of species under glass in the world. Not only in the larger cities, 

 Moscow, Warsaw and Kiev, but in the smaller towns like Kazan, 

 Voronesh, Orel and Penza (the last not visited by us), we find 

 Botanic Gardens such as we might feel proud to own. 



A generation or two ago, when Loudon and Lindley were at 

 work in England, the Royal Horticultural Society imported from 

 all parts of the world the plants likely to be useful or ornamental 

 in England. They sent agents to China. Robert Fortune, how- 

 ever, spent much of his time at Canton, almost in the tropics. He 

 was not in search of plants suited to the climate of Quebec, and 

 yet some of our best hardy shrubs were brought to light at that 

 time. This was probably the age of greatest Horticultural inter- 

 change the mild temperate regions have ever seen, and upon 

 it is largely based their present advanced horticulture : and yet 

 this work has been only of minor use to us. 



In the tropics, and in the sub-tropical climates, the British 

 Colonies have taken the lead in this matter of Botanic Gardens : 

 wherever there is a Colony of any size there almost always is a 

 Botanic Garden. Ceylon, India, (several), Singapore, Hong 

 Kong, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, New Zealand, Tas- 

 mania, Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, and many others which I 

 am not sure enough to note have their Botanic Gardens. Also in 

 the West Indies, Jamaica, Trinidad and Demarara. The East and 

 West Indies ha 3 interchanged for over loo years I Read the 

 reports of the Jamaica and other Botanic Gardens in the library 

 of the Montreal Horticultural Society, and you will see that it is 

 this Botanic interchange which has built up the present enormous 

 export trade of the Tropics. 



Now there are two points to which I wish to draw special 

 attention. , ' V' ^<rvf; ■■.. i.'.-^f-rr'. , r.'^yi,;-s 



I. We in the cold North have hardly begun to exchange 

 with our like climates in the old world. " ' *' ' ' 



II. In Canada we have no Botanic Gardens. ^ v .ui;' : 

 As to exchange with our like climates, that will begin 



next fall. As to Botanic Gardens we must speak less 

 hopefully. Our Horticultural Societies have done good 



