376 TiMEHRI. 



some knowledge of botany before commencing to study 

 the flora of Guiana and here he meets with a great diffi- 

 culty at the very commencement. His text-books have 

 dealt with the plants of the country where they were 

 published, and the authors took their examples from the 

 fields, woods and gardens around them. There is no 

 introdu6lion to botany in which plants from Guiana, 

 South America, or the West Indies are utilised in a simi- 

 lar way, and therefore a new alphabet as it were must 

 be learnt. This however is not so difficult as it appears 

 at first sight and with a little perseverance the natural 

 orders become quite as familiar as those which are so 

 well represented in Europe and North America. It 

 would undoubtedly be a good thing if some botanist 

 were to publish an introdu6lion to botany for tropical 

 America, but unfortunately the small amount of support 

 likely to be given would prevent such a work being a 

 financial success. 



Ward's Trench.— Since we published Mr. KlRKE's 

 paper on the Early years of the Lamaha Canal {Timehri 

 1893, p. 284) we have seen a document which giv^s some 

 interesting particulars bearing on Ward's Trench. 

 Hugh Hughes, attorney of Joseph Ward of Liverpool, 

 proprietor of Pin, Industry and also of Lots 9 and 10 in 

 No. 3 Canal, extending from the third depth of Industry 

 to the Canal, these not having been put under cultivation 

 and therefore doubts having arisen as to their having 

 lapsed to the crown, petitioned Governor D'Urban to 

 have them secured. What was the date of this first 

 petition does not appear but a second was dated August 

 3Tst, 1836, this stating that a trench commonly called 



