2 
Lawns. 
6. The lawns have been maintained in good order, but the turf is much 
cracked by the sun’s heat in the dry weather. The ordinary turf grasses do not seem 
to cover the ground thickly enough in parts to prevent the Assuring of the soil. 
Desmodium triftorum seems to be the most valuable plant for turfing in the drier 
spots. But the whole question of making lawns in places so hot and dry as the 
Gardens requires much attention. 
7. But little planting has been done on the lawns, except to fill up blank- 
spaces. I hope shortly, however, to plant some of the barer places more thickly with 
palms and other trees, and so overcome the unfinished appearance of the Gardens in 
these parts. A number of the palms have fallen victims to the attacks of the red 
weevil (Calandra palmarum) and the elephant beetle (Oryctes na-sicornis ) so well 
known for the injury they cause to the coco-nut palms. The former is the more 
injurious in the Gardens. It seems to attack and destroy not only Cocos nucifera , 
but also Coryp ha gebanga, Cocos plumosa, Martinezia car yotas folia, Verschaffeltia 
splendida , Livistona chinensis, and several other palms are more or less injured. 
The eggs of the beetle are laid at the base of the leaf stalks, and the larvm burrow 
through the terminal shoot, or cabbage, and so destroy the growing point. The 
trees require to be carefully examined and overhauled from time to time, and the 
insects destroyed by the insertion of a flexible iron wire barbed at the point into their 
burrows. 
Soils. 
8. The soil in almost every part of the Gardens is exceedingly poor and deficient 
in the salts most necessary for the growth of plants. With a view of ameliorating 
this, if possible, a selection of six specimens of soil from various parts of the Gardens 
was made and submitted to Mr. John Hughes, F.C.S., of London, for analysis. The 
specimens range from a peaty swamp soil through various argillaceous strata, to a 
sandy hill soil. The following table gives the results of Mr. Hughes’ exhaustive 
analysis: — 
Analysis of six Samples of Singapore Soil, representing the ordinary 
hilly and low-lying or swampy soils. 
[ Nos. 1, 2 and 3 from low ground Experimental Garden ; Nos, 4, 5 and 6, high 
ground Military Reserve, Tanglin. ] 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
Water expelled at °2i2 F., 
Organic matter and com- 
84.631 
19.040 
14.645 
18.940 
26. 190 
25.810 
bined water,* 
10.056 
5* I 49 
3.926 
2.190 
2.882 
6.684 
Oxides of iron, 
.224 
3.416 
.871 
2 -5°5 
1 .087 
1 *373 
Alumina, 
1.948 
2.526 
2.219 
1.125 
1. 219 
2.248 
Lime, 
.081 
-I5 1 
.200 
.262 
.065 
.124 
Magnesia, 
.010 
.029 
.064 
.029 
.036 
.024 
Potash, 
.036 
.022 
.052 
.062 
.059 
.03 r 
Soda, 
.009 
.007 
•°37 
.016 
.020 
.013 
Thuplinic acid, 
.010 
.020 
.021 
.051 
.018 
.023 
Sulphuric acid, 
.030 
.028 
.017 
.038 
.01 9 
.030 
Carbonic acid, 
.049 
.162 
.256 
.389 
•147 
•555 
Chlorine, 
.01 1 
.003 
.002 
.004 
.003 
.005 
Silica and Silicates,! 
18.866 
85.786 
9 1 ,o 1 5 
91.767 
92.654 
15.01 1 
100.000 
100.000 
100.000 
100.000 
100.000 
100.000 
^Containing Nitrogen, ... 
t Coarse sand separated on 
1-097 
•045 
0.30 
.017 
.030 
■ l2 3 
washing, ... 
5- 010 
51.940 
62.520 
20,182 
7.230 
43-212 
l * 
' / 
( 
0 
