Department, (a Memo. Ford).
2.
Among the multiplicity of subjects which called for the immediate care of the new Governor on his arrival here, I have not failed to give my attention to the Botanic Gardens, which are prettily laid out; which form the chief recreation ground for the inhabitants of this city; plants and trees of commercial value are in various processes of cultivation.
3.
My great experience in other Colonies has enabled me already to direct various improvements both in the Botanic Gardens, and still more in the work of Afforestation, vitally important in this tropical country on sanitary and other grounds.
4.
The mountain ridge which constitutes the island of Hongkong was, at the period of the English occupation, entirely bare of trees; and it is hoped that the new plantations will gradually lead, here as elsewhere, to a more regular supply of rain-water, and to the purification of the atmosphere. I observe