were particularly wet months with falls of 13-15 inches. The heaviest pre- 
cipitation in any one day was 5.7 inches, and this occurred in June, a relative- 
ly dry month. This particular storm barely reached the Bukit Timah recording 
station about 8 miles distant, where only 2.18 inches fell. Even the two 
recording points in the Botanic Gardens, some £ mile apart showed a differ- 
ence of ^ inch. This is mentioned to indicate how very local some rainstorms 
are. Recording of rainfall was begun at the beginning of the year at the 
Kranji Cemetery on the north side of Singapore Island, so that our records 
now cover the Island in a median line north-centre-south. Data of rainfall 
and other phenomena are recorded in Appendices II, III, IV and V. 
BOTANICAL RESEARCH 
XIX. PLANT COLLECTING 
37. The most important botanical field work of the year was under- 
taken during the Royal Society’s Second Kinabalu Expedition which was on 
the mountain for almost five months, January to May. As in the First 
Kinabalu Exepedition, 1961, the major contribution of man-power in the 
field came from the Singapore Botanic Gardens with three officers who stayed 
the full period of the exepedition. Biologists from Malaya, Sarawak and 
Sabah were attached for varying shorter periods. The senior and technical 
personnel were: 
E. J. H. Comer, Cambridge University: Leader 
G. P. Askew, Newcastle University: Soil Scientist. 
J. Smart, Cambridge University: Entomologist. 
Chew Wee-Lek, Singapore Botanic Gardens: Botanist. 
Mohamed Shah bin Haji Mohamed Nur, Singapore Botanic Gardens. 
Samsuri bin Ahmad, Singapore Botanic Gardens. 
M. E. D. Poore, University of Malaya: Plant Ecologist. 
Ho Coy Choke, University of Malaya: Plant Ecologist. 
Lord Medway, University of Malaya: Zoologist. 
David Lampong, University of Malaya. 
Alex Jamin, Department of Agriculture, Sabah. 
George Mikil, Forest Department, Sabah. 
Michael Chua, Department of Agriculture, Sarawak. 
Stephen Kueh, Department of Agriculture, Sarawak. 
Richard Lau, Department of Agriculture, Sarawak. 
38. The main objective of the expedition was to fill in the gaps left 
by the earlier expedition, in making an intensive study of the natural history 
of the Pinosuk Plateau on the southern slopes of Mt. Kinabalu between 
4,000 and 8,000 ft. altitude, the vegetation of which is dominated by montane 
Oaks. Base camp was established at the confluence of the East and West 
Anak Mesilau rivers at about 5,000 ft. altitude. Three other camps were 
7 
