JULY. 323 



bed has ever been made in the most advantageous form ; and 

 the proper application of glass, where artificial heat is not 

 employed, is certainly very ill understood." 



It was in March, 1804, in a room in the house of Mr. 

 Hatchard, the eminent bookseller in Piccadilly, that the soci- 

 ety was first organized. On that occasion there were present 

 Mr. Charles Greville, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Rich, Anthony 

 Salisbury, a distinguished botanist of the day, Messrs. W. T. 

 Aiton and W. Forsyth, two of them royal gardeners, and 

 Mr. James Dickson, an experienced practical gardener. When 

 organized, which occurred in a week's time, the list of mem- 

 bers included the names of all who in those days were most 

 distinguished for their knowledge of horticulture. The mere 

 institution of the society, therefore, conveyed a distinct de- 

 claration, by those best qualified to form an opinion, that the 

 state of gardening stood in very great need of improvement. 



In 1810, the first number of the "Horticultural Transac- 

 tions " made its appearance, a publication which ultimately 

 extended to ten quarto volumes, replete with horticultural 

 information, both theoretical and practical, of the highest 

 value, and from which writers on gardening subjects have 

 not failed to extract a large part of their knowledge. The 

 cost of publishing these deservedly celebrated volumes had 

 in 1830 amounted to 25,2501. ; and they were not finally 

 discontinued till the year 1848. 



In the year 1816, (March 5), the first by-laws were passed, 

 and by May, 1818, the prosperity of the society had so much 

 increased as to lead to the hire of an experimental garden at 

 Kensington. The elections rapidly increased, having risen 

 from seventy-three in 1818, to three hundred and twenty- 

 eight in 1821, the largest number ever added to the society 

 in one year. 



About this time the effects of that system of obtaining 

 valuable foreign plants from extra-European countries, by 

 which the society has conferred such inestimable benefits 

 upon these kingdoms, began to be felt. In the accounts of 

 1819-20, appears for the first time a charge of 108/. 18s. 9d., 

 under the head of foreign importations. Plants had begun ta 



