2 
Mohamed Shah bin Haji Mohamed Nur was appointed Plant Collector on 
1st January, having spent the previous year as a daily-paid labourer learning 
this work. 
9. Mr. Purseglove attended a Symposium on the “Vegetation of the 
Humid Tropics” arranged by U.N.E.S.C.O. in Ceylon in March. The Director 
acted as Chairman of the Committee on Animal and Vegetable Life and 
Resources of the Pan-Malayan Scientific Advisory Council during the year. 
He was Chairman of the Singapore Branch of the Malayan Nature Society, 
Vice-President of the Gardening Society, and a member of the Court of the 
University of Malaya. 
10. A list of the staff of the Botanic Gardens, Division I—III, is given 
in Appendix /. 
III. METEOROLOGICAL 
11. A new meteorological station was set up in the Orchid Enclosure 
in January. The Singapore Meteorological Office very kindly supplied the 
following instruments: — maximum and minimum thermometers, wet and dry 
bulb thermometers, recording thermograph, recording hygrograph, rain gauge, 
recording rain gauge which records density of precipitation, sunshine recorder, 
solar radiation thermometer, grass minimum thermometer, three earth thermo¬ 
meters for the depths of four inches, one foot and four feet and a Stevenson 
screen. It was thus possible to extend considerably the data on local climatic 
conditions, which is of great importance to the study of plant growth and 
especially the time of leaf fall and flowering. The records for the new station 
taken at 8 a.m. are given in Appendix III, while those for the old station, 
where readings continued at 9.30 a.m., are given in Appendix II. These may 
be summarized as follows: — 
\ 
Gardens ' 
Orchid Enclosure 
Office 
from 21-1-56 
Total Rainfall 
, . 105.17 in. 
100.25 in. 
Highest Fall in 24 hours 
4.33 in. 
4.00 in. 
No. of days on which rain fall .. 
201 
202 
Average Rainfall 1914-56 
100.00 in. 
— 
Mean Maximum Temperature .. 
86.3°F. 
85.7°F. 
Highest Maximum Temperature 
92.8°F. 
91.8°F. 
Mean Minimum Temperature .. 
74.1°F. 
73.3°F. 
Lowest Minimum Temperature 
70.2°F. 
69.0°F. 
Mean Temperature Dry Bulb .. 
80.1°F. 
75.4°F. 
at 9.30 a.m. 
at 8 a.m. 
Mean Temperature Wet Bulb .. 
76.4°F. 
74.9°F. 
at 9.30 a.m. 
at 8 a.m. 
Mean Relative Humidity 
83.5% 
96.1% 
at 9.30 a.m. 
at 8 a.m. 
Mean Minimum Grass Temperature 
. . — 
70.7°F. 
Mean Earth Temperature 4 in. 
.. — 
80.3 °F. 
Mean Earth Temperature 1 ft. 
.. — 
82.6°F. 
Mean Earth Temperature 4 ft. 
.. — 
83.1°F. 
Mean Daily Hours Sunshine 
.. — 
4.2 
Mean Solar Radiation .. 
11 — r 
137.3°F t 
