836 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May i, 1884. 



Repairs to the priucipal plant-shed have been sanctioned foi- the comino- year. The remain- 

 der of the buiklings are in good order. 



Law/is. — The meadow-mower, referred to in mv last report, has proved a great succe'^s and 

 will quickly pay for its cost by labour saved. It is worked easily and rapidly l,y a i^air of bullocks 

 the pole having been lengtiiened sufficiently to allow the driver to walk behind and o-uide the 

 bullocks in the usual native manner. Another man occupies the seat, and is concerned onlv to 

 manage the machine, elevate or depress the knives, &c. The improvement in the condition of the 

 grass is already very conspicuous, and will steadilv increase 



By the liberality of Mr. F. D. Mitchell, of Colombo, another great desideratum of the 

 garden has been supplied. A large iron cylinder, .5| feet wide and 5 feet in diameter weio-hino- 

 one and a quarter ton, which he presented, -will be fitted up as a garden roller as soon as the 

 necessary expense can be afforded. It is to be feared, however, that the old bullocks we nossess 

 will scarcely be equal to the draught of so heavy a weight. 



It may be of interest to note the constituents of the lawns in the garden for comparison 

 with those of other tropical countries ; it should be remembered that they are entirely natural and 

 self-made. Of true glasses, the most important and abundant s.x&' Pcmicum smu/uhiale P 

 eimicinum and P ovah/olium, Setarlaglauca,Andropogonpertusus. Tsckamumcdiare ( i<pod;oiJoaon 

 obUqmvahis), Uirysopogon acicidaris, A,ifMstlrla trcmula, Sporobolus diander, Erat/rostis vdosa 

 E plumosa. Less abundant factors of the turf are Panicum colomm, Paspalum scrohlculatum 

 Stcnotaphnm coinplcmatum, Eragrostls Brownh, Eleuslne Indica, Panicum repens Anthlstlrm 

 arguens and Imperata anmdmacea, the last four coarse and objectionable species on lawns 

 Under the trees the principal turf-grasses are Panicum trigonum and P. unclnatum, OpUsmenu's 

 composdus,Apluda anstata, and especially Paspalum conjugatum. The last named admirable 

 species IS the only one not native here ; it appears to have been accidentally introduced less than 

 ^0 years ago, and is now the prominent grass in the garden, rapidly occupying the o-round with 

 Its creeping stems, esi)ecially under shade, but also freely in the open, and seeding copiously It 

 IS said to be native to South America (and we have a specimen in the herbarium from Guiana) but 

 It grows also in the Malay Islands and elsewhere in the East, but may be in all cases introduced 

 there. Lesides the grasses there are many other plants in the turf, the principal of which are •— 

 Desmochum tr,phjllum (an excellent turf-i.lant for dry places), Vernoma clnerea, EnuUa sonchi- 

 toLia, Hydrocotyle amatica, Justicm pronmhens, Ipomma tndentata, Oxalis cornlculata, Commelina 

 bengalensis Anedema muhflorum, Fnnbnstylis monostachya.F.drphylla, KyWvga monocenhaln ' K'c ■ 

 whilst m the damper shady places 8\da himdis, Hydrocotyle jammca and Lmpatiens //accula &ve 

 prominent juants. j ^ 



Propagation and Plant\ng.~k large number of additions to the systematic portions of the 

 garden have been put out in their places, and many duplicates planted in other parts in the 

 arboretum beds, rockeries, or fernery. A list of the "species new to the collections is g ven in 

 section III. ^ 



The water-course leading to the well at the plant-sheds has been bricked over throuo-hout 

 so that the water now arrives in a clear condition. ° ' 



• ^ ^<^\els—'n\& writing of most of tlie zinc labels has required renewal. I am now usino- 

 painted blocks of te^ik and palu wood, which are, I think, more lasting as labels than the ?inc 

 ones. 1 find white lettering on a black ground to be more easilv read (though the labels them- 

 selves are less conspicuous) than the contrary arrangement hitheVto followed. 



Jtmn/all ~K rain-gauge having been supplied bv the Public AVorks Department at the end 

 of June, Mr. Clark has registered the fall for the latter half of the year, which was as follows .— 



Rainfall. Eainv Davs. 



July ... 712 ... 18 



August ... 9-26 ... 20 



September ... 4-24 ... 11 



October ... 9'77 ... 21 



November ... 8-82 ... 19 



December ... 7 90 ... 10 



Total ... 47-11 99 



r. nc ■ ^1'® lieaviest fall in any one day occurred on 18th December, the amount registered beinc 

 2-62 inches. ° = 



