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10. Evergreen shrubs and trees carried on their leaves solid coverings of ice of an inch in thickness. The great weight of this ice caused the branches of trees to assume a pendent form, the strain in many cases causing the limbs to snap off with a crash. All vegetation throughout the hill regions of the Colony was thus covered with ice, as were also most other objects. Telegraph and telephone wires from Victoria Gap upwards were covered with ice of an inch in thickness, and in addition, carried icicles as much as 3 inches in length as close as they could be packed side by side. This caused many of the telephone wires to break, and the iron post at Victoria Gap which supported them was snapped off a few inches above the ground.
11. The windward sides of the walls of the look-out house at the Peak were from top to bottom covered with perfectly transparent ice of an inch in thickness.
23. Accompanying this report are six photographic views which were taken on the 16th January owing to the ice at various places in the Peak district. It is somewhat difficult to represent ice in photographs, as bright light has much the same effect as ice which owes its white appearance merely to reflected light, but it will be understood that the white in these views is produced by ice.
No. 1 is a view of Cryptomeria japonica trees and Cycas revoluta near Mountain Lodge, with Mount Kellet in the distant background.
No. 2 is the look-out house at the signal-station, Victoria Peak. It shows icicles on the house, and at the base of the house grass vegetation covered with ice. It was here where the measurements were taken of grass bents covered with 5 inches in circumference of ice.
No. 3 represents a tree of Pinus sinensis encased with ice.
No. 4 exhibits an ornamental structure in Mr. BELIOS' garden at "The Eyrie" in which were various tender plants encased with thick ice.
12. All the hills on the mainland and Lantao island were likewise white with ice, one of the hills (3,147 feet) of Lantao having what appeared to be snow for some few hundreds of feet down from its summit. As early as the evening of the 15th January the summit of Taimoshan (about 3,300 feet) on the mainland had assumed a whitish appearance, presumably from ice or snow.
13. The effect of the extremely low temperature on vegetation has been disastrous.
In appendix
A the names of plants, chiefly exotic, in the Botanic Gardens which have suffered more or less are given.
14. Appendix B enumerates indigenous plants which were injured.
15. The damages in the Gardens consist chiefly in the injury or destruction of leaves, but some plants are quite killed, these being natives of much warmer regions than Hongkong. Many of the decorative plants which were not killed will be months before they can regain their ornamental appearance.
16. Every possible precaution was adopted to minimise the effect of the cold. The plant-houses, which are provided with screens merely to produce shade, were all matted in and the roofs covered with straw.
Of ferns in the houses Polypodium heracleum and Adiantum tetradactylon suffered most, other kinds being but little affected.
17. In the orchid-house, which was covered with mats and straw, all our best orchids have suffered very greatly, many being entirely killed while others were so much injured that, even if they survive, it may be some years before they regain their previous luxuriant state. A healthy plant, received from Calcutta several years ago, of Dendrobium aggregatum is apparently killed while plants of the same species growing by its side, and also others on trees where they had no shelter, which I collected 10 years ago on the Lo-fau mountains, about 60 miles from Canton, have escaped unharmed. This seems to show the capability of the plant in adapting itself to colder regions than it is generally found. In ordinary winters the temperature is too low for many kinds of orchids and other tender plants. These should be provided with glass-houses in which a little artificial heat could be maintained.
18. Tender pot-plants generally were removed to sheltered places and covered with mats.
19. The highest point of the Gardens is 320 feet above sea level, the lowest part 175 feet. Some plants of the same kinds which were damaged at the upper portions were uninjured at the lower parts of the Gardens.
20. Of exotic trees planted on the hills Albizzia Lebbek, Aleurites triloba (candle-nut-tree) and Eugenia Jambos (the rose-apple-tree) had all their leaves killed at and upwards of 600 feet above sea level. Trees of the rose-apple at about 800 feet altitude have been entirely killed.
21. At 600 feet altitude indigenous plants began to be affected, the injuries increasing with higher altitude until at about 900 feet when the extreme limit of low temperature which some plants could bear was reached, and death ensued. Most of these are tropical plants of which Hongkong, Formosa, the Luchu Islands in the Far East, and Sikkim and Himalaya in India are the northern limits of the geographical area from which they have been recorded. Of the plants killed or injured, Ficus Harlandi, Benth., Gordonia anomala, Spreng., and Garcinia oblongifolia, Champ. are known only from Hongkong. Although many of our indigenous plants have not been yet discovered elsewhere, it is to be expected that when China is better known they will be found over a larger area than the restricted one of this island. The fact of the above named plants having succumbed to the late frost indicates that when they are discovered elsewhere they will be found southward of Hongkong.
22. Considerable damage to vegetation seems to have been caused about Canton where the alluvial lands are highly cultivated. The Reverend Dr. B. C. HENRY, in a letter dated 26th January, informs me that "The destruction of vegetation about Canton has been very great. The banana plantations are ruined, and the bamboos have suffered. The Aleurites triloba look all shrivelled up, while Begonias, Euphorbias, Crotons and scores of others are simply destroyed." What Dr. HENRY reports indicates severer weather at Canton than here, as is proved by the reports of the steamers above referred to, Aleurites triloba leaves being shrivelled up at Canton, while they are here at 300 feet altitude uninjured, but at 600 feet here they are affected, and completely destroyed a little higher up the hill.
No. 5 shows ice-covered bamboos and wire netting near Mount Austin Hotel.
No. 6 is a scene of Pine trees at about 1,000 feet above sea level.
Honourable G. T. M. O'BRIEN, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary, &c., &c.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
CHARLES FORD, Superintendent, Botanical and Afforestation Department.
Appendix A.
LIST OF EXOTIC PLANTS INJURED WITHIN THE GARDENS.
Alsophila tomentosa. Acalypha marginata.
tricolor. Argyreia leptopus. Adiantum tetradactylon. Aglaonema pictum. Brides quinquevulnerum. Aeschynanthus Lobbianus. Bauhinia frondosa. Bignonia venusta. Bignonia Chamberlaynii. Bixa Orellana. Bactris sp. from Fiji. Begonia coccinea. Camellia odorata. Capparis angustifolia. Crotons.
Costus spiralis. Coccoloba uvifera. Clerodendron rosea.
Coffea arabica.
Centradenia rosea. Cattleya labiata. Calanthe vestita.
Cypripedium Stonei.
Clerodendron navissianum. Dendrobium fimbriatum.
Pierardii. crumenatum. densiflorum. Dalhousianum. taurinum. intermedium. plicatile. aduncum.
Dichorisandra ovata.
Dalechampia Roezliana rosea. Eranthemum Andersonii. Eurycles australasica. Fittonias.
Faradaya splendida. Graptophyllum spp. Gymnostachyum zeylanicum. Hyophorbe amaricaulis. Hedychium Gardnerianum.
Ilex paraguayensis.
Ixora Griffithiana.
sp. Lantana. Loddigesii. Marantas.
Musa abyssinica. Meyenia Vogelii.
Mikania scandens.
Nasturtium.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. Nephrolepis davallioides.
forsan.
Oncidium papilio. Pholidota conchoidea. Pandanus Veitchii.
utilis.
Pithecolobium Saman. Pentas carnea. Pinanga Kuhlii. Poinsettia pulcherrima. Panax fruticosum.
Guilfoylei.
Polypodium heracleum.
Phymatodes. Pteris. Paneration Fragrans. Phalaenopsis amabilis.
Schilleriana.
Renanthera sp. (Borneo). Scindopsis pictus.
Sarcanthus.
Sanchezia nobilis variegata.
Spathiphyllum sp. from Bangkok. Thunbergia Harrisii.
Violets.
Vanda tricolor.