32 
263). Some two years ago he had bought a house in a central 
situation, hoping in a few years to retire and give up his whole 
time to exploration and collecting. His good work in connection 
with the flora has been honoured by the number of plants which 
Cactaceae and Harrisella in Orchidaceae. His death is an irre- 
parable loss to botanical exploration in Jamaica. He did all 
his work very methodically and thoroughly, and was always a 
most helpful and loyal assistant to me. Personally, I mourn 
the loss of a good and well-tried friend. In 1908, on my retire- 
ment and the formation of a Department of Agriculture, which 
included the Department of Gardens, Harris was made Super- 
intendent of Public Gardens with charge of all the Gardens. 
In 1917 his good work was recognised by the Government by 
giving him the title of Government Botanist, and in 1920 he 
was promoted to be Assistant Director. He was elected a 
Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1899.” 
Davip Ernest Hutcuins.—The news has just reached us 
from New Zealand of the death of a distinguished forester, 
Sir David Ernest Hutchins. In his long period of public service 
he has become well known in many parts of the Empire, no 
less for his alert figure and genial hearty manner than for the 
skill and never-failing energy with which he has handled the 
various forestry problems with which he has been called upon 
deal. 
Born in 1850 he began his forestry training when 20 years 
old at the Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Foréts, Nancy, in com- 
pany with such afterwards famous foresters as Mr. EK. P. Dansey, 
Mr. Harry C. Hill and Mr. W. R. Fisher. He was then appointed 
Deputy Conservator in Mysore, and at once showed his wide 
views of forestry in two papers which he wrote on Australian 
trees in the Nilgiris and on the coastal planting of Casuarina. 
These papers are still standard works on their subjects. In 1882 
he was transferred to Cape Colony, where, after some years 
assed in charge of the Knysna forests, he succeeded Count 
Vasselot de Regné as Chief Conservator and remained until 1905. 
The numerous large plantations of Australian Eucalypts in all 
parts of South Africa will be a never-dying memorial there to 
his enterprise. After leaving the Cape he was called upon to 
organise the Forestry Department in British East Africa, and 
while there succeeded in demarcating reserves and, among other 
things in establishing economic plantations of the Chinese 
Coffin-wood tree (Persea nanmu). 
en he retired and came home, his extraordinary talent for 
organising forestry work was not long left idle. 
In 1907 he was employed by the Colonial Office to report on 
the value of the Kenia forests (Col. Rep. Misc. 41, 1907), and in 
1909 to inspect the forests of Cyprus (Rep. on Cyprus Forestry, 
1909). In 1914 he had a long-looked-for opportunity of visiting 
