February, 1916.] Annual Report. 



xvn 



Ceylon. The author believes that Palk Bay is the motherland 

 of the Manaar pearl oysters. The comparatively narrow limits 

 of the oyster- bearing area appear to be due to the fact that 

 below the 6 fathom line the bottom consists of ;i soft mud 

 whilst the presence of oyster-eating starfishes above the 5i 

 fathom line prevents the spreading of theoystei fl to higher levels. 

 A second biological note contains the interesting reBults of the 

 author's observation on the pearl oyster spat, three stages of 

 development of the pearl oyster larvae being clearly established. 

 A third note deals with the parasites found in the oysters of 

 the Tondi beds. 



Botany. 



During the year under review the twentv-fifth part of the 

 Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula has been pub- 

 lished under the editorship of Mr. J. Sykes Gamble. Of the 

 seven Families dealt with the Cytinaceae and the Balanopho- 

 raceae were described by Mr. H. N. Ridley, whilst the Juglan- 

 daceae, Myncaceae, Casuarinaceae, Fagaceae and Salicaceae 

 were dealt with by Mr. J. S. Gamble. The following species 

 zrenew-.—Rhopalocnemis rufkeps, Ridley, Pasania Kingiana, 

 Gamble, Pasania Lampadaria, Gamble, Castanopsis malaccens is 

 Gamble, Castanopsis Scortechinii, Gamble, Castanopsis fulva, 

 Gamble.. Castanopsis Andersoni, Gamble, Castanopsis megacarpa', 

 Gamble, Castanopsis Ridleyi, Gamble. The new species had 



been previously described, with Latin diagnoses in the Kew 

 Bulletin. 



Miss Maude L. Cleghorn presented an interesting note on 

 the Floral Mechanism of Typhonium trilobatum. in which is 

 described the trap-mechanism of the spathe, bv means of which 

 beetles are captured at night. The paper is illustrated bv four 

 photographs taken by the author. 



Dr. W. Burns and Mr. S. H. Prayag gave an account of ex- 

 periments on the artificial production of mixed inflorescences of 

 Mangifera indica by grafting inflorescences either on a vegeta- 

 tive branch or on another inflorescence. 



Mr. M. 0. Parthasarathy Iyengar in his paper on the defolia- 

 tion of some Madras trees comes to the conclusion that the leaf- 

 fall of the trees referred to is due, not to the failure of water- 

 supply, but possibly to the necessity of a replacement of the 

 old by fresh and physiologically more eflBcient leaves, or, in 

 some cases, to a successful competition of the growing youno- 

 leaves for the supply of food materials. The author draws 

 attention to the fact that prolonged wet weather may cause 

 trees to shed their leaves. 



In a note on the Flora of the South Indian Highlands, 

 Mr. P. F. Fyson deals with the flora of those parts of the Nilgiris 

 and the Palnis which rise above the 6500 feet level. Twenty- 

 two of the species occurring in these regions had to be re- 



