Malaya, accompanied Mr. Sinclair, and was shown the area where he made 
a small collection, also noting some dipterocarp timber trees in the locality. 
On the second visit, Mr. J. A. R. Anderson, Chief Research Officer, Forest 
Department, Sarawak, was able to be present. He is an expert on swamp 
forest vegetation and was anxious to compare this type of swamp forest with 
similar regions in which he has worked in Sarawak. Unfortunately just before 
his visit a vast area of this most interesting type of primitive virgin forest had 
been felled and all the trees including even the larger timber species with all 
their epiphytic flora of orchids and festoons of climbers completely burned 
on the spot. At one point on the north side of the road good flowering and 
fruiting material of Genianthus maingayi (Asclepiadaceae) was obtained. This 
rarity has been collected only once in Malaya and there is a single rather 
scrappy and ancient specimen in the Singapore herbarium. On the opposite 
side of the road is ruined country recently burned and entirely denuded of 
the last vestige of plant life. It is very important that some of this area should 
be preserved as a nature reserve since there is no swamp forest now left 
between Singapore and this place, a distance of 130 miles from the Gardens 
or University and back. It is also important for students of botany and 
zoology that this area be preserved so that it can be compared with the 
similar areas in Borneo, especially if we wish to have a complete phytogeo- 
graphic picture of the rarer swamp forest species and their distribution. Some 
of the species will no doubt turn up in Borneo and vice versa , but we shall 
never know that precise facts if the land is stripped before scientists get a 
chance to make a proper enumeration. Many smaller animals, including 
snakes and insects must have perished in the blaze. Recently a mouse deer 
was seen in the area by the Singapore botanists. The larger animals, elephants, 
tigers and wild pigs are also here, but they will be forced to retreat into an 
ever-narrowing belt, until they are finally cornered and run to bay. Not even 
a roadside fringe of shade trees has been left in the burnt areas. 
26. The trip to Sarawak and Brunei by Mr. J. Sinclair was one of out- 
standing success. The main object was to study the Myristicaceae in the field; 
to obtain as much missing information as possible on bark and field characters, 
ecology and distribution; to look for rare species, especially those which were 
imperfectly known as regards flowers or fruits and finally to use this in- 
formation in revising and writing up the family for Flora Malesiana. At the 
same time other plants were not neglected. A good selection of Annonaceae, 
Dipterocarpaceae, Sapotaceae and other plants in flower and fruit was 
obtained amounting to 374 field numbers. The majority of these has now 
been named and distributed to other herbaria. 
27. Mr. Sinclair arrived in Kuching by air on 31st July while Che 
Kadim bin Tassim, plant collector from Singapore Botanic Gardens arrived 
by the M.v. Raja Brooke with collecting equipment on 1st August. An 
excellent and judicious programme of itinerary had been previously arranged 
by Messrs. B. E. Smythies and J. A. R. Anderson of the Forest Department, 
Kuching, and everything went according to plan. The Botanic Gardens is 
most grateful to these two officers and to the Sarawak Government for their 
help. Sarawak is a most interesting place as many kinds of habitat exist in 
a small area and can readily be visited. The actual places where collecting 
was done had been well chosen and were fully representative of the major 
plant communities. These included primary forest on flat and hilly terrain, 
mountain forest with a distinct flora on Mt. Matang, fresh water swamp forest, 
beach forest, riverine flora on the Batang Kayan, the granite rocks at Lundu 
and the “kerangas” padang vegetation at Bako National Park. 
6 
