174 JOHN LINDLEY 



favourable review of the Origin of Species which appeared 

 in the Gardeners Chronicle, it has been inferred that Lindley 

 himself was not very well disposed toward the new theories ; 

 but Lord Lindley states that his' father was much impressed 

 by the Origin, said it would revolutionise botanical studies but 

 that there were difficulties which would require elucidation 

 before Darwin's theory could be regarded as completely satis- 

 factory surely a perspicacious judgment. 



To turn to the woodcuts of The Vegetable Kingdom affords 

 both pleasure and relief pleasure on account of their excel- 

 lence, relief to escape from the monotonous prettiness of modern 

 process work. 



Though space will not allow reference to other text-books 

 and to innumerable minor publications many of which may 

 be found in the Lindley Library in the Royal Horticultural 

 Society's headquarters at Vincent Square a brief mention must 

 be made of the Botanical Register. This periodical was founded 

 in 1815, and so early as 1823 Lindley became a contributor 

 to it; but it was not till 1829 that his name appeared on the 

 title-page. From that time he was sole editor till 1847, when 

 the Botanical Register ceased to appear ; unable doubtless to 

 stand against the Botanical Magazine which under the editorship 

 of Hooker had passed from a moribund state into one of 

 remarkable vigour which now, 125 years after its foundation, 

 it still enjoys. 



Orchids. 



The magnitude of Lindley's work among his favourite group 

 of plants, the Orchidaceae, deserves recognition by the general 

 botanist. Botanical knowledge with respect to the group was 

 in a very rudimentary stage when Lindley took up its study. 

 Robert Brown and Blume were already engaged upon the in- 

 vestigation of orchids, but they relied mainly on herbarium 

 material. Lindley, on the other hand, began with living plants 

 and ended with living plants, though, as his herbarium testifies, 

 he did not neglect dried specimens. A circumstance that 

 favoured Lindley in these studies was the fact that William 



