4 
collecting in Trengganu, this time in November, and collected 135 numbers, 
of which 60 were new records for Trengganu and 14 appear to be new 
species, which will be described later. I would like to thank the State Forest 
Officer, Mr. Fyfe, and the District Forest Officer, ’Che Ibrahim, who accom¬ 
panied him and provided transport. Mr. Sinclair returned by way of Kota 
Bahru in Kelantan. 
(ii) EXCHANGE OF HERBARIUM SPECIMENS 
20. During the year 3,735 sheets of specimens were mounted and laid 
in the Herbarium, compared with the 1.636 in 1953. This increase was due 
in part to the 2,732 duplicates received from the Herbaria of Bogor, the 
Forest Departments of North Borneo, New Guinea and Sarawak, the Forest 
Research Institute at Kepong, Kew, Leiden, Dehra Dun and Manila. A large 
collection of fresh water swamp species gathered by Mr. J. A. R. Anderson 
of the Sarawak Forest Department was particularly valuable, as many of these 
were not represented in the Singapore Herbarium. Our grateful thanks are 
due to all those who donated specimens. 
21. We sent out 3,321 exchange duplicates, compared with only 88 in 
1953. These were despatched to the Herbaria of Kew, British Museum, 
Edinburgh, Leiden, Bogor, Paris, Manila, Dehra Dun, Forest Department of 
North Borneo, Forest Research Institute at Kepong, and Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment at Bangkok. 
22. There was also an increase in the number of specimens sent on 
loan to botanists working on the Flora Malesiana, mainly to Leiden, Bogor 
and Kew, the number being 3,097 as compared with 2,563 in 1953. A number 
•of previous loans were returned with the plant names checked and revised 
and many unnamed specimens were determined. This will be of great assist¬ 
ance to future botanists studying our collections, as the names in these 
families have now been brought up-to-date. 
(iii) TAXONOMIC RESEARCH 
23. Mr. Sinclair, when not engaged on routine work of identification, 
tetc., continued his revision of Myristicaceas (Nutmeg Family). He obtained 
loans of specimens from Kew, Calcutta, Dehra Dun, Lae, Leiden, Utrecht, 
Florence and Breslau, which helped him to clear up various points of the 
nomenclature. Unfortunately many of the types of the New Guinea species 
were destroyed in Berlin during the war, thus adding to the difficulty of the 
work. 
24. Dr. Furtado continued his investigation of palms, revising the genus 
Calamus. It is a particularly difficult genus, as specimens preserved in herbaria 
are often imperfect, due to the difficulty of collecting large rattans which 
climb to the top of tall trees and are firmly fixed by reflexed hooks. Often 
only the tips of the leaves are collected and the more difficult basal parts 
and troublesome spiny sheaths are neglected. Furthermore, the parts required 
for exact identification are many, and unless all portions are carefully 
labelled at the time of collection there is a danger of mixing them during 
drying. In fact one rattan specimen sent to Singapore was found on examina¬ 
tion to consist of three distinct genera. 
(iv) WEEKLY EXHIBIT OF WILD FLOWERS 
25. Beginning in November a small weekly exhibit of seven common 
wild plants, which can be found growing in Singapore, was staged in the 
Riant House. Wherever possible the previous week’s exhibit was maintained 
