18 
Buildings. —Plant-house No. 7 (in the potting yard) was com¬ 
pletely rebuilt with concrete posts, steel roof framework and hard¬ 
wood laths, by the Public Works Department. An expanded metal 
lock-up store w T as constructed in the potting shed. Plant houses 4 and 
5 were re-roofed with attaps by the Gardens staff. 
Notes on plants of interest.—Bauhinia bidentata gave a very 
fine display of bloom on the roof of plant house No. 3 in February. It 
was planted there about 10 years ago and first flowered in 1931. It 
is the commonest large climbing Bauhinia in the Peninsula and often 
covers the crowns of large forest trees with a mass of orange flowers. 
It is worth planting in any large garden, its only disadvantages being 
the large size of the plants and the fact that they usually only flower 
once a year. Lagerstroemia Loudoun hoovered in March, and is a 
very attractive addition to the flowering trees in the Garden. It was 
introduced a few years ago by seeds from Siam. As mentioned above 
under new planting , seeds were obtained from five different 
Bougainvilleas, and seedlings raised. The only Bougainvillea from 
which seeds have formerly been obtained at Penang was B. lateritia. 
It is hoped that some of the seedlings may produce new varieties. The 
upper slopes of lawn E have proved very suitable for this group of 
plants and the collection is being gradually enlarged. The very fine 
African climber Camoensia maxima produced a fruit for the first 
time on record at Penang; the pod contained two seeds. The large 
clump of Bamboo near the stream in section S flowered for the first 
time on record; the flowers have enabled it to be identified as 
Bambusa teres , a species from Assam. 
Section V. —The formal garden in this section has been made 
very attractive, and arrangements for opening it to the public were 
made at the end of the year. Mr. Flippance drew up plans for 
developing the remainder of the section with herbaceous borders, lotus 
tank, pillars for climbers, and at the far end a raised terrace to 
accomodate a small pavilion and pergolas, with a paved area in 
front of the terrace. It is intended to carry out these plans as far as 
possible in 1936, and a special vote of $2,000 has been provided for 
the purpose. 
GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMAIN AND OTHER 
OUTSIDE CHARGES 
Singapore 
Government House Domain. —Mr. Best had charge of work in 
the Domain until September, when he handed over to Mr. Nauen. 
The general maintenance of the outer parts of the Domain continued 
as usual, the chief change being the use of an “Autoscythe” instead 
of bent-cutters to cut the rougher areas of grass, where ordinary 
mowers cannot be used. Several dead or unsightly trees were 
removed from various places, and several strangling figs were cut 
away from Eugenia and other trees. New trees w^ere planted along 
the drive to the stables (Cassias and Jacaranda), and in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of the lower tennis courts, where a number of additional 
flowering and other trees were needed to accompany the new planting 
scheme on the terrace. 
