REPORT 



Botanic Gardens, 



Berea, January, 1896. 



To the President and Committee, 

 Durban Botanic Society. 



Gentlemen, 



I have much pleasure in presenting this my Fourteenth 

 Annual Report on the Botanic Gardens, and the work connected 

 therewith. As will be seen by the Abstract of Meteorological 

 Observations, taken at the Observatory in the upper portion of 

 the Garden ground, and kindly supplied, as usual, by the 

 Government Astronomer, it will be seen that from May to 

 September, inclusive, only 4*30 inches of rain was registered, 

 while during the same period in 1894, no less than 14*28 inches 

 fell. In November, again, the fall was below the average, but 

 the fall in December was very welcome, bringing the total for 

 the year to 51*50 inches, against 37 27 for 1894, and which is 

 above the average for the last twenty years by 6*74 inches. I 

 am glad to be able to say that we have suffered no damage of 

 any consequence from either drought, flood, wind storms, 

 or locusts. 



The hands have been so fully employed during the year, 

 that time could not be spared for any further extention of the 

 ground in cultivation, except that a piece of land, about an 

 acre in extent, has been cleared of bush and added to the 

 Nursery, which was not only too small for our present 

 requirements, but also required manuring and a rest. A small 

 portion of the Nursery ground had been set apart for roses, 

 being about the only portion of our ground which is nearly free 

 from white ants, but the ground lies very low, and during the 

 very wet weather of last year, the soil became so saturated with 

 water, that almost the whole of the roses were killed. I think 

 it likely that the stoppage of the pumping operations at 

 Currie's Fountain, consequent upon the new water supply from 

 Umbilo and Umlaas, has been the principal cause of this 

 saturation of the ground in the vicinity, especially after heavy 

 falls of rain. 



