122 



JOUENALi OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. ( Fobiaaiy ir,, 1877. 



tannicfe, ISOO; In Uaum Flora) Germanicas, 1801; Introduc- 

 tion to Physiological and Systematical Botany, 1807. Sir J. E. 

 Smith added to the charncters in the two following works of 

 Dr. Sibthorpe : Flora Grroea, 1808, and Florae Grreca) Troclro- 

 mna, 1808 ; Tour to Hafod, the seat of T. Johnes, Esq., 1810 ; 

 Lachesis Laponuica, or a Tour in Lapland, from the MS. 

 Journal of Linnffius, 1811. 



In 1821 Sir James Smith selected from his copious MS. stores 

 two volumes of the " Correspondence of Linnasus with eminent 

 Naturalists." These volumes abound with particulars interest- 

 ing to all literary men, but especially so to naturalists, and we 

 know it was the intention of Sir James Smith to have favoured 

 the public with a continuation had the success of the first two 

 volumes answered his just expectations. But naturalists are 

 by no means all readers ; their studies are rather in the book 

 of N.iture than the book of the author. They would not, 

 however, be less fitted for their pursuits if they were more 

 accustomed to add past experience to modern praotioo by the 

 perusal of works similar to that now noticed. 



Sir J. Smith contributed to the Philosophical Transactions a 

 paper on the "Irritability of Vegetables," 1788. His papers in 

 the Transactions of the Linnasan Society are too numerous to 

 be here particularised, as will be seen by reference to the con- 

 tents of the Society's volumes. He aleocontributed to Nichol- 

 son's Journal, vol. xxii. an " Inquiry into the Structure of 

 Seeds, and especially into the true nature of that part called 

 by Gfertner the Vitellus." 



Sir James was a gardener as well as botanist, as is testified 

 by bis contributions to the Transactions of the Eoyal Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



In 1796 Dr. Smith was married to the only daughter of the 

 late Robert Reeve, Esq., of Lowestoft, Suffolk. Laiy Smith 

 died on the 3rd inst. at Lowestoft ; had she lived about three 

 months longer she would have completed her 104th year. In 

 a case so remarkable as that of Lady Smith it is right to give 

 the evidence of ase in full. Hsre is an extract from tho 

 parish register ; — P. 3'.)3. Christtiiiugs in Lowestoft, a.d. 1773. 

 May 12, Pleasanee, daughter of Robert and Pleasauce Reeve. 

 [Sigutd] John Arrow, Vicar." And in the family Bible is 

 found the following entry made by the father: — " 11th May, 

 1773. — The said Pleasance was delivered of a daughter about 

 one in the afternoon, and [she] was baptised by the name of 

 Pleasance." Lady Smith was born two years before the out- 

 break of tho American War, tixteeu years before tho fall of 

 the Bastille. At the age of twenty-three she was manied to 

 Sir James Edward Smith, who w.as then a young physician of 

 limited means. He found in bis young wife a helpmate who 

 took the deepest interest in his pursuits, and their house at 

 Norwich became the centre of the literary and scientific so- 

 ciety which then distinguished that ancient city. Lady Smith, 

 after thirty-two years of wedlock, lived in widowhood for 

 nearly half a century ; for twenty-eight of those years she 

 resided in the house built by her father in the High Street of 

 Lowestoft. She had a constitution without a blemish, she 

 hardly knew what illness was till within the last two or throe 

 years, she had preserved almost all her teeth, and her eyesight 

 was good enough to enable her to read reports of speeches in 

 The Ti)nes. Her hearing remained almost unimpaired to the 

 very end. To the time when her eyesight began to fail her 

 handwriting was of that clear and beautiful kind which in 

 these days is seldom seen. Even when her eyes grew dim she 

 continued to write letters to those she loved, and though the 

 lines disclosed tho difliculty she had in carrying her pen evenly 

 along the paper, the thoughts and language showed no decay 

 of vigour in her mind. 



Lady Smith, upon the occasion of obtaining tho centenary 

 anniversary of her birth, gave a dinner to all the aged poor io 

 the neighbourhood, and on the same occasion received from 

 the Queen a copy of " Our Life in the Highlands," with the 

 following inscription in Her Majesty's own writing: — "From 

 Victoria R. to her friend, Lady Smith, on her birthday." The 

 deceased hsd long been accustomed to pursue literary and 

 scientific matters, and nothing gave her more satisfaction than 

 to be kept abreast of The Timrx with information on such 

 topics. — {]'arwus ) 



Our portrait is copied from an early one painted by Sir 

 Joshua Reynolds. 



GABIBALDI 8TRA"WBEREY. 



I'baised Garibaldi about twenty years ago, it being the 

 only .one selected from several hundreds of seedlings, the,Beed 



of which was gathered principally from Elton Pine and Keens' 

 Seedling. It was sent out by myself in the year 18G4. Two 

 or three years previous to that date I foolishly let a gentle- 

 man's gardener have some of the plants to test, and, con- 

 trary to promise, he distributed them amongst a number of 

 his friends, which consequently disheartened me from bring- 

 ing it prominently before the public until tho year 18GG. 



In conclusion I have to thank Mr, Thomson for his graphio 

 description of Garibaldi (see Journal of Horticulture for No- 

 vember 30th, page 4G7), which I oau only confirm. — Thoma3 

 Akmstkong, Nurseryman, Moorcille, near Carlisle. 





ASPECTS OP NATURE— JANUARY. 



" Tlien came old January, wrapped weU 

 Id many weeds to keep the oold away ; 

 Yet be quake and quiver like to quell, 

 And blow his nayles to warm them if he may, 

 Fur they wore numbed with holding ftU the day 

 A batobett keene, with which ho felled wood, 

 And from the trees did lop the needlosse spray." 



Wind and rain do indeed blow in the face of January, and 

 have this season quite replaced the frost and snow which are in 

 general characteristic of the month ; yet whatever the weather 

 there are certain signs and evidences that winter's torpidity 

 is over, " Nature even in her sleep is never still." Tho bright 

 rays of the sun penetrating into sheltered places discover to 

 our view many early plants perking-up through the brown 

 earth and pushing-out green shoots to meet the sun's inviting 

 beams. Most conspicuous and earliest of the wild flowers of 

 the year, the Winter Aconite appears like spots of gold on 

 banks and hedgerows, seeming to be giving back from the still 

 brown bosom of mother earth the bright rays of light stored- 

 up from the stray glimpses of the winter sun ; but even the 

 Winter Aconite comes not to us more early than January's 

 own offspring, the Snowdrop, with its pure, pale, pendulous 

 petals, which if not originally indigenous to our woods, has 

 become a true wildling in many places. 



In sheltered copses and twining amongst the protecting 

 branches of the Quickset hedge, the wild Honeysuckle may ba 

 seen even at this early season putting forth small green leaf 

 buds at every joint along its slender stem. Beneath tha 

 warmth and shelter of the withered leaves which strew the 

 wood and copse, the brilliant green of the Primrose plants is 

 hid ; but such has been the mildness of the past few months 

 that in many places in our southern counties Primroses are in 

 flower, not, perhaps, the fully-expanded delicately fragrant 

 blossoms that smile in the face of the strong March sun, but 

 sweet flowers nevertheless that are welcome to us for their 

 own dear sake, and doubly welcome as a promise of tha 

 beauties that are soon to oome. The Hazel hangs out its 

 graceful tassel-like yellow catkins before the month is over, 

 and soon the troops of boys and girls will be peering about 

 every branch to discover the pretty scarlet miniature tufts 

 that give promise of the autumn store of nuts. Already tha 

 birds appear to twitter with a blither note as though in hope- 

 ful anticipation of pleasures to oome, while as yet they have 

 known none of the miseries of snow-covered or hard frozen-up 

 soil. The tiny Chickweed has oii'ered them a constant if 

 simple banquet ; nor has it needed much search to discover 

 numerous plants of the homely Groundssl, which puts forth 

 a few flowers in greeting to every tine day. The Chickweed ia 

 small and insignificant in appearance, yet three hundred years 

 ago it was noticed and commented on by old Gerard, and thus 

 described by him — " The common Chickweed," said he, in. 

 his quaint style, " rises up with stalks a onbit high, and some- 

 times higher, yet of ttimes she almost creepeth upon the ground. 

 A great many stalks spring from one root, long, and round, 

 and slender, full of joints, with a couple of leaves growing 

 out of every knot or joint, of a light green colour. The stalks' 

 are something cleare, and as it were transparent or thorow- 

 shiuing, and about the joints they be oftentimes of a vtry 

 light rod colour, aa be those of Pellitorie of the Wall ; the 

 floures be whitish on the top, like the floures of Stitchwort, 

 but yet lesser, in whose places succeed long knops, but not 

 great, wherein the seed ia contained." The seeds which no\i 

 are greedily devoured by our little birds, were not less relished 

 by the Eongsters of the field in the reign of Henry VIII., for 

 the same writer tells us that little birds in cages, especially 

 linnets, are refreshed with the seed of the Chickweed, " when 

 they lonthe thaii meat." 



Our list of January floweis is almost exhausted. One hun- 

 dred years ago Stratton gave a list of only sis as truly belong- 



