Mr. TYSON WILSONasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether an official guide has been appointed at the Royal Gardens, Kew; if so, will he state why such an appointment was necessary; what remuneration is paid; whether the employés in the gardens had the opportunity of applying for the position; and, if so, whether one of them secured the appointment?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANIn consequence of representations made to the Board an official guide has been appointed experimentally for one year at the Royal Gardens, Kew, at a salary of £150 (non-pensionable.). The qualifications of present employés were considered. The officer appointed to the post was formerly on the Kew staff. In 1903 he joined the Colonial Service as Superintendent of the Botanical and Forestry Department at Hong Kong, and in 1910 he returned to Kew in order to devote himself to botanical research.