( ‘ ) 
A quantity  of  fruit-trees  and  plants  of  economical  and  ornamental  trees  and  shrubs  have  been  supplied 
during  the  year  to  the  residents  and  resthouses  in  the  district,  but  I regret  that,  though  no  fault  of  our  own,  we 
have  been  unable  to  supply  all  demands  for  such  plants.  I think  a sufficient  answer  to  any  complaint  on  this  score 
is  our  w'ant  of  men  and  money.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  ere  long  a sufficiently  increased  vote  will  be  granted  to 
allow  of  the  introduction,  propagation,  and  distribution  into  the  district  of  many  more  economical,  useful,  and 
ornamental  plants,  especially  of  fruit-trees  likely  to  succeed.  This  was  the  intention  when  the  gardp  was  first 
opened,  but  owing  to  the  withdrawal  of  prison  labour  it  has  been  impossible  to  carry  this  out  to  anything  like  the 
extent  intended. 
Weather. — The  rainfall,  though  not  up  to  the  average,  was  over  10  in.  above  that  of  last  year,  and  was 
well  distributed  ; the  actual  figures  being  62'85  in.  of  rainfall  on  136  days,  against  52‘23  in.  on  120  days  in 
1894. 
The  monthly  rainfall  and  number  of  rainy  days  are  as  follows  : — 
January 
Fall. 
Inches. 
6-48 
Days. 
11 
July 
Fall. 
Inches. 
•08 
Days 
2 
February 
•55 
• •• 
August 
1-85 
7 
March 
2-27 
8 
September 
1-96 
5 
April 
4-95 
13 
October 
13-63 
29 
May 
1-23 
10 
November 
4-84 
16 
June 
...  5'47 
11 
December 
19  54 
19 
7. — Interchange  op 
Plants  and  Seeds. 
The  exchange  relations  with  other  Botanic  Establishments  have  been  vigorously  kept  up, 
Wardian  cases,  boxes  of  bulbs  and  orchids,  and  a large  quantity  of  seeds  having  been  forwarded 
and  received. 
9.— Notes  on  Economic  Plants. 
Tea. — This  year  has  been  a most  favourable  one  for  tea  ; the  yield  everywhere  has  been 
good,  and  the  increase  in  our  exports  greater  than  was  anticipated.  The  total  export  was 
98,581,061  lb.,  against  84,591,714  lb.  last  j^ear,  showing  the  very  large  increase  of  over  thirteen 
million  pounds  (nearly  as  much  as  the  whole  crop  of  1887). 
The  area  now  covered  with  tea  is  estimated  at  over  300,000  acres,  and  a small  but  steady 
extension  is  still  going  on. 
The  average  price  remained  much  as  in  1894 — i.e.,  about  8|<i.  per  lb.,  or  perhaps  a little 
more.  It  is  gratifying  to  see  a substantial  increase  in  the  export  to  Australia,  which  attained 
over  nine  million  pounds  (9,109,592  lb.),  during  the  year. 
Coffee. — A remarkable  and  interesting  fact  is  a large  increase  in  the  export  during  1895, 
this  being  more  than  double  that  of  1894,  viz.,  65,833  cwt.  This  is  the  first  time  for  many  years 
that  this  has  occurred.  A gratifying  circumstance,  too,  is  that  6,076  cwt.  of  this  is  “ native  ” coffee — 
nearly  four  times  the  amount  of  last  year.  It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  increase  is  due  not  to 
any  increased  acreage,  but  to  better  crops ; probably  with  less  chances  of  infection,  coffee  has  now 
to  bear  fewer  “ attacks  ” of  leaf -disease,  and  so  is  able  to  ripen  more  fruit. 
Liberian  coffee,  however,  as  yet  shows  no  increase  ; but  this  seems  likely  to  be  altered  in  the 
future,  as  a considerable  area  has  been  planted  in  recent  years  and  mostly  appears  to  be  doing  well. 
A small  plantation  of  36  plants  of  Sierra  Leone  or  “ upland  coffee  ” {Goffea  stenophylla) 
received  from  Kew  in  1884  was  made  in  April,  and  plants  of  Loncliocarpus,  sp.  (the  one  'used  in 
Trinidad  as  a shade-tree  for  cacao),  planted  among  them  for  shade.  The  growth  of  the  coffee  plants 
has  been  very  irregular,  varying  from  a few  inches  to  3 ft.,  and  cannot  be  said  to  be  very  promising. 
They  have  the  appearance  of  plants  out  of  their  element,  and  look  as  if  the  climate  here  did  not 
suit  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Lonchocarpus  is  certainly  at  home,  having  grown  very 
rapidly  with  a branching  habit,  and  it  promises  to  be  a very  useful  shade-tree  at  low  elevations. 
Some  of  the  shoots  have  grown  8 ft.  in  nine  months. 
A plant  of  the  “ Abeokuta  ” coffee  from  Lagos  was  received  from  Kew  in  August. 
Cacao. — This  product  has  also  yielded  much  better  the  last  year,  the  exports  being  27,522 
cwt. — a very  appreciable  increase  over  last  year. 
A case  of  the  Nicaraguan  cacao,  discovered  by  Mr.  Hart  and  referred  to  in  my  last  report, 
was  received  from  the  Government  of  Trinidad  on  September  13.  Thanks  to  careful  packing,  the 
plants  were  in  very  good  condition  after  their  long  journey  of  fifty-five  days.  The  case  con- 
tained sixteen  Nicaraguan  cacao  plants  and  twelve  Forestero  plants  from  Trinidad,  in  all  twenty- 
eight  plants,  as  follows  : — 
From  Nicaragua  : — 
2 Theobroma  Cacao,  var.  pentagona. 
1 do.  var.  angustifolia. 
13  do.  var.  Criollo. 
From  Trinidad  ; — 
12  Theobroma  Cacao  (var.  Forestero). 
