TUB AGRIGU LTVUAL JOURNAL. 



C89 



the same time, bnt reaped two months 

 earlier, w-re much more free from rust 

 than were the Mapsione at the time of 

 reaping. 



" 1 am not very favourably impressed 

 with the oats for winter sowing, and from 

 what I can see there is scarcely any differ- 

 ence between it and the Algerian. I 



ought, perhaps, to mention that until 

 within a few weeks of catting the forage 

 there was not a sign of any rust in it. 

 This leads me to think that the oat, if 

 sown in the summer, would not be rust 

 resistent, for no sooner had the warm 

 weather fairly commenced than the rust 

 made its appearance," 



Botanic Gardens, N.S.W. 



THE following is extracted from a very 

 lengthy report by Mr. J. H. Maiden, 

 the Director of the Sydney Botanic 

 Gardens. The extracts will in some 

 degree show the interest being taken in 

 ether colonies as regards botany. 



Arrangement Ground.— A beginning has 

 been made to form a series of beds be- 

 tween the groups of dicotyledonous plants 

 and the monocotyledons. 



Other Beds and Borders. — A handsome 

 new carpet be 1 was formed on portion 

 No. 22, Lower Garden, near the sea-wall. 

 The work was executed by Messrs. Allen 

 and Lovegrove, who huve charge of the 

 carpet bedding, and the design consisted 

 of a large map of Australia, showing the 

 names of the federating colonies, and 

 bearing the words : " Federated Australia, 

 1900" I am not in favour of maps, 

 diagrams, and profiles being introduced 

 into carpet bedding as a rule ; but the 

 event commemorated in the present in- 

 stance is altogether exceptional, and the 

 design and execuiion of the bed in ques- 

 tion have been warmly commended by 

 the public. 



Medicinal Plants.— I never lose an 

 opportunity of adding to these plants, 

 and I trust that my correspondents 

 throughout the world will kindly con- 

 tinue to send seeds and cuttings when 

 convenient. 



hock Garden. — Minor improvements 

 have been made to the rockeries, but my 

 idea of having a good rockery — a verit- 

 able garden of rock plants— has not yet 

 been realised. Of course, in this climate, 

 we cannot expect to grow the Alpine 

 plants one sees so frequently in European 

 gardens ; but, by way of compensation, 



there are many rock plants that can be 

 grown here in the open air which cannot 

 be so grown in Northern and Central 

 Europe. 



Creek and Ponds. — The ponds were 

 drained off, and an enormous quantity of 

 silt removed at a considerable expense. 



Lawns.— The silt already referred to 

 as having been removed from the ponds 

 has been utilised in raising and levelling 

 the lawns in the Lower Garden. 



Plant-houses. — In my last report I 

 alluded to the fact that the materials for 

 another iron hot-house, identical with 

 two already in the garden, had arrived 

 from England. This house has now been 

 erecced, and has been in use for some 

 months. It is, in fact, crowded already, 

 as all our houses are, eloquent testimony 

 to the way in which our collections ai-e 

 increasing. We have now three hot- 

 houses of identical p ittern. The . one 

 nearest the palm-house is now devoted 

 to tropical ferns, the centre one to orchids, 

 as before, while the new one contains the 

 collection of miscellaneous plants for- 

 merly in the fern-house. I am still, like 

 Oliver Twist, asking for more. At pre- 

 sent, as I mentioned in my last report, we 

 badly want separate houses for palms, 

 aroids, aquatics, and economic plants. 

 The public are frequent in their expres- 

 sions of pleasure at the recent improve- 

 ments in the glass-houses, and if the 

 Chief Seci'etary shoal 1 see fit to ask 

 Parliament for a further appropriation to 

 enable us to grow additional plants which 

 cannot be grown out of doors in our 

 climate, I venture to say that such a 

 coarse would give pleasure to a large 

 number of our citizens. 



