1877.] 



AND HOBTIGULTURIST. 



121 



experiments of Darwin. George Bentham, 

 nephew of the well-known philosopher, Jeremy 

 Bentham, and an eminent botanist, was the 

 secretary de jure, but Dr. Lindley, a still more 

 eminent botanist, as assistant secretary, was the 

 main-spring and prime mover in everything 

 practical relating to the Society and the gardens, 

 and he was ably aided, especially in the work of 

 production and distribution by the gardener-in- 

 chief, Mr. Donald Munro. John Lindley, pro- 

 fessor of botany in University College and other 

 institutions in London, was the son of a nursery- 

 man near Norwich, and father — though he did not 

 live to see his son's elevation to the " Bench " — 

 of the present Sir Nathaniel Lindlej', one of the 

 judges of the English Court of Queen's Bench, at 

 $30,000 a year. Before quitting this subject, it 

 may not be out of place to notice at least four 

 highly respectable men who graduated in the 

 H. S. gardens, and have made their mark pro- 

 fessionally in t*e United States, viz. : John Cad- 

 ness, at Flushing, L. I.; John Lumsden and 

 John Ford at Detroit, Mich.; and Robert Car- 

 michael at Frankfort, Ky., where he was much 

 honored, and died about eighteen j-ears ago. The 

 two first-named attended Dr. Lindley's lectures, 

 so it is not to be wondered at that they are well 

 " posted " in Botany. " The Royal Botanic Gar- 

 dens "at Kew were at that time, and had for 

 many years previously been, "under a clovid," 

 or if the sun shone on the collected treasures 

 and the privileged few who had access to them, 

 he shed no ray of scientific light or intellectual 

 enjoyment on the many curious souls outside. 

 Kew House and Park were an appanage of roy- 

 aTty, having been taken on a long lease by the 

 Prince of Wales, father of George IIL His 

 widow took great interest in forming the Botanic 

 Garden, consisting at first of 11 acres and laying 

 out the pleasure grounds extending to about 260 

 acres more, and her daughter-in-law, Queen 

 Charlotte, who was a tolerably proficient botanist, 

 as times went, did much to increase the collec- 

 tion of exotics; hence Sir Joseph Banks named 

 the genus Strelitzia, in her honor. In 1759 

 Wm. Alton, a pupil of Philip Miller, of dictionary 

 celebrity, was placed in charge, and in 1789 pro- 

 duced the " Hortus Kewensis," containing an 

 account of 5,600 species of exotics found in 

 British gardens, with many admirable plates. 

 Mr. Alton was succeeded by his son, W. T. Alton. 

 and conjointly and in succession they had charge 

 of the gardens and grounds for eighty-two years, 

 but after the death of Queen Charlotte and Sir 



Joseph Banks, and during the reign of George 

 IV. and William IV., they were much neglected, 

 and suffered from want of royal and scientific 

 encouragement. At length, the popular demand 

 that they should be thrown open and made use- 

 ful to the nation, or abolished, reached and waa 

 listened to by Parliament. Queen Victoria ever 

 disposed to gratify and benefit her subjects, gra- 

 ciously relinquished her quasi claim to all ex- 

 cept a very small and private portion of the 

 domain. The Botanic Garden proper comprising 

 25 acres, the Pleasure Grounds or Arboretum of 

 270 acres, and the Old Deer Park of 400 acres, 

 were declared open, under certain slight and 

 necessary restrictions, every day (Sunday in- 

 cluded) from 1 p. M. till sunset. Sir William G. 

 Hooker, the distinguished botanist, was called 

 from his "good fruits " and professional chair at 

 Glasgow, and " promoted over the trees." Sel- 

 dom has the change from unprofitable appro- 

 priation and exclusiveness, to light and liberty, 

 usefulness and popular enjoyment been more 

 marked and satisfactory in its results. The num- 

 ber of visitors which in 1841 (the year of reform) 

 was 9,174, rose in 1869 to 630,594! The collection 

 of plants has been immensely increased, numer- 

 ous houses, some of them very large, have been 

 erected, a Pinetum as well as a general Arbore- 

 tum formed, and the planted portion greatly 

 extended ; special prominence is given to medi- 

 cinal, economic and curious plants. A former 

 residence has been devoted to a museum well- 

 stored with specimens of woods, textile materials 

 and everything connected with or belonging to 

 the vegetable world, and in another building 

 are to be found the herbaria of Bentham, Cun- 

 ningham, Carey, (American,) Burchell, Lindley's 

 Orchids, and the largest collection in the world, 

 that of the late Sir W. G. Hooker with those of 

 other botanists which have been acquired from 

 time to time. The whole is under the able 

 directorship of the eminently liberal and scien- 

 tific Dr. J. D. Hooker, and no more pleasurable 

 out or intellectual treat for the lover of nature or 

 votary of science can well be imagined than a 

 visit to Kew Gardens as they are now on a fine 

 day. 



(To be concluded.) 



NOTES FROM CALIFORNIA. 



BY E. LONSDALE, GERMANTOWN, PHILA. 



As much interest is manifested in California 

 by horticulturists in general, a few extracts from 



