* 
Report on Government Botanic Gardens. 
" • V 
Singapore , March 9th, 1876 . 
Gentlemen, 
] hare the honour to submit to you my. first annual report of the progress and con- 
made, us the fire mouths which have 
elapsed *£> ’iJK are info .ted with a 
by using partially decomposed amm^l to the depth of 3 feet, by which I hope this 
the top soil removed and the iui a a . t 1 Garden a barren appearance 
pest will be destroyed The trend mg ot the i Dens _ ^ ^ that 
in some places, but a few montta f , J p/en reliadcfwVre necessary, and many of the prm- 
Several of the walks and dn e - We been unable to do owing to the difhcul- 
cipal drives require ro-metallm at n , ^ into the Gardell from the Barracks has been 
ty of procuring latei ite. i- v n wliirh nreviouslv overgrew the clump of aago palms 
nearlhe principal ent'ran” have been removed, and a collection of young palms planted » 
“ old and dead trees oTd 
&^“pS (fa® bordering Napier Road has also been removed, and is being 
replaced by Seaf ortl c(mtained tUe collection of Nymphaeas aud Victoria regia 
I he tv o i m. il l o-reat improvement to this part of the Garden, beside 
have been made into one, which a a great , improreme ^ 1 ha8 been devoted to the 
giving more space for tne cultiva u • J ^ at l ou£! end j t ; s proposed to locate a pair of 
sacred Lotus (Nehimbium p - Napier Road 1 m s been planted with a collection of 
alligators. I he bank of the ] oi y w( , genera of palms from Australia and Howe's 
itr'K 
V'®?!*®. *. ... 
building the Rhinoceros-house. \ncrust 1875 has been commenced, and is now ra- 
The Office mentioned in mvreport dU**-**^ » he Botanical Library and the col- 
pidly approaching completion. ^ *uU abo accommo * j verandah 
lection of dried spec, mens until tho “ r operp^ of Heifer from 
around it will prove a boon to ' . tQ 6rect an Orchid House near the Office, in lien of 
t &t W e”eSug ra >ioh 
r™f d rest, hy ffi ;iffihfWe "e^er proportion of’ blooS than is usually obtained 
from orchids grown in Singapore. n - g ^ r ^ eg Saecolabiums, Dendrobiums, &c., 
During the year large numbers ox Phalcenopsis mi we.-, yy ’ ’ 
have been established on the trees in various parts ot the , T . i 
A catalogue has been compiled of all the plants m t ie gar _ . i ■, 
termined; but a very large number still remain to be identifies • ie ca ai 0 o ue is a l 1 0 
t0 ^ A o-ood collection of standard botanical works has been ordered from England, in addi- 
tion to a microscope, which will afford very great assistance m tne identification ox the aige 
number of plants which remain to he determined. , T , , . 
The experimental garden is as yet iu its infancy ; consequently I have little to report in 
thl " Tidal^are being made with the Liberian and Cape Coast coffees, m order to prove or 
otherwise their adaptability for commercial purposes in this colony. From all that is known 
of these new products, it is fully anticipated that they will prove the most useful and ie- 
markable introductions of the present century. The fruit is of muni better Rasomth^n 
old C. Arabica, and they produce berries nearly double the size of that species, and aie said 
to be very prolific. I fear Singapore will not prove well adapted tor the cultivation even ot 
these species, hut the Malay Peninsula promises a good field for tbs enterprise, and I s a 
endeavour to get some eligible planters in the Peninsula, I royncc c ts e>, y . _ » 
plant some of these species, and report on tlieir progress, and I shall be glad to receive appli- 
cations for some at any time. . , , . , « p 
Of Ipecacuanha the stock as yet is very limited, consisting on \ o± a . l 1 _ §» " 
by Dr. Th waites during my stay iu Ceylon, but I hope soon to be m a po^i i _ y 1 y, 
extensive trials with this valuable plant. The result ot these tria -s vv i >e v PM 
it is disappearing from its native habitats, which may m a great measure be attributed to 1 e 
small quantity of drug afforded byeven a full-grown plant. Its importance in India as a 
remedy for dysentery, and the increasing costliness ot the drug, ia\e occasion < nvc 
sures to be taken for attempting its cultivation there. ,, 
"With regard to these trials Dr. King, in his report for the > ear < t*, 1 B 1 
l 
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