 

 treatment is absolute rest in bed and 

 a diet restricted to MILK ONLY. 



473 



GREEN BUTTERFLY 

 BRAND 



Contains no sugar, is sterilised, pure full cream, and being 

 homogenised mechanically, is the BEST procurable, and 

 has saved many lives. C Always insist on Fussell's. 



REPUTATION means REPETITION 



Of all Retailers. Wholesale: Miller & Co., Colombo. 



RUBBER AND THE SINGAPORE 

 BOTANIC GARDENS. 



Mr. Ridley Reviews His Final Year's Work. 



Mr. H N Ridley, c.m.g,, signs the annual re- 

 port of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, for the 

 year 1911. From it we take the following items : 



There was a great scarcity of labour through- 

 out the year, and a rise of wages was found 

 necessary. As mentioned in the repc rt of the 

 previous year, the class of coolies now pro- 

 curable is very pool- as the demand for labour on 

 the estates is still very great. During the first 

 part of the year there was a good deal of malaria 

 among the coolies, as there was all over Singa- 

 pore, but the latter end of the year showed a 

 marked improvement in health all round. 



...With the gradually increased area of pre- 

 vious years very little new ground has been 

 opened, and indeed none could have been at- 

 tempted except for extra labour paid from re- 

 venue by sales of rubber and rubber seeds. All 

 the rubber ground lies on shallow soil with 

 water in most parts at one foot below the surface 

 and, as will be understood, in such situations 

 weeds ate prolific. Apart from other considera- 

 tions it is necessary that this land be kept clean 

 so as to clean-pick fallen rubber seeds. For this 

 purpose— excepting two men in the nursery — the 

 rest of the permanent band of 32 men were em- 

 ployed whenever available. To keep the arbo- 

 retum in fair order eight mowers were estimated 



as necessary, but for several months during the 

 year the band was included with the rest of 

 the employes on the rubber ground. For col- 

 lecting and packing rubber seeds ; cultivation 

 of other crops and maintenance of plots; general 

 maintenance, including repairs, damages— men 

 have been drawn from maintenance work as the 

 necessity occurred. Despite the phenomenal 

 drought which necessitated a small band of 

 water carriers, considerable damage was done in 

 January and December ot the year under re- 

 view by floods through the loss of sixty Para 

 Rubber trees mostly large trees, in if act, some of 

 the oldest, in low-lying parts of the garden. New 

 work includes clearing, draining and opening a 

 small area (which it is intended to extend as 

 labour permits) about two acres for the reception 

 of various economic plants and fruit trees, 



The rubber plot between Cluny and Bubit 

 Timah Reads containing over 500 trees planted 

 22 ft. by 20 ft., has been improved by opening 

 cross drains between the rows of trees. Alto- 

 gether 37 drains 2 feet by 1 foot six inches aver- 

 aging 80 yards long were completed. The mere 

 excavation of soil was a light task, but the 

 amount of hard wood cut through and removed 

 represented occupation for a long time with a 

 small band of men. Owing to the paucity of 

 fruit crops and consequent difficulty of obtain- 

 ing seeds the stock of fruit trees had become low, 

 bub advantage had been taken of the 1911 abun- 

 dant crop and all the fruit seedlings most 

 usually in demand have been restocked. 



60 



