and catalogued, and 8,545 were mounted. Botanists had improved bench space 
and the vacated ground floor of the herbarium will relieve the close stacking 
of storage cabinets on the other floors. The herbarium annexe, hitherto 
occupied by a part of the library collection, was cleared of books and will now 
assume its originally intended function as a spirit, carpological and timber 
collection room. 
23. The Herbarium received 9,708 specimens under the exchange pro- 
gramme and distributed 1,758 in return. The greater part of the receipts came 
from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands enhancing the already important 
collections from eastern Malaysia held in the Singapore Herbarium. Materials 
loaned to eleven institutions totalled 3,054 specimens, the more important 
being The Botany Department of the University of Malaya, The Forest 
Research Institute, Kepong, The Forest Herbarium of the Commonwealth 
Forestry Institute, Oxford and the Leiden Herbarium. Particulars are given in 
Appendix VI. 
IX. BOTANICAL RESEARCH 
24. Work on the flora continued in the following fields : Marine algae — 
Mr. Burkill; Urticaceae (Nettle Family) and Piperaceae (Pepper Family) 
— Dr. Chew Wee-Lek; Lentinus (Fungi) — Dr. Chang Kiaw Lan till her 
secondment to the Primary Production Department. Mr. Hardial Singh’s work 
is reported under Orchid Research. Dr. Furtado, pensioner, continued his 
studies of Palms and gave very welcome assistance with Latin diagnoses of 
new species. Preparation for publication of the manuscript of the Grass Flora 
left by the late Professor H. B. Gilliland of the University of Singapore was 
nearly completed. The late Mr. J. Sinclair’s monograph on Myristica (Nutmeg 
Family) was put together and seen through to publication. 
X. ORCHID RESEARCH 
25. During the year 154 hybrid pods were harvested from the Gardens 
nursery; 47 pods of known parentage were accepted for germination from 
Singapore growers, 44 from Malaya, five from Sarawak, 69 from England and 
one from New Guinea. Of these 320 pods, 236 gave viable seed. There were 
more than 2,000 flasks in constant use culturing seedlings. Seedlings from 987 
flasks were taken out for potting. The flask culture medium used, as previously, 
was based on Vacin’s formula plus 10 per cent young coconut water, banana 
pulp and peptone. 3,841 mature seedlings were removed from seedlings houses 
to be grown in the open and repotted into bigger pots or planted in beds. 40 
beds were dug or redug for planting and replanting, 
26. 168 orchid species and hybrids were given on exchange and 113 
orchid species and 14 flasks containing about 1,000 seedlings were received. 
These exchanges were with persons in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, 
Philippines, Cambodia and J apan. One plant was received as a gift. 
]7 lu 
5 
