15 



until his retirement in 1908. During this period the depart- 

 ment was considerably enlarged. St. Clair Experiment Station 

 was added in 1898. H-irt brought into order the valuable 

 collections of herbarium specimens am issed by his pre lecjssors 

 and greatly added to them. The Bulletin <>f Miscellaneous 

 Infonii'ition was commenced by him in 1888 and edited con- 

 tinuously for the next 20 ye irs. His general agricultural work 

 U well known. Dr. (no;v Sir) D. Morris wrote of him and his 

 \\ork in ISiKS, "The Botanic Gardens in Trinidad ar present are 

 amongst the most efficierft of any in the colonies. Mr. Hart, 

 the Superintendent, is an energetic, capable officer who is devoted 

 t i his \v..rk." 



After tli creation of the Department of Agriculture in 

 1908, Mr. J. B. Carruth.-rs uas appointed (jowrnment Botanist 

 and Superintendent, Royal Botanic ,s. He assumed office 



in September, 1909, but died in July, 1910. His brief tenure of 

 otfiiv was eii.uMcterized by the great zeal he devoted to rubber 

 cultivation ami by tin- clearing and ..p.-ning up of part of the 

 <iard'-ns. ami the addition of the rockery. The present Govern- 

 ment Uotanist assumed duties in May, 191 1. 



The Botanic Gardens are on the northern side of the 

 S.ivannih Government House, situated in the Gardens, over- 

 looking the savannah, is a handsome building of local limestone 

 erected in 1875. The front of the Gardens is laid out in lawns 

 with specimens of palms and ornamental trees and shrubs. 

 H hind Government House the Gardens run up the St. Ann's 

 hills on which approached by three shady paths is a little 

 building the **L>ok Out" at an elevation of about 300 feet from 

 which a magnificent panorama of the city and gulf is obtainable. 

 As is well known, Kingsley devoted many p iges of At Last to 

 description of the Gardens. Kingsley, on his visit to Sir Arthur 

 Gordon (subsequently Lord Stanrnore) in 1869, resided in a 

 cottage just outside the Gardens, the former Government House 

 having been destroyed by fire. Behind Government House, in 

 the north-cast corner of the Gardens, is the nursery for orna- 

 mental plants, a herbaceous garden recently sturted, the fern houses, 

 and the residence of the Government Botanist. Adjacent to 

 the fernery is a plot of Thornton's Hybrid Cotton, also one of the 

 tim introduced trees of Ilevea brasitiensis. At the western 

 end of the Garden a picturesque, narrow pathway leads up the 

 Emperor Valley, which contains two of the oldest Hevea trees 

 and the parent tree of Castilloa elastica of the Island. The 

 two Hevea trees in the Valley, Nos. 12 and 13, yielded together 

 ,5'95lb. of rubber in February and March, 1910, and 181b. 5oz. 

 between July and November, 1911. Trie Gardens are open daily 

 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. A baud plays in the front near Govern 

 .nent House on Wednesdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

 and once a month on moonlight nights. Vehicular traffic is not 

 allowed in the Gardens. 



