April i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



693 



1 to 170 ; List of Florists' Flowers ; List of natural I 

 orders grouped, with list of general and species in 

 each; lithographed views of the garden: No. 1 Western 

 extremity of the Eastern or Palm House lawn, No. 2 

 Pagoda and small rustic bridge across Lake, No. .3 

 South side of central lawn, with rustic summer- 

 house. No. 4 From the foot of the Fern Gully ; and 

 Index of common names. 



For many years the Melbourne Botanic Gardens had 

 a world-wide fame as the residence of Sir Ferdinand von 

 Mueller, PH.D., m.d., k.c.m.g., f.m.s., an eminent botanist 

 whose labours in connection with the Flora of Aus- 

 tralia ai'e so well-known, but with the view of 

 enabling him to give undivided attention to his already 

 important scientific labours as Government Botanist 

 he was relieved of control of the gardens, and Mr. Guil- 

 foyle was then appointad Director and at once began 

 to remodel the grounds in accordance wilh a plan 

 designed by him on English landscape principles which 

 we can certify have been very ably carried out, and our 

 readers will not be surprised to learn that these gardens 

 are thronged with thousands of visitors on Sundays 

 and holidays, the lawns being crowded by the public, 

 or whose benefit the institution is. maintained, not only, 

 however, as a rescrt, but as a school for useful and 

 scientific information. 



The several plans and views which embellish this 

 l)ook give to even a stranger a very good idea of the 

 arrangements and contents of these gardens, which are 

 so beautifully situated on the banks of the river Yarra 

 and adjoining the Goverment domain. 



But it is to the list of plants growing in these gardens 

 that we beg to to call particular attention, and when it 

 is remembered that Melbourne is situated iu 37° 49' 

 south latitude, our readers will not be surprised to 

 loam that a va^t number of the ornamental and useful 

 plants of the world have been introduced and are 

 growing freely in them. This list occupies about 169 

 full pages, and, taking an average of about 40 separate 

 plants enumerated on each, these gardens contain from 

 6,000 to 7,000 different plants, or nearly three times 

 the indigenous plants of Ceylon. Each page of this 

 list is divided into six columns with the following 

 information : — Ist Botanical nime, 2nd Authority, 3rd 

 Common name, 4th Description, 5th Order, Cth Habitat. 

 With reference to the attempt here made to give 

 common names to such a vast assemblage of plants, 

 we have no doubt that Mr. Guilfoyle will receive the 

 hearty blessings of a large portion of the visitors to the 

 Melbourne gardens, as well as the rcade: a of this list 

 of plants, but we fear at the same time that the 

 m^ijority of botanists, and those who have some idea 

 of the meaning of botanical terms and specific names, 

 will consider that Mr. Guilfoyle and those who assisted 

 him iu this laborious work have wasted a large 

 portion of time and space on the desert air ; Neverthe- 

 less there can bs no doubt that this work is a very 

 valuable contribution, which will be appreciated by 

 the directors of botanical anfl other gardens all 

 over the world, as well as by travellers interested 

 in plants, because it will enable them to see 

 at a glance what plants they can procure from and 

 what to send in excliange to the Melbourne Botanic 

 Gardens, and we hope that every other imraon in 



charge of colonial gardens will follow Mr. Guilfoyle's 

 example and issue lists of the plants growing in 

 them. In our own case, tor want of such a list of 

 plants growing in Ceylon, when sending seeds and 

 specinrens of interesting plants from Java, on our re- 

 turn from Melbourne, we were twitted with sending 

 "coals to Newcastle "^! But our readers will readily 

 admit that it was not our fault, but our misfortune 

 not to know these very [lants had been introduced 

 into and were growing in the Peradeniya Botanic 

 (iardtns. We should be sorry to add to Dr. Trimcn's 

 multifarious labours, when we know how much his 

 time is occupied, but a list, such as the one under 

 review, of the exotic plants growing in the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya and in the island, as 

 far as they are known, would be a very valuable 

 contribution, and would save considerable expense in 

 introducing plants which this list would show had 

 already been growing in the island. As an instance 

 of this we recollect our former Colonial Secretary, 

 the Hon. W. C. Gibson, showing us some plants of 

 Duranta which he had introduced from Bombay at a 

 cost of £4 to £5, whilst we knew the plant was in 

 the Peradeniya and oher gardens in Colombo and 

 elsewhere. 



To persons like ourselves who do not profess to a 

 knowledge of a large number of the scientific genera 

 and species of plants, Guilfoyle's alphabetical arrange- 

 ment with the index of common names affords a very 

 ready means of ascertaining what plants may be had 

 in the Melbourne gardens and of course the reverse. 



As a specimen of the information given iu Mr. Guil- 

 foyle's list wo select one of the Eucalyptus or Bine 

 Gums, of which there are no less than 66 species growing 

 in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. "Eucalyptus 

 globulus, Labillard]tre, Tasnianian Blue Gum, hardy 

 evergreen tree ; height 50 to 400 feet, Victoria and 

 Tasmania." Most of cnr reaclers are familiar with 

 this plant, as it has been extensively grown in Ceylon 

 and other ports of the world. 



It would occupy too much space to quote passages 

 from this work, which we feel much inclined to do, 

 and we must therefore couclude with a hope that 

 " the exhaustive work in preparation by Mr. Guilfoyle 

 which will embody a summary of each order, with the 

 history, properties, and uses of the more remarkable 

 plants growing iu the Melbourne Gardens," may soon 

 be completed. 



Canker in Feuit Teees. — Mysterious at all times, and if 

 Mr. H. Weir's a.ssertion of insect agency should prove to 

 be well founded, and an antidote invented, we should be 

 well on the way towards stamping it out. Mr. C. .J. Nicholson, 

 a large fruit grower at Lougbgall, near iVi-magh, and a 

 most persevering and observant man besides, and who has 

 suffered much loss from time to time through cauker, teUs 

 me that he has quite got rid of it by never malting holes 

 when planting his trees. He simply spreads the roots out 

 upon the surface, no matter how hard it may be, and 

 places new soil over them. He also states that in the case 

 of established trees he has got rid of it by double grafting. 

 Some sorts are much more liable to canker than others, 

 say, for instance, you have a large tree of some comparatively 

 worthless variety. You head it down and graft it with 

 another, which becomes cankered at once; whereas, if you 

 place another kind between it and the stock, no canker 

 ensues. Arvsiaite. of his experience would be most iut-rest- 

 ing and instructive to your readers, but the misguided 

 man does not read the Gardi-ners' ClironiHel — T. Smith. — 

 6"«(Y/t- '(/■.--■£' Ch'roittc/e. 



