REPORT. 



Botanic Gardens, Durban, 



Berea, July, i906. 

 To the President and Committee, 



Durban Botanic Society. 



Gentlemen, 



I have now the pleasure of presenting my Twenty-fifth 

 Annual Report on the work of the Botanic Gardens and Her- 

 barium under my charge, and again am pleased to say that the 

 Report is a fairly satisfactory one in I think every respect ; we 

 have not suffered from either drought or floods to any appre- 

 ciable extent, and I am pleased to be able to say that the tree 

 of Arenga saccharifera which was blown over by the heavy gale 

 of May 31st, 1905, has now quite recovered and has borne 

 flowers. Our greatest trouble has been the malaria which has 

 been so prevalent, but which I am glad to say is now on the 

 decline ; the work done by the Durban Corporation on the flat 

 below the Gardens has very sensibly diminished the number of 

 the mosquitoes which were the agents for its dissemination and 

 the cases of attacks of the disease ure now much more rare In 

 consequence of this outbreak it was thought necessary to have 

 the pond at the lower corner of the Garden ground filled in. 

 In the etrly days of the Gardens, some 50 years ago Nympliaeas 

 of several species were grown in this pond as well as some 

 other species of acquatic plants, but since the Indian houses 

 were placed not far from it, and its drainage interfered with 

 by different circumstances it had become somewhat of a nuisance, 

 besides forming a breeding place for the Anophiles mosquito, 

 so that a contractor was engaged at a cost of £50 to fill it up 

 with soil which with the consent of the Borough Engineer was 

 taken from near the foot of St Thomas' Road, temporary 

 portable rails having been laid for the purpose. It will be 

 necessary for the completion of this work to lay a drain from 

 the foot of the hill to the drain on the Corporation land, and 

 this will be done in the near future. The work at the nursery 

 was in danger of getting behind hand, consequent on one of the 

 gardeners who was constantly employed there leaving for his 

 home in Australia, the vacancy has now, however, been filled 



