315 
The parchment is good, clean, and bright. It has been well 
prepared and well cured, and very ha 
The coffee comes out rather brownish and foxy coated, and is 
still d in size for Liberian ; possibly = drought has affected the 
coffee to a great extent, as you sugges 
To day’s value is about 78s. to BO». per ewt. if husked and 
sized here. 
We are, dear Sir, 
Yours faithfully, 
(Signed) LEWIS & PEAT. 
It is a very fair sample on the whole. 
The report on the fibres was not so satisfactory. 
" Peares deii —— —Fibre of good length but of bad 
what similar sample fro m Trinidad was valued 
in 0 886 at £290 «nd ton. Present prices dd probably nat much 
low wer. 
The Hibiscus fibre is not suitable for commercial use in its 
oat form,’ 
Mr. James E. Hartley, a foreman at the Hope Botanic 
Gardens, Jamaica, was appointed overseer at the Botanic Station 
T acra wm under Mr. Willey, in September, 1896. He spent 
ome time at Kew on his way from Jamaica to West Africa 
(Kew Bulletin, 1896, p. 218). 
The duties of the overseer are to undertake the experimental 
cultivation of coffee, cacao and other economic plants, and to 
assist in training native boys i io horticultural work. 
The site selected for the Botanic Station at Sierra Leone consists. 
of two pieces of land, one of which is shown in the accompanying 
plan prepared by the curator, This is the lower or north garden, 
ut a mile from the centre of Freetown, at an elevation of 250 ft. 
above mean Mio and bo sheltered from the prevailing 
winds. "There is a perennial stream flowing through the gardens, 
vue it is intended 4 to tap this v a parece level, and lead the water 
l rivulets or in pipes all over the gro und. 
The land is not yet properly fenced ; it is in contemplation to 
erect a strong fence, with barbed wire and -wood or live 
ts, as soon as possible. A serviceable wooden gate, with stone 
The soil is not all equally good. It is described as rather poor 
and shallow in places, “while from 3 to 4 acres are covered with 
slab rock and laterite.” There is, however, a sufficient area of 
good soil, especially along the banks of the stream, for nurseries 
and propagating grounds. Other parts are suitable for being laid - 
out in wid: and capable, by the addition of prend and soil, for 
wing specimen trees in specially prepared ho 
The other portion of the station is, du ybi not accessible 
from the lower garden. It is an isolated plot situated on a slope 
at an elevation of 600 ft, above the sea, and contains the remains 
