Annual Report of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, for 
the Year 1911. 
Staff. 
The Director of the Botanical Gardens, Mr. H. N. Ridley, was on leave for six 
weeks in November and December, and after taking leave in the latter half of 
January, 1912, till the end of February, retires from the service after a period of over 
23 years of service, / e., from November, 1888, till the present year. 
The Curator, Mr. R. Derry, was away on special duty in England for four 
months, from January to June, arranging for the patenting of his new rubber-smoking 
machine. 
The apprentice, Mariani, was dismissed and a new man David was appointed in 
his place. An overseer for Tamils was also taken on by name of Edward. The 
Bill Collector, Duraisamy, was discharged and Raphael, the former Bill Collector, 
was reinstated. The Printer who had been employed in the Gardens for over thirty 
years, retired with a gratuity of three hundred dollars. 
There was a great scarcity of labour throughout the year, and a rise of wages 
was found necessary. As mentioned in the report of the previous year, the class of 
coolies now procurable is very poor as the demand for labour on the estates is still 
very great. 
During the first part of the year there was a good deal of malaria among the 
coolies, as there was all over Singapore, but the latter end of the year showed a 
marked improvement in health all round. Two young children died in the coolie 
lines. Owing to the unusual drought the water supply of the coolie lines failed at one 
time and water had to be brought to the coolie lines from outside by cart. The 
attention of the Public Works Department was called to this state of affairs, surveys 
and plans were made, and it was agreed by the Government that next year water 
should be laid on to the coolie lines and the quarters of the staff. 
Weather. 
The weather. was unusually hot and dry during the months of February, March, 
April, June and July, entailing much extra work in watering the gardens and causing 
the death of a number of palms, which curiously in many cases only actually died after 
the rains had come. 
On November 25th, there was a most unusual fall of ten inches of rain in six 
hours producing a heavy flood which overset a large number of trees in the Economic 
Gardens. 
Visitors. 
As usual, a large number of agriculturists and botanists visited the gardens, besides 
the ordinary travellers. Among the former were : — Mr. N. Holtz (Australia) ; Mr. T.. 
Kawakami (Formosa) ; M. Lemaire (Chef de Culture Congo Beige) ; Mr. SOMMER 
(New Guinea); M. Brenier (Hanoi); M. Kelway Bamber (Ceylon); Mr. Dlwey 
(Washington); Prof. VAN Iterson (Delft, Holland) ; Mr. Evans (Trinidad); 
Dr. Bucher (Buea, German Cameroons]: Dr. Millspaugh (Department Botany Field 
Museum); M. VERNET and many other%^ 
. There were no complaints of damage done or prosecutions by visitors or others 
during the year. 
