12 
Experimental 
tions. 
price of $(i£ per 1,000 pieces, or per 7,000 lbs. Ten years ago 
the same quantity could be obtained for $4, but as wood is 
yearly becoming more difficult to procure, the price is also on 
the increase. The above figures may be tabulated as under. 
Approximate total annual consumption of firewood in Sin- 
gapore : — 
Drawn exclusively 
from the Forest 
of Singapore. 
Drawn chiefly from l 
Singapore and! 
Dependencies. 
Drawn almost on- [ 
tirely from Dutch 
Islands. 1 
r ' 
, . 
: 
Total. 
Remarks. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
- 
- 
... 
33,000 
* 
33,000 
j 
Consumed by inhabit- 
ants of chief town. 
13,000 
4 1 * 
... 
15,000 
13,000 
Consumed by inhabit- 
ants of country. 
• ■ • 
• * t 
15*000 
Consumed by coasting 
steamers. 
40,000 
* * * j 
-10,000 
Consumed by gambier 
planters. 
53,000 
33,000 : 
1 
15,000 
101,000 
0 
51. In addition to what has been stated, it should also be 
observed that gambier cultivators destroy annually about 10,000 
tons of firewood in clearing for new plantations, the forest 
being cut down and set fire to. The average acreage annually 
cleared in this way is said to be about 390 acres. 
Pl&nta- 52. Little has as yet been done to create plantations of 
young forest trees on the island, but the growth made by some 
introduced trees planted in an irregular way on some ground 
near the Botanical Gardens has far outstripped that of the 
better indigenous kinds and give results as under : — 
Age 
In years. 
Height in feet. 
Girth at 
above 
one foot 
ground. 
Brazilian Iron-wood , . . 
2 
7 
8 
ins. 
Indian Teak 
0£ 
3 
3 
Dammara Robusta 
2 
8 
5 
jj' 
South American Maho- 
gany- 
2 
11 
8 
jj 
53. I wish to make a passing reference to the general 
collapse of the nutmeg trees on the island some years ago, 
when nearly all the plantations disappeared which had _ for 
years before succeeded admirably ; I have been informed that 
the cause of this sudden blight remains a mystery until this 
day. 
54, It is believed, nevertheless, that it is one of the 
Jaws of nature that, when a plant is introduced into a climate 
or soil which is not altogether congenial to its wants, although 
it may appear to flourish for a time, it will produce seed of a 
kind slightly inferior to that which the parent was raised from ; 
and that that seed, if sown, will produce a tree still further 
degenerate, though still imperceptibly so to the eye, and so on 
until a general collapse ensues. The cure for this state 
