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15435). Bonaparte has referred the specimen fil'st quoted to> Dennstaedtia mohwcana Bl. (Notes Pterido-logiques. Fasc. XIV,.. 55 1923) . I have recently compared the PBninsula specimens with the orilginal in the Buitenzorg H erbarium amI find that they agree ex actl y.

This species gr.ows in tangled masses in opell places, anll is cover·eel throughout with slllall thorns; iif; has apparently the same habit anel almost exactly the same appearance as DennstaestiCt mol1LCcana. It would be interesting to make a careiul comparative' stuely of ,these species. It seems likely that Hypolepis B1'oolcsiae' is deriveel f rom one of the scandent Dennstaeeltia.g by loss of the inner portion of the inelnsiJaI cup, the outer part only remaining ' as a small growth at the base of the sinus below wh ich the s'Jrus is situated. In drieel mature f ronds it is impossibQe to detect an~' trace of the inner sicle of the cup, but in young fronds it m ight· be founel to exist.

It is interesting to observe that Oclontoso1'is awlcda (L.) f rom the West Inches appears to have a closely similar appearance ' and habit of growth. 15. Polypodillm Feei (B'Ory) ~![ett. and P . heterocarpllm (Bl.) .

lIfett. There is a common fern in the Malay Peninsula wbii,ch has

usu'<llly hee.n called P. Fee·i. On comparing it "1ith &pecimens of P. Feei from Java, ~mel wR.th desCl'iopbions, I have come to the con-· elusion that ~t should be calleel P. het81'ocClII'pwn, aucl that the true P. F eei lhas not yet been founel in the ~.lay ·Peninsula. 'T'he Penin-· ula fern is often '9mall, the fronds frequently being only 7 to .10 cm ..

in length; the sori are much broken, rather distant, and distinctly emheddeel; the rhizome scales are very narrow, almost hair-like .. Polypodinm Feei from J ruva has usu.ally larger fronds; the sori aTe mllch more regular, closer, land llJOt iimmeJ.'sed; the rhizome scales· are broad. I ~lave seen both ipla.nts in the field, anel ha.ve exoa.mined a number of specimens of each in the herbar·i'a .at Bmitenzorg and Singapore.

R. E. HOLTTuM:. ------

A Note Relating to the History of the Dell in the Gardens

The B.()tanic Ga.relens were fouocleel jill 1859. In that year­tlle four 1a00d a half acres, now occupied hy the Garrlens Lake,. maele a swamp, elown the midelle of whik;h ran the bo-undary be­tween two properties-on the one siele t he Kerr pro]Jerty (newly' sold to Hoo A.h Ka'.Y, better known by his traele name of Whampoa, anel then a(;quired by Government for the Gardens) anel Oil the other, the wBstern side, the Napier property. On the Napier property stooel the fiTSt house called Tyersal-·a house which William Napier had bui,lt in 1854 a,nel sold in 1857. When the· house was sold the TyersaJ property was broken up and went into, several diifl'erent hands, the llouse which thE1 Temenggong of J (;hore

70

bought carrying with it a little more than sixty-six acres. 'rhe 'T,emenggong sold his acquisition again in 1858, but repurchased ilt on May 23rd 186-0. It was he who planted ill 1862 the aveDue ·of Tembusu trees (Cyrtophyllum fragrans) which leads to the 'house from Napier Road. In 1866 there were fnrth~r deals in parts of 'the property, durilllg which the Government acquiTecl, half ·of the Avenue together with the strip betwe.en the avenue and the swamp , The haH of the avenue the Government converted into a publii:! road, i.e. Ga.rden road (now re-named Tyersal . Avenue), :and the narrow strip they made over to the Agri-horticultural

oc-iety for inclusion in the Gardens. The making of the Ganlens Lake n(/w becan,e possible; and the Society by erecti!lg a dam ,some eight feet high, createcl it.

Gal'Clen road is carried a,cross the stream at the head of the Lake on an embankment over a culvert cQlllstructed of large rectangular pieces of granite. This culvert possesses fl fall of slightly more than two feet ill its length and is in section 3 feet ] 0 inches wide by 2 feet 7 i'nches high. A t the time of its con­struCtion the 'ryersallakes did not exist; and, as shown by evidence ·obtained recently during the draining of them, their site was pla.r;.ted ,,~ith coconut palms and mangosteens. What stood on the land thrown into the Gardens is quite unknown, as there is not a tree on the strip 1\oCqlured by the Government, which can have heen there in 1866; 'alllCl there are no records. One may ,surmi.se that grass, and perhaps lallang, covered the ground. At the head of the lake, on account of the advantage of the illlflow of water J'rom the Tyersal grmlllcls, the G,ardens' cooly lines were placed; ami. a · ~creen of kenari and pomelo trees was planted in front of them. Soon after this the 'ryersal lakes were planned in imitation of the Gardens Lake, the imiltation extending even to the islet. 'f'hey were constructecl just as the Gardens Lake had been, by deepening the hollow and steepening the banks, the earth from the bottom going in this case to construct a roaclway all rOlUld the banks. In the extent ' of t his roadway he departecl from the model in the Gardens, for in the Gardens the raised ronc1 borders the hl,~,e ,only upon one side. The floor of the lower 'l'yersal lake was arranged to be on a level wilth the mout.h of the Government's ·culvert, and a sluice was built to control the height of the water above it, whereby if necessary the lakes coulcl he emptiecl approxi­mately. UncleI' the roacl along the lake side a culver t, small in ,sectiIJn, macle connection with the Government's culver t ill a sump, ancl'lls the bottom of t he lower lake was no higher than the entrance to tbe Government's culvert it was impossible to allow this small culvert to ha~'e any fall at all. Under what ci~'cum't:anres the complete emptying of the Lake was anticipnted is not known : ancl there is no eviclence that they were at any time emptied.

Emptying was apparently not contemplated in the case of the Gardens Lake, for no sluice existecl, and no cutting on the embank­lllent will even at this tinle completely empty it, as its bottom is ,still, after aill these years of settling, below the level or the drailn

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aloJla" Xapipr .Roar! : but t lwl'P. was made an nnrlnly largc brick escape chaUllel, 4 feet high, 2t feet wide, domed 'und fhd bottomed, which flUJcti o:ned fur the escape of water t ill 1022. Only by breakilllg down its brickwork could this channel be made to carry off about five feet of water from t he }ake.

We can from t hese facts draw a pi'cturc of t be ~ppearan~c of the Dell, when N a.tha:niel Oantley in 1882 was appoint~c1 Su Jlerin .. tendent a£ t he Gardens. We see u gentle, an cl (cxcept after rain) very small stream running from the 'l'yel'sal into t he head of the G,ad'den Lake over a sandy bed in a hollow tbat had been embankec1 on one silCle, and with cooly lines 11 pOll the other.

CaUl tIe:,'. an excellent Grganise)', remo\'ecl the l ilncs to a pI are' outside the Garden, limits, and thereupon considered to what us€' he cou ld put the vacated site. Murton, h is prcdece or, had failed iln an attempt to make a fernery at a place closc to the heac! of nIarallta Avenue : and as Cantley, like ~Inrtoll, wa~ anxious to ,ucceed in such an undertaking, he sought for a new site lInct selected the dell. '1'0 succeed he wanted a more sure supply of water t han the stream ga"l""e, '<l'l~d this is how he tried to meet the neecl. Having removed t he cooly libles and baving carried the wl1.ter uJJdergrouncl to the lake (it is by no 01 atl.1S clea~ why) ., he constructed a tTiangular concreted tank, about 140 feet long, and at the base 65 f.eet bToad, where it was, ix feet cleep . Probably by means of the eaTth from the tank mounds fOT the ferns were ti1en thrown up between the tsnk anti the heac1 of the lah, mounds not higher than, that t he wa,ter supplv cou~ tI he led on to them. But UJlfortunately the tank was not a success, fOT it could not be kept watertight : lind what with illne,oes aud \yit h other work Oantley neveT created the fern gm:den that he aimed at. It is to be assumed that the water mas to Teach the ferns by runnels along the tops or tbe mounds. For vverfl ow, (as recent obsel'\"ation~ on the pot have shew11) he laic I in the first pla,ce a line of gas pipil,g' to conduct the wateT 'from the tank, and then he constructed a much lUI'geT circular brick channel above it. 'I'hese escapes passed in a straight line direct to the lake, and ob\"iou ly diu not ,,'ate l" the mounds; other contrivances must bave been t hought of for t hat. But Cantley died wilth them unfinished. An old guide book in­dicates the Dell to have been then as in pIau No.1.

Because it was clear that these mOUllds could not f unerion as their originator had contemplated, they WCTe somewhat alteTed in shape by Mr. Ridley, and the tank was put to n, ne'y sr.rvice, i .e. fOT the a0cumulation of leaf mould. '1'he mounds were clothed WIth a var iety of plants : ,a,lld at the end of Mr. Hidley's servi ce they were in shape as in plan no. 2 carrying palms and ferns and shade plants of yal'ious Ol'ders, antI a, few very interestillig tT~es .

It will be observed that there werc two circular paLhs enclos­ing the mounds: one of t hese was at the lowest elevation, and the otheT ,albove it by six feet. '1'hese paths were ]lauow, and it was i~llpossible in the morning to pass along them with comfort by

reason ()f the dew-laden foliage arching i!Dto them. l\1oreover the lower paths eQuId not be kept free or mud. J t was obvious that chaalges haci to' be made as soon as possible : and alterations were commenced in 1914 when by means of clredgings from the lake the lower paths were raised.

In 1915 the npper cilrcular path was closed, and a new lmd mnch wjder path with a greater diameter was maLle within the llJwer end of the cistern. 'l'his in v()lvcd the erection of a mound p.loog iJt to hicle the leaf-mauld pit. 'l'he clrninfLgB from the leaf mould was prQvided for at the same time by a channel behind a cQl'nl wall towards the public road. The silt off t hat road had been a source ()f annQyaJ1ce in the gaxdcn for a long t i me, though the MunicilpriJity had clQne t.heir best by steps and baffles in the rQrrd­side drain to abate it. The better to deal with it fQur cat.ch pi ts were constructed in the Gm'dens where the road enters. '1'he paths above the dell were changcil liikewi6e as the plrul IlO. 3 indjcates.

In 1916 the appe,lTanCe of the dell were hu ther improyeil hy the creation of two pools in them, one Qval anci the other dumb-bell ,shaped: aJlCI those whO' saw them will r emember that t hey were Yery pretty. Their surface was about 18 iJ1ches above the level 'of the water in the 1ake--a necessity to gct the best appearance from the ·aelj Oiining walks-which walks, as said, had been rai se'} to l "'€lep them elry. One of these pooLs is shewn iut the accompanying 1)1'!lte.

TO' mainta in the water in the panels two completely hiclden bricks tanks were made, the lower supplied from the upper throngh l1n lmdergrQund pjpe and the upper rec-eiving raill-water f ro'Jll a certain path-side dra'ins towanls the Bandstand Hm. UnfQrtu­nately the masQnry of the upper tank gave way al,d undi(l the contrivrulce. But at that tinne it hael been discovered in wha.t way CantJoey had dealt with the stream from Tyersal, and i t was realised that by rai s;ng its level so that 'it filled the cull-ert aJIl cl rose another few inches it could be fed into the ponds; accorcliingly it was so done by means of a simple coucrctB wall in Cautley's chaJll1cl, nurl i hr. bared ,end ,of the channel became the pretty rectangular pool at tue 'side of the el ell whereirom the wa,ter passed underground into the oQval pond, and through the dumb-bell shaped panel, whi Ie -excess flood water still ran down Cantley's underground channel.

Permanence seemed to have been reached, ;md the dell had become very pretty.

Unfortunately the Tyersal ponds were found to be a source of 11l0squitos, and the Bmptying of them was cletermill1eci upon. Tt was then quite unknown how deep the Tyers~l lakes were : but It

.survey revealecl that t he lowest part of the bed of the lower pond 'was on a level wilth the bottom of the Tyersal sluice .. and that

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.1raina<Ye without fill ing would be impossibie unless a free escap.e ~f the "water i/l1to the Gardens was allowecl. This free escape was a ked for: 1!l/l1cl it was a great disappointment. to feel obliged to ~CiJ1cede it, for concession meant the undoing of the water channels in the dell which had been so newly completed.

'],he concession was made on the ground thai; the Garclens had :no clJari m to a head of water found to be clue to the shtiec in the Tyersal grounds being out of order. 'l'hereupon a rearrange­ment of the clell was I)ommenced, with the intention of keeping its features . In the rearra.ngement the beds of the two pools were SUllk !tbout two feet, unitted into one, and the 'fyer&al drainage water was c0nducted by an "Armco" pipe into the t{)P of the former dumh-he!lll shaped pond, and out again by another" Armco" pipe' into the ~ake. The sid€S of both ponds were concreted. By the 10w'e~'i'l1g of the level and because of the widene8s of the " Armco" pipe these ponds were thereby made i/l1to a part of the lake; and the abundant nsh of the lake, which allow no mosquitos to ma.ture, have access to them,

Now a great part of the beauty of the ova.] and c1umh-bell pond was that the)' lay open at the visitOl"S foot, not being suuk at all. The new pond however, being of necessity sunk, threatened to lack beauty in this respect. There was made therefore a path right across the dell bridging the water close against its surface al1cl kirting tbe edge of what is left of the oval poncl, in reality occupying paa-t of the old bed of that pond, having on its north side the wall of one of the irrigating tanks of 1916. This wall is becoming beautiful by reason of a coating of Ficus repeDlS.

The mounds, which new lie as ial plan 'no. 4, UJ'e given se\'er­olllly to diJl'erent forms of vegetation.

1. H. BURKILL.

Tulang Daing or Sisik Puyuh

Carallia suffruticosa

Tulang daing mea,ns dried nsh bones, and sisik puyuh means ]lu}'uh-fish skin: both these names belong to a. small tree w;th serrations on the leaves that suggest the bones of a dried fish seen thl'Ollgh the skjn, which is exclusively used by the Malays of Perak and Pahang as a medicinal herb, but hag hitherto remained rather strangely obscure. After much search it has been iclentified with Carallia sltfJ'/'Ulicosa Ridley (iill Journ . Str. Br" Roy. As. Soc. 61, 1912, p. 6) : and it is clea;r that Ca1'allia spil1lulosa Ric1ley (it! the -same Jonrnal, no. 82, 1920, p. 184) does not adequately dilffer.