AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 
OF THE 
STRAITS 
AND 
FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 
No. 12.] DECEMBER, 1907. [VOL. VI. 
SOME NOTES ON THE ACCLIMATIZATION 
OF PLANTS. 
When a country is occupied by man for the first time a great 
alteration in the Flora commences. As the forests are gradually 
cleared for cultivation, a large number of plants are introduced 
either for use or ornament intentionally, or accidentally as weeds. 
In an island like Singapore where cultivation has been going on 
for eighty-four years, and in Penang where it has been going on 
still longer a very large number of exotic plants have been 
introduced from time to time. Many perhaps most of these have 
failed to establish themselves as regular inhabitants of the country, 
while others have successfully done so and formed part of the 
present day flora. By establishing themselves is intended not only 
growing readily, but flowering and fruiting regularly and repro- 
ducing themselves as freely as any local indigenous plant. The 
greater part of the whole of the Malay Peninsular regiofi, was 
originally densely afforested, the greater number of the -plants being 
arboreous. The number of herbaceous plants in the forests being 
small, especially in the lowland country. Herbaceous plants in 
a dense forest have not much chance of getting a sufficiency of 
light owing to the density of the leaf canopy of the forest trees 
overhead. Many herbaceous plants, however, grow as epiphytes on 
the higher branches and in this way obtain more light. The 
consequence of this forest growth with the strong competition for 
light, is that the percentage of herbs to trees and shrubs, including 
climbing shrubs is very small. In the Penang flora exclusive of 
ferns out of about 1,800 phanerogamous plants over 1,300 are trees 
and shrubs, 410 are herbs, about 70 epiphytes and 12 parasites. 
The greater number of the indigenous herbaceous plants are natives , 
of the sea-shores and of sandy spots forrnerly river beds, where an 
extensive arboreous vegetation cannot grow. But besides these 
wherever the country has been opened up round villages and along 
roadsides and in open spots generally, we find a great number of 
