5 
(iv) WEEKLY EXHIBITS OF WILD PLANTS 
24. The weekly exhibit of seven wild plants in the plant house begun 
in November, 1954 was continued throughout the year. It continued to be 
popular and has stimulated interest in the local flora. 
V. HORTICULTURAL WORK 
(i) GENERAL 
25. Clearing of thickets, cutting of grass and the sweeping of leaves 
occupied much of the time of the general labour force. The greater part of the 
clearing was done on lawns W, X and Y, which have been somewhat ne¬ 
glected in the past. A considerable amount of wanton damage was done in 
the nursery and the pot plants were moved from there to the orchid enclosure. 
It is still necessary to maintain sufficient stocks of planting material in the 
nursery beds, both for Gardens' requirements and for sale, and it is desirable 
that the area should be enclosed with a security fence. With the employment 
of a new pot-plant gardener and their removal to the orchid enclosure, the 
standard and range of pot plants has improved. Two large tembusu trees 
( Fagraea fragrans ) in the Arboretum were uprooted with a Trewella winch, 
which effected a great saving in labour. The trunks were cut up into suitable 
lengths and used as posts for the new pergolas in the plant house. Adequate 
spare-parts were available for the motor mowers, with the result that there 
were few stoppages and lawns for the most part were kept in good condition. 
Exceptions were lawns P. Z and Y, where conditions are too rough for existing 
machines and a strong motor scythe is required for this work. Now that ample 
quantities of animal manures are available composting is being done on a 
greatly increased scale. To save transport and labour, compost heaps were made 
on various lawns throughout the Gardens. They can be kept tidy and it is 
hoped that they will serve as an object lesson to visitors. 
26. Inevitably in a large plant collection such as this, with over 3,000 
species growing in the Gardens — and this does not include annuals and 
hybrids — losses occur from time to time. The more serious losses during the 
year were Araucaria braziliensis, which died on Lawn C and the Seychelles 
double coconut or coco dc mer (Lodoicca seychellarum), which was killed by 
red-stripe weevils (Rhynchophorus schach ) on Lawn K, while the second speci¬ 
men of this species was killed by falling branches of Kurrimia paniculata near 
the Cluny Road entrance, which blew down in December and which also neces¬ 
sitated the cutting down of this very fine tree. Fortunately four seeds of the 
double coconut had been obtained from the Seychelles and were planted on 
Lawn W. The avenue of sugar palms (Arenga saccharifera ) along the road 
to the Tyersall Gate had to be taken out in making the new orchid enclosure. 
These palms usually flower and die after about 25 years, and as flowering had 
already begun they would have had to have been taken out soon in any case. 
27. All the time new plants are brought in for trial and after establish¬ 
ment are planted out in the Gardens. Among these a white variety of Petraea 
volubilis was planted on Lawn H and a fine new Mussaenda “Dona aurora” is 
now well established. Mucuna rostrata , the seeds of which had kindly been 
sent in March 1954 by Dr. Herklots, Principal of the Imperial College of 
Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, flowered for the first time at the end of the 
year. Although the inflorescence is not as big and the flowers not as brilliant 
as Mucuna bennettii , nevertheless, its waxy orange flowers are most attractive. 
A different species of creeper was planted at each of the tembusu posts on the 
