Publications 
Volume XII, part l, of the Gardens' Bulletin was published in April, 
consisting entirely of a critical revision of the genus Eugenia in Malaya 
by Mr. M. R. Henderson. Part 2 of this volume was published in December, 
and contains miscellaneous papers on Orchids. Ferns, Nomenclature, Palms, 
and a list of William Farquhars Drawings of Malacca Plants, by Mr. R. E. 
Holttum, Dr. C. X. Furtado and Mr. I. H. Burkill. 
The first two of what is hoped will be a series of small booklets, briefly 
describing and illustrating by means of line drawings, familiar garden plants, 
were placed on sale during the year. The first describes ten flowering trees, 
the second ten flowering shrubs. They are sold at fifty cents per copy. 
Other work by the members of the Department published during the 
year included an important paper on the classification of Ferns in the Biolo¬ 
gical Review (Cambridge) by Mr. R. E. Holttum, and several papers, also 
by Mr. Holttum, on Malayan Orchids in Chronica Naturce, The Malayan Nature 
Journal , and in the Malayan Orchid Review, the last named containing a most 
valuable list of orchid hybrids of the kinds which either are. or could be 
grown in Singapore. Nearly 400 hybrids appear in the list. 
Dr. C. X. Furtado published a paper dealing with the nomenclature of 
a certain fern in Lloydia (America). The first part of Mr. Hendersons popular 
illustrated account of Malayan Wild Flowers was published by the Malayan 
Nature Society at the end of the year. 
Roads, Buildings, etc: 
Those roads in the northern half of the Gardens which were in poor 
condition were made up and surfaced by the Public Works Department. A 
new access road to the Director’s and Assistant Director’s quarters was made 
from Tyersail Road. Vehicular traffic has been restricted to one entrance and 
to certain roads only in the south of the Gardens. It is believed that this is 
appreciated by the public, who are free to walk on most of the roads without 
interference from traffic, apart from numerous bicyclists, who obey no rules 
and are hard to check. It would probably enhance the amenities of the 
Gardens considerably to provide a suitable car park and to exclude all wheeled 
traffic (with the exception of perambulators) as is done in nearly all Botanic 
Gardens in other countries. 
The large and small plant houses, which are used for the display of 
pot plants and orchids, were repainted and reroofed by the Public Works De¬ 
partment. It was pointed out in the 1948 report that the requirements of roofed 
houses for the propagation of seedlings, especially orchid seedlings, were 
still far short of our needs. This state of affairs continues, Iri 1947, in order 
to save those orchid seedlings which had survived the Japanese occupation and 
which were in great danger of being lost because of the dilapidated condition 
of the only two roofed houses, and to enable the continuation and expansion 
of the programme of orchid hybridisation, a temporary house was constructed 
by Gardens labour. This was roofed with a substance called “windolite”, which 
is a sheet of cellulose acetate supported on fine wire mesh. This was used 
because it is very light and easily handled, but it does not resist the beating 
action of rain. When, after about nine months, it began to disintegrate and 
leak badly, it was replaced by corrugated aluminium sheet, light being admitted 
