14 
The first undertaking of the year was to cut the stems of all the climbers 
in the Gardens’ Jungle, which was done methodically throughout. There 
were many sorts of big' climbers in the Jungle, not a few representing rare 
species, and it was hoped that some might have been selected as specimens, 
but the tangle of their sprays and the entwining of their stems prevented 
this. The dying sprays of the climbers soon revealed, as had been expected, 
that the crowns of many trees had become almost completely smothered : 
the climbing stems, too, had been encircling many trunks and strangling 
them. As a consequence the canopy of the Jungle was marred during the 
year by brown patches of dead foliage through which the emaciated stag- 
headed crowns of big trees projected,, ill-becoming their massive boles. But 
the canopy will close over in a few years as the trees take new life, and 
Inane Road will quickly recover its deserts for vigorous shoots are sprouting 
from the stumps of the climbers. 
The next undertaking was to trim the bamboos, the cut bases of the 
stems of which had been accumulating for a long time and were apt to 
breed mosquitoes. By judicious thinning the appearance of the big clumps 
was much improved. 
The drain leading from the leaf-mould pit to the lake had gradually 
become blocked by tree-roots so that after a heavy downpour there would 
be a sour accumulation of water for several days. The many toads would 
croak their approval but the drain was opened and re-laid. Great care 
had to be taken not to injure the roots of the big trees along Tyersall 
Avenue, and with the excavations extending in places to a depth of eight 
feet, the tunnelling became a work of art. 
The path joining the end of Liane Road with the Potting Yard was 
given a new bend so as to circumvent two magnificent trees of Shorea 
between the trunks of which it had been taken some years previously. The 
trunks and buttresses of the trees had grown so much that they had 
encroached upon the path and were continually being injured by passing 
hand-carts. At the same time as the labour-force was concentrated in this 
spot, the opportunity was taken to remove two large and unnecessary clumps 
of Bayas, Oncosperma horrida, in the neighbourhood. This palm seeds 
very freely in the Gardens and, like the oil-palm and the kabong (Arenga 
saccharifera), it is to be regarded as a major weed. 
The lake was cleaned twice during the year. The growth of weeds, 
as usual, was phenomenal and in three months after cleaning the water-lilies 
had begun to be choked. The water-lilies were thinned out so as to space 
them far apart, for they seed so freely that their growth is soon hampered 
by parasitic offspring. Moreover, there is a kind of water-maggot that 
lives on the undersides of the leaves and devours them, and by isolating 
the plants the ravages of the pest have been appreciably lessened. Of the 
three plants of the Giant Amazon Water-Lily, Victoria regia, none had 
grown up to its reputation. It was feared lest that they had been planted 
in too deep water,, so two were lifted to the shallower head of the lake where 
they had produced by the end of the year bigger and healthier leaves. 
About a dozen new varieties of water-lilies, obtained the previous year from 
Bangkok, were planted out. They were put in large concrete tubs, 
perforated for the egress of their roots, with the intention of being able to 
manure them effectively. The method did not prove very satisfactory : 
though the plants grew well at first, they soon lost their vigour, perhaps 
because the roots became asphyxiated or, may be, the initial alkalinity of 
the tubs had accelerated their growth. 
To feed the ducks and fishes by the lake became an increasing attraction 
during the year. The grass-edge between the mango-trees and the banyan, 
Ficus Kurzii, was worn into an untidy path and the bank above it was 
