7 
Plant House.- — In the plant house the systematic arrangement of plants 
was somewhat extended, but progress in the fern sections was held up by the 
collapse of the arcade supporting the climbing 'plants on the Cluny Road Side. 
The arcade was renewed and the border replanted but the section remained 
too much exposed to the sun to be usable. All the aroids were conspicuously 
labelled, and a different climbing species planted against each of the steel 
pillars supporting the main section of the house. A number of additions were 
made to the aquatic plants in the tanks, and all were labelled. Additions 
to the climbers on the front of the house were as follows :— Afgekia sericea , 
Abrus pulchellus, Gloriosa virescens, Maurandia scandens. Argyreia Hookeri 
and Cryptolepis elegans grew very vigorously but did not flower. 
New Introductions. —A large number of seeds were received as exchanges 
from other gardens, and some of the resulting plants were assigned permanent 
places in the Garden during the year. Altogether about ioo species of woody 
plants and palms were planted out, in addition to some herbaceous species. 
Among these the following trees were included: Acacia arabica, Alangium 
s a hi folium, Barringtonia acutangula, Canarium album, Dysoxylum 
angustifolium, Enterolobium cyclocarpum , Lagerstroemia tomentosa, L. 
villosa, Mhnusops Kauki, Myroxylum toluiferum, Sapindus rarak, Sindora 
cochinohinensis, Triplaris Surinamensis. The following recently introduced 
shrubs were planted: Aphelandra coccinea , Berbcris Fortunei, Callicarpa 
lanata, C. macrophylla, Gardenia coronaria, Ixora stricta v. alba, I. undulata , 
Magnolia piunila , Nandina domcstica, Phyllanthus atropurpurcus, P. nivosns, 
Pseudcranthcmum scticalyx, Randia dumetorum, Rondeletia odorata, 
Stenolobium incisum , Strobilanthes anisophyllus, Spiraea media , Thevetia 
neriifolia v. aurantiaca; the following climbers:— Bignonia divers if alia, B. 
excelsa, Ipomoea coccinea, Ipomea hederacca, Jacqucnwntia montana, 
Mucuna Birdwoodiana, Tecoma radicans ; and the following palms: — 
Acoclorraphc Wrightii, Angistrophyllum sccundifiorum, Hyophorbc amari- 
caulis, Nephrosperma van Houttenii , Pritchardia sp., JVallichia dcnsiflora. 
Owing to the fact that the Garden is in most parts already fully planted, 
it is difficult to find suitable places for some of the new plants, especially trees. 
There is still a little room for more trees in some areas, and more room can 
be made .by the removal of some trees of species represented by numerous 
individuals. The larger lawns will of course be maintained as open spaces 
to preserve the natural beauty of the landscape. 
Weather. — On the whole the year was a dry one. The total rainfall was 
86'05 inches. November was the wettest month with 11*61 inches; July the 
driest with 2-15 inches. The sudden dry weather after the first week of January 
caused a general flowering of trees in the early part of the year, and there 
was a good fruit crop about June to July. The dry weather occurring later did 
not cause much further flowering of trees. 
7 Notes on plants of interest. — Two Adansonia plants put out towards 
the end of 1927 made good growth for some months, but during the year 
T929 added little to their height, though they grew slowly the whole time and 
increased somewhat in thickness. Probably the heavy clay soil is partly 
responsible for the restricted growth. 
Bougainvillea Maud Chuttleburgh, purchased from Messrs. L. R. Russell, 
Ltd., in 1925, flowered for the first time in September, 1929, poorly. Evidently 
this is one of the varieties which will never flower freely in Singapore. 
The Hydnocarpus and Taraktogenos trees, planted in 1922, have nearly 
all made good growth, but none have flowered yet. This is probably due 
partly to the somewhat shaded position they occupy. 
Hand picking of beetles after dark has been resorted to in order to pro¬ 
tect rose plants and a few others (notably Warsewiczia coccinea) of which all 
new leaves are immediately eaten by beetles. This has resulted in very 
greatly improved growth of the plants concerned, and a fairly good bed of 
rose plants has been developed. 
