12 INTRODUCTION. 



garden in this country, which appears to 

 have been planted about the year 1640, 

 when Parkinson first published his work on 

 plants; as in a letter written to that author 

 by Thomas Clayton, his Majesty's professor 

 of physic at Oxford, to compliment him on 

 his " Herculean botanical labours" he says, 

 " Oxford and England are happy in the 

 formation of a specious illustrious physicke- 

 garden, compleatly beautifully walled and 

 gated, now in levelling, and planting, with 

 the charges and expences of thousands, by 

 the many ways Honourable Earl of Danby, 

 the furnishing and enriching whereof, and of 

 many a glorious Tempe, with all useful de- 

 lightfull plants, will be the better expedited 

 by your painfull, happy, satisfying worke." 



We may infer how little the art of garden- 

 ing was understood in this country at that 

 period, when we find the garden at Oxford 

 was put under the direction of a German, 

 who continued to hold that situation in the 

 time of Evelyn, as appears by his Diary : 

 " 24 Oct. 1664, I went to the Physic-garden 

 at Oxford, vvhere were two large locust-trees, 

 as many platana*, and some rare plants, under 



# We presume this was the Plantain tree, Musa. 



