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9. Colonial Cemetery-Numerous trees, of various sizes, were removed from the older burial sections, in order to prevent further damage to graves and headstones. The bamboo hedge along the Wong Nei Chong Road boundary, was lifted and replanted.
10. Kowloon Hospital Grounds. Additional large areas of ground, in the vicinity of a new hospital block and quarters, were levelled and turfed. Casuarina equisetifolia planted at the top and Pinus Massoniana on the slope of the bank above the approach road made good progress during the year.
11. Royal Observatory Grounds. Two Banians (Ficus retusa) two Celtis sinensis and one Lagerstroemia indica were felled in order to make room for the building of the new quarters.
12. Mountain Lodge; Colonial Secretary's Residence; Government Pavilions and Villas; Homestead Quarters; Victoria Hospital; Cenotaph Plots; Statue Square Plots; Government Offices; Parade Ground; Volunteer Headquarters; The Eyric; West End Park; Civil Hospital; Mental Hospital; Senior Officers' Quarters, Leighton Hill; Indian School; Kowloon Magistracy and King's Park. The areas of ground, under the control of this Department, at the places mentioned were kept in good order generally; undersirable undergrowth was regularly cleared, addi- tional trees and shrubs were planted where possible, grass banks and lawns, trees, shrubs and flower beds were given such atten- tion as they required.
HERBARIUM AND LIBRARY,
13. All cabinets were thoroughly overhauled and where necessary taken down and rebuilt, this will greatly facilitate the handling of the plant specimens. Sixty-one specimens were added to the local and general collections. Twelve new books were purchased and 667 bulletins and other publications were added to the Library. Plant specimens of botanical interest or ceonomic value were identified for local collectors and various institutions outside the Colony.
FORESTRY.
14. Formation of Pine Tree Plantations.-Increased areas were dealt with during the year, the number of sowings in situ of Pinus Massoniana amounted to 331,658, an increase of 72,000 over the previous year; the areas dealt with were Taipo Kau Ferestry Reserve, both inside and outside the reserve in Mount Collinson Prohibited Area, Stanley, Kowloon and Shek Li Pui Catchment Areas, Red Hill (Stanley), Mount Cameron and Sai Kung Road.
15. On areas where results of the previous years sowings in situ were below standard, seeds of Pinus Mussoniana were sown by the broadcast method, burnt areas were similarly dealt with; the total weight of seed used was 2,089 pounds.
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16. Pine Seed Collection. The Fan Ling plantations, from which the main supplies of local seed have been obtained in recent years, produced a comparatively poor crop of cones, from which only 345 pounds of seed could be extracted. Cones were collected for the first time from the young plantations between Kowloon Rifle Range and Diamond Hill. The work was in progress at the end of the year.
17. Broad-leaved Trees Planted. Tree nurseries for raising stock for this work are maintained at Kowloon Tsai, Taipo Kau, Little Hong Kong and Cheung Chau. The following were used in the formation of plantations of various sizes and the mainten- ance and extension of the roadside planting scheme, Liquidambar formosana, Melia Azedarach, Artocarpus hypargyraea, Sapium discolor, Aleurites montana, Aleurites triloba, Sterculia lanceolata, Bauhinia Blakeana, Bauhinia variegata, Tristania conferta, Melaleuca Leucadendron, Cassia glauca, Callistemon rigidus, Callistemon lanceolata, Cinnamomum Camphora, Bischofia
javanica, Acacia confusa and Acacia Farnesiana, the total number of young trees used was 8,421.
18. Cheung Chau-Six hundred young Casuarina equiseti- folia and thirty Aleurites Fordii were planted on roadsides and other suitable areas; the majority of the trees were raised in the small nursery, which is maintained on the island. Groups of Pandanus forceps in the vicinity of bathing beaches, which were reported to be harbouring snakes, were destroyed.
19. Aleurites montana in all districts produced a fair crop of seeds, Aleurites Fordii produced only a very smali crop; all trees of the latter species used for local planting are now raised from locally collected seeds. It is hoped by this method to produce a type of tree which will give better results than those raised from imported seeds.
20. Insect Pests.-Pine Tree Caterpillars (Dendrolimus punctatus) appeared in the Pine plantations at Fan Ling in January, but very fortunately only in small numbers; collection and burying, the only effective method of saving the trees, was commenced during February. The total weight of the caterpillars destroyed amounted to 480 pounds.
21. Forest and Hill Fires.-During the year 58 fires occurred as against 71 in 1982; the most serious damage was done in a young plantation below Shek ( Road and a licensed plantation on Lan Tao Island. In the former 2,500 young pines were destroyed by a comparatively small fire and in the latter many thousands of trees were lost.
22. Only one large fire broke out on the day of Ching Ming Festival and not a single fire occurred on the day of Chung Yeung Festival; the usual numerous handbills were distributed and warning notices posted; the vernacular press also kindly gave prominence to a notice requesting persons visiting graves and cenneteries to take precautions against causing damage by fire.
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