753 GENERAL REPORT ON THE RESIDENCY OF SINGAPORE. 
incites. Colonel Low gives about 64 cubic inches as the size of 
the chupa.* The Chinese measure their lime in a 10 ganton box 
containing 2,543^ cubic inches, which is very close upon an Eng¬ 
lish bushel which contains 2,510 T g§ cubic inches, a Winchester 
bushel being 2,150^ cubic inches. The Chinese lime coy an is 
therefore 20.3,468igS cubic inches in size, making 63^ cubic inches 
in their chupa. The hundred measure used in London contains 
47,952 cubic inches and costs there 9 shillings or 2 Spanish dollars. 
The Chinese lime coyan of 20.3,468 T $f cubic inches costs here 2| 
Spanish dollars. Lime is therefore obtainable in Singapore for less 
than ^ of the London prices. Mr Dunman informs me that at 
Buddoh Estate which is a sandy arid soil, he has applied blue 
il slimy mud which has a wonderful effect, so much so that it 
ct will turn a sickly yellow looking tree to a deep green in less than 
“ 3 months.” This may be attributed to the following causes:—■ 
1 st, the retention of moisture by the impermeable mud—2nd, the 
addition of allumina to the silicates of which the soil is almost 
entirely composed, and to the calcarious matter consisting of the 
exuviae of marine animals imbedded in the mud to which the 
cocoanut has known partiality. On the drained marshes in Cam- 
bridgeshiref it is stated, that vegetable matter to the depth of 6 to 
10 feet rested on blue gault. The wheat grown on this had long 
weak straw, easily bent and broken, carrying ears of com of small 
size. Chemistry having thrown greater light on the operations of 
agriculture, it has since been the practice to sink pits to obtain the 
blue gualt for spreading over the surface as a manure. The straw 
by this means takes up an additional quantity of silex, becomes 
strong and not so tall as formerly, carrying larger and heavier 
corn, whilst the produce is luxuriant and abundant. How appli¬ 
cable this is to some of the alluvions of Singapore may have been 
noticed by the remarks in a preceding part of this report. The 
chemical agriculturist might even find a field here, though a 
circumscribed one. It is now well known that the ash or inorganic 
part of a plant which remains after the four elementary substances 
of the organic part has been driven off by heat, contains a certain 
quantity of inorganic substance having sensible proportions of 
potash, soda, lime, magnesia, chlorine, silica, &c.f and that the 
plants or trees can in general only derive these substances from the 
soil. Substances containing these chemical components are there¬ 
fore now much applied where the soil is known to be deficient in 
them, for the production of any crop whose known elements have 
been ascertained. This knowledge is necessary, as it has been 
ascertained to be the case with plants that they cannot grow in a 
healthy manner nor be perfect in all their parts, without sufficient 
* Free Press of 1841. 
t Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal Vol. XI. 
t J ohnston’s Chemical Agriculture, 
