PREFACE XV 
A special token of regard and appreciation, in the form 
of an illuminated address, and their portraits, contained in a 
very handsome volume, had been prepared for Sir Thomas 
Hanbury, in honour of his seventy-fifth birthday (June 21st, 
1907), by a large number of distinguished botanists from all 
parts of the world, and some well-known garden-lovers. 
Unfortunately, he never received it, as he was called hence 
on the 9th of the preceding March. . He died at La Mortola, 
and, according to his wish, his ashes were interred in his 
garden, amidst the old cypress trees. 
During his later years Sir Thomas often said that to 
distribute seeds and plants, and to encourage others in 
their love of Nature, was his mission in life. That he 
carried out his mission faithfully, his garden is the best 
proof. 
It may be interesting to give the letter which was 
written to Sir Thomas by the late Sir Joseph Hooker in 
1893, when dedicating to him the 119th volume of the 
Botanical Magazine :— 
“My DEAR HANBURY, 
“It is no less a duty than a pleasure to offer to you 
the dedication of a Volume of the Botanical Magazine, as a 
tribute to the value of your services to Scientific Horticulture, 
in creating a garden of Exotic plants at Mentone, which, 
in point of richness and interest, has no rival amongst the 
principal collections of living plants in the world; and in 
munificently founding the ‘Istituto Botanico Hanbury’ in 
the Botanical Gardens of the University of Genoa, the early 
years of which are already so full of promise for the future 
of Scientific Botany in Europe.” 
La Mortola, May, 1911, 
A. BERGER, 
Curator. 
