watered (saturated) placed in a moderately damp situation and 
afterwards sufficiently sprinkled so as never to be over wet or too 
dry. Palm seeds when planted must be guarded from rats and 
mice, and white ants, the surface soil inspected, and excessive damp 
and fungus removed. The growth is often at- first very slow (this 
is especially noticeable in rattans) but after a year or two the 
growth increases much more rapidly. 
Seedlings , — With most of the best known palms seedlings may 
be described as fairly hardy and only ordinary attention is necessary 
to produce strong plants, most failures occur through excessive 
damp or watering, and the moisture remaining in the axils of the 
leaves or the surface soil is too damp in which case the seedling 
perishes. A few species of palms have been introduced to cultiva- 
tion by seedlings collected in the jungle of which seeds have not 
been procurable. Owing to the different conditions under which such 
seedlings have germinated care must be taken to wrap the roots 
in mud immediately on lifting them and the seedlings dug up with 
a good ball of earth attached to them. The little plants must be 
kept very moist till they can be planted, and not allowed to get dry 
bv exposure to the sun or they speedily perish. Some jungle 
palms stand transport fairly well, especially rattans and with some 
species it is the only way to get them. 
Re-potting . — -As soon as seedling palms have filled their pots 
with roots, the young plants should be transplanted or re-potted 
into single pots and a strong compost used. Some loamy soil, well 
decayed cow manure and leaf-mould, some sand and burnt earth, all 
well mixed together and passed through a moderately coarse sieve. 
Let the drainage be sufficient and placed carefully. All loose and 
old sour soil removed from the plants, the roots inspected if sound 
and free from pests, keep lightly syringed for a few days and water 
sparingly until the plants are established. Palms succeed best 
when- potted or planted deeply, unlike flowering plants the lower 
roots of palms in thickening raise the plant, and the surface or 
adventitious roots grow upwards. In re-potting or tubbing very 
strong plants of which the roots have become tightly bound together 
it is not necessary to disturb the ball or place new drainage under- 
neath it, but a little additional drainage could be placed round the 
base, and although the plants may appear deeply tubbed at first the 
surface roots will soon appear on the top. 
Selection . — Many palms particularly tall erect growing species 
make only poor pot or tub specimens and are only seen to advan- 
tage when cultivated in the open, other palms not only make hand- 
some tub specimens but are quite unsuited for outside culture in 
Singapore, of such the following may be mentioned Jgmnura , 
Teysmannia , Pritchardia , Licuala grand is, Licit ala ferruginca , 
Rhapis humilis , Thrinax , and Hyphcene. 
For table and house decoration the following are best to culti- 
vate : — Ptychosperma Me A rthnrifPtychosperma Sandenana , Rho- 
palohlaste hcxandra,\Chrysalidocarpus httescens, Hetcrospatha el at a, 
Stevensonia grandi folia, Verscluiffeltia splendid a, Hyophorbe am an - 
