644 SOME ACCOUNT OP THE NUTMEG AND ITS CULTIVATION. 
that a nutmeg 1 plantation well laid out and brought up to perfection, 
is one of the most pleasing and agreeable properties that can be pos¬ 
sessed. Yielding returns more or less daily throughout the year, 
there is unceasing interest, besides the usual stimulus to all Agricul¬ 
turists of a crop time, when his produce Increases to double and qua¬ 
druple the ordinary routine. 
Trees having arrived at 15 years growth, there is no incertitude 
or fear of total failure of crop, only in relative amount of produce, 
and this, as will be seen, is greatly in the Planter’s own power to com¬ 
mand. It is against reason to suppose that a tree always in flower 
and fruit will not expend itself if left to unaided nature ; it must be 
supplied with suitable stimuli to make good the waste ; therefore he 
who wants nuts must not be sparing of manure, but of this more di¬ 
rectly. 
The first requisite for the Planter is choice of location. It is true 
that the nutmeg tree, aided by manure, will grow in almost any soil 
where water does not lodge, but it makes a vast difference in the de¬ 
gree of success, whether the soil be originally good, or poor and im¬ 
proved by art. The tree thrives not in white or sandy soils, butloveth 
the deep red and friable soils formed by the decomposition of gra¬ 
nite rocks and tinged with iron, and the deeper this tinge the better. 
I am therefore inclined to think that iron in tbe soil is almost ne¬ 
cessary for the full developement of the plant. If under the before- 
mentioned soil there be a rubble of Iron-stone at 4 or 5 feet from 
the surface (a very common formation in Singapore), forming a na¬ 
tural drainage, the Planter has obtained all that he can desire in the 
ground, and needs only patience and perseverence to secure success. 
The form of the g round ought to be undulating, to permit the running 
off of all superfluous water, as there is no one thing more injurious 
to the plant than water, lodging around its roots, although in order 
to thrive well it requires an atmosphere of the most humid sort and 
rain almost daily. Besides the form of the ground, situation is highly 
desirable particularly as regards exposure. A spot selected for a nut¬ 
meg plantation cannot be too well sheltered, as high winds are most 
destructive to the tree, independently of the loss occasioned by the 
blowing off of fruit and flower. 
At present there is abundant choice of land in Singapore, the 
greater portion of the Island being as yet uncultivated, and much an¬ 
swering to the above description. The land can be purchased from 
Government at the rate of from 5 to 10 Rupees per acre in perpe- 
