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198 REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST.
An important work will devolve on the department in further exca-
vations on the lake, if the needful extra aid can be rendered. The
water has entirely evaporated through the aridity of the season, and no
sutficient rise of the river has taken place to refill the lake. The ad-
vantages of deepening this basin would be manifold. Its niveau and
that of the river would become permanently equal, and a constant
communication between both would become possible ; material would
be gained to heighten the flood-dam so far as to obviate future inun-
dations of the Garden ; the brackish water of the lake would become
fresli and available for garden purposes ; further storage of soil for the
improvement of the meagre Garden slopes would become possible
watei'fowl might permanently be maintained on the lake ; and finally
the aspect of the whole landscape would be greatly beautified.
Sii- William Macarthur's method of wrapping hard seeds in mois-
tened cloth to speed their germination has been adopted to advantage.
A variety of Bamboos and different Sugar-canes were secured, in-
cluding the hardy Chinese cane ; forty-eight kinds of Vines were
added on behalf of the Acclimatization Society to the already large
collection, which includes the white and black American Scuppernong,
the Sultana raisin grape, the French Cognac grape, Follet Blanche,
and many other famed kinds, new or rare in Australia. The true
Oriental Dye Saffron, Colchicum, the oil-yielding Sesamura, the Tussac-
grass of tlie Falkland Islands, the Caper (quite an ornamental plant),
the wide-spreading avenue Acacia of West Australia {Acacia fsaligua),
Ficus Sycamoriis (the best of all avenue trees of the Orient), the Clove,
Rhamnus utilis (yielding the green satin dye of China), the Sapodilla,
the Avocado Pear, the Indian Teak, Cassava, Squill, Turmeric, the
medicinal Bhel fruit, the Tree Cotton, Mangosteen, edible Yanguiera,
Aya-pana, Gelsemium, and many other important plants, are more re-
cent acquisitions to the Garujn. Although it may as yet be impos-
sihle to cultivate remunei'atively the Saffron and many other of the
plants indicated, it remains evidently still the aim of a public institu-
tion to establish such plants tiniely in the country.
Turning to the nursery department, I can report favourable progress,
notvvitlvstanding the precarious supply of water during the great heat.
For the first time in Austi'alia masses were raised of plants of Assam
Tea (the seed kindly supplied, at the Director's request, by W. H.
Birchall, Esq.) ; so also large numbers of the White-heart Hickory or
;