754 
THE TBOPiefct. At3f&t3t3i_TU R 1 ST. [May z, 1890, 
with difficulty, or when success depended upon 
judgment and experience. 
The consequence is, that the Garden is overspread 
with a superfluity of common Island trash, much to 
the discredit of the Establishment, and the frequent 
injury of some foreign, but beautiful specimens that 
have remained unnoticed ; which (if they had been 
properly increased and circulated) might have proved 
of great utility to the publio, and particularly to the 
native population of this Island, by offering objects 
to stimulate their industry in the easy requirement 
of at once useful, profitable and splendid plants, 
the production of other countries. 
The Pines in like manner are planted after the 
native system, and have been allowed to remain 
(as nature would) to propagate themselves, art only 
assisted when fruit was ripe, plants wanted watering, 
or when it was desired more land should be planted 
with them ; this fine fruit may be brought to a 
high state of perfection, with very little trouble, 
and may be multiplied at pleasure into immense 
quantities. 
The remaining part of the Garden under culti- 
vation, is about ten acres, divided into flower 
plots as is shewn in the plan, planted without 
system, attention to nature, or economy and the 
management shares in the common indifference, 
pruning has been but seldom adverted to, and when 
that has been the case, it was evidently by an 
unskilful hand, for the plants and trees are generally 
of the most irregular and offensive shapes. The 
Borders expose a very irregular surface, and from 
not having been loosened the last four years, are 
become so hard, that it is next to impossible for 
plants to arrive at a state of natural luxuriance 
in them ; the only attention they seem to have 
received was keeping them partially free from weeds. 
The Walks and Drives occupy considerable space, 
and are much out of repair, the water has washed 
away the gravel to a considerable extent (which 
has not been replaced) and formed channels also by 
their sides so extensive, as to become both dangerous 
and inconvenient ; this is not invariably the case, 
but the worse predominates, and indeed it must 
here be acknowledged, that the labour of the Es- 
tablishment is insufficient to keep them in proper 
order on so extensive a scale, without subjecting 
other parts to injury or neglect. 
That portion of the Royal Botanio Garden not 
under cultivation, is about forty-five acres, all in 
cbnse low jungle; it occupies some prominent and 
fine parts of the Garden, a great deal of which has 
been under cultivation, and some fine specimens of 
plants are now remaining on it, but they are to- 
tally neglected. 
The drives surrounding these parts are likewise 
overgrown with jungle, and are become quite inac- 
cessible without much labour ; the drains that carry 
off the water occasioned by the heavy rains are 
also much out of repairs, they were constructed 
too temporary and with bad materials, and to this 
may be attributed the chief oause of the walks and 
drives being now in bad condition ; they may be 
put in good repair at a small expense, the neces- 
saries for such work being convenient and to be 
had at reasonable cost. 
The water, so essential and valuable an article 
to the premises, is of superior description, the 
demands for which is supplied by a stream from 
the neighbouring hills, and is capable of beiDg con- 
ducted to any part of the Garden with ease and 
expedition ; indeed it would be difficult to find a 
second situation, where water on such an extensive 
scale is required, that can be so well accommodated. 
At present there are but two temporary reservoirs, 
and those very small to receive the water for the 
use of the Establishment, one in the Kitohen 
Garden, thus rendering a considerable portion of 
labour necessary to carry water to distant parts 
of the premises, which can, and may have long 
been avoided at a comparatively trifling outlay. 
The store contains an incomplete but good assort- 
ment of Tools, but they are also in part very much 
worn, and many are become quite unserviceable ; 
good tools are a great saving to manual labour, 
and materially assist the quality and expedition 
of work, which points out the utility of providing 
a regular and proper supply, whilst the present 
general condition of those in hand does the neces- 
sity ; there are however many that will not imme- 
diately require replacing, and the stock of some 
kinds is quite sufficient to last for several years, 
so that the quantity necessary at present is not 
very considerable. 
The Establishment since 1830 has consisted of a 
Superintendent, CJerk, Draughtsman, Blacksmith, 
Carpenter, SeedColleetor, Kangany(or Head Overseer) 
Gardener, Foreman, two Lascoreens, thirty Coolies, 
and eight Boys, with six bullocks for drawing 
manure, &c, &c. 
The Expenditure for which has been on an average, 
upwards of nine hundred pounds per annum, 
which sum, after the grounds are put in proper 
condition, is more (by one hundred and fifty pounds) 
than sufficient to keep it up in order, of first-rate 
excellence, that is, seven hundred and fifty pounds per 
annum, would defray the whole of the fixed and 
unfixed contingencies, leaving the profits of the 
Establishment to pay the extra labour required for 
the first two years, after which upon the best, and 
most maturej calculation, there is every reasonable 
probability that the profits of the Garden would 
return two hundred pounds per annum, thus reducing 
the actual cost of supporting the Establishment 
to five hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and even 
that some in the oourBe of a few years may be 
much reduced. 
(To be continued.) 
THE COMMEECIAL VALUE OF GREAT 
BRITAIN". 
Under the auspices of the Institute of Bankers, on 
Wednesday evening, Mr. J. Scott Keltie, librarian of 
the Royal Geographical Society, delivered, at the 
London Institute, Finsbury-circus, the third of a 
course of four lectures on "Commercial Geography." 
Mr. Billinghurst, of the London and Westminister 
Bank, again presided. 
The lecturer stated that, including every scrap of 
land over which we had any claim — the mother 
country, India and her feudatory States, the colo- 
nies, protectorates, and spheres of influence — 
the area of the Empire was probably not less 
than ten million square miles — very nearly one- 
fifth of the whole land area of the globe. It was 
nearly three times the size of Europe ; one and 
a half million square miles larger than the whole 
of the Russian Empire in Europe and Asia ; ten 
times the size of the German Empire at home 
and abroad ; eight million square miles more than 
the whole of the French dominions, even including 
Madagascar ; and just about a million less than 
the area of Afrioa. On this immense area there lived 
and worked something like 350,000,000 people, 
embracing almost every type of humanity under the 
sun. Thus of the total population of the globe, 
about one-fourth or one-fifth were our fellow- 
oitizens. An agricultural country oould never 
support a very dense population, and in so small a 
oountry as ours oould never have much surplus 
capital for great enterprises or surplus inhabitants 
for purposes of colonization. Our coal and our 
