3 



manure have been placed on this border bringing it up to the level of the path, 4 very poor coniferaB 

 have been removed, and the border replanted with flowers and flowering shrubs. All the walks around 

 the house have been regravelled. 



Pastures. — The small pasture between the nursery and the Superintendent's house has had a new 

 fence of post and wire erected on one side, of one and a half chains in length. Westphalia pasture has 

 been refenced, 35 chains post and wire fence being required to fence it in. The road through the pas- 

 ture has been twice cleaned. The pasture by the Anemometer has also been refenced with 15J chains 

 of fence. The mule pen has been repaired. The old wooden fence along the St. Helen's Gap road has 

 been removed and replaced by a new post and wire fence, 23 chains in length. On the line abutting 

 on the Mount Rybla property a new post and wire fence has been erected to take the place of the old 

 wooden fence which was quite rotten, this fence is 8 chains long. In all 82J chains of new fencing have 

 been erected All the pastures near the homestead have been twice billed and are now clean. 



The road from the public road to the Clerk's Bungalow has been cleaned thrice and the drains 

 put into working order, the road has also been properly sloped to prevent water lying on the surface. 



Forest Trees Plantation. — All the plantations of forest trees have been cleaned with the exception 

 of the one near Egnor Gap in which the trees are now large enough to take care of themselves. All 

 the trees are doing well. The plantation of Oaks has been twice cleaned. The conifers below the 

 Superintendent's Quarters and on eech side of the ten piece, have all beon cleaned and are growing 

 luxuriantly ; 75 plants of Thuja Lobbii have been planted out. 



The tea piece near the Homestead has been kept in good order, a large quantity of tea has been 

 picked and cured ; the tea piece at Latimer, and tuat at Harvey's Field have also been billed out. 



Roads. — The Clydesdale Road has been cleaned and the drains put in order twice during the year. 

 The Newhaven Road has twice been billed out, and as this is the main plantation road it has been 

 carefully put in order, special attention being paid to drainage. The narrow places have been widened, 

 given an inward slope, and at some of the sharp turns fences have been erected. All the other roads 

 through the Cinchona Plantation have been billed, and are all in fair, and some in very good order, all 

 slips, etc., being made good. During the months of May, June and July only 3.63 inches of rain fell 

 at Cinchona, and during nearly the whole of this time water had to be carried from the Clydesdale 

 stream which involved great expense. 



Cinchona Plantation. — No cultivation of Cinchona has been carried on. Trees, however, which are 

 seen to be dying, are barked, and the bark is sent to the storeroom in Kingston, first being cured at 

 Cinchona. 



The storeroom for Cinchona bark at the Parade is full, and I am only waiting for a rise in the 

 market to ship to London. I have ascertained from the agents for the Royal Mail S.S. Co., the Clyde 

 Line, and Messrs. Davidson and Colthirst, what charges would be made for the carriage of bark to Lon- 

 don, and I am authorised to say that the same freight would be charged to private planters. I am 

 glad to say that u considerable reduction has been made. 

 The following are the rates ; — 



' Royal Mail, £'6 and 5 per cent, primage per ton measurement of 40 cubic feet. 

 Davidson and Colthirst, 17s. 6d. per ton measurement with 5 per cent, primage. 

 Clyde Line, (E. A. Haggart) fd. per lb. packed in bags. 

 The following are the amounts of barks harvested. 

 Hybrid (standard) 1,138 lbs. 

 Officinalis 5,453 " 



Succirubra 1,717 " 



Hybrid (mixed) 1,574 " 



Total harvested 9,882 " 



Of this 65 bags have been sent to the store house at Parade, and 64 bags remain at Cinchona. 

 The following seeds of Cinchona have been sent during the year to Ke.v, and the plants are said 

 to be doing well : — 



Cinchona Josephiana, C. succirubra, C. micrantha, C. Calisaya, C. Pondiana, '. officinalis, C. 

 hybrida, C. Ledgeriana ; and one packet Cinchona succirubra to Mr. Sibley, Shooter's Hill P.O. Twenty 

 lbs. of bark have been sold to Messrs. Kinkead. 



Sale of Plants. — The total number of ornamental plants sold at Cinchona was 673 ; the total num- 

 ber of cuttings sold, 400. 



Vegetables. — Fifty two varieties of Canadian potatoes were received from M. Dupuis, and planted 

 in the vegetable garden. Peas have been presented from time to time by Messrs. Carter and Co. High 

 Holborn, London. Careful observations are being made on the relative values. 



Forest and Ornamental Trees. Planted 1883. In 1883, several Pinus insignis, Cupresam macro- 

 carpa, and Grevillea robusta were planted on the slopes of the homestead. Of these Pinus insignis has 

 reached a height of from 30 to 45 feet, with a girth, four feet from the ground, of about 2 feet to 2 feet 

 6 inches. Some of them are very handsome specimens. For timber it is not valuable, but its quick 

 growth renders it a very useful tree for making shelter belts for coffee, &c. 



Grevillea robusta. — The Silky Oak, has attained a height of about 30 feet. This height would have 

 been greater but for the high winds so often experienced here. The tree?, nevertheless, are very hand- 

 some, the wind topping them and preventing them running up too quickly. It resists drought, flourish- 

 ing in the Liguanea plains, and as it is both ornamental and useful, I can recommend it for planting in 

 any part of the island It is a native of the sub-tropical part of east Australia. Von Muller says that 

 " the wood is elastic and durable, valued particularly for staves of casks, also for furniture." 



