85 



XVI.— MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Me. F. G. Coirsos.^We niiderstand tliaf Mr. F. G. Cousins, 

 formerly a member of the gardening staff of tlie Royal Botanic 

 Gardens, lias been appointed a Sub-Inspector for tbe purposes of 

 the Destructive Insects and Pests Acts under the Board of 

 A)>'riculture and Fisheries! " "" " ' ' - 



i* i 



Mk. J. F. WABY.—We learn tliat Mr. J, F. Waby, F.L.S., Head 

 Gardener at tlie Botanic Gardens, Georgetown, British Guiana, 

 lias retired from this post after thirty-fi\e years' service in the 

 Colony. Mr. "VVaby's colonial experience commenced in Trin- 

 idad in 1873, where he was appointed Head Gardener to the 

 Botanic Gardens on the recommendation of Kew, In 1879 he was 

 transferred to British Gniana, and has held the post of Head 

 Gardener at the Botanic Gardens, Georgetown, to their yery great 

 advantage since that date. 



Mr. Waby was associated with the late Mr. G. S. Jenman in the 

 work of building up the collections and generally developing the 

 Gardens, which contain so fine a collection of interesting plants. 

 During liis long period of service in British Guiana he has 

 acquired an intimate knowledge of the flora, as well as of economic 

 plants, which has proved of great value to the Colony as well as 

 to those who have been associated with him in the Agricultural 

 Department. 



We are glad to notice that Mr. Waby's retirement has been 

 made the occasion for the presentation of a testimonial by Pro- 

 fessor J. B. Harrison on behalf of the Board of Agriculture and 

 the staff of the Department, and that the Governor, in apprecia- 

 tion of the valuable services rendered to the Colony by Mr, Waby, 

 has been pleased to appoint him an honorary member of the Board 

 of Agriculture. 



t 



The History of the Royal Botanic Gardens.— The acriuisition 



for Kew, by eschange, of a bulky \olume of manuscript and 

 cuttings on the 'history of Kew, compiled by the late John Smith, 

 senior Curator of the Gardens for many years, up to 1864, 

 announced in K.B. 1913, p. 62, and the recent gift by Mr. John 

 Eeader Jackson, formerly Curator of the Museums, of a manu- 

 script book by Alexander Smith, son of John, call for a few 

 words of appreciation and explanation. It is so long since John 

 Smith, senior, retired from active life that it is not superfluous ta 

 state that it was in consequence of failing sight, which soon 

 developed into total blindness. Nothing daunted, he courageously 

 continued publishing from the accumulations of a long period of 

 activity. His intention had been to publish a history of the 

 Gardens, but this was reduced to his "Records of the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Kew," which appeared in 1880. The difficul- 

 ties attending such a task, in the circumstances, are evident, and 



