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 REPORT OF THE HEAD GARDENER. 



To THE DiRECTOR-IN-CHIEF. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith my report as 

 Head Gardener for the year 1901 : 



The past year has been a most active one in the department 

 under my control. In addition to the work of caring for the 

 constantly increasing collections of living plants, I assumed 

 also, upon my appointment last January as head gardener, 

 the direction of all gardening operations. I have been ably 

 seconded in carrying out the details of this horticultural work 

 by Mr. Geo. A. Skene, second gardener. He has had to 

 assist him in this work two foreman-gardeners, ten or eleven 

 gardeners and apprentices, and a number of laborers, vary- 

 ing from three to five. Of this force, one foreman-gardener 

 and six or seven gardeners and apprentices have been de- 

 tailed to the public conservatories ; during wet or severely 

 cold weather the men detailed for outside work have also 

 assisted here. 



The propagating houses and nurseries have required the 

 services of one foreman-gardener, one apprentice and one 

 laborer, the latter being dispensed with on the arrival of freez- 

 ing weather, when work in the nurseries necessarily ceases. 



The herbaceous grounds were cared for during the spring 

 by two men, but the added area taken under cultivation during 

 the fall of the previous year soon made apparent the necessity 

 for a third man, which need was supplied for the balance of 

 the growing season by the detail of an additional laborer, 

 making a force of one gardener and two laborers. It re- 

 quired the entire time of these three to keep the large number 

 of beds in this plantation properly weeded and cultivated and 

 the grass edges trimmed, the brook and pools cleaned of the 

 constantly accumulating scum and weeds, and to do the neces- 

 sary hand-mowing, bed-digging, planting and trans-planting. 



The remainder of the force, one gardener and two labor- 

 ers, has devoted its time to cultural work of a miscellaneous 



