11 
In order to store conveniently the duplicates of new and doubtful 
species collected in Malaya until such time as they could be studied critically, 
a new kind of herbarium-cabinet was ordered. It was lower than the 
ordinary cabinet but its width was double so that its relative capacity was 
increased and bulky parcels could be put on the shelves. One such cabinet 
would be placed on the top of two adjacent pairs of ordinary cabinets. The 
excess study-material, then placed in the new uppermost cabinet, would 
correspond in systematic position in the herbarium with the mounted 
specimen of the material in the ordinary cabinets underneath. Ten such 
cabinets were obtained as a beginning. 
To facilitate the study of Malayan plants for wffiich dried specimens 
are inadequate, Mr. Corner has been making during the last few years a 
collection of flow T ers and fruits preserved in spirit. The collection now 
contains more than a thousand specimens and has become a useful store of 
reference whenever the revision of some genus is taken in hand. 
In connection with the research undertaken in the Herbarium during 
the year, special thanks are offered to the following persons and institu¬ 
tions:—to the staff of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; of the 'Rijks 
Herbarium, Leiden; and of the Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg for help in 
naming difficult and critical material : to Professor N. K. Svedeijus of the 
University, Uppsala, for his invaluable assistance in solving certain 
problems concerning Artocarpus and Ficus: to Mr. J. W. Grant, Rice 
Research Officer, Burma, to the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Tenas- 
serim Circle, Moulmein, and to the Principal of the College of 
Agriculture, Coimbatore, Madras, for sending specimens of jack-and 
chempedak-fruits for a study concerning Artocarpus: to the Principal 
Agricultural Officers, Kedah and Kelantan, and to Mr. J. N. Milsum, 
Senior Assistant Agriculturist, for sending specimens of village fruit-trees. 
THE LIBRARY 
As in previous years, Mr. Furtado was in charge of the library but, 
because the work had increased greatly, he was assisted as far as possible 
by Mr. J. L. Pestana, Laboratory Assistant. A few 7 years ago Mr. Furtado 
began the compilation of tw’o special indices in addition to the ordinary 
index of books : one of these covered the recent literature on Malayan 
plants, and the other the additions and corrections to Ridley’s Flora of the 
Malay Peninsula. Botanical research on the Malaysian flora has increased 
so much in recent years that the labour of compiling these indices has 
become correspondingly involved. 
Great difficulty has been encountered in protecting the books, wffiich 
are kept on open shelves, from the attacks of boring beetles and silverfish. 
Most books w r ere periodically fumigated iq batches throughout the year and 
over one w^eek-end the wdiole library urns sealed and treated with para- 
dichlor-benzene. It w’as decided that the larger and more valuable books 
must be kept in closed cases. Accordingly two large, glass-fronted cases 
with sliding doors were acquired for the library and two smaller, but similar 
wall-cases were fixed in the herbarium. In these w T all-cases many lecent 
systematic works on the Malaysian flora were placed so as to relieve the 
main library of the congestion on its shelves. 
Among the more valuable additions to the library were the following 
W'orks : — 
Don, General System of Gardening and Botany, 3 Vols. (1831-38). 
Camus, Les Chenes: Tome 1 (1934b t. 2 (1935-36). 
Forster, Characteres Generum Plantarum (1776). 
yo 
