83 
BOTANIC STATION. 
[THE first Curator of the Botanic Station was Mr. John Gray, a 
highly qualified English gardener, who had been engaged for six 
years in carrying on experimental cultivation under General 
the task of laying out and establishing a garden on what w: 
possibly the most unpromising spot in the whole of the West 
ndies. He suffered much latierly from ill-health, and died in 
January, 1895. 
The Voice of St. Lucia for the 17th January, 1895, stated : 
“ Mr. Gray did good work in planning, laying out, and tastefully 
planting ae was a half-filled swamp when it first came into 
his hands, but which in three years’ time he transformed into a 
beautiful garden, which, though small, is an ornament the 
own i 
in the West Indies. In the matter of economic aha he raised 
aE pet ieee thousands of cacao, coffee, nutmeg, cola, and sisal.” 
cession to Mr. Gray, Mr. John C. Moore yes appointed 
Tae in July, 1895. Mr. Moore was a member of the gardening 
staff at Kew, ae previously had been employed e the Right 
Hon. Evelyn Ashley, at Broadlands, Hants. Latterly, provision 
has been made for supplying the Curator with a horse “in order 
to visit the out-districts Am advise the peasant proprietors and 
others with respect to the pae Paths of their lan 
In the memorandum of evidence submitted to the Commission 
by Mr. Moore, the following ii ara are given respecting the 
work of the station :— 
“The object of the station is to encourage the cultivation of 
economic plants, and propagate them for distribution amongst the 
people. The station receives regularly seeds and plants from the 
Ro al Gardens, Kew, and oSer Ikara as well as literature 
“ An annual progress report is oat issued, giving the results 
of the year’s work. Builetins would be pre epared if they could 
be printed by the Government Printing Office. So far this has 
not been possible. 
“If the Curator were supplied with an assistant to take charge 
of the station during his absence, and with the means of getting 
o 
y, and s 
them, by practical lessons, how to grow ~~ oe their cacao and 
coffee owed and cure the produce for e 
wing economic plants were distributed from the 
Botanic Station in 1896 :— 
offee -i 194 
Cacao 3,530 
Nutmeg i 767 
Kola nut : 348 
Oranges... “a isi eae ; 122 
Various fruits ce is = ae 144 
Total plants ... dk s: 20g (0D 
15045 F2 
