i883.] 



AND IIURTILL'LTLKISI' 



27 



Piniis insignis in these grounds which looks as 

 though a century had passed over its head, and 

 which Mr. Meehan remembered when it was only 

 a foot high. And in addition to this a Judas tree, 

 which is quite worthy of the environs of Smyrna 

 itself; a Paulownia imperialis, which is smothered 

 in a cloud of innumerable bluish blossoms in early 

 spring; an Edwardsia grandiflora which grows 

 over the south side of the house in golden profu- 

 sion ; Fuchsias which are now of towering dimen- 

 sions ; Myrtle trees in abundance; Magnolias 

 which seem to have been cheated into a belief that 

 they are in the Southern States of America ; Ca- 

 mellias doing well in the open air ; Rhododendrons 

 that must be from twelve feet to fifteen feet high, 

 and which arch over one's head, so as to form a 

 canopy over a broad gravel path ; some Arbutuses 

 of the rarest sorts — all these and other things far 

 too numerous for mention in this place, were for 

 many years the subjects of his fostering care, and 

 they were like children in his hands. But it is also 

 as a successful grower of roses, and the winner of 

 the highest prizes at the local shows, that Mr. Mee- 

 han will be remembered in the Isle of Wight. The 

 rose was his favorite flower, and no one could per- 

 manently wrest from him the supremacy to which 

 he attained in cultivating it. The St. Clare stand 

 for cut blossoms used to be unrivalled in its way, 

 and a very enchanting sight it was when it had 

 just been set up with the greatest assiduity and 

 skill. But all this has now come to an end. The 

 trees and shrubs will not be less beautiful in the 

 gardens of St. Clare than they have been in by- 

 gone years, but tiie voice of the interpreter will no 

 more be heard among them. Mr. Meehan had a 

 strong scientific turn about him, as well as much 

 practical knowledge. In his early days he was 

 very fond of the study of botany, and he gave a 

 great deal of time to it. It was curious to note 

 how, when mind and memory failed him towards 

 the close of his life, the sight of a favorite flower 

 seemed to quicken his drooping faculties at once. 

 When he had begun to take little notice of what 

 was passing around him, and old and familiar 

 things were slipping from his grasp, he was often 

 able to give with accuracy the botanical name of a 

 plant, and to say a good deal about it. His kind 

 employers, Mr. and Mrs. Egerton Harcourt, knew 

 full well how to bring a smile on the old man's 

 face. The best roses of the season were the truest 

 cordials for him, and they were freely sent to him. 

 Ouite up to the end roses and other choice flowers 

 were strewn in profusion over his bed, and he 

 seemed to be all the happier for the solace they 

 gave him. His was no perfunctory round of duties 

 carried on for a livelihood, and only for that ; it 

 was the devotion of mind and heart to a favorite 

 study of which he never tired through life. It 

 should be noted here that Mr. Meehan has handed 

 on the torch of science to his son. Professor Mee- 

 han, a well-known botanist of the United States, 

 and editor of the G.a.ri)i:nkr.s' Monthly, a valu- 

 able work on American horticulture. He has left 

 behind him a family of several grown-up sons and 

 daughters, and more than one of them is treading 

 in his steps. The gardening fraternity have as- 

 suredly sustained an immense loss in his death, 



and the Isle of Wight in everything that has to do 

 with trees or plants will not soon meet with his 

 equal." 



Another correspondent adds : 



" ' H. E.,' in his obituary of the late Mr. Edward 

 Meehan, omitted to mention that he is succeeded 

 by his son, Mr.. Charles Meehan, as gardener at 

 St. Clare. The latter is a devoted horticulturist, 

 and has many of those genial qualities so happily 

 possessed by his late much lamented father. — 

 F. E. Goudge, Clapfoti." 



Return of Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon. — These 

 energetic botanists have returned safely from their 

 very dangerous expedition to the Huachuca range, 

 in the mountains of Arizona. The plants collected 

 are now ready for distribution. 



D.\rley Dale. — This is what the printer should 

 have given it in Mr. Harding's interesting sketch 

 in the last Monthly, where it reads " Darby Dale." 



Dr. Asa Gray.— The following sketch of this 

 estimable man is from BowditcJi s Atnericafi Flo- 

 rist, and will probably be new to most of our 

 readers. In regard to the criticism on " School 

 Botany " — or F. F. and G. Botany, there is this to 

 be said of it, that it was written under a great pres- 

 sure for want of time, and while the author was 

 preparing for a long journey to the old world. 

 Still though not equal to the other works of Dr. 

 Gray, it has " been of great service to those for 

 whom it was written : 



" Probably every person in the United States and 

 in the British Provinces of North America who 

 has any knowledge of botany, has heard of Dr. 

 Asa Gray and has some idea of the work he has 

 done for his favorite science. At the present time 

 the masses of educated people have a much 

 greater respect for botany than they had twenty or 

 thirty years ago. They have learned that botany 

 does not consist simply in hard names; that there 

 is something more to learn about a plant than its 

 name and description. 



"No person in America has done more to bring- 

 about this respect for botany than the subject of 

 this sketch. He has done much to show how 

 plants are constructed, how they grow, and how 

 they behave. He has frequently pointed out some 

 of the relations of botany to agriculture and horti- 

 culture, and the relations which plants sustain to 

 all of the organic and inorganic world. He has 

 done much to make botany popular, by his essays, 

 by his books, and by his teaching in Harvard Uni- 

 versity. In 1836, his first text book appeared and 

 was called ' Elements of Botany.' Since then at 

 various times, have appeared others, till now we 

 have ' How Plants Grow,' ' How Plants Behave,' 

 'Lessons in Botany,' 'Manual of Botany,' 'Field, 

 Forest and Garden Botany,' and the 'Structural 

 Botany.' These are all good, but the best of them 

 it seems to the writer, is 'The Lessons,' and the 

 poorest , 'The Field, Forest and Garden Botany.' 



