The piece of land along the Sydenham Road boundary which has 

 been cleared, as stated in my last report, has now been nearly all 

 planted, and a list of the plants put out will be found in this report. 

 I intend as soon as possible to have another piece cleared at the lower 

 end of the ground, and I hope that it will be ready for planting during 

 next season. 



At the commencement of the year arrangements were made to 

 connect the Gardens with the Town by telephone, and this has often 

 been found a great convenience, though the cost is somewhat heavy. 



An order was sent home early in the year for flower pots, which 

 were duly received, but in spite of care and special methods of pack- 

 ing, the losses by breakage were very great. There seems now to be 

 a prospect of obtaining good pots locally made, the sample already 

 sent to us being of excellent quality, and the price reasonable. 



The plant labels hitherto used have not been found quite satis- 

 factory, the lettering soon becomes illegible, and they are frequently 

 broken by visitors. A trial order has therefore been sent home for a 

 gross of iron labels, enamelled with black letters on a white ground. 

 The lettering is, judging by the sample received, very conspicuous, 

 and the enamel will stand any fair usage, as it does not chip off even 

 with a smart blow. As these labels are somewhat expensive, it is to 

 be hoped that mischievous persons will not attempt to damage them. 



During the early part of the year I took a trip with wagon and 

 oxen to the district beyond Greytown, proceeding over the Noods- 

 berg, and made fair collections of plants for the Gardens, and for 

 exchange with other institutions. Shorter trips were made, but 

 chiefly for collecting specimens for the Colonial Herbarium and for 

 exchange, as detailed in my Report on Herbarium matters. 



The European staff at the Gardens remains unchanged, and con- 

 sists of Mr. J. Wylie, the head gardener ; Mr. Harmon and Mr. 

 Rutter, assistants ; and I have much pleasure in again testifying to 

 their zeal and industry. 



Plants, fruit, flowers, &c, have been sold, sent away in exchange, 

 and granted free to public institutions to the amount of upwards of 

 /iioo. 



Packets of seeds were received during the year as follows : — 



PACKETS. 



Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ... ... ... ... 46 



„ „ „ Jamaica ... ... ... ... 10 



„ „ „ Mauritius ... ... ... 9 



Botanic Gardens, Bangalore ... 7 



„ „ Madras ... ... ... ... ... 20 



„ „ Melbourne ... ... 73 



„ ,, Paris ... ... ... ... ... 9 



„ ,, Saharunpur ... ... ... ... 19 



„ ,, St. Petersburg ... ... ... ... 72 



„ „ Trinidad ... ... ... ... ... 1 



University of California ... ... ... .. 23 



Acclimatisation Society, S. California 15 



Carried forward ... 304 



