BOTANY. 
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likely soon to follow tlie fate of the Ebony and Stringwood, both 
of which, after much careful seeking for them, I am inclined to 
believe exist no longer. 
I saw the Ebony once about twenty years ago ; it was growing 
in a garden on the high land, one miserable little plant, only six 
inches in height, and yet it blossomed. Further than this, I have 
only seen the crooked, hard old stems disentombed from the surface 
soil in the locality of Lot’s Wife, and similar barren spots. Dr. 
Roxburgh, in recording this plant as “ a native of the barren rocks 
near the sea, and not far from Sandy Bay, on the south side of the 
Island,” says that he saw it in two gardens only, where it had in 
many years grown to the height of two to three feet, with many 
longer branches spreading flat on the ground, well decorated with 
abundance of foliage and large beautiful flowers, which are white 
when they first expand, but become pink or rosy by age. The few 
trees that were then alive (1813) in their native soil and situa- 
tion are described by him as “ being 10 to 15 feet high, their 
trunks crooked, and about as thick as a man’s thigh ; the branches 
very numerous, spreading,” &c. &c. It is fortunate that Dr. 
Burchell made a drawing of this plant ; and with the kind per- 
mission of Dr. Hooker it has been copied. With this exception, 
and that of the Stringwood, which has been taken from a dried 
specimen, and also the blossom of Pelargonium cotyledonis, which has 
been kindly supplied by Miss Hooker, from the figure given of it in 
L’Heritier’s Geraniacese, the drawings have been made and coloured 
from living specimens of the plants. 
The beautiful little Stringwood, I last saw about fourteen years 
ago, growing as a carefully tended plant in the gaiden at Oakbank. 
It was only about 18 inches high, but flowering freely. 
With its semi-temperate, semi-tropical climate, the Island is 
perhaps as well adapted as any spot on the surface of the globe for 
an acclimatization station. In this point of view it has, throughout 
the last century, been regarded by many persons, including the 
Governors, Generals Bcatson and Walker, who introduced many new 
plants, and did much to extend and improve the exotic vegetation ; 
but little or no practical use has been made of it for acclimatization 
purposes. Through the exertions of these gentlemen and others, the 
exotic flora has been gradually enlarged until it reaches about 971 
species, which have found their way thither from all paits of the 
