508 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
AGRICULTURE OF SINGAPORE. 
Singapore situated within little more than a degree of the Equa¬ 
tor and without any tract of elevated land has a remarkable equa¬ 
lity of climate and seasons. We feel but in a moderate degree the 
influence of the N. E. and S. W. Monsoons, and we have a mild 
rainy season of short duration in the commencement of the former, 
lasting from October to December. These changes however have 
little influence upon the vegetable creation, the plants are green 
throughout the year, and there is a perpetual succession of fruits 
and flowers. Thus every period of the year is suited for agricul¬ 
tural operations and they can be commenced and conducted in all. 
The climate at the same time is totally free from storms, hurri¬ 
canes, or even violent gusts of wind, calculated to impede or 
overthrow the labors of the husbandman. Neither are those labors 
nor the personal safety of the cultivator likely to be endangered by 
the depredations of wild and ferocious animals; for the Tiger and 
Elephant, so pernicious to agriculture on Sumatra and the Malayan 
Continent, do not exist in Singapore or any other of the small 
islands, and the wild boar, another formidable depredator, is few in 
number. Hitherto at least these regions have to the best of our 
knowledge been free from the wide spreading depredations of those 
hosts of insects, such as the Locust, the Palmerworm, Hessianfly, 
&c. which devasted the plains of central Asia and America, taxing 
the labors of the husbandman to an inconceivable extent. 
The soil of Singapore reposes upon a sand stone of old formation 
in which is found extensive beds of clay iron ore. The surface of 
the island consists for the most part of low hills from 100 to 15) 
feet in height. In a few situations on the coast there are long 
narrow plains; the soil of the latter is invariably sandy and sterile, 
fit only for the growth of weeds and tall trees. On the hills the 
soil is composed of the deluvium of the sand stone and clay iron 
ore, and its varieties depend upon the proportions in which these 
ingredients enter into its composition. On the summits of the 
hills the soil is commonly scanty, but on the sides, slopes and 
narrow valleys below, deep and abundant. There are no rich 
alluvial tracts in the island, for a sufficient reason that there are no 
considerable rivers calculated to give origin to them. 
These brief notices of the soil and climate lead us to a considera¬ 
tion of those articles of husbandry which are suited or otherwise to 
the growth of the island. In the first place it must be obvious 
that the absence of extensive alluvial plains and of a command of 
water to irrigate them renders the island totally unfit for the 
growth of rice, a commodity which can never be cheaply brought 
to market except where those advantages exist. We may venture 
to assert that the soil of Singapore is equally unsuited for the 
production of Coffee. To afford this article cheaply and at the 
