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9. Considerable progress has been made in the propagation of plants with which the ground beneath large trees, where the shade has killed ordinary grass, is being reclothed. The quantity of plants available will, I hope, meet the demand, and enable us to reclothe the worst of the bare places within another year. This work should properly have been started some few years ago, but there were not sufficient means available for it.
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10. As an opinion prevails pretty generally that lawns here may be made or improved by sowing English lawn-grass seeds it may be useful to record the result of an experiment I made with this seed. A piece of ground was carefully prepared and sown with fresh seeds on the 2nd February, 1889, the seeds germinated perfectly and a fine crop of grass was the result, the grass was kept care- fully weeded and had generally the best of treatment, but during the succeeding summer much of it died, what remained, however, improved in health during the next cold season, but as soon as the rains and heat of the summer of 1890 began the grass suffered more than in the previous summer and it gradually dwindled away until nothing remained at the end of September; that is in 21 months after sowing all of the English grassés were dead. During no period of the experiment was the grass in suitable condition for a lawn. An experiment made some years ago of sowing English lawn-grass seed amongst the indigenous grasses proved equally unsuccessful, the native grasses having at a very early stage of the life of the English grass completely smothered the latter in the struggle.
Labelling of Plants.
11. The incompleteness of the indoor staff prevented any attention being given to the maintenance of the plant labels, which require a great deal of constant attention to keep them in position and replace broken or obliterated ones. It may be some time before the requisite attention can be given to the subject, but when an opportunity does occur I hope to be able to introduce a kind of label, which I believe can now be had at a moderate cost, that will be more permanent than wooden labels which are subject to rapid decay and destruction by white ants in this climate.
Crotons.
12. A collection of all the varieties of Crotous cultivated in the garden was brought together and planted at the sides of the flight of steps at the north-west entrance gate and at the western end of the lower terrace, these, and other alterations at this place, have greatly improved the appearance of the entrance. The usual amount of heavy and expensive work of removing bad soil and rocks and replacing them with better soil collected with great labour on the hills outside the gardens had to be undertaken. This difficulty of rocks and bad soil meets all operations in almost every part of the gardens when trees or shrubs have to be planted, but in spite of these difficulties very creditable results generally have been achieved, although at a considerable cost.
Walks, Drains, &c.
13. These have been maintained in good order, the walks having been kept in a state of perfect neatness, even throughout the periods of heaviest rains, a result which has not been attained in any previous year. This satisfactory condition was owing to all the walks which were not level having been concreted in the winter of 1889, as referred to in my last report, and thus preventing the scour ing away of gravel which always occurred in walks of even gentle gradients during the season of heavy
rains.
Glenealy Ravine.
14. The repairs of damages caused by the great Rain Storm of May, 1889, occupied much time in the early part of the year. After the very large quantity of soil which had been carried away was replaced works of turfing and replanting were carried out, another retaining-wall built, and the rockery near the gate-way reconstructed and furnished with suitable plants, advantage having been taken of the opportunity for effecting some improvements in the arrangements which existed before the storm. 15. The Government having granted an application from the authorities of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral for a short road to be made from their property to connect with the path which passes through the Glenealy Ravine the work of its construction was carried out by the Public Works Department. Although the road has no doubt been a convenience to the congregation of the Cathedral its position has not improved the appearance of the locality. No attempt has yet been made to beautify the neglected ground on the upper side of this new read, but the work will be taken in hand so soon as arrangements are completed which will permit of the stoppage of the continuous traffic across the ground by people who come to the nullah to obtain water; while this traffic continues there would be no security for the satisfactory maintenance of any improvements which might be made for artistic effect.
Chinese Ginger.
16. In my annual Report for 1886, I mentioned that in consequence of some doubt existing as to the identity of the plant which furnishes the Canton preserved ginger I had, with a view of observ- ing and studying the plants, introduced and cultivated in these gardens the different kinds which it might have been supposed were the source of Chinese ginger. In March, 1888, Dr. TRIMEN, Director