»7 



Poterium soiiguisorha . " Burnet." 



In my Report for 1895 it was stated tliat seeds of this plant had 

 been given to us by Mr Woods of Estcourt, who advocated it 

 strongly as a pasture plant ; how it may have succeeded in the 

 higher parts of the colony, I do not know, but here it has 

 proved a total failure ; plants were reared and put out in the 

 Garden, but they gradually dwindled away, until now not a 

 single one is left. 



Medicago detdi'cidafa and M. lacluiata. 



Specimens of these plants have several times been sent to 

 me for identification, usually with the idea that they were 

 weeds which were spreading on the farms, and which might be 

 injurious to cattle. These plants belong to the same genus as 

 the Lucerne, or Alfalfa, which is Medicago sativa, and their 

 growth on grazing farms should in my opinion be encouraged ; 

 many species of the genus are good pasture plants, and none of 

 them so far as I know are injurious. These two species, though, 

 perhaps not really indigenous, have become quite naturalised 

 in many parts of the colony. 



Miscellaneous plants under trial. 



Cola^ acuminata. 



This is the tree yielding the " Cola nuts " of commerce ; 

 several plants of it have been reared from seed, and are now 

 about 18 inches bigli, but have not yet been planted out in the 

 Garden, but some of them will be put out during the present 

 year, and will therefore be reported upon more fully at a 

 future date. I understand it is a tree of very slow growth, at 

 any rate in tlie early stage. 



Dipteryx odorata. " Tonquin " or " Tonga " bean. 



Three of the plants were received from the Director of the 

 Kew Gardens, but have not been planted out ; this also is 

 apparently a tree of very slow growth. It is perhaps needless 

 to state that this tree yields the "Tonquin Bean " of commerce, 

 which is used for scent, and perhaps for other purposes also. 



Sivietenio, mahogani. " Mahogany Tree." 



These trees were planted in 1887 and are therefore now 10 

 years old ; one of them is about 20 feet high, with a stem of 

 about 3 inches in diameter, but has perhaps suffered from 

 having too many of its low^er branches pruned away so as to 

 procure a straight stem ; the other one has not been so much 

 pruned, and is now about 18 feet high ; and both of them are 

 looking fairly well. This I think is fairly satisfactory, and 

 shows that the tree would be likely to succeed in the coast 

 districts, and is worth the notice of our forest department when 

 established. 



