Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Friday 10 February 1860, page 7


ANNUAL REPORT OF' THE GOVERN-i MENT BOTANIST AND DIRECTOR OF THE BOTANICAL AND ZOOLOGICAL

GARDEN.

Fi om Dr. Mueller's valuable report, presentad to both Houses of Parliament by His Excel-lency's commnnd, and just issued, we make i'he following extracts:

" Many rare or ornamental plants have1 been transfeired fiom the nurseries to tho 'main carden. Extensive lines of edgings around the 'flower-borders had to be renewed; whilst the attondanco to the great melange of plants iii the i ow very largo Bpacoof cultivated ground absoibí

alone n considerable amount of attendance and labour. Bows of such umbrageouB trees as are luitnblo to this climate, including Chinese locust trees, white cedars, paulownias, walnuts, &c, I v ero planted in the central part of tho garden Pi rd nloug tho northern margin of our ground,

iid with aviow of beautifying the banks of the "i arra towards tho Prince's-bridge, willow-cuttings 1 ave been planted ¡around the lagoons^of tho rc

lerve. i

" Theaviaryliasbeencompleted, by nddingithe ether wing j and as soon as the substitution of i n iron bndgo for the rustió' decayed ono was iffected, the t«o divisions of tho aviary wore i nited, tho wholo dry and shady space below tho

liidgo thereby becoming available as a secluded

l r ot for brooding hirds.

I "By the application of a small ornamental windmill, it is intonded to establish tho requisito lurrent of freshwater from the river to the lake. J t the southern ground similar appliances w e n ay bo able to adopt this year for forcing Yarra water to the higher parts of our ground,'until tile Yan Yean pipes shall bo brought within our reach. ,

" With the advantage of an unlimited supply of water, our plan of enhancing the beauty "of this spot by fountains may be realised. Mean-while cisterns and tanks have been piovided at all the principal buildings of tho establishment, for collecting as much as possible of tho rain water for gardening purposes. , .

" Tho Board of Land and "Works has beon 7 leased to concede the use of the reserve be-tween Prince's Bridge and tbo Botanic Garden, fir the additional accommodation of the exrcctcd camels, and to sanction also tho tem

] onay occupation of two and a half acres at the -cr stein rise of tim Qovornnient-houso reservo, /cr the moro convenient trend of tho proposed

fe nee lines.

" The total of our Sunday \ ¡sitora to tho touthern giound during 1859, irrespective of thoso

vho enter by the smaller gates, was 100,220; tho -i umber of visitors af¿ the northern ground during Etven months was 41,035. Tho aggrogate of

visitors during week-days may bo regaided asr early equal to that of the Sundajs, so that proli bly the total lias rather exceeded than fallen

l hort of 300,000 during the post year. ' L

" Anxious to render the establishment ono of ! rot less utility than one of healthful recreation ti,cl agiceablo information, wo have endeavoured 1o furnish from hence as extensile supplîos as ] estibio. Thus, on 91 occasions, boughs' and

i'civieis for decoration have been furnished for"" 1 ublic festivals, and not less than 20,438 plants, 2,406 cuttings, and 44,572 papéis of seeds have1 leen distributed, either to publio gardens and i rserves, or to donors entitled to supplies by foeiprocation, or in our maintaining or initiating nu iiiterchango with similar institutions abroad ; and ir eans havo been adopted to lender similar sup] lies available next season. Besides several thousand lots of seeds gnthorcd in the estnblishn ent have been rcsown m this gaiden. ;

"A list is added to this document of such plants as wero imported or'raised during the season; and although some contained in the catalogue of tho previous year aro lost, parlicularly many of tho annual plants, which are alttays an uncer-

tain possession) lhere aro also still many other , j oung plants cultivated, w hieb, on account of having been ícceived without accurate appella-tions, could not yet bo examinedanel enumerated.

The total of the species in our possession may -therefore be appioximately estimated at 4,500,

numerous additional varieties uncounted. '

" The curator, Mr. Dallachy, was engaged from July, 1858, till February, 1859, in collecting plants and seeds on the rivers Murray and Dar-

ling, the collections formed having proved notonly valuable for adding to our varieties of such ornamental plants as are calculated to resist the drought, but also as comprising many species previously nowhere under cultivation, and there- fore highly acceptable for continuing the inter-change with the gardens of Britain, the colonies,

and foreign countries.

" By this journey tho. material for tho elaboi ation of tho work on our natiio plants bec.imo also augmented, aa moy bo obsoned by lcfcrringto iho appended list of now_ Victorian plants.

" Wo being further desirous of adding to our i collections both of cultivated and dried plants, Mr. Augustus Oldfield pioeeeded to the northern i'istricts of Western Australia, fiom w heneo ho

II ecently roturucd after an absonco of seventeen, (months. Tho phytologicnl fcatines of that p-vrt of Australia haio not meroly the elmina of i novelty, but furnished a}So, na was anticipated, a

tlue to the scientific interpieiation of several plants, which under a rather similni elimo vogc¡ tftto in tho north-western desert of Victoria, rtnd 'are theiefore of,importance for the elucidation ! tf ,our own flora. Dr. Bccklor, supportod, liko Mir.'jOjldfield, only with such slender means as this department could affoid. has undertaken the botanical examination of the 'brush country', rituated within tbo systema of the mersM'Leay, Hastings, Richmond, and Clarence, and is to ac-cumulate, also foi our public collections, plants

from the hithertOjhttle exploicd,nlpino and sub-, alpine ranges, in which these rivers rise, and will

thereby afford the means of asccitaining the re-lation which oxists betw een thoso plants to those of tho Victorian Alps. , 4 '

" Thus it is steadily kept in view to bring into olir possession an herbarium ns complete ns posfible for tho futuro elaboration of an univeiäal descriptive work on the vegetation of Austiaha; and I am gratified to stato that of late a much moro general interest has been eiinced for inves-tigations into tho Australian llora, a work BO gigantic, that without tho co-operation of cir-cumspect observers in many distant localities it will bo long before it can advance to perfec-

tion, i " ~

" Tho total of the botanical specimens recoived was 10,938. i

" From this office a distribution of 11,978 dried plants took placo during the year, a sharo being furnished for the enlargement of the herbariums

at tho Melbourno University, and at the Publlo i Library. >

" In endeavouring to enrich tho collections, or adding to the notes for the botanical works hore under progress, I havo enjoyod not only the aid of private gentlemen, but also every support from cur Government, of Now South Walo?, and South Australia. i

" The animals of tho managerio aro at present all in a healthy condition. They compiiso Angola goats, fat-tail sheep, Llama-alpacas, 13 fallow deer, with three fawns, a Sumatra deer, Ceylon elk, several kangaroos and emeus, koalas, an ichneumon, monkoys of various species, a consi-derable variety of hinging birds, of which,the canaries, goldfinches, ana linnets havo reared broods, whilst the thrushes aro nesting- ; Califor-nian quail, which also increased; nativo com-panions, 1C black and 6 white sunns, English and bilver pheasants, Murray pheasants, Australian eagles, nawks, and several other smaller animals.

Somo eagles and waterhens have been shipped for interchango to the Zoological Society

of London. An importation' of South African I game, through the friendly co-operation of'tlio Government of the Capo Colony, may be soon expected.

" The canary birds having considerably in-creased in number, a trial was made, under the tanction of the Committco for carrying out the original design, to naturalise foreign binging-birds by setting them at liberty, in our shrubberies.

The experiment seemed at first to bo attended i with success, but gradually, although well-pro» ' added with food, the number of tho liberated i birds decreased, and at last they ontirelydisnppeared. In an attempt to naturalise the moro

bardy thruBhes wo may anticipate to be moro ' successful, particularly if, at tho proper season, I

tho birds are at once transferred to suitable spots

in the forest rangea, or perhaps to some of the I islands. Of thrushes, not less than 40 wero ob-

tained through the extreme liberality of Edwaid I Wilson, Esq., and the disinterested zeal, the cir- ' pimspect caro, and patient perseverance of that

gentleman, for tho introduction of tho treasures'df i the animal kingdom into this country, cannot ira1 ceive a sufficiently high eulogium. To his exertions,

supported by some friends of tho colonies ih ' Britain, wo owe principally the donation of'our

llama-alpaca flock, and we shall probably1 he i toon indebted to him for rendering tho salmon'a denizen of the Australian rivers; some pheasants

iWero likewiso reeoiyed from Mr. Wilson, of which i five were transferred to Phillip Island, where 1 Mr. M'Haffy declared himself ready to bestow I every caro on them and their offspring. ,The Angora goats havo increased by four, tbo llamii'

alpacas by soven ; the fleece of one of tho (foi-1 ;i,cr yielded approximately 81b. of wool, that of a young supenor animal of tho latter 4¿lb¡, although Bomo of tho larco llamas furnished-a greater weight of coarser wool ; this supplyjfalls

considerably Bhort of tho produco obtained from Eomo of tho genuino alpacas of tho Govern-ment's flock in New South Wales, two of- the

best animals having respectively furnished'12 j and 181b. of wool. Great grotitudo is,>itherè-'

fore, due to the enlightened rulers of the colony, I t for their liberality in adding a purè alpaca ram| to our flock, with a view to the improvement of' the breed, tho fleece of ours being otherwise' scarcely of any mercantile value. Should, asr might he oxpected, the Angora goats thrive ia, many of the scrubby rrrassloSB districts of our rasgeB, where neither Bhecp nor cattle prosper.

an inestimable addition will be made to tho 554* " toral resources of the coloDy, and many district» , now unoccupied may become thereby availablofor settlement. Both Angora goats and alpacas,.

,it moy be added, prove hero remarkably prolific.

"For the temporary teception of futuro im

vortations of fish, especially salmon, a series of_ tanks is now under construction, through which,""" ly tho applionco of mill-work, a constant eur~;',_ i cnt of river water will be secured; for although, it is intended to locate the principal supply of"

i almon ova at once after arrival in the elovatedl- . i nd artificially protected shallows of rivers rising" ',

in our Alps, it will be still desirable that also an attempt should be made to hatch them on our ground, and to rear some of the young fish for-:(xperiment, and eventual distribution to other ', localities of this country. . " '

" To theso manifold obligations has been added. _ 1 y tho military officers another, deserving of high. ,«. 1 raise, namely, tho frequent attendance of the ii. < xcellent regimental band at the gardon. i

" A few weeks of the previous summer weradevoted by tho Government botanist to re-' fl Ecarches into the vegetation of the mountains. "~ along the M*Allister river. Tho tributaries ofJ,

the latter stream were found on that occasion to -li averse a country of vrather extensivo fertility, ' . and, to judge by HB physical aspect, of auriferous; i ' formation. Some botanical novelties, onuroo

; uted in the appendix, were discovered and se- ' cured for the norbarium. In this journey, the main range of the south-western Alps

was ascertained to extend in an almost semi- j, elliptical lino'from Mount Wellington to Mount ~ Useful, at an elevation varying from 4^000 to * 6,000 feet, only tho northorn part of this moun

lain tract, encircling tho sources of the M'Allieter, being moro depressed and somewhat brokon.- < From Beveral high mountains, then ascended for f -, the first time, bearings were secured to elevntions- "~ included in tho trigonometrical survey. From." .

i ho moro elevated western portion of these moun- ' tains, now designated on the chart as the Barkly- ~ linnges, a leading spur will in all probability ba * found to extend to the hitherto unappioachod.'* ' i Ipine elevations of Mount Baw Baw,' i_ *

"This question, which I lcft.durimr. mv first ~

"This question, which I left.during my first,. ~ i ¡sit unsolved, I am anxious to set at rest during thenext season. Mount Wellington, inasmuch; i s it can be reached by a path ncceBsmfiTito

1 rises from the Avon Bunges, moy he recar¡deíSr"

es tho southern koy of tho Australian Alps, from,i hence along the crest of the main ramifications^ ( f the high land a journey with horses Boom»] cssible in most diiections. Otherwise, the dense- ^

liiiderwood of the less lofty ranges, strotohing |, letween the alpine tract and the low land, frusti ate s any attempt to traverse tho country be- ¡, tween the Yana sources and Gipps Land without

cutting previously ti acts through the juujrio, . whereas the main range, at elevations exceeding

4,000 feet, is usually destitute of these impedí- ¡Ti irents. _ '

" It is my duty to bear,on this occasion, public

acknowledgment to tho genoroua aid which iu7 TCrfoiming this journey I experienced fromrt .Angus M'Millnn, Esq., M.L.A., tho discoverer

cf Gipps Land, who not only provided six horses -, and almost all other requisites for this excursion1,. but also facilitated it, whilst sharing In it, by his.

intimate knowledge of the suirounding country. ' ' The botanical examination of Victoria, although now for tbo greater part completed, has yet to be extended to the country towards Lake Hind-

marsh, to Mount Baw Baw, and to the mo.>t -icstein part of tho colony about Capo Howe. '

" Ten numbers of the ' Fragmenta Phytogra- " 1 hire Austmliro' aro issued, comprising the di«.-:- -i oses of neatly SOO new or raro plants contained ' in our collection. This publication is illustrât eel f 1 y 10 plates, drawn by Messrs. Becker and ;. Schoenfeld; whilst to botanical Boienco in ger i ernl it fui nislies a series of now observations, it affords the opppi tunity of publicly expressing, my thanks for mnny contributions leceived'by-' us ; nnd it will, moi cover, be useful as a work of

leferenco to the herbarium.

" Of the 'Plants Indigenous to the Colony of Victoria,' about half tho first volumo is printed, and 28 lithographio illustrations are prepared for

it. This work is intended ns n continuation oE ? the series of quarto volumes published by Dr. Jf.

Hooker, under the authority of tho Lords Com- ' missioners of the Admiralty. Ariangements

in 1860. , ;, tho publication of that part of the work ^ ig to a j ptogamic plants, I enjoy the valu-í ' 1 of the Bev. Mr. Berkeloy and Mr. E/ . have been enteicd into for issuing tlio ñrst

íoliime in 1860.

In tho ]

referring to "

able aid of the Bev. Mr. Berkeloy

Ilampe, who have made thoso branches of botany . referring to cellular plants the subjects of long * and careful inquiry. ,

" For the information of thoso interested in

the progress of knowledge of Australian vegeta- . tion, I may bo permitted to state, that of any r apparently uncommon plant, oven the smallest » fragments, such as can be cosily pressed into aw ' ordinary note-book, and bo transmitted in- a

letter, will bo acceptable ; and that cv cn spec!-' ' mens of tho common plants, partieulaily of tho,, interior districts, are of value, to ascertain tho " range of the various species ovei tho country, i Such specimens should, whenever possible, be

procured both in flower and fruit, ' >'{,

" Beyoud the frequent application to tîiis , office tor the systematic determination of indi-

genous plant*, also, not rarely, wishes arel ox- i picssed tor infoimation on uses and qualities of

vegetable productions,,or on plants elesirablo for"*i introduction-questions which reçoive, I, need

not state, the promptest and fullest atteutioml'i am able to gh e them. Moro extensivo informa-"J tion may bo expected will bo gained when'_ once, the building now under piogress, (in-f, tended as a museum of economic D0tany,,is"^ filled with a systematic assortment 'of such? raw and artificial materials, obtained fromp tho vegetablo kingdom, as aro fahodaceaJjMo)* manufactures, medicine, or domestic ,uscV, .T4io.t numeious fascicles of classified dried plants will

be removed fiolu the smell office building to the,» museum os soon as tho ' necessary fittings' are'

completed 5 and we may trust that the opening of ' one of the richest collections of Australian plantsj. and an extensive herbarium from other parts'olH the globe, will materially tend to difluso know*

ledgo/and add to the attractions of this establish^* mCnt." ,- . _! -

In the course of the report numbers of gentle*-1 men are namco', and thanked as contributors ¿o, the gardens and menagerie. , -.

Appended to the report is a " fifth systematic index of the plants of Victoria, comprising thoso collected in 1859," by Dr. Mueller, and a " catalogue of tho plants nddèd"~dîiriug 1859, toi those under cultivation in the Melbourno Botanic Garden." " , ' wi

EFFECTS OF THE LATE IIBAT.-Mr. fyt'Ewho.,,

informs us that his gorden, is in somo dcgrco JÇT" , covering from tho effects 'of the late heat, bute -that much of the fruit is destroyed. The damage has been chiefly among the larger and finer kinds1 of apples/ Penis havo resisted the heat better ; plums in his garden havo suffered little, but some of his neighhouis havo been less fortunate in thhï icspect, tho orleans and magnum bonums, espe-» dally tho latter, having been completely roasted cn the trees. A great deal of fruit would havo leen almost unsaleable, irrespective of the ex-treme heat, as tho long drought had rendered ÎJ; 1 oor and small, but the sun on January 21»dettoyed it completely. The same may bo said with regard to grapes, among which the great heat was particularly destructivo, coming as it. diel1 after so much ¿hy weather. At Iljghercanibathe

grape crop will not be more than half what was. cxpected ; and this will also apply to Glen Ewin, As regards the flower-garden, Mr. M'Ewin tells us that many of his most valuable plants have» leen killed. He remarks that the great and widely-spread disaster under whioh the "colpny; lias suffered affords increased evidence of tlio absolute necessity of a complete and1 general' (?jstem of irrigation, whioh ho thinks mayaba* more rearlily effected than many might at first suppose.-S. A. Register. * ¡ ¡>x

NOVEL: CONTIUVANCE FOR SUTPPING .HORSES; -On TJiursday Mr. W. H. Formby shipped oU board the Antipodes, for Calcutta, 33 horses, being part of a lot of about 60 which Mr. George, Alston, jun., is taking to~the indian market by that vessel. Mr. Foimby adopted on'tho occa- f lion a novel pluu of putting the horses ion board. Instead of leading each to tho slings, he herded the whole in a movable yard, formed of strong gum posts and rails, consisting of 9-inch deahu The interior of the yard,is fitted with.» crushpen, constructed on the model of that mado by Mr. Formby at his section near Tusmore, and which -iro-lati'ly described very minutely. t Each horse ".. his tu m carno was driven ¡nto'tho crushpen, ami the guies on each sido were closed upon him. The- shrgs were then attached with case, the horse hating no power of resistance¿and the entire lot was shipped without either accident or difficulty, the operation occupying three hours and a half. It seldom happen) that any new con-trivance is absolutely perfect in the first instance» and Mr. Formby pointed out several improve-ments which the tua! of the'yard 'nnd crush-'peni led him to,think desirables, and which he intends making immediately. When these are completed he anticipates being easily able to ship from 15 to 20 horses within the hour, i Mr. White, tho builder, with tho assistance of Mr. Formby and three men, put uji the movable yard in half ah, hour, and -took it down' in 10 minuteB. It is in pieces such' as men can easily carry, so that no difficulty will be experienced in removing i if from uno ship to another. We boliovo that the

ceiitrlviince will bo found exceedingly useful ire facilitating the shipment of horses. It will repay the trouble of any person conccincd tb BOO it when next in UBo. Its cost is hot largo, and >U may bo tho means of preventing Joss or accident.

-<S. A. Register.

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