JDH asks Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer to take special note of how Wilson Saunders cultivates plants from the Cape [Cape Peninsula, South Africa] so they can emulate the techniques in the pits at RBG Kew. He also wants to know where Saunders got the Elleanthus chrysocomus & Cotyledon mamillaris which he gave RBG Kew. Mr Pritchard has informed JDH that [William] Carruthers will drop his claim [that the RBG Kew herbarium should be transferred to the British Museum of Natural History to form one national herbarium] if papers can be produced that prove the RBG Kew herbarium is government property. The C. S. [Civil Service?] Commission have informed JDH that Spink's exams put him at the bottom of a list of 5 candidates [for a gardener position at Kew]. [George] Nicholson, a candidate with no training or references had the highest scores & impressed [John] Smith with his capacity so JDH has agreed to hire him. Thanks to ' [Acton Smee] Ayrton's folly' Nicholson will be on twice the salary he would have accepted, £150 per annum rather than £75. In additional marginal notes JDH mentions a letter from Reynold, [George] Bentham & his Linnean Society 'matter', & asks Thiselton-Dyer to write a few pages on the distribution of [Nathaniel] Wallich's Dipterocarps.