226 



" The Superintendent's house is in good repair, but a new stable for 

 the garden stock is very much required. 



" A new cart shed 20 feet by 12 was put up and about 200 feet cf one 

 inch piping leading water from the lily tank to the nursery was laid by the 

 Public Works Department. 



" Eighteen cuttings of black pepper were received from Trinidad but 

 unfortunately several of them died off. 



14 Some new indestructible enamelled labels were imported for all the 

 important trees in the garden and for those palms that were not labelled 

 last year." 



The following Report is by Mr. W. Thompson for three months from 

 January to March :— - 



." The ground about the entrance to the gardens was frequently in a 

 muddy state in wet weather, and in order to remedy this the turf has been 

 taken off and from six to nine inches of stones put down and the turf relaid. 



" As it was considered that there was too much gravel on the walks the 

 roughest of it has been carried off. 



" About 100 yards of narrow walk has been made two feet wider. The 

 small bridges on the walks are a constant expense. Teak wood has been 

 carted up from Hope Gardens to renew two of the bridges which will now 

 be much more lasting. 



" A number of large roots of trees had grown across some of the walks, 

 these, where they could not be taken out altogether, have been cut down 

 level with the walks. 



" Several heaps of gravel that had been washed from the walks on the 

 grass have been removed. 



" The Lily-tank has been cleaned out, and the lilies replanted. The tank 

 requires repairing. 



" In the fern-house anew roof has been put on, windows let in, and new 

 staging erected and the ferns have been repotted. 



" It is proposed to make a new plant-house in a more open part of the 

 Garden. 



" The beds in the nursery have been reformed, all the ground levelled so 

 that the pots may stand upright, new bamboo fixed through the beds, etc. 

 Several big trees in the nursery have been pruned to admit light. A fence 

 has been run round the Nursery and a gate fixed at each end. A gate has 

 been placed leading from the Nursery to the road to facilitate the removal 

 of plants to carts. 



" The potting shed is not large enough for a wet place like Castleton. 

 At present it is difficult to keep dry the potting soil, bamboo pots, moss, 

 peat, orchid-baskets. 



" About a square chain of low lying land has been fenced in, cleaned by 

 forking, good soil carried on and the ground raised from 6 to 18 inches, to 

 form a propagating ground. 



" All the lawns, Liberian Coffee land, Banana land, Cocoa land, etc., have* 

 been billed and cleaned once. 



," Most of the younger palms and trees that were not doing well have been 

 trenched and manured. 



The large trees and shrubs had grown into each other very much to 

 the disadvantage of the smaller ones, so much so that many small plants 

 have died out. A great deal cf time and labour has been taken up in 

 pruning the trees and shrubs that needed it, so as to let light and air in. 



" Most of the borders have been well dug and manured. 



" Most of the climbers about the garden have been thinned and pruned.. 



