The path next crosses a service road, and, passing through a belt of trees, reaches Lawn R. The belt consists of trees 
such as constitute Singapore secondary jungle of 50 years' standing, which have been allowed to grow up behind a row of 
Tembusu Trees, Cyrtophyllum peregrmum, planted in 1866 j and in it palms have been put. In it, also, is a very fine 
example of the climber, Entada spiralis, and the most beautiful example m the Gardens of Ficus irregularis. 
At the edge of Lawn R is a border containing a variety of bushes and among them stands a tree of Macaranga 
hypoleuca, every twig of which has been hollowed out by an ant, Iridomyrmex borneensis, which turns them into homes, 
and there rears, besides its young, a supply of scale insects serving as milch cows, and, in dearth, as food* The tree, 
apparently benefits by being ant-infested in this way, which is known as myrmecophily. Other myrmecophilous plants 
are to be found in the Gardens such as Macaranga triloba in the Jungle, Myrmecodia tuberosa and Polypodium sinuosum 
in the Plant-houses, Dsemonorhops Jenkinsianus in the Palm Valley, and Dischidia Rafflesiana near the Office Gate* 
THE SUN ROCKERY 
When the visitor emerges from the New Circle Path onto Lawn R, the Sun Rockery is on his left-hand side, at a 
few yards distance. Part of it is planted with Agaves, part with Aloes, part with succulent Euphorbias and part with 
Cacti* Of the Agaves, the most interesting is Agave sisalana, the Sisal Hemp plant* Its stiffly erect leaves proclaim 
the strength of its fibre ; they are without prickles on the margins, A. rigida is the counterpart with prickles* One of 
the Agaves has the snake-like curves of a Malay kris, and is A, lophantha. 
Among the Aloes is A. frutescens, which so far makes a much smaller plant than its name indicates. A, vera is 
present* It is one only of the sources of Bitter Aloes, but the widest spread. The succulent Euphorbia, E, Tirucalli, 
the tulang-tulang of the Malays, is interesting. It is a native of Africa, and at one time it furnished a certain amount 
of rubber exported from Natal. It has been for a century or more in the Malay region, and is widely scattered in culti- 
vation through the Peninsula. The Malay name means like bones,” and under the idea that plants carry indications 
of their uses in their appearance, the Malays treat diseases of the joints by applications of it. Such an idea gave rise 
to ” the doctrine of the signatures of plants ” of mediaeval Europe* 
Among the Cacti is Opantia cochenilifera. As its name indicates, it was the cactus chiefly employed for rearing 
the Cochineal insect. Its home is Mexico, and in the 17th and i8th centuries, when the nations of Europe tried to 
create trade monopolies, Spain fixed a death-penalty upon bringing it out of that country* Nevertheless it was done in 
1777 by an intrepid Frenchman. 
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