, 1881-11-26
The Report 0n the Botanic
Garden, Trinidad, 1850.
from the n iddd Chronicle.

instalment OF extracts from the Botauist's
Report for 1SS0-not the first valuable
review Of the progress and state OF
his department prepared Tor the lnlor-
nation Of The Governor, but the only ons
tina, his Seen the light in print and been
of any use TO the world. We have reason
to believe that, excellent and practically
suggestive as is the report before Us. 1T
was e~qsa'led by that Tor the two y
which went before. We may Judge OF
the value of what has been lost, owing
to the non-publication OF those, oy the
various utility OF the present report. We
pressed the Government Tor years to call
upon the Bctauist tor an annual report,
Knowing this good it would do the colony
from tie dissemination OF the stored ex-
perirnce gained by that active and obser.
want officer, and when at last the cali
was made and the report sent in, 1t was
lost TO public sight aud ken as much as
il the earth had opened and swallowed
it up, No further proof is nee led OF the
contempt with which the Botanic de-
partment was regarded by the ruling
authority than this scandalons burklng
or neglect OF what J maica, Queensland,
Ceylon, the Cape, Demefara, or any
other colony thaa Trinidad would have
been proud to b,ast. Jamaica, C4yIon,
India, Victoria. South Australia, Mauri-
thus &c. houor themselves and enrich the
world by the publication Of their botan-
lists repor.s-which are quoted and
landed from continent to continent. We
alone, wi h a Garden and grounds une-
qu.Iled in tbs part Of the world, enjoying
deservedly he highest reputation through
out all this Archipelago, he envy OF our
neighbours, aud managed by a gentleman
OF scientific Guinea sounl practical ludg-
meat and a score Of years experience,
have been allowed-nay compelled, TIL
now to bury this hard Won knowledge
under a mountain Of labor at the risk OF
being lost to the worlds ken and having
to be all re.sought at the cost of many
years delay through trials OF sickness
nigh to death, some OF it perhaps not to
be re.Iiscovered for ages till chance threw
it 10 the way of some observer IN a hap.
nier time. The (ata Of our botanlsts under
the pail of neslect has been u sad one,
CIV. have known all, from L)ckhart
down)-Loc&hatt an unpretendlng little
man OF clear b 'tanlc insight Gas his living
100 lunent-'he earliest arboreal groups
in The Garden, qttes) was, on a pitiful
slt4ry no better than a workman's wage,
Obliged TO exc ont OF existence IN the
beautiful gArdea he hal created, by la
bouling in his shirt sleeves 1--WE have seen
him at this work, and felt shame tor the
Government that cared not better to
reward a learned s%ervant) at certain vege.
table beds, from which alter supplying
the Governors tAb!a he was allowed to
furaish hs own. w zen he died (some,
where between 1871 and l945, we think),
after y resideaoe OF about a quarter OF q
century il the Island, a large portion OF
his voI1ninous manuscripts was burnt..'
the remainder were secured by the doctor
Of the garrison at St. James, We have b9ea
told. They too, no doubt, have since
gone the way of mDsc cd papers. The
second Island botanlst WA Purdie, who
after botanising over the Blue Mountains
of Jamaica and in Columbia, settled In
Trinidad in the place left vacant by the
death Of Lockhart. A strong, virlle-look-
ing, companionable young fellow, he
nevertheless sank to his final rest at the
age Of 40, in October 1857, after holding
the office about Is years: ioud OF ootan-
ising, he was yet rather ~reticent OF what
ne found aud knew. He took a good
deal OF interest in preparing island
products, for the earlier international and