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in the same year, viz. In 1846. Three years after Dr. Montogomene, 
the leading spirit, left Singapore. Another Horticultural Society 
was founded in Singapore in 1859 or i860. It got hoplessly into debt 
in 1873, and the Government eventually took over its property in 
1878, and thus was founded the second Botanic Gardens of Singapore. 
The apathy of the Government from 1829 to i860 naturally 
ended in disaster, which took the form of a ruinous collapse of the 
most important industry in Penang and Singapore, viz., the nutmeg 
cultivation. The trees died wholesale in a single night apparently 
from the attacks of a beetle. Cullingwood thus describes the 
catastrophe. “ The planters abandoned the plantations in disgust in 
many cases where there were still numerous healthy trees and the 
land reverted to Government. In other cases, where expensive 
bungalows had been built upon the estate, they were sold for a small 
proportion of the sums expended in building them since they were as 
a rule too far from town to command any competition and ceased to 
be conveniently situated. Many planters, both English and Chinese, 
whose whole estates were invested in nutmeg plantations were thus 
reduced to ruin and absolutely penniless and distress and disappoint- 
ment everywhere prevailed.” Had the Penang Garden, abolished by 
Bentinck, been maintained and suitable superintendents employed to 
watch the interests of the planters, this catastrophe would probably 
have never occurred or at worst would have been much mitigated. 
But to return to the Gardens. The Singapore Gardens really 
commenced in 1875 wherT H. J. Murton was appointed to take 
charge of the agri-horticultural gardens now under Government 
though not formally so till 1878. He \yas succeeded by N. Cantley, in 
1880, who established the third Penang Gardens in 1884, and the 
Malacca Gardens at Bukit Sabukor in 1886. These Gardens, over 
which Mr. Derry had control, were very useful in experimental work 
and in supplying economic plants to the Malacca planters. They 
were abolished by Sir Charles Mitchell, in 1896, and as a large 
portion of the ground had been presented to the Government by a 
Chinaman on condition that they should serve as a Botanic Garden 
for Malacca and revert to him when no longer so used, the ground on 
the abolition of the gardens was returned to the former owner. 
In Perak, Sir Hugh Low took a great interest in agriculture at a 
time when there was practically no agriculture worthy of the name 
in the Peninsula, and he founded several gardens or experimental 
stations for the introduction and cultivation of economic plants. 
I have found very few records of this work, but it appears that most 
of them were instituted in about 1875 or 1876. They comprised the 
Gardens of Kuala Kangsar, the Tea Gardens and Maxwell’s Hill 
Gardens, on the Taiping Hills the Hermitage Hill Garden and 
Waterloo Garden, and Telok Anson. 
