, 1892-09-21
TRINIDAD BOTANICAL GARDENS.

We were in receipt last mail of the annual
report of Mr.. Hart, Superintendent Of the
Royal Botanical Gardens, Trinidad, which
possesses the interest always attached to the
work Of "a former servant of this colony, as
well as being in itself a valuable contrlbu-
ton to the botanical history of the West
Indies, aud useful for purposes of comparison
with the records of similarly situated Islands.
The report this year is not SO voluminous as
on former occasions, and loses thereby half
it's interest the reason for this is briefly
stated to be instructions received" The
first subject referred to by Mr.. Hart is the
rainfall Of the colony. The returns for the
past thirty years have now been completed
and these show a steady decrease of rainfall
during that time, unlike the conditions Of
Jamaica where little p%erceptible cha lge has
occurred. Mr., Hart considers tn matter
Of sufficient importance to warrant the seri-
Gus attention of those engaged in the CON
sidpration Of forestry subjects and the water
supply Of Port-of-Spain. The reason for this
atmospherical change IS apparently not very
clear. Trinidad rainfall is not SO much
affected as is generally supposed by its con-
tiguity to the mainland of South America,
for it can be conclusively shown that the
greater portion Of the local rainfall follows
the course OF the trade winds, and these blow
in O. direction which is towards, and not
from, the { ointment. The rains which are
brot ght by the southerly winds, however,
undoubtedly obtain their moisture from the
mountains of the mainland. Now that the
conditions of the rainfall for the past thirty
years have been determined no doubt Mr..
Hart will institute observations with q view
Of discovering a cause. A computation
of the death rate Of the island affords the
Superintendent grounds for combating the
still lingering idea of the unhealthy charac-
ter Of British West India por.s. The NOR
tality Of Trinidad in some respects is less
than that of London, and the death-rate from
Zymotic diseases in particular Is generally
much higher in the English town than 1T IS
in the topical. This can be said not alone
of Trinidad. The bugbear Of fever and
malaria which SO often deters visitors from
seeking a change in the West Indies can be
shewn from statistics to have q irmer hold
on the imagination than an actual existence
in our life, and the fact is being slowly
established that the est Indies may be
regarded as a safe resort from the rigours
of an American or European Winter. Mr..
Harris remarks are another thrust to the
widespread delusion which will soon we trust,
disappear into oblivion.
The clerical work Of the establishment has
increased along with the increased work in
all the departments. There is no Bulletin"
in Trinidad such as we have in this Island;
its issue was stopped some time ago, ard
to make up for the loss of his medium Of
communication Mr.. Hart contributes articles
to the local journal, the Agricultural Record,
which probably is as satisfactory a plan as
the periodical issue of a bulletin. A long
report on the forests of the Island was pre-
pared by command of the Secretary Of State,
but we gather nothing of its import from
these pages. More can be said of the work
on 'Cacao'' which has since been published
anil has been favorably reviewed i'll our
columns, and which is a carefully prepared
and invaluable guide to the cultivation
of the plant. 1t was fit and proper that
Trinidad should give birth to such a publ
cation, for the Colony is the most important
scene Of cocoa culture in the world, and is
supposed to be the original habitat of some
of the varieties of the plant. If other
centres compete and excel in quality it is
because scientific principles are carried out
in them, and accordingly Mr.. Harris volume
appears at a most opportune time when, if
Trinidad is to keep q high place in the mar
ket, she must devote more care to, and