1 
Annual Report on the Forests of Singapore, 
FOR THE YEAR 1 888. 
1. The changes in the staff consequent on the death of Mr. Cantley, the late 
Superintendent, together with the small grant allowed this year (viz., $2,500) has pre- 
vented any very extensive works being carried out in this Department. Mr. Flanagan, 
the Forest Overseer, left the service in October, and was succeeded by Mr. 
Goodenough. 
Area. 
2. The total area of forests now under conservation has been increased from 13,043 
to 13,133 acres by the addition of a piece of land at Bedoh taken over from the Land 
Office in September. This piece of land consists at present chiefly of lalang ground, 
but parts are damp and the soil rich, and it may prove of value when put under 
timber. 
The cost of demarcation was $25.28. 
Boundaries. 
3. These have been kept in good order — the paths maintained and kept clear of 
weeds, and the streams bridged— by the constant attention of the Forest Watchmen, 
and have been inspected and patrolled by the Forest Overseer and occasionally also by 
myself. As the boundary paths now extend for a length of 80 miles, the amount of work 
entailed in this will be easily understood to be considerable, when the small number 
of men employed is taken into account. 
Collecting Plants and Seeds. 
4. The Forest men have been instructed to collect in quantity any seeds or fruits 
found fallen from the trees in the forests and to send them in to the Gardens, where 
they are planted and as soon as they have germinated and are fit to transplant are 
removed to the different places which require re-planting. Besides seeds and fruits, 
they have sent in young plants of various ornamental and useful species and, under 
my instructions, have recommenced sending in specimens for the herbarium. 
Nurseries. 
5. With the exception of the experimental nursery, little has been done in raising 
young stock. In the Jurong nursery there is a good series of young trees many of 
which are now ready to be planted out, and I hope shortly to be able to plant some 
of the waste lands on a more extensive scale. 
In the Bukit Timah nursery seeds of forest trees have been planted and have, 
for the most part, germinated well. It is intended to make nurseries round all the 
watchmen’s quarters, whence young plants can be easily transferred to places re- 
quiring re-planting. 
In the Tanglin experimental nursery a large number of seraya and other useful 
timber trees have been raised from seed, and some of these have been planted out in the 
Military Reserve. Over 8,000 young plants of Para Rubber (Hevea Brazil iensis ) were 
raised from seed sent from Ceylon. The young seedlings grew very rapidly, the 
largest of which have been put out in the Military Reserve. Others will be planted 
out in low-lying positions, such as the marshes of Jurong reserve, which are the most 
suitable localities for this species. 
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