XXII. ISTANA NEGARA DOMAIN 
47. The grounds, including the immediate gardens of all the houses in 
the Domain, were maintained in fair condition though the prolonged dry 
weather was adverse to good husbandry. The lack of water during the period 
of rationing (April onwards) created difficulty which could not be resolved 
by any domestic source of supply as in the Botanic Gardens. All mechanical 
equipment gave good service. Burnt earth and compost was prepared in lar^e 
quantities to maintain the number of pot plants required for decoration and 
for manuring beds. Changes were made to the landscaping and a number of 
trees were removed either because of age or proximity to buildings while others 
were planted. The golf course was maintained in good condition. Infestation of 
Elephantopus scaber was kept under control. 
48. By kind permission of H.E. the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, the Domain 
was open to the public on New Year’s Day (1st January), Chinese New Year’s 
Day (25th January), Hari Raya Puasa (23rd February) and on Deepavali 
(15th November). * 
XXIII. SINGAPORE HOUSE, KUALA LUMPUR ‘TEMASEK’ 
49. The Curator paid three visits to inspect the grounds of this house 
to make recommendations on its upkeep. 
XXIV. ORCHID RESEARCH 
50. Collecting expeditions for obtaining living material for cultivation 
have been referred to in para. 30 and in Appendix V. These resulted in 381 
species (1,175 plants) being added to the living collection. Other plants 
numbering 248 species and hybrids were received on an exchange basis or as 
gifts from individuals or organisations in Singapore, Malaya, Brunei, Sabah, 
Thailand, New Guinea, Philippines, Hawaii, Kenya and Japan, against which 
75 cuttings, mature plants, and seedlings were given away. Much of the 
material collected and received was undetermined" at the time of accession 
and ot this 70 species have since flowered under cultivation and have been 
identified. 
51. During the year, 56 pods from the Department’s own hybridising 
programme were harvested; ten pods of known parentage were accepted from 
Sm f?n°/ e gr ° we f s ’ four from the Federation of Malaya, one from P Sarawak 
and 50 from England. Of these 121 pods, 77 gave viable seed. The Department 
had on an average over 2,000 flasks in constant use culturing seedlings, and 
he seedlings of 679 flasks were taken out for potting. It must be reported, 
ffu at T S s , tatcnients in the Department’s Annual Reports for 1961 and 
1962, that the lack of nursery space is a critical brake on the progress of this 
work. The seedlings of many flasks have to be retained in their flasks for the 
want of space for potted plants. The seedlings are thus retarded and there is an 
unnecessary increase in the number of casualties. This is both b^d husband^ 
and bad economics since it means loss of potential breeding material, loss of 
revenue in plant sales, loss of material for commercial and private growers 
in ih n te t5 la ^ tS -, As a result of ver * carefuI resitin S of beds! linchfs etc ! 
m the Orchid Enclosure, it has been possible to put up two large hanging 
rames ( isp acmg an equivalent area of benches) for the better accommodation 
10 
