4 
BOTANIC GARDENS, SINGAPORE 
The abnormally dry spell in the beginning of the year induced profuse 
flowering in such shrubs as Petraea spp., and in orchids. 
A dditto ns — 
Aralia Kerchoveana, from Melanesia and Aralia leptophylla, from 
Oceania were planted on Lawn O. Clerodendron fallax, a Javanese species, 
was also planted on Lawn O. 
Platycloden grandiflorum, a Chinese and Japanese herb of the family 
Campanulaceae, has done well. 
Two new Bougainvillaeas, B. Maud Cuttleburge and B. Thomsoni were 
planted on Lawn B. 
The Podocarpus cupressinus at the foot of the Lake was removed. The 
old Waringin at the office entrance was partly blown down in December, 
and the opportunity was taken to remove it entirely. 
Plants were supplied during the year to the Agricultural Department 
Malacca, to the P. W. D. Singapore, and to Dr. Fairchild, for the U. S. A. 
Department of Agriculture. 
As a result of Mr. Holttum's visit to Buitenzorg, various new plans 
have been made for the organisation of the Gardens. Among them, a 
beginning has been made with a system for a more easily accessible record 
of the existing woody plants in the Gardens and of the new introductions of 
all kinds. 
A card index, alphabetically arranged, is being prepared, to include in 
the first place these trees and shrubs planted in the Gardens which have 
already received numbers. This index refers to maps of the various sections 
of the Gardens, which have carefully been made by Ahmad bin Hassan, the 
Record Keeper, to show the position of every tree so that by the index it is 
possible quickly to locate any required species; this is most desirable in a 
garden such as this, in which there has been no systematic planting. The 
index and maps have also to be checked with the specimens preserved in the 
Gardens Herbarium. All data known concerning the origin and history of 
the trees are also entered on the index cards. 
As regards the older trees, this work is well advanced, but naturally 
much checking remains to be done. For new introductions in the past, a 
record has been made in the plants-inwards book only. This is a cumbrous 
article, and it is not easy for the Assistant Curator to check the plants in 
the yard from it, or to enter records of their subsequent history. Accor¬ 
dingly, a card is now prepared for each new introduction. This card is 
sent with the plants or seeds to the propagating yard, and is put into a 
temporary alphabetical index there. All pots are numbered and named with 
permanent embossed labels, as formerly. When a plant is to be planted out 
into the Garden, its card is put into the General alphabetical catalogue, with 
a note of the date, and its exact locality.. If the plant dies, the card is also 
preserved, and notes on its behaviour are entered. Periodically the Assistant 
Curator goes through all the cards in the yard catalogue, checking the plants 
and making notes where desirable. 
By this system, along with the plants-inwards book and the Gardens 
Herbarium, it is hoped to keep a more accurate record of new introductions 
which in the past have too often been lost sight of. It is a beginning, and 
will need much accurate and patient work to maintain, but we hope to carry 
it through. It will greatly add to the value of the Gardens, and will be of 
considerable assistance to the staff in the location of plants needed by 
visitors or correspondents. It will also preserve definite record of the 
behaviour of plants difficult to cultivate, or unsuited to this climate, which 
do not survive, and so be a guide to future Introductions. 
The aim is finally to extend this index to all species cultivated in the 
Gardens, but to achieve this will take several years. 
