4 
N the year i860 a number of the 
residents of Singapore formed 
themselves into a Society, call- 
ed the Agri-Horticultural So- 
ciety. 
To this Society the present Botanical 
Gardens owe their origin. 
The extent to which the present re- 
sidents of Singapore are indebted to the R 
energy of the Agri-Horticultural Society, | 
and to Mr. Niven, who was employed 1 § 
by them to lay out the Gardens, can be 
readily realized, when it is remembered, | 
that in i860 the site of the present Gar- m 
dens vyas a dense natural jungle with- 
out road or path. 
In the year 1874, the Agri-Horticul- 
tural Society, feeling that their financial 
position was not such as would enable 
a 
1 
1 
/y & ^ 
