1869. 



At the Annual Meeting, Mr. Sanderson was again elected 

 President and Rev. J. Buchanan Vice-President, and no new 

 names appear on the list. During this year the following 

 plants were introduced that were new to the Garden : — Peti- 

 veria alliacea, Cedrela odorata. Phoenix sylvestris, Couroupita 

 guianensis, Scindapsis decursivus, Smilax officinalis, Quercus 

 aegilops, Brachychiton acerifolium, B. populneum. From the 

 Curator's Report it appears that a large number of plants of 

 Boehmeria nivea (China grass) '' as many as would plant 10 

 to 15 acres of land " were reared, but it does not appear that 

 there were any applications for them. 



1870. 



At the request of the Lieut. -Governor, Messrs. Rutherford 

 and H. C. Shepstone were placed on the Committee as Govern- 

 ment members, and Mr. A. S. Windham was appointed as 

 Government Inspector of the Gardens. Mr. Sanderson was 

 again elected President, and Messrs. T. R. Haddon and J. S. 

 Steel joined the Committee. In the early part of the year a 

 large case of fruit trees suited for the Upper districts arrived 

 and contained as under : — 



Apples, 64 varieties. Chestnuts, 5 varieties. 



Cherries, 38 „ Pears, 64 „ 



Nectarines 12 „ Figs, 9 „ 



Peaches, 27 „ Grape vines, 100 varieties. 



Apricots, 27 „ Plums, 44 varieties. 



" The whole of these have been transmitted to the Hon. 

 Th. Shepstone, C.M.G., who has kindly undertaken the care 

 and propagation of them for distribution The original plants 

 will remain the property of the Gardens." 



A large number of these plants were reared, and many 

 years afterwards I saw them nourishing in the Gardens of the 

 late Sir Theophilus Shepstone, amongst them being the one 

 popularly, but incorrectly known locally as the "Catawba" 

 grape vine. It does not appear that the Society ever made any 

 claim to these trees, nor am I aware to what extent they were 

 distributed. One thousand Grape vine cuttings weie also 

 introduced from the Cape Colony, and distributed between 

 Maritzburg, Durban and Victoria Counties. Amongst the 

 plants of economic value introduced during the year were the 

 following : — Spondias pleiogyne, Pistachia vera, Cupressus 

 excelsa, and many others of lesser importance. 



