" the multiple : and besides this I have about half a 



" pound of cloves, which having fallen on the ground before their 

 " degree of maturity, have been dried and are very good for domestic 

 " use ; these last are strong but small, so that these two [young] trees 

 u have produced more than seven pounds of cloves." The author then 

 proceeds to describe with great minuteness the manner of u planting ami 

 rearing the clove tree from the mother clove." In transplanting for the 

 nursery beds a very ingenious transplanting machine was used, consist - 

 ing of a tube i, hinges at the side t.nd furnished 



with two handles at the top. The manner of using this machine was as 

 follows : u Take the planting machine, shut the hinge, lay it over the 

 " plant, taking < • the latf r is in the centre ; push the machine down 

 " as far as: it can gc— the deeper the better; then with a flat trowel dig 

 " into the earth till you have reached the bottom of the planting 

 '•' machine, and holding it (with the seedling in it), with the left hand 

 " and raising it witli the trowel in the ri<rhl hand, take up the plant and 

 " carry it to the place of its destination." This transplanting' machine 

 of one hundred years ago is almost identical with the new and patented 

 machines in use in Ceylon and elsewhere at the present time. M. Buee 

 cured the produce of his clove trees and forwarded a sample 

 country in order to obtain the opinion of experts upon the produ 

 sample appears to have been forwarded to '' T " 

 Banks, the President of the Royal Society, 

 manuscript was also referred by the Earl of Liverpool, afterwards a 

 Secretary of State for the Colonial and War Department. A copy of 

 Sir Joseph Banks's reply is reproduced below. It is an interesting 

 document. It clearly points the way to the policy in regard to botanical 

 enterprise in the colonies which Par! ! to the Royal 



Gardens at Kew, and which has been consistently followed dnrinir the 

 last fifty years. It may be added that M. Buee's report was published 

 in this country as recommended by Sir Joseph Banks, and it was illus- 

 trated by an excellent double-quarto plate of the clove plant with buds, 

 flowers, and fruit, and a drawing of the transplanting machine. 



Sir Joseph Banks to the Earl of Liverpool. 

 Mr Lord, Soho Square. August 11, 1796. 



I beg leave to acquaint your Lordship that 1 

 tion the paper on the successful culture of the clove tree in Dominica, which 

 vour Lordship did me the honour of referring to me, and am of opinion 

 that it ought to be printed for the information of His Majesty's subjects 

 in the We-t Indies and other intertropical colonies. 



Mr. Buee is, as far as I know, the first person who has observed that 

 the pimento tree prospers best in those sterile soils where trees whose 

 wood is of a hard texture abound, and that sugar cannot be cultivated 

 to advantage in such places; also on the other hand, that where trees, 

 whose wood is soft, are naturally found, pimento trees are rarely met 

 with, and sugar plantations will succeed ; on such sterile soils he has 

 tried clove trees, and found them congenial to its nature. 



These observations open to the cultivators of hot climates a new 

 source of wealth, which will not probably be confined to the growth of 

 clover,; other spices may ateo prosper best in the barren soils of the 

 West Indies, as lavender, thyme, and other aromatic plants are known 

 to do in those of Europe. 



I have the honour of sending to your Lordship, with this, a paper 

 containing samples of clove3 received by me from Mr. Buee some months 



