143 
St. Thomas the Apostle. The late Mr. Nathaniel ita from 
the Royal Gardens, Kew, was appointed Curator of the Garden 
in 1847, and devoted m many years, often labouring Bi great 
(discouragements, in maintaining and improving the Garden and 
introducing new plants. His yearly reports contain sufficient 
evidence of the value of the Garden, small as it was, to an island 
entirely dependent for its prosperity on E agani interest ; 
and assisted and encouraged by Thomas Wharton, 
Mr. Wilson laboured most successfully i in “oe propagation and 
distribution of valuable plants, and especially in developing the 
“ fibre ” resources of the colony. 
Writing in 1861 Mr. ‘gp referred to the cya intro- 
duction of seeds of the valuable cinchona tree to Jamaica, 
“through the liberality of shi British Government and recom- 
mendation of Sir y onth of 
of Si Hooker, of Ke 7 
October, 1861, Mr. Wilson n reported that he had “ over four 
hundred healthy plants quite ready for planting out.” As the 
climate of Bath was unsuitable for the successful growth of 
cinchona, by the kindness of the late Dr. Hamilton, they were 
tried at Cold ii Coffee Plantation, St. Andrew, at an elevation 
f 4,000 ft. e Mr. Wilson found “the climate and soil to be 
all he could ripen and as it afforded every facility for carrying 
out so valuable an experiment he at once availed himself of it, 
and planted out in the coffee fields, on the 16th November, 1861, 
Sadan plants of each species, then about two and two and a- half 
nches in height. In sels months after, a plant of the red bark 
Rinne: succirubra) had attained to the height of forty-four 
inches, with leaves measuring thirteen and vom inches long by 
eight and three-quarters inches broad. i 
December, 1863, i.e., when two years old, measured six feet in 
height, with es ‘branches ides a cireumfer rence of stem at the 
It may be 
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that time Ay pind of. cin ito bark from the Government 
Plantations to the 30th September, 1884, was 73,533 PT 
of the value of 16,327/. There was no exportation in 1885 
A consignment of 150 bags of various qualities kig, despatched to 
London in December, 1886. The bark weighed 17,009 pounds, 
and was sold for 5427. 9s. There has been no export since that 
time. 
In 1857 a grant was passed by the Legislature for purchasing 
land for a Botanic Garden at Castleton, in the parish of St. Mary, 
19 miles from Kingston, and steps were at once taken to establish 
the garden and remove such plants as could be spared from 
