7 
soil was saturated with rain. Composting was continued on the same scale 
as last year. Unfortunately the compost heaps on the various lawns provided 
an ideal breeding place for the Rhinoceros Beetle {Oryctes rhinoceros) which 
is causing so much damage to coconuts and other palms in Singapore. It is 
hoped that by collecting and destroying the larvse when the heaps are turned 
and examined every six weeks, together with the use of insecticides, that 
some measure of control will be possible. It was found that breeding was 
diminished when grass or other vegetation had grown on the heaps. 
34. Advantage was taken of the unusually low level of the lake during 
the construction of the retaining wall to root out 'the lotus ( Nelumbium 
speciosum), Hydrilla ovcdifolia and Enhydrias angustipetala which threatened 
to swamp the water lilies and other water plants. The Sago palms near the 
main gate on lawn A were cut back and the thicket round the lake outlet 
was cleared. Several clumps of bamboo and trees of Eugenia grandis and 
Fagrcea fragrans were removed from the lake edge on lawn F to permit a 
vista across the lake from lawn J. The trees overhanging Cluny Road and 
Tyersall Avenue were cut back to the boundary. The quality and quantity 
of the pot plants have improved greatly since their transfer to the orchid 
enclosure. 
35. Three large round beds were made on the bandstand terrace above 
the tea kiosk and planted with Duranta ellisii, Cassia auriculata and Steno - 
lobium stans. Other new beds included Clerodendron paniculatum to the east 
of the pergola, Calliandra emarginata at the junction of Lower Ring Road and 
Office Gate Road and Randia macrantha under-planted with Orthosiphon 
stamineus above the sun-dial terrace. Sections of seven different hedge plants 
were planted alongside the orchid enclosure for trial and demonstration pur¬ 
poses; they were Acalypha siamensis, A. sanderiana, Cordia cylindristachya, 
Ehretia microphylla, Eranthemum malaccense, Musscmda luteola and Randia 
spinosa. Borders faced with dressed coral were constructed along both sides of 
the pergolas at the plant house and plants bedded out in them include Begonia 
coccinea vars., Citharexylum quadrangulare, Cuphea ignea, Gloxinia maculata, 
Lantana camara, Nepenthes ampullaria, N. gracilis, Rhododendron javanicum 
x indicum, Rhcea discolor and Strobilanthus dyerianus. New creepers planted 
on the pergola were Raphistemma pulchellum, Stephanotis floribunda and 
Urceola brachysapala. The creeper Camaensia maxima, transferred to a more 
exposed position in 1955, has flowered freely during the year. 
36. The most notable introduction during the year was the Bougain¬ 
villea Golden Glow, with apricot coloured flowers, which has grown" and 
flowered well. Among the species new to the Gardens planted out during the 
year were Podocarpus koordersii, P. teysmanii and Talauma hodgsonii on 
lawn C, an hermaphrodite nutmeg ( Myristica fragrans) on lawn D, Pterocar- 
pus echinata, P. rohrii and P. vidalianus on lawn E, and A morphophallus 
titanum on lawns T and X. Some of the foliage plants, including species new 
to science, introduced by the Director from Sarawak, show promise. Losses 
occurred in the Gardens during the year, but did not include any species 
which are irreplaceable. 
(ii) ORCHIDS 
37. The Gardens’ collection of orchid species and hybrids, which were 
transferred to the new orchid enclosure early in 1955, continued to show 
better growth and flowering than on the old site at the Director’s house. 
By the end of 1956 all the orchid seedling houses had also transferred to 
the new enclosure and the seedlings have benefited, as the site is more open 
and permits a better circulation of air. It has also been possible to dispense 
with the wire-netting round the houses, as the monkeys have learnt to respect 
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