Besides the Government-hill, which rises in picturesque beauty behind the plain, upon which the settlement has been formed, there is an elevated hill to the westward, known by the name of Blackan Mattee,[51] on which there is a signal station, removed from St. John’s Island. There are other elevated hills clothed with lofty timber trees, and rising inland, which bestow a picturesque character upon the scenery of the coast; many of the trees are found, on a nearer view, to be curious in their growth, and some of them valuable for their timber; on their elevated summits, ferns of the genera _Achrosticum_, _Asplenium_, &c., or several parasitical _Orchideous_ plants, are seen growing in profusion. The settlement and island of Singapore is considered very salubrious. The small-pox, however, has lately been committing great and deadly ravages among the native residents; of these, however, there were none upon whom vaccination had been performed. Many have been surprised at the healthy state of Singapore as a residence, when it is so near the equator, and the town surrounded by swamps, and even built upon a swamp; but I have had occasion to remark more than once, that when the swamps result from salt-water creeks, the miasmata producing fever are not generated, as from freshwater marshes, which usually abound in a very profuse and rank vegetation; and Singapore may be said to be entirely destitute of rivers, the absence of which, however, is compensated by numerous salt-water creeks about the coasts, some of them extending inland for the distance of several miles. There is no deficiency, however, of good fresh water, which is procured from rivulets and springs, abundant about the island. The European burial-ground is situated in rather a conspicuous spot, on a part of the declivity of the Government-hill; one part, is planted with bamboos, which have a tasteful appearance, and the gloomy nature of the spot would be diminished if the fence of these trees was continued the whole way round the cemetery. On riding or driving in the vicinity of the settlement, the character of the country and soil appears well calculated for the cultivation of coffee, sugar,[52] cotton, pepper, and other tropical productions, as well as of the vine. But most of the land is permitted to continue in a state of primitive jungle, industry and cultivation having been checked by the enormous quit-rents imposed upon the purchasers, or tenants of land, by the government. Until this ill-judged and ill-advised measure is changed, the cultivation of this beautiful island, now for the most part covered by a continued forest, cannot advance. At this season but few flowers decorated the jungles, or sides of the roads; the one most commonly seen was the Melastoma, or Singapore rose, it principally animated the country by its blossoms, and charmed the eye, fatigued by continually gazing on the green foliage without variety, although it gratified no other sense.