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 been at work here. As the larger higher class timber 
trees such as Kranji, Balau, Seravahs, &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 
Dcemojiotops crinitus , as a rule, a rather uncommon rattan and 1 
found that this was considered by the Malays as valueless. The 
district being fairly populous and rattans in request, the natives 
had practically exterminated the useful kinds by 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 lo 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 Ayer. 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 hcartwood. 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 say, 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, remaining bare for a day or two and then bursting 
out again into leaf. The deciduous trees are chiefly some species 
of Ficus , Lager strosmia, Termination, 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, 
