STATE OP THE BOTANICAL GARDEN AT ST. VINCENT. 37 1 



ftm hapjiy to find I had adopted the mode of planting tiiem 

 which he has described. 



In general I find that East-India plants are more rapid in In the West 

 their growth, ei(hcr from seeds or plants, than the indige- J"*;!^^ ^^^^ 



° ^ r 7 o India plants 



nous plants of the country, and arrive at perfection sooner ; thrive, Chinese 

 but the reverse is the case with the Chinese. There is at*^""°^" 

 present in the garden a large tree of the litche, sent by sir 

 Joseph Banks in 1788, which as yet has made no attempt 

 to flower. I experience the same disposition in several 

 herbaceous perennial plants from China. I was pleased to 

 see a specification of growth of trees in the East Indies, by 

 Dr. Roxburgh, in the last volume of the Transactions, 

 which led me to a comparison of some East Indian trees 

 here, and also of some natives; and I find those from 

 India thrive full as well here as in their native soil. The 

 result I send yon. Itis a matter of curiosity, rather than 

 utility. It shows the rapid progress of vegetation in tro- 

 pical climates, compared with that in the colder regions. 



Of the numberless articles for commerce and economy, Many natural 

 manufactured in the East-Indies, no attention is paid to P'^°'?"^^'""/ 



, * neglected for 



Ihem here, altliough many of them are common. The the sugarcane. 

 same is the case as to small products for necessary existence. 

 This is owing to the want of a proper population, and the 

 high price of manual labour. Except in Barbadoes, and a 

 few other islands, all the land- in cultivation is engrossed hy 

 the sugar cane. No room is left for poor industrious people, 

 unless in detached spots remote from towns, markets, and 

 shipping. The hard woods fit for mill timber are more at- 

 tended to than any other, and they undoubtedly are the 

 most essential article to the planters, yet few take the 

 trouble to plant them, or give room for them. 



You mention the high price of oak bark for tanning. I Tan to be had 

 am confident we have many barks here superior to it, as to indies. 

 the astringent principle. Whether our barks are as effec- 

 tual, or more so, than the oak bark in tanning, deserves ex- 



to you for tl;e Society's inspection. The berries are coUftted be- 

 /ore full maturity. I find it is a plant of more easy cultivation 

 tlian I conjectured. After it begins to bear there is no intermission. 

 It yields its berries in succession during tlie year. As soon as one 

 crop coraeVto maturity, the plant recommences flowering. 



B b 2 pcriment. 



