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normally difficult to propagate. The experiments indicated that little 
difficulty should be experienced in rooting cuttings of such plants as 
Dipladenia, Bougainvillea formosa and so forth. 
Experiments in the control of slugs and snails by means of powdered 
Meta-fuel mixed with rice-bran proved successful. 
Attempts were made to graft a brilliantly coloured but straggling 
Bougainvillea, such as Mrs. Butt, on to a more compact stock. One inarch 
and one cleft-graft were successful. Probably the inarch-method is the 
one most likely to give quick results. 
A considerable time was spent on the card-catalogue of new introduc¬ 
tions, chiefly in bringing it up to date. Also, a start was made with the 
re-numbering and cataloguing of permanent trees and shrubs in the Gardens, 
and at the end of the year some 400 trees and shrubs on Lawn A, Lawn B, 
Lawn C, Lawn E and Lawn S had been dealt with. Many of these trees 
and shrubs had been numbered in 1922, but the labels used were small and 
fragile and soon became illegible or were lost. The new numbers, which 
were punched out of heavy sheet zinc, should prove much more durable. 
The most important piece of work during the year was the completion 
of the New Garden in Lawn V. The pavilion was finished early in the 
year by the addition of the roof and the laying of old Malacca flooring 
tiles. The terrace was paved with concrete slabs and the surrounding walls 
finished off with concrete capping tiles. The three sets of steps leading- 
up to the terrace were laid with old Malacca tiles. Crazy paving was made 
and laid in the fore-court and planted with such low growing plants as 
Zinnia linearis, Hymen at her uni tenuilobum, Portulaca, Verbena, etc. The 
climbers on the pergola were planted and made very rapid growth. A 
double row of Gnetum gnemon (28 in all) was planted on each side of the 
long borders, and these borders, each measuring approximately 250 ft. x 
10 ft., were completely planted up, there being some 73 separate plantings 
in each of the four sections. The lily tank in the centre of the garden was 
filled with water and the wings at each end filled with soil, in which it was 
intended to grow Nelumbium. Cyperus papyrus was planted and grew 
vigorously, but neither Nelumbium nor Nymphcea could be induced to 
grow, even after many attempts. This difficulty had been encountered 
before in brick and concrete tanks, and it might be due to some toxic 
substance, to which water lilies are extremely susceptible, being leached 
out of the walls. The water-supply was derived from the pond in the Lily r 
Gully and was used in the tank in the Formal Garden, in which waterlilies 
grew quite well. The acidity of the water, which was remarkably low, 
was the same in both tanks. 
The most troublesome part of the work in the New Garden was the 
erecting of the pillars on the outside of the borders. These were intended 
to support creepers and were of reinforced concrete, T -shaped, alternately 
round and square in section and linked by double chains. They were cast 
in situ and great pains were taken to ensure that they were properly 
alligned. Some difficulty was encountered in adjusting the height of the 
pillars due to the fact that the ground was not level. The whole of the 
work on the New Garden was done by the Gardens staff, an extra mason 
only being employed until March. There is little doubt that this new 
garden, when the plants are fully grown, will be an asset to Penang. It is 
something quite new in gardening in this part of the world. 
The mowing gang, early in the year, was deprived of its favourite 
implement — a section of an old scythe blade inserted in a wooden handle. 
This killed more grass than it cut, resulting in the continued bareness of 
steep slopes. It also caused injury to exposed tree roots. On slopes where 
mowers could not be used, garden shears proved satisfactory, if they were 
