51 



Mr. H. ISF. Eidlev pointed out some years ago that there is a 

 similarity between tlie flowering of Saccolahium Calceolus and 

 Dendrohiuin crnmenatum, stating that the former flowers one day 

 before the hitter. Tliis relation however cannot be expressed quite 

 so simply. In 1917 Saccolahium Calceolus flowered in the Botanic- 

 Gardens, Singapore, on 



February 24th, one day before D. crnmenatum , by the Plant Houses 

 March 13th, three days before „ generally 



April i;3th, on the same day as „ by the Plant Houses 



May 2nd by the Lake 



IS[oveml)er 7tli, one day before D. cruiiicnadnii , by the Plant Houses 



„ 29th generally and freely 



December 9th, two days before IJ. cram riial inn . generally and freely 



„ 18th by the Plant Houses 



„ 22nd, thveedaysbeiore D. cnoiienal uni , generally and freely 



This flowering shows the following relationship to the rainfall, 

 t. meaning a trace : — 



12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 day before 



Eight days before the first, second, seventh and eighth of these 

 flowerings the rain was heavy, and on two of the four occasions 

 the flowering was general in several parts of the Gardens. But it 

 was equally free and general on November 29th and December 22nd 

 when the last heavy rain before the flowering had occurred much 

 earlier, — 13 days in one case and 11 or 12 days in the other. There- 

 fore although there must be some common cause predisposing the 

 two orchids towards flowering, it is not clear at all exactly what it is. 

 Observations from other localities would be welcome. 



I. H. BUEKILL. 



CONTROL OF DAMPING -OFF. 



(The following taken from the Agricultural News, West Indies, 

 of August 11th, 1917, Yol. XVI, pp. 254-255, is worth reading and 

 digesting; for in Malaya, damping-oft' in one of the greatest troubles 

 that a gardener has to contend with. The method recommended in 

 it has been tried in the Botanic (iardeiis, Singapore; and so far 

 there is nothing to be said against it except the necessity of teaching 



