e 7,639. There were in the island 25,161 plants in
nursery.

The trees in bearing were--In Prince of Wales Island, 28,739; not
bearing, 44,040; produce in 1843, 87 piculs, 50 catties; gross value,
3,399 dollars; estimated produce of cloves for 1844, 469 piculs. In
Province Wellesley--Trees in bearing, 1,073; not bearing, 6,566;
produce in 1843, 1 picul, 13 catties; gross value 45 dollars.

The export of cloves from Pinang was, in 1849, 24,000 lbs.; in 1850,
52,400; in 1851, 27,866; in 1852, 45,087.

From tabular statements drawn up in 1844, by Mr. F.S. Brown, Chairman
of the Pinang Chamber of Commerce, it appears that there were, in
1843, in that island and Province Wellesley adjoining, 96 clove
plantations, containing 80,418 clove trees; besides many young trees
in nurseries ready to be planted out. The produce of cloves there, in
1842, was 11,813 lbs., and this was a very short crop, it having that
year proved a complete failure; the average crop for some years
previous had been 46,666 lbs. Pinang only began to export this spice
in 1832. Of the clove trees in Pinang there were then only 29,812 in
bearing, leaving 75,767 in that settlement alone to come to maturity;
estimated to yield about 300,000 lbs.

No success has attended repeated trials of cloves in Singapore. Until
the trees reach the age of bearing, they grow and look extremely well;
but any expectation of a crop that may have been raised by their
hitherto fine condition, ends in disappointment, for just then the
trees assume the appearance of sudden blight, as if
lightning-stricken, and then die. 125 clove plants and 350 seedlings
were sent to Singapore from Bencoolen, by Sir T. Raffles, in the close
of 1819; but although every care was paid them--while the nutmegs
which accompanied them throve amazingly well--little or no progress
has been made with clove culture. Two or three hundred-weight were
shipped in 1845, but since then hardly any mention is made of the
spice.

In a petition presented by the spice planters of Pinang and Province
Wellesley, to the authorities at home, in 1844, praying that the duty
on British Colonial nutmegs, mace, and cloves might be reduced to 1s.
9d., 1s. 3d., and 3d. respectively, on importation into England, in
order to compete with foreign produce, it was stated that a few years
hence Prince of Wales Island might be expected to produce 600,000 lbs.
of nutmegs, 200,000 lbs. of mace, and 300,000 lbs. of cloves; whilst
Sing