given. It was our intention to have, if possible, the largest 

 trunk brought down, but during the late rebellion the natives 

 had so damaged it, presumably using it as medicine, that it 

 was quite unfit for our purpose, which I much regret, as it was 

 the largest trunk of any of the genus that had been seen in 

 Natal, larger even than the " Giant Kncephalartos," a photo 

 which is I understand in the Museum at Kew Gardens. The 

 two trunks brought down by the Curator are now planted in 

 front of and below the Palm House, one of them is 7 feet and 

 the other 6 feet above the ground, and each of them at least 

 2 feet 6 inches in the ground. 



The plant here figured is believed to be a variety of 

 Encephalartos Altensteinii, Lehm, and the photo was taken in 

 the Gardens by Mr. W. D. Haygarth. 



In a previous report I stated that our tree of Ginnamomum 

 cassia had been maliciously damaged by barking the stem 

 from about 4 feet above the ground, to even below the surface 

 of the soil, and I hardly expected that it would survive ; it has, 

 however, now produced a sucker from the root, and will most 

 likely recover, but so long as Indians are living on the ground, 

 and are able to get into the Gardens at night or early morning 

 I fear that the same thing is likely to occur again when the 

 tree is sufficiently grown. 



The trees of Manihot Glaziovii have been removed, leaving 

 only two or three specimen trees in the Gardens, these trees 

 having been raised from cuttings and become very unsightly 

 and the ground upon which they stood could be put to better 

 use. There has been no demand for the seeds in Natal, and 

 for years past it has been sold for planting on the East Coast ; 

 their own trees are now bearing seeds, and the demand has 

 altogether ceased. We shall still be able to supply a limited 

 quantity of seeds in the season if any person elect to give the 

 tree another trial. 



The " Guide to Trees and Shrubs in the Gardens," which 

 was published in 1897 is now getting out of date, some of the 

 plants catalogued in it are dead, and many others have been 

 planted, a new edition is therefore urgently required, and has 

 been commenced, but has been put aside for the present as we 

 have a number of tree plants to place out in the spring and 

 summer, and some old and useless ones to clear away as soon as 

 time can be spared for- the purpose. If the new Guide were te 

 be published now it would in a, very short time be incomplete, 

 as a number of interesting plants would not be included in it. 



