A DAY AT KEW GARDENS, LONDON. 

 No. I. 



BY THE EDITOR. 



Fortified with a letter of introduction to Sir William J. Hooker, who fi.xccl the 

 hour of one o'clock to conduct us round these wonderful j^iardcns and museum, it 

 may well be supposed punctuality was among the virtues enlisted. The letter was 

 from one of our most distinguished American botanists, a friend and correspondent 

 of Sir William's, and most happily did it accomplish the object of affording the 

 writer a day of unminglcd enjoyment. At tlie appointed moment, our fascinating 

 guide entered the gate — and, in company with an English lady and gentleman, 

 who had earnestly solicited to be taken along to view these national gardens 

 under such an instructor, we commenced our explorations. 



Sir William J, Hooker, the "Director," is a Scotsman of prepossessing appear- 

 ance, tall, of gentlemanly bearing, and full of information, which it seems to be 

 his greatest pleasure to impart. He was frequently recognized and shaken by the 

 hand by men of eminence and station, who, seeing his previous engagement, were 

 content to follow in our wake and listen to his words of wisdom and information. 

 At one moment, a gardener, who was going out on an exploring expedition of 

 three years' duration for new plants, stepped up for his iiual instructions; they 

 were brief and to the point, and the employer and employed parted as if for no 

 longer a period, and with no more ceremony than if their separation was to have 

 been for an hour. 



" We will go first to the Economic Museum," said our polite guide, " that you 

 may see my results.''^ What follows is taken fi'om our own memoranda as well as 

 from a " guide" to the gardens issued in 1855, where we often find the very words 

 used in verbal explanations; thus serving to complete a reminiscence which can 

 never be forgotten. 



The Museum was evidently a great hobby with the " Director," and we can 

 perceive by the new catalogue that it so continues. It is a depository for all 

 kinds of useful and curious vegetable products, which neither the living plants of 

 the garden nor the specimens in the Herbarium could exhibit. It renders great 

 service, not only to the scientific botanist, but to the merchant, the manufacturer, 

 the physician, the chemist, the druggist, the dyer, the carpenter, and cabinet-maker, 

 and artisans of every description, who may here find the raw material (and the 

 manufactured article), employed in their several professions, correctly named, and 

 accompanied by some account of its origin, history, native country, &c., either 

 attached to the specimens or recorded in a popular catalogue. Nobly has this 

 project been carried out, and the aid from every source has been an evidence of 

 its utility and popularity. At this moment, a number of our friends and neigh- 

 are preparing a collection of specimens of American woods for this museum. 



