2 
8. The Director acted as Chairman of the Committee on Animal and 
Vegetable Life and Resources of the Pan-Malayan Scientific Advisory Council 
during the second half of the year. 
9. A list of the Divisions I to III officers is given in the Appendix I. 
III. METEOROLOGICAL 
10. The meteorological records for the year are given in Appendix II. 
The total rainfall was 102.35 inches compared with 117.00 inches in 1954 and 
the average rainfall in the past eleven years of 105.09 inches. Following the 
very heavy rains in December 1954 of 26.77 inches, January was unusually wet 
with 23.84 inches. Thereafter, February and March were much drier than 
usual; in fact the average monthly rainfall for the months February to June was 
below average. Consequently, the rainfall was much more seasonal than is 
usual in Singapore, and this resulted in a heavy flowering and fruiting, especially 
among indigenous plants, both here and in the Federation of Malaya. The 
highest rainfall in 24 hours was in July, when out of a total of 7.14 inches for 
the month, 5.20 inches fell in one day. 
11. The highest shade temperature recorded during the year was 96 C F. 
in May and the lowest was 71.2°F. in August; the mean maximum temperature 
being 86.9 r F., the mean minimum 74.3 °F., while the average temperature at 
9.30 a.m. was 80.9°F. The mean relative humidity was 81.7 per cent. 
IV. BOTANICAL WORK AND HERBARIUM 
(i) COLLECTING 
12. With more botanists now on the staff the amount of collecting done 
during the year was greatly increased. This adds much to the value of our work, 
as, not only is useful material added to our collections, but it is of great help 
in connection with our Revised Flora of Malaya and the Flora Malesiana. 
Duplicates are also obtained for distribution to, and exchange with other 
herbaria. 
13. Three plants which are new to the Flora of Singapore Island were 
collected during the year. These were Dipterocarpus apterus, Cyperus san- 
guineolentus subsp. cyrtostachys and Cymodocea rotundata. The latter found 
at Teluk Paku is a marine flowering plant and is also a new record for Malaya. 
Considering the very extensive collecting which has been made in Singapore 
over the past 130 years and the continued clearing and destruction of vege¬ 
tation, it is somewhat surprising that new records and sometimes new species 
can still be obtained on this small island. Two species of plants, which had 
not been found for many years, were also collected, namely, Halophila 
spinulosa at Tanah Merah Besar and Cynometra ramiflora in the Kranji 
Nature Reserve. Notes of all the above plants, together with other new 
records and rarities from Singapore, will be published in the next number of 
the Gardens' Bulletin. Another interesting discovery during the year was 
Aponogetum loriae in the Van Kleef Aquarium. Plants had been brought in 
from Kota Tinggi for growing in the aquarium tanks. This is a new record 
for Malaya, having only been found previously in New Guinea and S.W. 
Celebes in the Malaysian region. It reproduces abundantly by bulbils and 
flowered in the Gardens’ laboratory. The Director made a collection of 
common Singapore weeds, and even in his garden found some species which 
had rarely been collected before in Malaya. 
