+
200
firebox fitted to boiler in April 1904). It has been thoroughly overhauled during the year and used regularly at drills for drivers and fires, and is now in good working order. Another Land Engine by Shaad and Mason which has been 20 years in service, is at present out of commission, owing to the boiler tubes giving out during a monthly drill. The firebox of this boiler was previously reported to be in a weakened condition.~ A new firebox has been ordered from the makers and this engine should be in working order again at an early date. All the manual engines and gear, bose, reels, ladders, and supply carts have been kept in repair, and are now in
rood order and condition.
BOTAN ICAL AND FORESTRY
DEPARTMENT.
The report on the Botanical and Forestry Department for the year 1906 is published ia the Gazette. It states:
Garden Notes.-To make up for the losses and disappointments caused by the weather, the year was characterized by a quite unusual influx of useful additions to the herbaceous collections, From Mr. W. H. Wallace, whose garden at Amoy is one of the most beautiful in the coast ports, came two of the best acquisitions, viz., a large variety of Hemerocallis aurantiaca and Cosmos "Eldorado," both of which are doubtless destined to play an important part in Hong. kong gardens. No less import from the point of view of their probable wide cultivation in the Colony are the greatly improved varieties of Canna which Mr. J. Barton, after importing and successfully growing them for a year, most courteously placed at my disposal. There is no plant that contributes more bounti- fully to our local gardens than the Canna and these finer sorts should soon be widely known. For the same reason but in a less degree Alpinia malaccensis collected by Mr. E. H. Wilson in Yunnan in 1899 and presented to the Gardens may replace our common but less beautiful Alpiuia natans. Besides these Verbena venosa, received from the Superintendent of Parks and Open Spaces at Shanghai is sure to become a favourite, as it is a vigorous and showy summer annual. By sending seeds of Gomphocarpus physocarpus Lady Blake has added one more to the list of interesting novelties for which Hongkong Gardens are indebted to her. Among the numerous useful and ornamental plants intro- duced through the kindness of our Chief Justice, Sir Francis Piggott, from Mauritius during the year must be mentioned Ipomoes coccinea auo important addition to our October flowering plants. It is remarkable that one of the most showy plants in the gardens during that month was Artemisia lactiflora, the whole of our stock of which was raised from a single plant which appeared casually in the gardens in 1905.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[May 4, 1907-
have survived by virtue of the unbroken half of | products and plants at Foochow for our herbar their roots, had it not been for the second | fum and gardeur, typhoon which blew them down in the opposite direction thus completely severing them from the ground.
The chief recipients of plants and seeds were:-Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Messrs. A. Babing- ton, J. Barton; Sir Hoary. Berkeley, Lady Blake, Botanic Gardens, Jamaika and Mauritius, Bureau of Agriculture, Manile : Mr. Chao Lup Chee; Cheung Chau rolice Station; Commis. sioner of Castoms, Amoy; French Courant; Messrs. F. A. Haseland, F. Howell, H. Ham phreys; Sergeant Kerr, Dr. Koch. Messrs. Lau Chu Pak, Felix Levieux (Mauritius), Li Pak; Professor Matsumura (Tokyo), Mr. C. Mol. Messer; Parks and Open Spaces, Shanghai; No. 5 Police Station; "Sir Francis T. Piggott, Mrs. A. H. Rennie, Mrs. Rowe, San Tin Police Station; Lady - rances - urner, Messrs. Vilmoria-Andrieux (Paris), Lady Voules, Messrs. W. H. Wallace (Amoy), W. M. Watson and J. Xavier.
A fine collection of living economic and decorative plants was sent by the Acting Director of Forests and Gardens in Mauritius with the approval of His Excellency the Governor of that Colony and in co-operation with the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture. The thanks of the Hongkong Government hare already been conveyed for this gift.
The other donors of plants and seeds were :- Mr. J. D. d'Abbadie; Agricultural Societ Madras; Arnold Arboretum,
Messrs. Babington, J. Barton, Boehmer & Co., Lady Blake, (Ceylon); Botanic Garden, Caloutta, Jamaica, Mauritius, Singapore, Spdney, Triai. dad; Rev. G. Bunbury; Bureau of Agriculture, Manila: Mr. Chao Lup Chee; Captain Hodgins; Mr. F. Howell; Imperial Department of Agriculture, West Indies; Inspector General of Forests, India; Messrs. C. D. Melbourne, Mair (Honolulu); Parks and Open Spaces, Shanghai; Sir Francis T. Piggott; Public Gardens, Capetown: Mr. Rowe, Professor Sargent; Messrs. Smith and Menzel (South Australis); Mr. F. P. de Soares; Southern California Acclimatizing Association; United States Department of Agriculture and Mr. W. II. Wallace.
The chief donors of animals were :-Sergeant Kerr, Messrs. J. M. E. Machado and H. A Biebs.
Herbarium. There is no museum of econo. mic products in the Colony, and duplicates of the actual articles sent to London could not therefore be preserved: they can, however, be obtained when required without much difficulty. The specimens retained for reference are merely herbarium vouchers for the botanical origin of the economic products sent, which were classified and registered under their botanical nae8. The various items in all amounted to about 500 and their collection, bo.anical identification, and the compiling of notes as to their origin. manufacture, uses, etc, has of course absorbed a large amount of time, but it is hoped that this will be justified by the extended information concerning South China products placed at the disposal of the Imperial Institute staff and also by the basis which is now form for a futura economic botanical museum in the Colony.
Now that attention has been turned to this side of the herbarium it is hoped that time will be On no
found to accumulate a fairly complete set of Chinese economic plants.
Year's Weather.-From the wet foggy spring of 1906 until the stormy autumn the year was one of the most unfavourable on record for gardening operations. The show of spring-flowering annuals 80 conspicuous in most years was entirely spoiled by the con- tinuous rain of March and April and, as the planting out of the summer annuals could not be done at the usual time for the same reason, the appearance of the grounds suffered greatly during the early part of the year. less than six occasions from May onwards was it necessary to carry all moveable plants into ishelter in consequence of typhoon warnings. On the memorable 18th of September the gardens were wrecked by the sadden typhoon That caused such terrible havoc throughout the Colony on that date. There is no previous record of any such destruction of trees and garden stook.
The actual repairable damage was very great and was not made good much before the end of the year, but more serious must be considered the temporary disfigurement of the gardens, the previous beauty of which tan years will hardly restore.
Unfortunately also the total loss of several trees of scientific or economic interest has to be reported. Perhaps the most regrettable losses were those of the large tree of Aleurites cordata, the only full grown example in the Colony of this important wood oil tree, and of the interesting Bauhinia still unnamed, our only free of which stood at the corner of the deer-pen Many fallen trees ré-erected after the typhoon of the 18th might
5
The principal collection of wild plants added was that made by the Superintendent in Korea in September. Though the numbers are small (about 400) they are nearly all new to the Colonial Herbarium, a number are additions to the Korean collections already at Kew, to which duplicates will be sent, while not a few are fresh records for the country or species
new to science.
Flest-Surgeon C. G. Matthew, R.N., whose welcome return to the East on H.M.S. Mon. mouth occured during the year has determined the ferns of the Fokien and Korean collections and has very kindly got together a series of new specimens of local ferns for the herbarium. These are not only much better dried than the old ones but are also more complete and representative.
This is an appropriate occasion on which to thank Captain Hodgings of the 8.8. Houching for the trouble and expense which be has incer- red in making several collections of economic
The chief donors of harbarium specimens other than the above were-Comt de Boission, Mr. E. Merrill and Sir Ernest Sator.
THE HONGKONG OBJERVATORY.
the year
31
The following extracts are from the report of the Director of the Hongkong Observatory, for 1906. Dr. Duberok say, the comparison of weather forecasts, issued daily about Il a m., with the weather saba quantly experienced, has been conducted on the aim system as heretofore. The results are as follows:-Incoesi 56 per cnt, partial sucosia per cent, failare 1 per cent, partial failārs 9 per cent. Following the method used in meteorological offices, and taking sum of total and partial a measure of su3:04s, and the sum success 81 of total and parti failure'as a missire of failure, it follows that 90 per cent, of the weather forecast were sno ssful in 1996. The China Coast Mateorological Register wAS printed every morning at the Observatory. From first August this work was undertaken by ordered from hom being used for the purpose. the Government Printers, improvel machinery The printing has thorefors been mach Impro red and the issue of the register som what accelerated. In addition to the cable which connects the Observatory with the Cable Offices ia Hongkong, we
now hay.
another cable
*
connecting as with the Harbour Office. Sino July the observations male at Gap Rock and
Victoria Peak are transmitted to the Observa- Offise, which tory through the Harbour Department now als undertakes the diatriba- tion of meteorological information on the other side of the harbour, with the exception of the China Coast Meteorological Register, distri- bated by the Government Printers, and a return send at 4 p.m. each day to newspapers, which is taken by ous of our coolien.
Information regarding storms telegraphed to Hongkong was regularly exhibited pa notion boards. This happened on 110 days in 1906. The typhoon gun was fired on four occasions. It should be remembered that this Government
supports only the Observatory, and one other All the meteorological station (Gap Rock). other meteorolgical returns printed in the daily weather report are supplied free of cost by observers in surrounding countries, who are not in the servics of the British Government, and of course, not subject to any regulations made by the British authoritie Several”. Statious furnish reliable information, while the returns from others are more or less irregular. The barometrio obarvations telegraphed from some stations in China are frequently erratic. The thanks of the Government” are due to the Telegraph Companies, who ouatione to forward meteorological telegrams from outports to Hongkong free of charge, and also to the staffs of the Eastern Extendon and Australasian Telegraph Company at Sharp Peak, Hoilo, Bacold and Ceba who make and transmit observa- tions twlos daily. Unfortunately the telegrams coming over Chinese lines from Hoihow sad Pakhoi are usually too late të bɩ of service. As our warnings in oɔnnection with typhoons in the China Son are based mainly on reports received from the Gap Book lighthouse, it is of the utmost importance that the cable between
Hongkong and Gap R ck should be always in working order. From Victoria Peak the direction of the wind and the reading of the anemograph are telegraphed every hour from 6 a.m. to 8. p.m. It is of importance that this service should be continued daring the night whenever quired. l'he amunt of success attached to the firing of the typhoon gun to indicate local gales during the 23 years, 1894 to 19.6 inclusive, has been determined socording to the method adopted by meteorological offices at home. According to this method of counting, the storm signal is justified if followed by a gale of foro› 8 and upwards within 48 hours at a place nṣar sea-level within 50 miles of the place where the sigual is hoisted. It is a failure because "t› late" if it blows a strong gale (force 9) before the signal is hoisted. According to this way of counting, a failure has trashens to a strong gale (hich rarely happens), to be recorded every time the NE monsoon although we never prosșims to fresthe typhoon,
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