To James Grant¹    9 April 1872

Botanic Garden Melbourne,

9th April 1872.

Sir

In compliance with your instructions I have the honor of submitting to you an estimate of the expenditure, which I would recommend for the service of the Botanic Garden during the financial year from 1st July 1872 till 30th June 1873.

Government Botanist and Director (with quarters)	£610
Clerk2 (with quarters)3	£160
Wages of Gardeners, one Laboratory Operator, one Museum Attendant, one Signwriter, one Artisan, one botanical Collector, one Carter, one Enginedriver, one Messenger and several Laborers	£23204
Expense of publishing Works on Australian Plants, and purchase of Museum Material, Plants and Seeds	£2305
Stores, Timber, Stationery, Bricks Flowerpots, Waterpipes, Drainpipes, Paint, Tools, Glass, Coal for engine and conservatories &c	£220
Forage for one cart horse and Food for birds and other animals	£80
Incidental, Transit and Travelling Expenses	£140
Reward to Orphan boys, to be placed into the Savings Bank	£91
Cartage of Street Manure	£40
Test Plantations in the Ranges	£120
Books and Instruments	£806
Total	£4091

Remarks.

The Directors position is heavily taxed by many expenses in relation to foreign interchanges, scientific communications abroad, calls of visitors, for which the votes make no provision. The Director lives merely in an office, ever since 1857, not even a single private room being provided. A small item is now provided for books and instruments, even that expenditure having fallen largely on his private means formerly, so office light, personal travelling expenses, much of the outlay for conveyance to proceed to town offices. The Director has no allowance for a servant, nor for a horse, nor forage &c.

It was considered desirable that the salary of the Clerk and Accountant, hitherto paid out of the general wages vote, should appear as a separate item; this is therefore not a new expenditure, and the item for Wages voted last year is lessened to the same amount.

The item for publishing Works on Plants includes a grant to the President of the Linnéan Society⁷ for 30 copies of the work published by him and Baron Von Mueller in England.⁸

The item for incidental expenses includes outlays for small repairs

The new item of gratuity to the boys of the Industrial Schools is to reward them in succession and rotation for good conduct, and particularly for securing the safe going to and from the barracks, without further loss of time of the gardeners, to watch over the arrival and departure of the various sets of boys over the extensive ground.

The obtaining of street-scrapings for manure through the only cart and horse of the Department is an impossibility; hence the small new item.

As a trial for tea growth and other industrial cultures, in first instance at Fernshaw⁹ seems highly desirable to me the sum for one test plantation is provided. It is kept as small as possible, and as it will form a strict branch of the Botanic Garden Department, it is recommended that this sum be placed at the disposal of the Director, and not be incorporated in the vote for the Forest Department.

No provision is made for the Inspector of Forests¹⁰ on these estimates, as the Director understands, that the services of this officer now are to be devoted entirely to urgent forest-work.

I have the honor to be

Sir

Your very obedient servant

Ferd. von Mueller,

Government Botanist and Director of the        Botanic Garden

The Honorable the President of the Board of Land and Works.