38 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. SECTION C. 



South Africa that I enter upon it with some trepidation lest any- 

 ill-considered words of mine should tend rather to hinder than to 

 forward an object with which I am convinced that this section 

 as a w^hole will be in full sympathy. The country is so vast, 

 its people so scattered and the interests of different sections of 

 the population in many respects so divergent, that one whose 

 outlook has of necessity been somewhat circumscribed and 

 whose knowledge of the great spaces now united under one 

 Government is somewhat limited, can hardly hope to avoid 

 some of the pitfalls with which this question is beset. But these 

 disabilities may confer at least one advantage; they perhaps 

 prevent me from being overcome at the outset by the magni- 

 tude of the difficulties which lie in the way of the achievement 

 of the purpose I am advocating. That this is a real advantage 

 I do not doubt; for the difficulties, great as they may be, will 

 none of them prove insurmountable when we reach them. 



The chief danger of which I am conscious at the outset is that, 

 in the attempt to take a broad view of this question, less than 

 justice should be done to the excellent institutions, variously 

 known as "Public," "Municipal" or "Botanic" Gardens, 

 which are scattered up and down the country. They are all 

 alike in that they have done and are doing very useful work 

 which deserves all the support that they receive. In the Cape 

 Province alone there are twenty such gardens receiving in 

 1909, Government grants varying from £9 15s. to £500, and 

 amounting in all to £1,691. Whatever titles they bear, how- 

 ever, these are not Botanic Gardens in any true sense; the 

 more restricted functions of Municipal Gardens they perform 

 with great credit to their supporters and curators, and no one 

 in advocating the foundation of a truly National Botanic Gar- 

 ■den would wish to see their usefulness impaired. On the con- 

 trary, they could not but be strengthened by the establishment 

 of such a National institution. 



The Natal Botanic Garden stands apart from the rest. 

 It has played no small part in the economic development of the 

 province which it serves and from it has emanated taxonomn 

 work of a high scientific value. On its establishment, more 

 than half a century ago, it received an annual grant of £50 from 

 the Government. This was gradually raised to £350. In addi- 

 tion, the Government contributed, in 1909-10, £260 towards the 

 upkeep of the Herbarium and in aid of the publications proceed- 

 ing from it. The total income of the establishment in 1909-10 

 was £2,353 14s- 6d., of which £1,236 19s. /d. was derived from 

 the sale of plants. It follows, therefore, that the proper work of 

 a Botanic Garden has been very largely subordinated to the 

 necessity of maintaining what MacOwan called " the perpetual 

 fight against insolvency." But, hampered as its activities have 

 been in this respect as well as by its unsuitable locality, unfruit- 

 ful soil and restricted space (50 acres), it has consistently 

 striven to fulfil the functions of a Botanic Garden. The 

 measure of success which it has achieved is due to the skill and 

 enthusiasm with which it has been guided for more than 28 

 years by Mr. Medley Wood, its able and respected director. 



