MIXUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



83 



At Kew it is the fortunate combination of interesting 

 trees in the glass houses, good museums and accurate 

 nomenclature that is so useful to the forester on leave. 

 All this, too, set m its loveh- gardens^ One is out of 

 the grime aaid gloom of London, but. within half an hout 

 cf the West Find, and with trains eveiy half hour. 



To the courtesy and kindness of Sir "William Thiselton- 

 Dyer and the staff at Kew I owe a debt which 1 am 

 glad of tliis opportunity of acknowledging. My time 

 at Kew stands out as a liappy memory in a quarter of 

 a century's sen-ice in India and South Africa. I saw 

 liying specimens there of trees that I had hitherto known 

 only on paper. I met several foresters, including Sir 

 D. Brandis, as active and well as when I saw him last 

 ten years ago in Germany. 



I do not think that foresters on leave sufficiently ap- 

 preciate Kew and its advantages, which is my reason 

 for troubling you with this somewhat lengthy note. 



D. E. HrxcHixs, 



Conservator of Forests. 



Cape Town, December 15th, 1900. 



Mr. Hutchins's paper at least illustrates the advantage 

 and reality of the close interconnection which exists 

 between every part of tlie Kew establishment. 



3. Living Collections. — ^I forbear to add anything 

 further as to the distinctive character of these. The 

 collection of palms I have occasion to believe is the 

 largest in the world, richer even in number of species 

 than that of Buitenzorg. These can hardly be studied 

 to any advantage except in a living state. Nevertheless 

 the Botanical Garden at Berlin has recently requested 

 that an extensive suite of specimens shall be furnished 

 to them for preservation. The arboretum is in extent 

 and correct nomenclature certainly without a rival in 

 the northern hemisphere. 



IX. 



It will be seen from what ha^ been stated that 

 Kew is practically of the nature of a GovernmeiLt De- 

 partment, and as such is more or less in touch with the 

 variotis public offices. Any cjllei lions or material 

 brought home by Government expeditions or officials 

 which come into the hands of public departments, 

 naturally find their way to Kew. 



Botanical establishments throughout the empire are 

 mostly either staft'ed by Kew men or are in intimate 

 relations with Kew. In either case collections for deter- 

 mination wiU naturally be sent to it. 



Private individuals can dispose of their collections at 

 their pleasure. But the facilities for rapidly dealing 

 with them at Kew usually lead to their being sent there, 

 and this, as has been shown, even from foreign countries. 



In the case of. expeditions promoted by scientific 

 bodies, such as the British Association and the Royal 

 Society, an undertaking was attempted to be arrived 

 at that the first set should go to the institution which 

 initiated the project and the second set to the other, as 

 the case might be. It cannot, however, be said that 

 the British Museum adhered very loyally to this arrange- 

 ment. 



It wiU, I think, be convenient here to place before 

 the Committee a brief statement of the historical facts 

 relating to the two institutions. 



As a matter of fact, ever since its foundation in 1759, 

 Kew has been tlie national botanic centre, and this 

 ■whether it was maintained by the Sovereign or out of 

 the public purse. The following short statement of its 

 history is now published officially in the annual Colonial 

 Office List : — • 



RoTAL Botanic Gardens, Kew. 



Kew as a scientific establishment dates from 1759. 

 when a Botanic, or, as it was then called, a Physic, 

 Garden was established by the Princess Augusta of 

 Saxe-Gotha, Dowager Princess of Wales. 



It was energetically maintained By her son, George 

 III., with the scientific assistance of Sir Joseph Banks, 

 who was virtually for the greater part of his life 

 director. Under his advice collectors were sent to all 

 parts of the world. The first New Holland plants were 

 introduced during Cook's voyages, 1768-1780. At Sir 

 Joseph Banks's instance the system of inter-colonial 

 exchange was commenced, which has been maintained 



3499. 



Sir W. T. 

 Thisdton- 



Dyer, 

 K.C.M.G., 



F.R.S. 



ever since. The most memorable undertaking of this 

 kind was the voyage of the "Bounty" (1787), for the 

 puq)ose of introducing the bread-fruit tree from the 

 South Seas into the est Indies. Nelson, the Kew 



collector, was amongst those sent adrift by the 



mutineers, and eventually died of the exposure. Another 



Kew gardener, James Hooper, wlio had been attached • _ " 



to Lord Amherst's Embassy to China, remained in Java, 

 and was from 1817-30 Hortulanus of the celebrated 

 Dutch Colonial Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, which he 

 helped to create. 



Both George III. and Sir Joseph Banks died in 1820, 

 and the colonial and other work of Kew languished, 

 though it was not absolutely abandoned during the reign 

 of George IV. ard William lY. In 1838 the abolition 

 of the whole establishment was contemplated by the 

 Government. Public opposition led to the appointment 

 of a Treasury Committee, the report of which was pre- 

 sented to Parliament in 1840. The following paragraphs 

 briefly defined the functions of the reorganised estab- 

 lishment : — "A national garden ought to be the centre 

 round which all minor establishments of the same nature 



should be arranged From a garden of this 



kind Government would be able to obtain authentic and 

 official information on points connected with the found- 

 ing of new colonies ; it would afford the plants there 

 required, without its being necessaiy, as now, to apply 

 to the officers of private establishments for advice and 

 assistance." 



These recommendations having been adopted by the 

 Government, Sir W. J. Hooker, F.R.S. , was appointedl 

 Director in 1841 to earn' them out. A close connection 

 between Kew and the Colonial Office immediately sprang- 

 up. A scheme for a complete series of Colonial Floras- 

 was ianctioned in 1856, and has been steadily prose- 

 cuted. Kew serves to a large extent as an advanced 

 horticultural school. Special attention is given to the 

 preparation of gardeners for Colonial service. Some-- 

 sixty men trained at Kew are now in official eniploj 

 ment in different parts oi the empire. 



Relations -wibh the botanical institutions of the self- 

 governing colonies are maintained by semi-official cor- 

 respondence. With those of colonies more directly 

 under the control of the Colonial Office the connection 

 is closer. 



Colonial botanical institutions fall roughly into three- 

 classes. Those of the first class are usually, like Kew. 

 administered by a scientific director ; those_of the second 

 class by a skilled superintendent ; the third class con- 

 sists of "botanic stations." These _last are small and 

 inexpensive gardens, devised in 1885, in order to afford 

 practical instruction in the cultivation of tropical crops, 

 and were intended to develop the asricultural resources 

 at first of the siialler West Indian islands, and subse- 

 quently (1887) of British possessions in Tropical Africa. 

 Each is in charge of a Curator, who is a gardener trained 

 at Kew. 



The principal members of the Kew staff are : — 



Director . Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dver, Kl.C.M.G., CLE., 

 LL.D., F.R.S. 



Keeper of tlie Hrrbarinm and Library, W. B. HemsleT,., 

 F.R.S. 



Honorary Kef per of the Jodrell Laboratory, D. H. Scott,,, 

 Ph.D., M.A., F.R.S. 



Keeper of Museums, J. R. Jackson, A.L.S. 



The most important Colonial Botanical institutions.- 

 in intimate relation -ndth Kew are tliose of : — - 



Ceylon. — Director of Hoyal Botanic Gardens, J. (J. 

 Willis, M.A. 



Stbaits Settlements. — Director of Gardens and Forest 

 Department, H. N. Ridley, M.A. 



Jamaica. — Director of Public Gardens and Plantations, 

 William Fawcett, B.Sc. 



In 1898, in accordance -with the recommendations of 

 the West India Commission, a SpecialDepartment of 

 Agriculture was created for Barbados, the Leeward and 

 the Windward Islands, and was placed under the charEje 

 of a Commissioner, with headquarters at Barbados. 



Commissioner of Agriculture at Barbados, D. Morris. 

 C.M.G., D.Sc, M.A. 



Travelling Superintendent, G. W. Smith. 



L2 



