ENG-1949 — Page 184

horn mosses, numerous Orchids, giant aroids, tree ferns and countless kinds of smaller ferns including Maidenhair and the local Royal ferns. On the hillsides English bracken- a very cosmopolitan plant--may be seen growing together with the so-called Hong Kong bracken, Gleichenia, and a fragrant leaved myrtle called Baeckia.

It is not surprising therefore that of the many beautiful wild plants of Hong Kong quite a number have found a permanent place in cultivation the world over. Since the war, keen interest is being taken in the many free flowering representatives here of the Camellia family and especially, in the eight species of Camellia, one of which has red flowers.

The Colonial Herbarium, which provided the founda- tion for the work of Dunn and Tutcher's Flora of Kwangtung and Hong Kong has been added to considerably since their time. At present, something over 40,000 specimens are preserved. During the process of a complete overhaul and reclassification of it, necessary after eight years storage in crates during the Pacific War, original sheets of plants collected in the Far East by such famous plants explorers as A. Henry, E. H. Wilson, G. Forrest and H. F. Ridley have come to light. These specimens, with duplicates of many others from regions outside of Hong Kong and Kwangtung, have recently been presented to the Kew Herbarium.

Mammals

Fauna

Although the majority of mammalian species in the Colony are not seen often enough to make them familiar, as a class they are represented in considerable diversity. Members of the cat family include the tiger, an occasional visitor, the leopard which is much rarer, and the Chinese Tiger Cat, the present status of which is not known but which may still occur in some of the more remote parts on the mainland. The Dhole or Wild Red Dog and the South China Red Fox have been listed in the Colony's fauna, the former as occuring in the hills of the mainland, the latter on the island as well as the mainland; only the fox has been reported (on the mainland) during 1949. The otter has also been listed but likewise is not common and does not occur on the island.

Three species of civets the large Chinese Civet, the Malacca Civet and the Masked or Gem-faced Civet are known to occur in the Colony. Probably only the Malacca Civet is common and it is interesting to note that the flesh of this animal is much prized by the Chinese as food in the cold weather. The Crab-eating Mongoose and the Ferret- Badger also occur, the latter being quite common.

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