BIOUKAl'IlIES OF I'OMOLOGISTS, BOTANISTS, AND GARDENERS 



Soft zephyrs blow, eternal summers roign, 



And showers prolific bless the soil — in vain ! 



Fierce, in dread silence, on the blasted lioath 



Fell Upas sits — the hydra-tree of death. 



Lo ! from one root, the envenomed soil below, 



A thousand vegetative serpents grow ; 



In shining rays the scaly nionster sjireads 



O'er ten square leagues, his far diverging heads ; 



Or, in one trunk entwists his tangled form, 



Looks o'er the clouds, and hisses in the storm. 



Steeped in fell poison, as his sharp teeth part, 



A thousand tongues in quick vibration dart ; 



Snatch the proud eagle, tow'ring o'er the heath, 



Or pounce the lion as he stalks beneath ; 



Or strew — as marshalled hosts contend in vain — 



With human skeletons the whitened plain. 



Chained at his root two scion-demons dwell ; 



Breathe the faint hiss or try the shriller yell ; 



Rise fluttering in the air ou callow wings, 



And aim at insect prey their little stings. 



So Time's strong arms, with sweeping scj^the, erase 



Art's cumbrous works and empires from their base; 



While each young hour its sickle fine employs, 



And crops the sweet buds of domestic joys." 



Of coarse these poetical fancies have no other foundation than the tales above 

 noticed. The Upas cannot exist in the poisoned valley any more than other 

 plants, but flourishes in the woods among other trees. The fact of its growing 

 harmlessly among other plants in botanical collections under cultivation, is suffi- 

 cient to dispel all these idle fumes of fancy. 



BIOGRAPHIES OF DISTINGUISHED POMOLOGISTS, 

 BOTANISTS, AND GARDENERS. 



It is the intention of the editor of this work to prepare, occasionally, short 

 biographies of men who have been distinguished in the walks of Pomology, Botany, 

 Gardening, &c. The number of these will depend upon the material that may 

 be accessible ; they will be, perhaps, distributed over a considerable period, but 

 in no instance shall they emljrace the names of living individuals. 



We have prepared two such : the first is that of William Coxe, the able pomo- 

 logist, of Burlington, N. J., whom we well remember, and who was connected with 

 the writer by marriage ; the second will be the life of J. C. Loudon, the eminent 

 Botanist and writer on Gardens and Gardening ; the latter will l)e accompanied by a 

 handsome portrait. The materials for his life have been supplied by his widow, in a 

 most agreeable form, though on too extensive a scale for this periodical. We have 

 been obliged to omit some unessential particulars of Mr. Loudon's career connected 

 with local matters, but we can promise the reader, when it appears, a vast amount 

 of information in this history of one of the most industrious and indefatigable men 

 that ever lived to adorn a profession. To-day, we present a short sketch of 



WILLIAM COXE, THE POMOLOGIST. 



William Coxe, Esq., of Burlington, New Jersey, was the pioneer pomologist of 

 America. His work is entitled : " A View of the Cultivation of Fruit-Trees, and 

 the Management of Orchards and Cider, with accurate descriptions of the most 

 estimable varieties of native and foreign apples, pears, peaches, plums, and chcr- 

 cultivated in the Middle States of America — illustrated by cuts of two hun- 

 kinds of fruits of the natural size," was printed in Burlington, and published 



