158 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Sess. lxxvii. 



of the Bell Rock : " The f ounclation-stone of the Bell Rock 

 Lighthouse was laid on 10th July 1808, tJtree days before 

 my birth." His father and mother were not married, and 

 according to all accounts the mother had a hard struggle to 

 maintain him in his earlier years. Among other ways of 

 earning a living, she used to " hawk " crockery for sale, and 

 frequently she called upon her customers with her basket 

 of wares upon one arm and bearing her boy on the other. 

 Not much is known of her. It is reported that she was 

 somewhat ready with her tongue, and there are hints in 

 some of his father's verses which would seem to bear 

 this out. 



In any case, she was a good mother to her boy, and did 

 not spare herself for his upbringing, and he certainly had 

 a great regard and affection for her. In after years the 

 story was current that, out of consideration for her, he 

 declined an appointment at Kew Gardens, offered him by 

 his friend and helper in many ways, Sir William Jackson 

 Hooker, which would probably have given him a higher 

 place in the botanical world than a mere local plant 

 collector could ever hope to obtain. 



Ultimatety the mother was able to start a small shop for 

 the sale of her wares and the purchase of waste, and this 

 same shop in the Overgate was in time occupied by Gardiner 

 himself. 



The father of Gardiner (also William, so that for many 

 years the son's signature was William Gardiner, Jr.) was a 

 man of considerable ability. A weaver to trade, he sought 

 a change of occupation in the spring and summer months 

 by doing garden work. He must have been a wonderfully 

 well-read man for his time and station. He was a keen 

 botanist, and knew a good deal about natural science. At 

 the meetings of the " Gleaners of Nature " — a Societ}^ of 

 which his son was secretary — the " Transactions " (in MS.), 

 extending from 16th July 1828 to March 1830, show that 

 the elder Gardiner was ever ready to answer the " kittle " 

 questions proposed for solution — chiefly by his son. Among 

 these the following may be taken as samples : — " Why 

 does friction produce heat ? Why does extreme cold and 

 heat cause stupor and inclination to sleep ? Why does 

 the sun appear larger at his rising and setting than at 



