4 



flower little or not at all. Some like the Hoya Aldrichii have 

 constantly failed, the local H eptapleurum closely allied to one of 

 our common species has made but little growth. 



The climate and soil of Christmas Island is peculiar, the position 

 of the island being insular with a dry season, and the ground being 

 mainly coral reef being extremely porous and dry and very rich 

 in lime and phosphates which the soil of Singapore is poor in, so 

 that the flora is quite xerophilous, and it is hardly to be expected 

 that the same plants would grow under such diverse conditions. 



Australian plants are mostly xerophilous and very few can be 

 induced to grow here. The Gardens have been liberally supplied 

 with seeds and plants of all kinds from the Australian Gardens. 

 Upwards of 200 kinds of Eucalyptus have been tried, most on 

 several occasions; only three species have, however, been successfully 

 raised to trees. Of other Australian plants hardly any can be said 

 to thrive. Buckinghamia is a fine large tree which flowers regularly 

 but has never showed signs of fruiting. Grevillea robusta, David- 

 sonia, and a few others exist but in a weak state. The only good 

 Grevillea I have seen is one in the Bishop's Garden in town, that is 

 to say nearer the sea. A very large number were planted on a hill 

 near the reservoir, some years ago as shade trees and for a few 

 years looked quite healthy but nearly all have now perished or 

 are perishing. 



The Australian orchids are quite failures; many do not flower, 

 some flower once and die away, few can be induced to do any 

 good. The Palms on the other hand do thoroughly well. Arckonto- 

 phaenix, and Ptychoperma Macarthuri especially. The latter indeed 

 is the only palm which spreads naturally and often turns up in odd 

 parts of the Gardens, the seed being transported by birds. 



Polynesian plants on the whole grow well, but comparatively few 

 have been obtained. Many of them are sea-shore plants, and being 

 xerophilous do not do well inland. 



African plants. — The plants of the Mascarene Islands and of 

 Western Tropical Africa thrive here, especially the plants of the 

 Congo and Niger forest region. Some of the plants of the East 

 coast Zanzibar have been successfully grown, and considerable 

 additions have been made to the Gardens from Uganda and German 

 East Africa. The central African Sansevieiras have nearly all 

 flowered and fruited. But the very dry region species e.g., S. Ehren- 

 bergii, seem to make no growth. The Abyssinian plants and those 

 of the highlands of the interior have generally failed. 



Very few of the plants of Southern Africa have been successfully 

 ^rown here. The Gladioli can be flowered for one or two seasons, 

 but then perish. They have fruited, however; Richardia aethiopica 

 the Calla lily, has never been induced to flower, but the more 

 Northern R. albomaculata has done so, though the plants were 

 unhappy and soon died away. Strelitzia Reginse, does not flower, 

 but S. Nicolai flowered once. Ravenala Madagascariensis, grows to 

 a great size and the plants in the Botanic Gardens have always been 



