and was at this time both in flower and fruit; the bark was smooth and velvety, and appeared to be deciduous, similar in character to that which I have remarked in the _Malaleuca_ or tea-tree of New South Wales.[63] Across the creek, at the upper part of the settlement and near the splendid and extensive pile of buildings, the residence of E. Boustead, Esq. is a wooden bridge, at present in a very dilapidated state, and impassable for carriages, which is a source of great inconvenience to ladies and others who visit across the water. It is reported that a new bridge is in contemplation, to be erected a short distance above the site of the old one; and it would be desirable, for the convenience of the residents, that it should be commenced and finished as speedily as possible.[64] In company with Mr. Moor and Dr. Martin, I made an excursion into the interior of the island, for the purpose of viewing the plantations of Gambir, Pepper, &c. as well as for the purpose of investigating its natural productions. Most of the residents, deeply engaged in mercantile pursuits, find but little leisure or inclination to explore the island, or ascertain its real capabilities, or the picturesque scenery and fertile soil it contains, their rambles being merely confined to evening drives, or walks, in the immediate vicinity of the settlement. We went a short distance up the Singapore river in a sampan; the banks abounded in the dark green and rank mangrove trees, behind which hills arose, and occasional native dwellings. We did not proceed far before we landed among some Malay houses, surrounded with numerous palm, fruit, and flower trees; among which the lofty Jack tree, with its enormous fruit pending from the trunk or larger branches, the feathered cocoa palm, the erect Areka palm, a beautiful shrub of _Hibiscus rosa-chinensis_ covered by a profusion of large flowers of a delicate nankin colour, and several large trees of the _Bixa orellana_, or arnotto of commerce, the Cashumpa of the Malays, (some of whom occasionally used it as a dye,) were numerous. One of these dwellings was a manufactory for the refining of sago, and another a native foundry for small cannon; the powerful fragrance of the tube rose (_Polianthes tuberosa_) was diffused around at the very curly hour of the morning we arrived, when the sparkling dew-drops had not yet forsaken the herbage, the sun not having yet the power to cause their glistening and refreshing decorations to vanish.