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The difficulty of making provision for soil for the large number of 

 plants put into bamboo and other pots, increases every year, the re- 

 newal of the beds for seeds and for transplanted nursery stock is also a 

 serious matter entailing a great deal of labour ; the soil gets exhausted 

 very quickly, chiefly on account of the continuous watering necessary 

 at Hope. 



Continual thinning of trees in the nursery is necessary to prevent 

 the overshading of the young plmts, in fact there seems to be no end 

 of the we k, especially of " odd jobs" in a nursery, and for which, at the 

 end of the year, there is nothing to show. 



The hedges planted around the nursery have been very helpful during 

 the late fearful drought, in checking the passage over the nursery of 

 the hot dry winds so prevalent during one period. 



All trees with large leaves will be removed from the nursery as fast 

 as the trees with fine leaves have grown sufficiently to take their place. 

 Besides casting too dense a shade and causing injury to the young 

 plants by drip, the large leaves will sometimes, when they fall, lodge 

 on a small plant, and if not removed in a few hours, particularly in hot 

 damp weather, will kill it. 



The list of plants sent out from Hope is appended. 



The nursery is now well stocked with plants, there being about 30,000 

 orange plants, 17,000 kola, 30,000 transplanted Liberian coffee plants 

 and fully 90,000 awaiting that operation, a good stock of cocoa, cedar, 

 mahoe, lignum vitse and y T oke wood, and as near as can be estimated, 

 about 30,000 other ornamental and economic plants. 



The propagation of roses by circumposition has been a great success, 

 so much so that I have now abandoned the propagation by cuttings en- 

 tirely. We raise very fine plants of the best sorts by circumposition, 

 which readily sell at 6d. or Is. each, when inferior plants raised from 

 cuttings will not fetch 4d. 



Economic Plants. 



Nutmegs. The nutmeg trees ripened their fruits nicely, one tree had 

 nearly 700 fruits on it, but the crop seems to have been more than it 

 was capable of bearing, for this j r ear it has not grown during the season 

 when it should and gives verv little promise of fruit. 



There are two distinct varieties of nutmegs growing at Hope distinct 

 both as to the fruit and the foliage of the trees. 



One tree grows very vigorously with large, dark green leaves with 

 the branches spreading out, bearing fine large elliptical fruits, but not 

 in any great quantity. The other tree grows upright, the leaves have 

 less colour, the fruits are very plentiful, 700 on one tree, but they are 

 round and very small, and the tree appears to be much less vigorous 

 than the other which produces the elliptical fruits. 



Coffee. The old Liberian Coffee trees do not look well. After they 

 were first exposed to the air and light by the removal of other plants 

 which had grown up around them, and after they had been forked round, 

 manured and kept constantly watered, they made a fine spurt looking 

 green and healthy and starting to grow nicely. But it was only a 

 spurt, although they have again been manured and kept, watered. 



The young trees of Liberian Coffee which are now 2 years old have 

 thriven moderately well. Some are no more than one foot in height, 

 while some are as much as five feet and have branched nicely. Two 



