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1873. NEW ZEALAND.

FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOTANIC GARDEN BOARD.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Five meetings of the Board have been held during the year, the management of tho Gardens having been left to a Sub-Committee and the Secretary. The arrangement under the City Reserves Act of last Session for conveying to the Board a portion of the Wesleyan Reserve has not yet been completed, nor has the Board received any funds from that source. His Honor the Superintendent has, however, selected tho portions of the Reserve which are to be otherwise disposed of, and the new boundaries have been agreed on ; but the funds at the disposal of the Board are not sufficient to enable them to remove the fences and embellish the newly acquired portion of the Domain. The attached schedules show the number of plants which have been added to the Gardens and planted out during the past year. It is intended to dispose of the surplus seedlings that are not required for the grounds or other Public Domains at a nominal price, sufficient to cover the cost of labour and packing. As the nursery operations have hitherto proved so very successful, there is no doubt that the ground and climate is specially adapted for the purpose, and with a very moderate expenditure large supplies of strong seedling trees could be raised for distribution to all parts of the Colony. With this iv view, a fresh supply of tree seeds is urgently required; and as the success which attended the last importation that was received by Government proved so encouraging, a repetition of the same order has been authorized. From the seeds thus imported, if the same results were obtained in other places as at the Wellington B.otanic Gardens, there must have been about 100,000 trees dispersed in the Colony. The trees planted out in the Gardens are thriving well, with few exceptions, and these are nearly all imported seedlings. The plants purchased from Mr. Lang, of Melbourne, and Mr. Fergusson, of Sydney, have, however, been especially successful; and during the year a further supply has been received, at a cost of £12 18s., most of the plants having been selected by Mr. Ludlam. Twenty-two chains of new paths have been formed, and all the old paths have been cleared, trimmed, and in many places widened and improved. In the nursery grounds two crops of seedlings have been raised iv the pits, and the whole of last year's seedlings cither pricked out or potted. About 0,000 young trees are now available for distribution, and have been lifted and packed in cases. The cases contain from two to four dozen plants, each with a separate ball of earth. About fifty such cases are still available, after meeting all applications that have been made. More than 1,000 trees have been planted out in the Gardens, making, with those planted in former years, 2,700 Coniferous trees and 1,000 miscellaneous, that have now been planted ; and judging from the rapid growth which they show, in a few years the whole aspect of the Domain will be changed, and shelter afforded to enable less hardy and rarer kinds of trees and shrubs to be planted out. Tho trees and shrubs, both native and introduced, have been re-labelled during the present season, and the Board have to acknowledge the valuable assistance in this and many other respects which they have received from Mr. John Buchanan. Indeed, the funds available for the Gardens are so small, in proportion to the amount of work that has to be performed, that, if it were not for the cordial assistance which the Board receives from amateurs, tho Gardens would not be in their present state of efficiency. James Hectob, 19th September, 1873. Secretary.

ACCOUNTS of BOTANICAL GARDENS, from 12th October, 1872, to 22nd July, 1873.

Beceipts. ExPRNDITUKE. t'ote for 1872-73 Balance and Interest received from Trustees 3alanee in hand, 12th October, 1872 £ s. rl. 300 0 0 Garden Work (including Keeper's wages and extra labour)... 109 10 3 Purchase of Plants, Seeds, &o. ... 22 10 - i Clearing G-orse Repair of Cottage 1 Miscellaneous items ... i Balance in liand £132 18 4 ' £ 8. d. 190 19 2 42 18 0 8 0 0 17 7 6 4 15 1 162 18 7 £432 18 4 Alfred Ludlam, Hon. Treasurer. 29th July, 1873.