February i, 1882. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
NUTMEG CULTIVATION : 
REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF SPICES AT 
BENCOOLEN. 
• By J. Lumsdaine in 1819-1820. 
[The first leaf with the introductory portion of this 
report litis fallen to pieces, parts of which have heeii 
lost, so that wc must perforce begin at paragraph 3, 
hut nothing of any material consequence is lost. — Ed.] 
3. The geographical position of this Island, its local 
adaptations, and the general influence of its sky and 
climate on the vegetable kingdom, hut above all, the 
similarity of the latter to that of the Moluccas, induced 
a belief that the spice trees would thrive as prosperously 
in these districts as in then- native clime. Accordingly, 
the Deputy Governor in Council of Port Marlborough 
despatched in 1790 a small vessel to Amboyna for the 
purpose of throwing in supplies into that garrison, and 
roturning with spice plants, owing, however, to some 
untoward accident on the voyage, it was necessary to 
bear away tor Prince of Wales's Island, where the vessel 
was declared not seaworthy, and thus the object of the 
.mission was frustrated. It was nevertheless re-attempted 
and accomplished in 1798 by the ship " Phauiix," which 
landed 346 nutmeg and 66 clove plants at Fort Marl- 
borough, the whole of the former and two-thirds of 
the latter being in a vigorous healthy condition. Those 
were distributed to such of the gentlemen of the Settle- 
men! and natives as engaged to take care of them, and 
a few were sent to the out Settlements, in order to 
ascertain the soil most favourable to their culture. A 
considerable share fell to the lot of Mr. Edward Coles, 
by whom they were planted out at Pannatang Ballam 
in virgin forest land, where the most forward of the 
nutmeg trees blossomed and perfected its fruit towards 
the close of the year 1803. The cloves pined and dropped 
off' in rapid succession. Out of the whole number, four 
only arrived at maturity, one of which flowered in 1803, 
land the most vigorous of them did not survive the 18th 
year. Numbers of these trees perished from neglect and 
improper management, for, unfortunately, Mr. Jones, 
Commercial Resident at Amboyna, stated in his letter 
to this Government under date the 5th June 1798, that 
tin- spice trees required little or no care in their cult- 
•1. Notwithstanding the indifferent success attending 
this Ural essay from the loss of numbers of the plants, 
the general result was satisfactory, ami inspired a belief 
that these valuable exotics might by perseverance and 
increase. 1 attention become naturalized to the soil. An 
opportunity of putting this to the tost of further ex- 
periment accordingly presented itself in 1808, in which 
year the late Mr. William Roxburgh '-cached the Settle- 
ment with a supply of upwards of 22,000 vigorous nut- 
meg plants, and between 0 ami 7,000 clove plants from 
tenboyua, which were put under charge of the late Mr. 
Charles Campbell for general distribution ; hut the applic- 
ations for plants were so in gent, that they greatly 
overbalanced the stock imported. 
">. The Settlement Cow assumed tin' resemblance of 
a busy a rieiiltural community conm-etcd by one common 
link of reciprocal interest ; the operuthuis of commerce 
slackened for a while*, and discugsloUB on the propertied 
of the soil were the daily topics .of conversation. Un- 
fortunately for agriculture, tliis, with the exception of 
the alluvial tracts, had suffered a sweeping verdict of 
condemnation, founded on a few unsuccessful attempts 
conducted by men perhaps who had neither sufficient 
leisure to attend to the subject, nor the inclination to 
go to the necessary expense to ensure a favourable result. 
6. The soil throughout the plantations generally is 
a rod mould with stony fragments or pebbles frequently 
intermixed with it, the surface of it in the forest al- 
luvial and low lands being of a chocolate colour, varying 
in depth from 3 to 10 or 12 inches. In the former 
this is occasioned by the gradual spontaneous decom- 
position of vegetable matter, and in the latter by de- 
position of the finer parts of the mould of tho mountain- 
ous and elevated slopes. After a long duration of dry 
weather, this brick-like mould, as it has been termed, 
is frequently found to be so stiff and unyielding as to 
requiro a good deal of labour to effect a mechanical 
division of it* particles, so as to befit it for the pur- 
poses of agriculture ; for it is doubtless true, that the 
texturo or organization of the soil has a considerable 
influence on the growth of vegetables, bo they herbaceous 
or ligneous. It is susceptible however of very great 
amelioration by means of tillage and appropriate com- 
posts, and indeed the soil of Ceylon, in which the cinna- 
mon tree thrives so luxuriantly, is of the same descrip- 
tion. The lowlands and swamps are highly productive, 
in proof of which it is sufficient to mention that the 
lowlands at Beuturin were at one time under a course 
of culture for 20 years without a fallow. A marly-look- 
ing soapy soil is met with at the distance of 10 or 12 
feet from the surface, which at a still greater depth is 
considerably indurated by the action of the waters that 
percolate through the ground in all directions, and in 
combination with sand forms the substance called napal. 
7. The mode of culture adopted in the different 
plantations is nearly the same. The beds of the trees 
are kept free from grass and noxious weeds by the hoe, 
and the plough is occasionally run along the interjacent 
spaces for the purpose of eradicating the lallang (Andro- 
pogon Caricosum) which proves greatly obstructive to 
the operations of agriculture*. The trees are generally 
manured with eowdung and burnt earth once a year in 
the rainy season, but the preparation of suitable com- 
posts and their mode of application are but imperfectly 
understood. The pruning knife is too sparingly used ; 
very few of the planters lop off the lower wrticels of 
tho nutmeg trees or thin them of the unproductive and 
straggling branches. 
8. The site of a plantation is an object of primary 
importance, and doubtless the alluvial grounds nr.- en- 
titled to preference from the acknowledged fertility of 
their soil and its appropriate organization and capability 
of retaining moisture, independent of the advantage 
of water carriage. Se\eral of the nutmeg trees of the 
importation of 1798 at Moco Moco are placed in soil of 
this description; although never manured they are in 
the highest state of luxuriance uu-l bear abundantly; 
and I have been informed by a gentleman recently ar- 
rived from that station, that the stem of one of them 
measures US inches in circumference. Some of the trees 
in my own experimental garden corroborate the truth 
of this assertion ; one of these blossomed nt the early- 
stage of two years ten months and a half, a degree of 
precocity iiserii able solely to its proximity to tin bike 
which forms the southern boundary. This was ill. tirst 
tree that blossomed of the importation of 1S(W. v ' teh 
consisted of upward, of 90,000 nutme pf plants. \, ; ., 
the ulluvial deposits, virgin for.-st land chum p . . 
onco, the! mum bafifa aUMfaed with ■ dark .-•■». i , i 
carbonized mould formed by the slow decay cf fulling 
