568 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



the ■wind had been verv hieh during the night, 

 and had blown the snow inrough the crevices 

 in the curtains. The morning, however, brought 

 the postillions with fresh horses, and the remain- 

 der of the joamey was passed 'without any dif- 

 ficTxlty.^'— p. 23. 



After his return from the Continent, he unfor- 

 tunately embarked in mercantile speculations, 

 and underwiting ships at Lloyd's, by which he 

 lost nearly the whole of the money he had accu- 

 mulated by his professional labors. About this 

 time his health began to be seriously impaired, 

 and he took a hoase at Bayswater. called the 

 Hermitage, w^ith alarse sarden annexed, which 

 continued to be his residence tiU his death. He 

 now seems to have devoted his time chiefly to 

 his pen. He projected his " Encyclopedia of 

 Gardening." and, in order to collect materials, 

 visited France and Italy, although his health was 

 at this time in a very precarious state. This well 

 known work appeared in le-22 : it had an ex- 

 traordinary sale, and fully established the lite- 

 rary fame of its author. In 1S2.7, the •' Ency- 

 clopedia of Agriculture " was written and pub- 

 lished. The preparation of these laborious works 

 in such rapid succession ^for a second edition 

 of the " Encyclopedia of Gardening," almost 

 wholly re-wT-itten, appeared in 1&24), speak 

 strongly to the indomitable energy of his mind ; 

 for hi- bodily health was at this time in a la- 

 mentable state. His right arm had been broken 

 a second time, and he suffered so severely from 

 the pain, that he found no ease but £rom-the use 

 of laudanum, to which he became at last so hab- 

 ituated, that he took a wine glaJitful every eisrht 

 h&un. After the amputation of hia arm, how- 

 ever, he speedily cured himself of this danger- 

 ous habit without experiencing any inconven- 

 ience. 



The " Gardeners Magazine," a work with 

 which his name is more particularly associated 

 in the minds of the practical gardeners of this 

 country, was established in 1826. This -was his 

 iavorite work, the organ through which he com- 

 municated his own thoughts and feelings to the 

 public. It met with a most favorable reception, 

 4.000 copies of the first number having been sold 

 in a few days, and it continued to enjoy a high 

 dearee of popularity till its close at the death of 

 the' conductor. Two years afterward he began 

 the •' Magazine of Natural History," the first 

 work of the kind, we believe, ever published in 

 this country. It also was favorably received, 

 and had a considerable sale. 



The writer of the memoir from which these 

 memoirs are extracted, describes the occasion 

 of her first introduction to Mr. Loudon. This 

 she must be permitted to do in her own words : 



"My fether died m 1824, and finding, on 

 the winding up of his affairs, that it would be 

 necessary for me to do something for my sup- 

 port, I had written a strange and wild novel 

 called '• The Mummy," in which I had laid the 

 scene in the twentv-second century, and at- 

 tempted to predict tfie state of unpro%-ement to 

 which this country might arrive. Mr. Loudon 

 chanced to see the review of this work in the 

 Literary Gazette, and as, among other things, 

 I had mentioned a steam-plo^^■, it attracted his 

 attention, and he procured the work from a cir- 

 culating library. He read iL and was so much 

 pleased with it, that he pablished, in the Gar- 

 deners Magazine for 1828, a notice of it under 

 the head of" Hints for Improvement;" and he 

 had from that rime a great desire to become ac- 

 quainted with tlie author, whom he supposed to 

 (1228; 



be a man. In February, 1930, Mr. London 

 chanced to mention this wish to a lady, a friend 

 of his, who happened to be acquainted with me, 

 and who inimed lately invited him to a party, 

 where she promised him he should have the 

 v\-ished-for introduction. It may be easily sup- 

 posed that he was surprised to find the author 

 of the work a woman ; but I believe from that 

 evening he formed an attachment to me. and, in 

 fact, we were married on the 14th of the follow- 

 ing September." — p. 35. 



But ourspacewill notpermit us to enter much 

 farther into details, nor even to indicate all the 

 works which he laid before the public. In 1832 

 he commenced his -'Encyclopedia of Cot- 

 tage, Farm and ViUa Architecture ' — one of 

 the most u.«efal of all his productions. In the 

 preparation of this work his -wife acted as his 

 sole amanuensis ; and for several months he and 

 she used to sit up the greater part of every 

 night, never having more than four hours' sleep, 

 and drinking strong coffee to keep themselves 

 awake. This work was published on the au- 

 thor's own account ; and the great success that 

 attended it tempted him to publish the " Arbor- 

 etum Britannicum " in the same manner. This 

 latter undertaking gradually expanded under 

 his hands, and it was his determination to make 

 it as perfect as possible that involved him in the 

 pecuniary difficulties vihich, to all appearance, 

 hastened his death. As all the drawings of trees 

 for the "Arboretum" were made from Nature, 

 he had seven artists constantiy employed, and 

 he was frequentiy in the open air with them 

 from his breakfast at seven in the morning, till 

 he came home to dinner at eight in the evening, 

 hav'ing remained the whole of that time without 

 taking any refreshment, and generally without 

 even sitting down. After dinner he resumed the 

 literary part of the work, and continued writing, 

 along with his wife as his amanuensis, till two 

 or three o'clock in the morning. He had three 

 other monthly works besides the " Arboretum " 

 going on at the same time. Daring this period 

 of extraordinary exertion. both of mind and body, 

 he was suffering under what was supposed to be a 

 liver complaint, and an enormous sweUins 

 his right knee. When the "Arboretum'' was 

 completed, he found that he owed ten thougand 

 pounds to the printer, stationer, and wood-en- 

 graver, who had been employed in the under- 

 taking. The work, along with " Cottaee Archi- 

 tecture," was placed in the hands of Messrs. 

 Longman &;Co., to hold for the creditors till the 

 debt should be paid by the sale. 



Subseqently to this period, Mr. Loudon visited 

 France and Scotland. WhUe in the latter coun- 

 try he was seized with a severe bilious fever. — 

 On his recovery he visited various places in the 

 southern division of the country, carefully exam- 

 ining the principal gardens, and making notes 

 of all he saw. On his return to England, tlie 

 first number of the " Encyclopedia of Trees and 

 Shrubs " made its appearance ; and, in 1843, his 

 work on " Cemeteries," on which he bestowed 

 much pains, and which was very expensive, ow- 

 ing to the number of engravings, Mr. Loudon 

 had an attack of inflammation in the lungs on 

 two different occasions. In 1843 his lunsr.s again 

 became diseased, and that so seriou.sly, that he 

 appears by the end of September in that year to 

 have lost hope of ultimate recoverj-. Even in 

 these circumstances he labored almost night and 

 day to finish the works he had on baud : and 

 that, too. notwithstanding the agitation attend- 

 ant on the numerous letters and consultations 



