4-96 Obituary : — Mr. Francis Charmer. 



gardener (i. e. foreman) ; and at the time of his death, which happened on 

 tlie 15th of November 1828, when he was only in his 25th year, he had the 

 entire charge of our Arboretum and Experimental Glass Houses. His skill, 

 diligence, disposition, and manners, were all the best. He had the regard 

 and good will of all his companions, and the esteem and respect of his 

 superiors. Had he lived, he would not only have acquired credit as a 

 practical gardener and botanist, but would have made a figure by his 

 writings. He printed two papers in our Transactions; one on pendent 

 trellises, and the other on dahlias. He had another paper on dahlias 

 nearly ready; as well as a monograph on the genus Cyclamen. The British 

 roses had engaged his attention, and I shall probably have to publish some 

 new native species, distinguished by himself. Exclusive of all these, he had 

 collected observations on several of the ornamental genera, as Pxonia, 

 Fiich^a, Calceolaria, and Yucca.'" — This is high praise: it is praise from 

 the first authority on such subjects in the kingdom, and the spontaneous 

 testimony of an honourable mind to modest merit. It may be right to 

 explain that the Arboretum, in the Horticultural Society's garden at 

 Chiswick, is, perhaps, the richest or most varied in Europe, and requires in 

 the superintendent, among other qualifications, very acute botanical dis- 

 crimination ; that the charge of the experimental hot-houses of that estab- 

 lishment implies extensive trust and responsibility ; and that the genus 

 TJosa, which Mr. Smith was engaged in illustrating, is one of the most 

 obscure and difficult of our native genera. {Scotsman, Dec. 51.) [The 

 above appeared during our absence on the Continent, and we regret 

 extremely that though more than one correspondent have sent us copies of 

 the newspaper in addition to our own copy which we receive regularly, we 

 have hitherto, from press of matter, been prevented from giving it insertion. 

 Having frequently seen and conversed with Mr. Smith at the Horticultural 

 Society's garden, we can bear testimony to his great merit, and we sincerely 

 lament his loss. — Cond.] 



Art. X. Obituary. 



Died, on the 30th of May last, at his father's house near Thame, Ox- 

 fordshire, aged 24, Mr. Francis Channer, late gardener to Sir Thomas 

 Le Breton, chief magistrate in the Island of Jersey. 



Distinguished professional abilities, joined to a highly cultivated under- 

 standing, rendered this joung man, while living, an object of the greatest 

 promise and deepest interest. Characterised by virtues and a superiority of 

 demeanour seldom to be found in the sphere he occupied, -he attracted the 

 regard and the respect of all who knew him. The attention shown him by 

 his distinguished employer during his illness, and the anxious efforts ex- 

 erted for his recovery, confer the highest honour upon the heart and dis- 

 position of that gentleman ; and, on the part of his afflicted servant, was felt 

 as a most gratifying proof of approbation. Finding his mortal career 

 inevitably about to terminate, this amiable young man expressed a wish to 

 return to his paternal home; where he awaited and eventually met the 

 stroke of fate, with the calmest feelings of resignation and fortitude; 

 feelings acquired by the habitual cultivation of a proper sense of religion, 

 and the possession of a conscience not oppressed with the gloomy memento 

 of moral turpitude or complicated wickedness. — W. Jersey, June, 1829. 



