75 



to commend itself to any reflective mind. It is probable that if coolie 

 immigration were placed on a different footing, tea cultivation pro- 

 tected, as it is, by the import duty of Is. per lb., would at once develop 

 into a lucrative industry. Columbian Rubber which grows in the Andes 

 at an elevation of 6,000 feet, might prove profitable, and could scarcely 

 be cultivated at a lower altitude. There are very many other plants 

 which cannot be grown at Hope or Castleton. 



There is a serious misconception about the reason for re-afforesting 

 on the Blue Mountains. It is not recommended with the idea that the 

 timber would be of any value as timber except on the spot where it grows ; 

 but for the ordinary reasons, (other than timber supply) that induce go- 

 vernments to spend money in such cases. The vote for the Hill Garden 

 has for the past 8 or 9 years been so small that scarcely anything 

 could be attempted in the way of forestry except planting out a few 

 specimen trees and occasionally thinning the plantations. There have 

 been, however, several demands on the part of Coffee planters and 

 others for forest trees. The Government has instructed me to assist by 

 supplying trees, but without a grant of money for the purpose nothing 

 can be done. Why should the reasonable demands of residents in the 

 hills be refused, especially when even small patches of woodland planted 

 by them would be of general benefit ? 



The trees suitable for the bills cannot be grown at Hope or Castleton. 



The same applies to the claims of those living in the higher eleva- 

 tions for experiments in fodder, fruit trees, and vegetables, experiments 

 in which were all undertaken at the request of Coffee-planters. The ex- 

 periments, though crippled by want of money, have nevertheless been 

 of value. 



The distance, 20 miles from Kingston, should not be an objection, for 

 Botanic Gardens are not necessarily show places for the general public, 

 and their utility cannot be gauged by the number of visitors to them. 

 The Committee have acknowledged this by increasing grants for those 

 farthest from the capital, viz., Bath and Castleton. Bath, 4-1 miles from 

 Kingston, has had its vote increased from £20 to £125. Castleton is 19 

 miles from Kingston and to reach it one has to cross Stony Hill at an 

 elevation of 1,200 feet, and the vote has been increased by £100. The 

 Committee has also evinced a desire not only to curtail expenditure, but 

 to do away with other Gardens near Kingston, viz., Hope 5 miles away, 

 and Parade Garden actually in the town. 



Mid -Elevation Garden. — I have stated that a Garden between 2,000 

 and 3,000 feet would be a valuable addition. To save the expense of 

 another Superintendent, this Garden might be made on Government 

 ground below Cinchona, where there is very suitable land for experi- 

 menting with oranges between 3,000 and 3,600 feet at which elevation 

 in this district the very finest oranges are grown. In the three parishes 

 of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, and Portland while there are 288 square 

 miles below 1,000 feet, there are 133 square miles above 3,000 feet. 



Castleton and Hope. — Besides the Hill Garden, the present one at 

 Cinchona combined with an Orange experimental station at a lower 

 elevation, — I consider it necessary to maintain also both the low level 

 Gardens at Castleton and Hope, the former for cultivating plants suited 

 to a wet district, and the other for those which will only grow in a 

 dry district. 



