Representative of the City Council ... 5. Mr. Khong Kit Soon. 
Representative of the Rural Board ... 6. Mr. R. Ramalingam. 
Chairman, ex-officio ... ... 7. Director of Botanic Gardens. 
One board meeting was held. 
22. During the year the Pandan Nature Reserve and the Labrador 
Nature Reserve were appropriated for industrial development and were sub- 
sequently deleted. In view of the deletion from the Nature Reserves an equi- 
valent area at Tanjong Gul was asked for. 
23. However, in the other reserves normal maintenance was continued. 
Many people are visiting these areas and greater use is being made of by 
schools and cultural organisations. 
XV. METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS 
24. Throughout 1962, relatively drier weather was recorded. The main 
recording station at the Gardens registered only 89.59 inches of rain against 
an average for the previous 48 years of 98.30 inches. The new meteorological 
station at Bukit Timah where recording was begun in July 1961 registered 
97.51 inches during the year. It is expected that the records here will show 
higher rainfall than in the cleared parts of Singapore Island because of the 
forest cover of the hill and adjoining water catchment areas of the three reser- 
voirs. This is an important aspect in helping to ease Singapore’s water pro- 
blems. 
25. Other recorded phenomena remain much in close accord with the 
records of previous years. Data are summarised in Appendices II, III and IV. 
BOTANICAL RESEARCH 
XVI. COLLECTING 
26. Several major expeditions were made during the year. With the 
expansion of the Department’s orchid research programme, funds were 
available for exploration specifically for plants for cultivation. It is however 
convenient to record all the collecting work together, whether for the her- 
barium or for the Gardens. Some expeditions were of mixed botanical and 
horticultural personnel, and all, as is the usual practice, were of dual purpose. 
27. The most important expedition was undoubtedly that to the lime- 
stone areas near Bertam and Gua Musang in Ulu Kelantan. Sponsored by 
U.N.E.S.C.O. South-East Asia Science Co-operation Office, and jointly or- 
ganised by the Botany Department of the University of Singapore and the 
Botanic Gardens, Singapore this expedition, under the leadership of Dr. 
Hsuan Keng of the University, took place from 24th July to 17th August. 
Extensive collecting was carried out in the limestone hills along the Sungei 
Bertam, mainly near Batu Pintu and Batu Bayeh (Bayam) and later at Gua 
Musang, Batu Boh and Gua Panjang, obtaining some 691 numbers including 
many new records for the herbarium with up to 6 duplicates for exchange 
distribution, and over 200 kinds of living plants. As such, the expedition 
greatly extended the knowledge of the limestone flora. From a botanical as- 
pect this element of the Malaysian flora is relatively poorly known and under- 
stood. It was therefore chosen for concerted investigation on the recommenda- 
tion of U.N.E.S.C.O. ’s Humid Tropics Research Committee. The expedition 
was the first of a series planned to cover Thailand, Malaya, Borneo and Java. 
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