16 



The old great house at Hope is at present used chiefly as store rooms, and in any case could not 

 be used for quarters or oflBces on account of its insanitary condition. 



With regard to the house occupied by the Director at Cinchona, it would be necessary for him 

 always to have it at his disposal when visiting the Hill Garden. When the department was for a short 

 time under General Mann a small house was built for his accommodation while inspecting the garden, 

 namely the present Superintendent's house, the Director's house being then in occupation of Mr. Robt. 

 Thompson, the Superintendent. 



As the question has now arisen of the removal of the head-quarters to Hope from Cinchona where 

 the business of the department has been carried on for so many years, I beg leave to state the conclu- 

 sion at which I have arrived after more than 5 years departmental work. 



In the first place, in the nature of the case, there does not appear to me to be any necessity for 

 the permanent residence of the Director at the Hope Garden or in the capital, Kingston. In Ceylon 

 with an area nearly 6 times that of Jamaica, the head-quarters of the Botanical Department and the 

 residence of the Director are in the Peradeniya Gardens, more than 70 miles by rail from Colombo, 

 the seat of Government. 



In Java, the Botanic Gardens are at Buitenzorg, 26 miles distant from Batavia. In India, the 

 Director in the Bengal Presidency is stationed at Seebpore, going in the summer to Darjeeling in the 

 hills ; the Director in the north west provinces is stationed at Saharupur with a residence in the hills 

 at Chassoree ; in the Madras Presidency the Director lives at Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills. Finally 

 the most important Botanic Garden in the world, Kew, is at some distance from London. 



The Report of the Committee states the chief functions of the Department to be the " diffusion 

 of information" and the "distribution of plants." The difiusion of informatioa must either be in the 

 way of itinerant lecturing, or by correspondence and by printed papers such as the ** Bulletin ;" in 

 either case it does not much matter where the Director lives ; and in the latter case, a far greater 

 amount of work can be done in the climate of the hills than in the plains. The distribution of plants 

 from the various Gardens (Castleton, Hope, Parade, Cinchona) is carried on by the different Superin- 

 tendents in pursuance of directions by post from the Director's Ofl&ce, and can be controlled as effectu- 

 ally from Cinchona as from Hope. 



The Report further states that the head quarters should be " within as easy reach as is possible 

 of all classes, and accessible from Kingston." Now, as a matter of fact, Hope is not accessible by all 

 classes, for it is more than 5 miles from Kingston, there is no railway or tram line, a single buggy 

 costs 8s, and a double buggy 12s. for a drive there and back of three hours. For more than a year, 

 during the time of the Exhibition and prepartion for it, I spent part of every week in Kingston, uud 

 my experience was that all the departmental business could be transacted quite as well from Cinchona 

 as in Kingston, Nor has any business in connection with the department during five years rendered 

 my presence iu Klugaton nooosonry, or oufiopocl hy luy abseuuf, ultLuugli I vioited. it once or twice a 

 month on the occasions of my periodical visits to inspect the various gardens. There is a daily post, 

 and if any occasion should occur, I can reach Kingston in less than four hours time. I do not consider 

 that it is necessarily an advantage to be able to communicate by word of mouth. One hundred people 

 in different parts of the Island may wish for much the same information about some cultural product. 

 This information, asked for by definite questions in letters, can be given by definite answers in 

 writing or in print, and can be supplied to the hundred probably in as short a time as it would take to 

 talk it over, with the chance of its being soon forgotten, with perhaps only one person out of the hun- 

 dred who could come to Kingston. 



Herbakium. 



The Herbarium is an essential element in every Agricultural Department, and it was recognized 

 BB such in the early days of the Botaaical Department in Jamaica, for one of the chief duties assigned 

 to the Island Botanist was " to collect, class, and describe the native plants of the Island." 



If a plant is already known to have an economic value, it is necessary to describe, class, name it, 

 and keep a dried specimen for ready reference. For instance, a planter in the Island supplied a Firm 

 in the United States with a quantity of a certain bark, one of our native drugs. The Firm at first 

 refused payment on the ground that it had not the appearance of the bark wanted Application was 

 made to me to certify the scientific name of the bark sent as deduced from specimens of flower, fruit, 

 and leaf ; and on this certificate being forwarded payment was at once made. 



The Herbarium is the necessary complement to a Botanical Library, and must be added to indefi- 

 nitely. 



A collection of those plants only that are known to possess useful properties is not by any means 

 sufficient. Those species may be so similar in appearance to closely allied, but worthless species, that 

 it requires careful comparison to enable one to state their distinguishing marks. A complete Herbarium 

 is required for the study of economic Botany ; and it is indispensable for the sake of reference when a 

 broader view is taken, and students send up plants generally for determination. 



Duplicate sets of Jamaica plants are of great value for the purpose of exhange with other West 

 India Islands, and with other Botanical Establishments. A plant may be used for some purpose in 

 one Island, and its economic value may not be known elsewhere. An interchange of plants among 

 the Islands is therefore of importance. 



The collections of plants had outrun the possibility of coping by the ordinary staff with their 

 classification and arrangement, although representatives of our native plants are very far indeed from 

 being all present in the Herbarium. To remedy this state of things I obtained permission to secure 

 the services of Mr. C. Nicholls who had spent some time in the Kew Herbarium, and was about to visit 

 Jamaica, on condition that the small salary of £12 per month offered to him should be paid out of the 

 ordinary vote. 



