44^ Sale of the Pine-apple Plants at the ChisXdcJc Gardens. 



plants, is in contemplation. The money is to be raised by shares, somewhat in 

 the manner of the Liverpool and Hull Botanic Gardens. Wandsworth Com- 

 mon is talked of as the site of the garden, and not less than 100 acres as its 

 extent. More will be made known by advertisement. In the mean time, we 

 most cordially wish the scheme success. It is not very creditable to the 

 botanists of the metropolis and its neighbourhood, that no one garden 

 exists nearer London than Edinburgh, which contains a complete collection 

 of British plants. — Cond. 



M. Edward Otto of Berlin is about to sail from Bremen for Cuba and 

 St. Domingo, at the e cpense of the king of Prussia, to collect plants for the 

 Royal Botanic Garden and Herbarium. From the West Indies he expects 

 to go to Mexico. It is known to be a general practice on the Continent, for 

 all young gardeners to travel, more or less, before they are finally established 

 in situations ; and, as ordinary gardeners travel through different parts of 

 Germany, so those destined to be curators or directors of botanic gardens 

 visit foreign countries, — Cond. 



SCOTLAND. 



C. G. Stuart Menteith, Esq., now Sir C. G. Stuart Menteith, Bart., of 

 Closeburn, had a splendid piece of plate presented to him by his friends and 

 admirers of the south of Scotland, on June 27. 1838. The same day on which 

 we received the Dumfries Times, containing an account of the speeches de- 

 livered on the occasion, we saw in the Moi-ning Chronicle that Mr. Menteith 

 had been created a baronet. Probably, no man ever merited better the 

 honours conferred on him, both by his countrymen, and by his sovereign. It is 

 necessary to have been in Dumfriesshire, to know how ardently Mr. Menteith 

 is beloved and admired by all ranks. In the words of one of the speakers, the 

 Rev. A. Bennet, " An individual more single-minded, more accessible, less in- 

 vested with the pomp of circumstance, more patriotic and public- spirited, is 

 not to be found throughout the length and breadth of the land." — Cond. 



Art. II. The Sale of the entire Collection of Pine-apple PlantSy 

 cultivated in the Horticultural Society's Garden. 



No act of the Horticultural Society has been viewed by us with more 

 regret than the dispersion of this collection, unequalled in the world. The 

 reason given is, that the varieties have been " completely examined," and 

 *' the result published, or reduced to a state fit for publication." Allowing 

 this to be the case, we think a few plants of each variety ought to have been 

 kept in the garden, for the purpose of reference from all parts of the 

 country, in order to assist in determining names, and for the instruction of 

 young gardeners. Among the varieties advertised for sale are, in the words 

 of the printed Catalogue " the celebrated Pitch Lake or Trinidad Pine," "the 

 rare Sierra Leone, the Buchanan, Elford, Downton, Havannah, and other 

 valuable varieties." Now, we would ask where are young gardeners to see 

 these varieties in future ? Or. if they are shown plants with these, or other 

 comparatively httle known names, how are they to know that the names are 

 correctly applied '? It may be said that the descriptions in the Transactions 

 may be referred to for this purpose, and the same remark will apply in the 

 case of every other fruit and culinary vegetable ; but we all know how fre- 

 quently descriptions fail in giving a correct idea of the thing described, more 

 especially to practical men. Our opinion of the duty of the Horticultural 

 Society is, that it ought not only to prove the different kinds of fruits and 

 culinary vegetables (introducing every new sort, and testing its value 

 relatively to the sorts in cultivation), l)ut that living specimens of all the 

 most valuable fruits and culinary vegetables ought to be kept in their garden, 

 as perpetual sources of reference. For this reason, we have seen with deep 

 regret the kitchen-garden department in a great measure given up; and. 



