74 THE APOTHECARIES' GARDEN 



added the inevitable constituents of a London 

 rockery broken bricks. 



There they are to-day lava from Hecla, 

 stones from the Tower, flints from the Chalk, 

 round the basin in the middle of the Garden 

 and on the bank of the pond. Someone it 

 may have been Sir Joseph Banks contributed 

 two pieces of brain-stone coral, over which the 

 rock plants are not allowed to climb. 



Stanesby Alchorne, who had rescued the 

 stones of the Tower, succeeded William 

 Hudson as demonstrator of plants. Alchorne 

 gave his services without salary, presented 

 many new trees, exchanged exotic plants with 

 the Princess Dowager at Kew, and the Duke of 

 Northumberland at Sion House, and received 

 from Sir Joseph Banks, and from Dr. Solander 

 (who accompanied Banks to Botany Bay), a 

 bag of valuable seeds for the Garden. 



William Forsyth was now the gardener. He 

 had learnt gardening from Miller, and did 

 justice to his teacher. During his time (in 

 1774), although a dam was hastily made at the 

 gate, the Garden was flooded by high tides to 

 the depth of fifteen inches. After thirteen 

 years of useful work at the Physic Garden, 

 Forsyth became superintendent of the King's 

 Garden at Kensington. The bushes in Ken- 

 sington Gardens covered with small, bright 

 yellow flowers, which cheer Londoners during 

 the dreary days of March, are called after him 

 Forsythia. Alchorne added to his services by 

 bringing in as his successor William Curtis 

 (an Apothecary in Gracechurch Street), a 

 name well known to entomologists and botanists. 



