#76 
<THl& TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1887. 
whom" the Herbarftfm.'ha's reewaied*. the most valu- 
'ttble collections, must be ,- merMoned; Vioary, Edge- 
■worth, Griffith*, Wightt Simons;> Law, Gibson, Stocks, 
Dulfcell, 'Kara, Miquel, arM Maangtey. The most im- 
portant) contributions received during recent years 
have, been duly -mentioned in my annual reports. 
.' ^-5.- The year -Which -ended on 31st March last 
presented Httle of novelty. -No new works were 
Undertaken in 'tlie gar'cten, and the time of the staff 
Avas occupied' in the'- ordinary routine of cultivation. 
She show 1 08 orchids was Unusually fine, and the 
general condition' of the plants, both in the conser- 
vatories' and "but of doors, was satisfactory. 
1 " 16. The collection of dried plants received several 
Valuable - additions during the year. Chief amongst 
<these was a/ set of the plants collected by Dr. 
Aitdhison during the Afghan Boundary Commission. 
Dp. -AitcuisonV collections were taken" by • himself 
'direct to'Kew, whence after having been also named 
land numbered, a set -was issued to Oalcuttia. From 
Kert> wei*£ aiso ' received* a -flamed set of plants • col- 
lected "byi Dr. Giles during -the Gilgit Expedition; 
'and a -quantity of plants I collected some • year* ago by 
Dr.- G. Watt ''While he was en' iluty; -with -the;.Gom- 
taiesion appointed to settle the 'boundary •betwe&LiM'uni- 
'pore and BuTtnah, ' Frohi' Kew were also received a 
quantity of interesting specimens made -by various 
collectors in the Malayan Peninsula, in Singapore and 
in Penang. For all these contributions from Kew we 
are indebted to the good offices of Mr. Thiaelton Dyer, 
its present distinguished Director. Dr. Regel of the 
Imperial Garden St. Petersburg presented a large 
number of most 'interesting plants from the Russian 
possessions ih' Central Asia. Three excellent named 
collections from Natal were presented by Mr. Medley 
Wood of the Botanic Garden, Durban. From Mexico, 
Mr, Pringle sent four hundred named species; and 
from New Guinea Mr. H. O. Forbes forwarded a 
large b6# filled with dried plants. Of contributions 
received from within the limits of India I have to ac- 
knowledge — from Sikkim, a quantity of plantH from 
Mr. G. Gammie, as also a collection made' by a Bhootea 
employed by Mr. Pantling iu the Lachen valley, from 
the. Khasia Hills, many fine things, chiefly trees from 
Mr. Gustav Mann ; from the Naga Hills a fine collec- 
tion made during his short residence there by Dr. D. 
Pram, now Curator ofjjthe Herbarium ;|from the North- 
Western Himalaya some interesting plants sent • by 
Mr. .J. F. Duthie, of Saharanpore, and by Colonel 
H. Collett, c. b, ; from Manbhoom a collection made 
by Reverend J. Campbell, and from Southern India a 
few most interesting plants from Mr. J. S. Gamble 
Conservator of Forests. 
" 7. During the month of November last the 'Her- 
barium was visited, for the purpose of study, by the 
Reverend Father Scortechini, the Government Botanist 
of Perak, who had been deputed by Sir H. Low, the 
British Administrator of that State, to proceed to 
Calcutta in order to name and arrange his collections 
of Peark plants. It was Father Scortechini's intention 
to have remained here for three or four months ; but 
unfortunately he died shortly after his arrival. During 
the year there was issued from the press the first 
part of a monograph of Indo-Malayan species of Ficus, 
In which I have been engaged for some time. 
"8. I have to acknowledge, with thanks,- the assist- 
ance freely afforded whenever asked, by the Indian 
Assistant in the Kew Herbarium, Mr. W. Botting 
H m>ley. Mr. Hemsley, with the permission of the 
Director, Mr. Thiselton Dyer, is always ready to 
settle any knotty point in nomenclature, or to check 
any doubtful identification — a kind of work that can 
only b>- done with aocuracy in a perfectly equipped 
Herbarium like that of Kew. 
"9. The interchange and distribution of plants and 
*< e Is bus gone on actively during the year. Of plants, 
8,064 were received against 46,109 given out. Of seeds, 
:><y.i packets w- re received anil 2,534 distributed. The 
imuinj of nil donors and recipients will he found in 
the 1 appendices to this report. 
"10. The Lloyd Botanic Gat'den at Darjeeling has 
''tiring the year loen under the charge of Mr. W. 
K . 11 uedy . ' ASi'.t \hc '• Municipality baviug agreed to 
continue the Vegetable garden which lies wedged in 
between the Jotanic Garden and the grounds of the 
Sanitarium, trat garden also has been under Mr. 
Kennedy's carq. At one time the Municipality threat- 
ened to convit the vegetable garden into a bazaar ; 
at another the/ resolved to turn it into a washing place 
for the dobiel of the station. Its maintenance as a 
sightly spot is a matter which concerns not only the 
Municipality, t>ut the visitors who frequent Darjeeling, 
and the patierts in the Sanitarium. It is well, therefore, 
that both thee proposals have, for a time at least, been 
shelved. I regret to have to report that the acclimatised 
English potatoes turned out badly, the product having 
been tasteless and waxy. This was also the experience 
of private gmwers. — Indian Agriculturist. 
Venezuela: Exports feom Ciudad Bolivab. — Among 
the exports from Ciudad Bolivar in the year 1886, 
the folloWng articles occupy a prominent place. 
Tonquin bians alone forming about four-fifths of the 
total quartity of drugs shipped. 
/ Balsam Cinchona India- Sima- Tonquin 
To I Copaiba. Bark, rubber, ruba. Beans. 
Trinidad/ .. 2,900 ... 10,254 ... 111,967 
New York .. 4,172 4,004 13,824 3,216 63,144 
Hamburg .. 276 1,302 ... 1,290 
Total Silos. 7,438 5,306 24,078 4,506 175,111 
. — Chemik and Druggist. 
1 Planting on the Nilgibis. — Many healthy signs 
of improvement are showing themselves in our coffee 
districts. The long run of good prices for the berry that 
have ruled and are still ruling in the London market, 
and the bright prospects for the future, consequent upon 
the abolition of the import duty in the United States, and 
the redaction of the same in British ports, are conducing 
to a prosperous state of things here. It is cheering to 
learn of several extensions of coffee estates now going 
on in Jthe Wynaad, for it tells us plainly that the 
" croakers " who have croaked for years past, are now 
-effectually silenced. It will be useless now for any one 
.to trj to depreciate coffee-planting as an investment— 
;the public know better. Confidence is being rapidly 
restored. Very few of those who have estates are now- 
>a-days willing to sell ; and in one or two instances where 
sale! have been effected, the prices are such as 
-would a few years' back, been termed "very high" 
but are looked upon as " very fair." Coffee 
planting in Southern India has seen its worst days. 
Planters now are planters and not merely super- 
intendents. Coffee-trees are now made not only to 
grow, but to grow well. The soil, the wood, the blos- 
som, and the berry, are all cared for by experienced 
-men, who act upon a system that combines science with 
nature. " Bumper " crops also are looked on with less 
anxiety than formerly, and planters are satisfied when 
they get a good outturn from their outlay of capital and 
labour. Another good sign of the times is that the 
Supreme Government are showing an anxiety to further 
the planting interests. A circular has been sent to all 
the tea planters, informing them of the anxiety of the 
•Governor-General to learn what facilities are needed to 
•give fair scope to them, and asking them for full and 
free statements of the existing obstacles of the same. 
What may be gained by the tea planter, must to a 
great extent also benefit the coffee planter, for if con- 
cessions in the shape of increased facilities of com- 
munication, and easier land tenure, and other advant- 
ages are made to the one, they cannot be withheld from 
■the other. If the Government of India at last wakes up 
to the great importance of encouraging in every pos- 
sible legitimate way, the possession of land in this 
country by Europeans and their descendants, and the 
utilization of such land to its utmost extent, not only 
will planters be benefitted, but every class in British 
India. Of British capital there is enough and to spare 
— waiting for a profitable outlet. Of British enterprise 
and pl ick there is also a redundance, waiting and look- 
ing about for a profitable field of employment. Money, 
and brains and sinews all await if the Indian Govern- 
ment can turn a portion of the stream on to some of the 
fertile fields of ludh.—ffltyiri E.q>rcss. 
