432 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
Dec.  i,  1892. 
ing  colleagues.”  It  was  under  the  management  of 
this  man  that  the  garden  became  a scientific  insti- 
tution of  State,  with  a Director  and  a special  budget 
and  an  entire  independence  of  the  Viceroy.  Let  us 
now  rapidly  glance  over  its  actual  organization. 
The  Institution  comprises  three  distinct  Depart- 
ments. First,  there  is  the  Botanical  Garden,  properly 
so  called,  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  occupying  an 
area  of  about  eighty  acres.  It  is  crossed  by  a large 
and  beautiful  walk  called  the  Walk  of  the  Kanaries, 
after  the  mtive  name  of  the  trees  which  border  it, 
beautiful  specimens  of  the  Canarium  commune,  fre 
quently  reaching  a height  of  ninety  feet.  Over  this 
walk  which  runs  along  by  the  side  of  an  artificial  lake 
containing  a little  Island,  pass  daily  numberless 
carriages  and  pedestrians.  Leading  out  from  it  in 
every  direction,  numerous  paths  penetrate  to  all  parts 
of  the  grounds.  Plants  of  the  same  family  are  found 
grouped  together,  or  occupying  one  of  the  entire 
divisions  marked  out  by  the  paths.  At  one  corner  of 
each  such  plot  is  to  be  found  a notice  of  the  species 
which  it  incloses ; and  each  species  is  represented 
by  two  plants,  one  of  which  bears  a label  giving  its 
scientific  name,  its  common  name,  aud  usually  its 
special  characteristics.  His  attention  being  attracted 
to  the  great  number  of  climbing  plants  in  the  tro- 
pical regions,  Teysmann  conceived  the  happy  idea  of 
giving  them  a special  place  in  the  garden,  where  each 
might  be  surrounded  with  its  natural  conditions  ; and 
this  department  now  offers  a vast  field  for  interest- 
ing observations.  The  total  number  of  herbaceous 
plants  comprised  is  about  nine  thousand. 
In  the  middle  of  the  garden  is  found  a series  of 
nurseries  where  young  plants  are  cultivated  partly 
under  shelter,  which  protects  them  from  the  heat 
of  the  sun  and  from  injury  by  the  heavy  rains.  Some 
plants  demad  particular  care,  notably  certain  species 
of  ferns  and  of  the  Araccce  and  of  the  orchid  family. 
These  are  placed  in  buildings,  resembling  the  hot 
houses  of  Europe,  but  with  this  difference  that  here 
they  serve  to  keep  tho  plants  cool,  instead  of  pro- 
curing for  them  a higher  temperature.  The  garden 
has  its  own  carpenters  for  executing  such  construc- 
tions— a little  detail,  which,  however,  will  serve  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  scale  upon  which  it  is  organized. 
The  native  personnel  is  composed  of  a hundred  in- 
dividuals, among  whom  are  three  possessed  of  a 
special  botanical  knowledge,  much  more  profound  than 
one  would  expect  to  find  among  the  Malays.  This 
force  works  under  the  supervision  of  the  Gardener- 
in-Chief  and  his  Assistant. 
The  agricultural  garden,  the  second  department 
comprised  in  the  Institution,  situated  about  a mile 
from  the  centre  of  Buitenzorg,  occupies  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  The  local  arrangement 
and  the  distribution  of  the  plants  at  once  indicate 
an  object  exclusively  practical.  All  is  laid  out  in 
regular  order  here ; the  roads  and  the  paths  cross 
each  other  at  right  angles,  the  plots  which  they  set 
off  are  nearly  all  of  the  same  size,  the  plants  in 
each  plot  are  of  the  same  species  and  of  the  same 
age.  While  in  the  scientific  garden  each  species  had 
only  two  representatives,  it  has  here  on  an  average 
one  hundred.  But  here  the  limitations  are  placed 
on  the  kinds  of  plants,  which  must  be  such  as  are 
or  may  become  useful  to  agriculture  or  to  colonial 
industries.  There  are  to  be  found  the  different 
species  and  varieties  of  the  coffee  tree,  of  the  tea 
plant,  sugar  cane,  caoutchouc  and  gutta-percha  trees, 
the  En/throxylon  Coca,  which  furnishes  cocaine,  the 
trees  which  produce  tannin  and  oils,  plants  used  for 
fodder,  etc.  A special  part  of  the  garden  is  reserved 
for  medicinal  plants.  A.  chief  gardener  conducts  the 
work  which  is  carred  on  by  a force  of  seventy 
native  workers. 
The  third  garden  is  located  at  quite  a distance 
from  Buitenzorg,  upon  the  slope  of  the  neighbouring 
volcano,  Gedeh.  With  an  area  of  seventy  acres, 
situated  at  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet,  it  possesses  a 
climate  which  is  marvellously  adapted  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  flora  indigenous  to  mountains  as  well 
as  to  that  of  Australia  and  Japan.  A force  of  a 
dozen  natives  work  here  under  the  direction  of  a 
European  gardener.  These  three  gardens  which 
together  constitute  the  State  Botanical  Garden 
occupy  an  area  of  more  than  three  hundred  acres. 
The  Museum  built  opposite  the  first  garden  de- 
scribed, is  a building  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
long  and  comprises  a large  central  hall  and  two  wings. 
On  the  lower  floor  the  hall  contains  cupboards 
running  all  along  its  walls  and  glass  cases  through 
the  centre,  in  which  are  kept  the  botanical  collec- 
tions. Some  of  the  specimens  are  dried  and  some 
are  preserved  in  alcohol.  A gallery  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  upper  hall  is  exclusively  occu- 
pied by  the  herbarium.  The  pressed  plants  are  not  kept 
in  portfolios  as  in  Europe  but  in  tin  boxes  in  order 
the  better  to  protect  them  against  insects  and 
mould,  the  great  enemies  of  such  collections  iu 
tropical  countries.  The  number  of  such  boxes  ex- 
ceeds twelve  hundred,  and  each  box  contains  one 
hundred  specimens.  One  of  the  wings  of  the  building 
is  used  as  a Museum,  and  the  other  for  a Library 
which  contains  five  thousand  volumes. 
There  are  three  Laboratories  connected  with  the 
gardens  to  which  a fourth  is  soon  to  be  added,  for 
the  personnel  is  to  be  increased  by  the  addition  of 
two  new  officers,  a Botanist  and  a Chemist,  to 
whom  will  fall  the  special  task  of  furnishing  by  long 
and  patient  researches,  scientific  information  to  those 
asking  it,  regarding  the  useful  plants  of  the  tropics. 
Behind  the  Museum  in  a special  building  is  the 
Medical  Laboratory  where  a Pharmacist  makes  re- 
searches into  the  nature  of  alkaloids  and  other 
curious  and  useful  substances  found  ifl  tropical  plants. 
Of  the  other  two  Laboratories,  placed  behind  the 
nurseries,  one  is  reserved  for  the  use  of  scholars 
who  come  from  beyond  the  seas  to  study  in  this 
place.  The  room  is  lighted  by  five  windows,  in 
each  of  which  is  a large  work-table.  Cupboards 
against  the  wall  contain  all  the  necessary  implements. 
There  is  in  it,  besides  a small  collection  of  the 
books  which  are  needed,  always  at  hand,  in  order  to 
save  the  trouble  of  going  to  consult  them  in  the  regular 
Library.  It  is  now  proposed  also,  in  order  to  faci- 
litate the  work  of  the  visitor,  to  place  here  an  her- 
barium composed  entirely  of  the  plants  cultivated  in 
the  garden,  in  order  that  a rapid  identification  can 
be  made  in  any  doubtful  case  without  being  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  the  general  herbarium.  The 
arrangement  of  this  building  is  simple,  and  presents 
the  two  great  advantages  of  plenty  of  light  and  plenty 
of  room.  The  last  point  is  a very  essential  one  in 
a warm  country  where  one  can  endure  no  crowding, 
especially  in  work  requiring  close  research.  The 
third  Laboratory  is  devoted  to  the  use  of  the 
Director  of  the  Garden.  Close  to  these  buildings 
are  the  offices  and  a photographic  and  lithographic 
gallery.  All  of  these  well-equipped  buildings  show 
the  interest  taken  in  the  enterprise  both  by  the 
Netherlandish  Indies  and  by  the  mother  country. 
The  Government  of  the  Indies  has  authorized  the 
Director  of  the  Garden  to  distribute  gratuitously 
the  seeds  and  plants  of  useful  vegetables.  In  18s8 
fourteen  hundred  packages  of  seeds  and  cuttings 
and  young  plants  were  scattered  through  all  parts 
of  the  Archipelago.  It  is  especially  the  garden  of 
agriculture  wnich  has  been  able  to  supply  all  of  these 
demands;  but  it  forms  only  one  part  of  this  scien- 
tific organization,  and  would  very  badly  meet  the 
requirements  were  it  alone.  The  following  statements 
will  give  a proof  of  this.  When  the  remarkable 
anaesthetic  properties  of  cocaine  were  discovered,  it 
was  only^  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  two  plants 
of  the  Eryt/irdxylon  Coca  in  the  botanical  garden  to 
make  preparations  for  a large  supply  of  the  article. 
Enough  seeds  were  gathered  from  these  trees  to  set 
out  a small  plantation  in  the  agricultural  garden. 
When  a year  later  a learned  savant  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Dutch  government  to  the  necessity  of 
the  culture  of  the  plant  in  Java,  they  were  able  to 
reply  to  him  that  the  seeds  gathered  from  the  plants 
in  the  agricultural  garden  had  already  been  planted 
by  the  thousands.  * The  tree  for  a long  time  known 
a<  the  producer  of  g itta  percha  has  been  in  such 
demand  and  was  so  rapidly  destroyed  in  order  to 
obtain  the  juice  that  it  was  believed  to  be  exter- 
minated and  it  was  even  impossible  to  obtain  seeds 
that  it  might  be  propagated  again.  In  the  plot  de- 
voted to  the  order  Sepotacece  in  the  Buitenzorg  garden 
