REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC GARDENS AND PLANTATIONS, 

 JAMAICA, FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1892. 



The two main divisions under which work in a Colonial Botanical Department may be classed 

 are, first, the supply of plants yielding products new to the agriculture of the colony, or of a better 

 kind, or such as are not readily obtainable otherwise, — involving experimental and nursery grounds in 

 such situations as are suitable ; secondly, the providing of information regarding the kind of soil, 

 climate, &c., fitted for the plants, their proper cultivation and preparation for the markets. The 

 second division is most economically and effectively carried on by means of printed matter combined 

 with correspondence; but practical demonstrations of methods in the Gardens are advisable whenever 

 they can be carried out. Both divisions imply considerable correspondence with persons in other 

 countries as well as a complete Herbarium and a good Library. 



Oastleton Garden. 



During the past 12^ years from the time that Mr. Morris was first made Director to Slst March 

 1892, about 220,000 plants have been distributed from Castleton, besides seeds which would produce 

 at least as many plants. This gives an average for a year of 17,600 plants, and includes those sent to 

 Hope for distribution from that centre. 



Of those plants, about half the number were sucb as may be termed strictly " Economic," such 

 as cocoa, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, Liberian coffee, vanilla, oranges, East Indian mangoes, cardamom, 

 cola. 



The remainder were palms, roses, ferns, orchids, and miscellaneous trees and shrubs, among which 

 are included timber trees. 



I stated in my Report for the year 1887-88 that although it was not the mission of a Botanic 

 Garden to undertake the work of a Horticultural Establishment, and supply the public with ornamen- 

 tal plants, I thought it right to do as much as possible in that direction, so long as there was no pro- 

 bability of interfering with private enterprise. 



But the danger of interfering with trade seems remote, and the demands on the part of the pub- 

 lic are positive and are increasing. There has been an annual demand for some 8,000 or 10,000 orna- 

 mental plants, and even more than the Department can supply with its present means. The question 

 may sometimes arise, is the Government right in fostering this demand ; is it a legitimate one, — is some 

 great end served by the necessary expenditure, and the attention to the numberless details that it 

 implies ? 



It appears to me that the question only needs to be stated for all intelligent persons to answer it 

 in the affirmative. Bacon recognizes a love for gardening as an index of a nation's advance in civiliza- 

 ion, and without doubt it is an important factor in rendering that advance more easy and more cer- 

 tain. He says (Essay 46), " God Almighty first planted a Garden, and indeed it is the purest of hu- 

 man pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man, without which buildings and 

 places are but gross hand) works; and a man shall ever see, that where ages grow to civility and ele- 

 gancy men come to build stately, sooner than to garden finely ; as if gardening were the greater per- 

 fection." 



The plants, cuttings and seeds, — both economic and ornamental, — from Castleton as well as from 

 the other Gardens, are distributed all over the Island by means of the Coastal Steamer, the Railway, 

 and the Post Office. 



The increase in the variety of cultural products, and the humanizing influence of ornamental 

 plants are matters of appreciation in every part of the country from the mountain to the sea coast. 

 Every person who obtains plants and grows them, from the sugar planter who makes trial of different 

 varieties of cane, to the small settler who grows a nutmeg plant, is making experiments which are of 

 direct benefit to himself and indirectly to his neighbours and to the district. 



Parochial, or other local associations can do a great deal to help the work by meeting periodically 

 to discuss all matters connected with agriculture. The sympathy felt between those engaged in kin- 

 dred pursuits, the feeling of rivalry aroused to attain better results, the mutual aid obtained by in- 

 terchanging ideas, are all most valuable in the improvement of agriculture. He who undertakes the 

 laborious task of starting such an association in his own district, though he may find few at first to 

 join him, yet by perserverance with even only one or two sympathisers will eventually meet with his 

 reward. Such an association and this Department can render mutual assistance to each other in many 

 ways with results that will be of general benefit to the whole Island. 



The great importance of Castleton as a Botanic Garden over the other Gardens, may be estimated 

 from the fact that there are some plants such as vanilla, which will only grow naturally there, and 

 that there are others, such as roses, which can only there be successfully propagated. Castleton must 

 therefore always be the great propagating centre. 



It is scarcely necessary to say anything in Jamaica about the importance generally of Botanic 

 Gardens, for the need for them has been continuously recognized for more than 100 years. The value 



