86 



tow mucli oriffmal information still remains unpublislied can 



manusc 



only be ascertained by close comparison, 

 certainly contains much of John Smith, senior's, opinions and 

 experiences in relation to the changes that took place during his 

 period of office that he wisely refrained from publishing. The 

 manuscript by his son, Alexander Smith, presented by Mr. 

 Jackson, is a " Jjist of Stove and Greenhouse Plants in the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Kew, prepared in 1848 (not complete).'^' To 

 which J. Smith, senior, has added : '* By i 



m\ 



M 



1 33." The list is through- 

 out in Alexander's neat handwriting, with here and there a few 

 additions and remarks by his father, who doubtless utilised it in 

 his Eecoids of upwards of fifteen years later; but there are many 

 discrepancies not easy of elucidation. Alexander's list is, how- 

 ever^ a highly interesting document of itself, whether compiled 

 from the plants actually existing in the collection in 1848, or 

 from registers covering a number of years. The classification 

 adopted is that of Lindley's ''Vegetable Kingdom/^ and the 

 limitations of the natural orders are nearer that of Engler than 

 that of Benthani and Hooker. I have not totalled the species, or 

 names, myself, but in John Smith's handwriting at the end it is 

 given as 5141 — a grand number considering the relatively limited 

 extent of the glasshouse accommodation then available. Accept- 

 ing Lindley's limitations of the natural orders, 206 were 

 represented in the indoor collections of those days. Succulents 

 and hard-wooded plants were to the front. The list of Cactaceae 

 runs to 260 species, belonging to eleven genera, and no fewer than 

 170 names of species of Mesemhryanthemiim are given. Taking 

 the Proteaceae and Ericaceae among hard-wooded plants the 



mer 





Erica itself is accredited with about 220 species, to say notliin^ 

 of varieties, of which fifteen are given under E. ventricosa and 

 seven under E. vestita ! Cape Amaryllidaceae, Iridaceae and 

 Liliaceae were also exceedingly numerous. On the other hand, 

 of Pelargonium and Geranium combined, only 24 species are 

 enumerated. Orchids are not enumerated in detail, but there is a 

 reference to a '^ special list " of 815 species. These included, we 

 are informed, a large number of inconspicuous kinds obtained 

 from the famous Loddiges. Returning to the *' History,'^ it may 



principal events" 



of plants — 

 fferent hot-houses 

 before 1864." It comprises about 700 species. Looking at the 

 long lists of names under Mesemhri/anthemum, Erica, etc., the 

 presence o,f unpublished garden names might be suspected; but a 

 careful collation of the 179 names of Mesemhryanthemum with 

 the '' Index Kewensis " led to the , discovery of no unauthenti- 

 eated ones. Alexander Smith's list is evidently a compilation of 

 great^ accuracy* Haworth figures almost exclusively as the 

 describer of the new species of the period of Mesemhryanthemum. 

 Unfortunately the only guide to many of his species is limited to 

 contemporary drawings in t}\o Kew collection. As late as 1860, 

 Kew still possessed a fine collection of these Mesembrvanthemums, 



comprising about sixty headings, and there is a list 

 *' Additions to the Printed Records grown in differen 



