SIR KOBERT SIBBALD. 29 



plants and medals,- both qualifications likely to 

 recommend him to their notice they engaged 

 him to superintend it ; arid in a very short time, 

 they had formed a collection of between eight and 

 nine hundred plants. 



The design meeting encouragement from several 

 physicians of the city, who entered into an annual 

 subscription to defray the expenses, they made 

 interest with the Town Council for a lease for 

 nineteen years of the garden belonging to the 

 Trinity Hospital. This, however, excited the jea- 

 lous} of the apothecaries, who foresaw that it might 

 lead to the establishment of a College of Physi- 

 cians, and they strongly opposed the attempt ; but 

 through Dr Balfour's " dexterity," this opposition 

 was overcome, and the lease granted to Mr James 

 Sutherland, Dr Balfour, Dr Sibbald, and others, 

 being appointed by the council visiters of the gar- 

 den. These gentlemen continued their exertions, 

 and were the means not only of obtaining the sub- 

 scriptions of many of the nobility towards the 

 expenses, but also of grants of money from the 

 Exchequer, the Lords of Session, and the Faculty 

 of Advocates, by which contributions they were 

 enabled to import plants and packets of seeds from 

 abroad ; and the medical students being encou- 

 raged to send specimens from all places they tra- 

 velled to, the garden soon increased to a respec- 

 table rank. 



These pleasing occupations were disturbed b> 



