Appendix N.
HONG KONG.
REPORT ON THE BOTANICAL AND FORESTRY DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEAR 1934.
GENERAL.
The weather, during the first six and the last three months of the year, was favourable to both gardening and forestry operations; during the third quarter garden operations were much delayed and large numbers of winter seedlings were destroyed by heavy rains.
2. The rainfall recorded by the gauge in the New Garden was 97.39 inches in 132 days as against 73.50 inches in 134 days in the preceding year.
3. Frost was recorded in the Fan Ling district of the New Territories on the night of the 7th-8th of December; of the field crops the following were badly damaged or killed:- Sweet Potato, Banana, Hemp, Tomato, Bean and Pineapple; in flower gardens Dahlia and Canna suffered damage to foliage.
4. Typhoon signals were hoisted on five occasions during the year; no damage was done by either of the gales which approached the Colony.
GARDENS, PARKS AND GROUNDS.
5. Botanic Gardens.-The Gallery Walk, which gives access to the New Garden from Glenealy, was reconstructed by the Public Works Department and opened to the public during the year; this walk has been closed since 1923, in which year a portion of it was carried away by a landslide between Robinson Road and Glenealy; it is interesting to note that this landslide took place some forty minutes after the great earthquake in Japan on September 1st, 1923.
6. Two very large specimens of Aleurites triloba, Forst. at the Albany entrance to the Old Garden were felled; the trunks were preserved to a height of six feet and were covered with the Spider Orchid, Renanthera coccinea, Lour.; this work, combined with returfing, has very much improved the appearance of this section of the garden.
7. The total number of trees, shrubs and pot plants sold during the year was 1,828,
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