137 
meagre vegetation, the remains, probably, of a former much richer 
flora. Ju udging fi from the fact that many of the species are found in the 
most widely separated parts cf the country, even those that are not 
known to occur outside of Tibet, there must be few very local species. 
A large majority of the plants scarcely lift themselves above the surface 
of the soil, the characteristic ty pe being a rosette of small leaves closely 
appressed to the ground with a central sessile inflorescence. With 
regard to altitude, 57, or just half of Thorold’s plants, were collected 
between 17,000 and 18,000 feet, five between 18,000 and 19,000, and 
one, Saussurea tridactyla, at 19, 00. feet. 
Books presented by -= Bentham Trust.— A number of valu- 
able works on fungi from the library of Dr M . C. Cooke have been 
purchased by ‘the Belts. Trustees and presented to the library of the 
oyal Gardens. Among them were the illustrated works of Lucand and 
Patouillard, as far as they have been published, and Letelliers' rare 
* Figures des Champignons. 
dinis camen du Muséum D’Histoire see de Paris 
Kew the kind offices of the late Secretary of State Es 
f mbas 
third series of this valuable publication, the gift of the French 
Government. Several very important illustrated botanical contributions 
of considerable extent have appeared in the Nouvelles pee notably 
Franchet’s elaboration of the rich collections xx yl er David in 
Western China. Decaisne, eegee, a Bornet are 2 xm the 
botanieal contributors. Kew alsc possesses the aiak series of the 
publications of € Muséum S istoire Naturell de Paris, but not the 
intermediate on That is to say, the Annales, vols. 1-20, 1802-1813, 
but not the Iudex vol. 21 publishad i in 1827; the Mémoires, vols. 1-2 20, 
1815-1832 ; the Nouvelles Annales, vols. (es 4, 1832-1835. Between 
this date: and the second series of the Nouvelles Archives are: 1, Archives 
vols., 1-10, 1839-1561, and 2, Nouvelles Archives, 1-10, 1865-1874. 
These two series are altogether wanting at Kew 
Coffee in Montserrat.—Besides sugar, the principal staple of this 
small member of the colony of the Leeward Islands, has been the cultiva- 
tion of the lime. A very promising commencement appears to have 
now been made with coffee. 
Exrtracr from letter from Curator, Botanie Station, St. Vincent, 
to Roxar GARDENS, Kew, dated 29th December, 1893. 
iinet €: kindness of Mr. Hamilton, the Ant for the Montserrat 
y Mr. Tebbs, the manager, I got a good insight the 
em cultiv eds and espe a Mr. Hamilton informed me that he 
spent some 10 years in Ceylon as a coffee planter; that he has had 
considerable experience in coffee culteiiinn is wy evident, for in 
Montserrat at the present time there are from 80 to 100'acres of coffee 
all planted within the last three or four years, and a large number of 
the trees are bearing good crops. The elevation was from 1,200 to 
1,400 feet, and I observed that on the lower side of the majority of the 
ete on the steep sides, a terrace of stones had been built, Sah acted 
as a receptacle for the soil which would otherwise be washed into the 
U 80795. C 
