1880. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



127 



A Long Term of Sekvice.— One of the j 

 pleasautest features of gardening iu England is ' 

 the kind personal relations which often grow be- j 

 tween employer and employed. The famous i 

 gai'dens and grounds of St. Clare, in the Isle of 

 Wight, have been for over forty years under the | 

 management of Mr. Edward Meehan. He is . 

 now over eighty years of age, but still compa- 

 ratively hale and hearty. Colonel Francis Ver- 

 non Harcourt has recently retired him from the 

 position, but on full salary, leaving him also the 

 residence on the grounds in which he has lived 

 so many years. In addition to this generous act, 

 he has gracefully appointed his youngest sou, 

 and brother of the Editor of the Gardener's 

 Monthly, Mr. Charles Meehan, to succeed his i 

 father in the management of the estate. 



Col. Francis Yernon Harcourt, proprietor of 

 St. Clare, is nephew of Admiral Vernon, the 

 famous President of the Royal Agricultural So- 

 ciety of England, who was the friend of the cele- 

 brated Cobbett in his efforts to introduce Indian 

 corn culture into England, and which was in- 

 deed a partial success in the Isle of Wight. He 

 is also son-in-law of the late Earl of Liverpool, 

 and proprietor of the Estates of Buxted Park, 

 which embrace over 15,000 acres, and which are 

 managed in such a productive and yet generous 

 way, that there is no agitation for a " Landlord 

 and Tenant Bill," in regard to them. 



Dr. a. C. Williams. — A postal card with 

 the above signature, addressed to the " Editor of 

 the Gardener's Monthly" would have re- 

 ceived immediate attention if the post office and 

 full address had been given. People often com- 

 plain of discourtesy, or blame the post office, 

 when it is their own fault. 



Illinois State Horticultural Society, 

 1878. — From 0. B. Galusha, Secretary. One of 

 the most admirable features of this beautifully 

 bound volume, is the complete index, — not 

 merely a " table of contents" or list of titles of 

 the chapters, which is all most of the " proceed- 

 ings of societies" give. 



The Cambridge Botanic Garden.— Prof. 



C. S. Sargent's report of the garden for 1879 is 

 before us. It is the last report he will make, 

 and it must be gratifying to him that he leaves 

 the position of Director with the garden in such 

 a prosperous condition. There are now 5,901 

 species growing there, against 2000 species when 

 he took possession of the office in 1872. It is 



pleasant to note how the public aided this gar- 

 den. During the seven years of Prof. Sargent's 

 Directorship, S13,855 have been contributed by 

 friends to its assistance. 



The Ohio Journal of Floriculture. 

 By L. L. Sanborn, Alliance, Ohio. — This is a 

 new addition to a very useful class of floral 

 works of which we have now some half dozen, 

 and which convey a great deal of very useful in- 

 formation iu a cheap form. 



Greenhouse Catalogue of Robert Buist,. 

 Sr. — Xo one can have any idea of the immense 

 number of excellent catalogues which come to 

 our table with " please notice " attached to 

 them. It would take one-fourth our space in 

 the busy months to do justice to them all, and 

 inviduous to give one firm an advantage by a no- 

 tice over the others. But we are quite sure no 

 one will be envious that we notice the work of 

 this veteran in the business, who far beyond his 

 " three score and ten " still shows as wonderful 

 enterprise in introducing and diseminating 

 " new plants," as he did over half a century ago. 

 That he will yet long continue to do so, will be 

 the wish of a large circle of business friends. 



Practical Taxidermy, for sportsmen and 

 home decoration, by J. H. Batty, New York, 

 Orange Judd & Co. — This is not a large book, but 

 it is pleasantly written, profusely illustrated and 

 neatly bound, and is an excellent little book for 

 boys, or those who may be called to a life in the 

 woods, either for a long or short period. Whe- 

 ther one may want to camp out for months, or 

 merely take a short run to the woods for ferns 

 or autumn leaves, the hints and directions are 

 equally explicit. We believe there are few 

 libraries where those who make use of them 

 have any love for wild nature, but will find a. 

 welcome addition in this little book. 



Obituary. — Died, at Bloomsdale, near Bris- 

 tol, on the anniversary of Washington's birth- 

 day, Feb. 22d, 1880, David Landreth, one of 

 nature's noblemen, and a gentleman in all that 

 makes society of interest. Inheriting a good 

 name from an excellent and industrious father, 

 he was one of those Americans who delighted 

 in progress. His name is a household word 

 "from India to Japan." In his efficient labors 

 to introduce the best vegetables he had no 

 rival. Generous to all who would advance 

 horticulture, he combined so many qualities 

 that all who had the great privilege of approach- 

 ing him, were charmed by his dignity, suavity,. 



