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Plants Introduced by Ridley 
Ridley greatly enriched the Gardens’ collection of living plants 
both by introduction and exchange with the major botanical 
institutions throughout the world and by collections made on 
his many excursions in Malaya, Borneo, Java and Sumatra. A few 
of the plants introduced by Ridley are shown in this exhibit. 
Plant and Seed Exchange 
For the past 80 years the Gardens have exchanged seeds and 
planting materials with Botanic Gardens, institutions and bota¬ 
nists throughout the world, as well as providing material for 
research purposes for individual botanists. The Gardens publishes 
a seeds list which is distributed to all Botanic Gardens and we, in 
return, rec’eive lists from them. In this way our living collections 
are increased and plants of horticultural and scientific interest 
become available for local cultivation. 
Seed Packing and Despatch 
The Gardens have built up over the years a reputation for 
sending throughout the world seeds well-packed and of good 
quality. Seeds of many tropical plants soon lose their viability 
and it is necessary to pack some of them in damp ground- 
charcoal so that germination has already begun when they reach 
their destination in far away countries. This method was deve¬ 
loped by Mr. Ridley and proved of tremendous value in the dis¬ 
semination of rubber seeds throughout the world. One of our 
seed collectors is Che Ahmad bin Hassan, who has been on the 
staff of the Botanic Gardens since 1901 and who was Mr. Ridley’s 
Plant Collector. 
Kerengga Ants 
Mr. Ridley did not confine his studies to botany. He made 
valuable contributions to Malayan zoology. He was an indefatig¬ 
able collector and a large number of Malayan animals bear his 
name, ranging through the animal kingdom from bats to insects 
and snails. One of his most remarkable discoveries was of the 
habit of the Kerengga Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina), which uses its 
own larvae to make silk for the construction and repairing of its 
nest of leaves. This is shown in the accompanying exhibit. 
Mr. Ridley also published papers on Malayan geology, archaeo¬ 
logy, meteorology, seismology and tropical medicine. 
Photographs of Mr. H. N. Ridley 
Some of the photographs have been taken by Mr. G. H. 
Addison, Curator, from old publications. 
