14 



Death of J. C Loudon. 



Vol. IX. 



singular coincidence in many points of their 

 liistory. The two sisters were, in botli 

 cases, left widows at an early age, with 

 large families, which were brought up by 

 the exertions of the eldest sons ; and both 

 mothers had the happiness of seeing their 

 eldest sons become celebrated. Mr. Loudon 

 was brought up as a landscape gardener, 

 and began to practice in 1803, when he 

 came to England, with numerous letters of 

 introduction to some of the first landed pro- 

 prietors in the kingdom. He afterwards 

 took a large fai m in Oxfordshire, where he 

 resided in '1809. In the years 1813-14-L5, 

 he made the tour of Northern Europe, tra- 

 versing Sweden, Russia, Poland and Aus- 

 tria; in 1819, he travelled through Italy; 

 and in 1828, through France and Germany. 

 Mr. Loudon's career as an author, began 

 in 1803, when he was only twenty years 

 old, and continued with very little interrup- 

 tion during the space of forty years, being 

 only concluded by his death. The first 

 works he published were the following: — 

 Observations on Laying onl Public Squares, 

 in 1803, and on I'lanlalions, in 1804; a 

 Treatise on Hot-houses, in 1805, and on 

 Country Residences, in 1806, both quarto; 

 Hints on the Formation of Gardens, in 

 1812; and three works on Hot-houses, in 

 1817 and 1818. In 1822, appeared the first 

 edition of the Encyclopcedia of Gardening, 

 a work remarkable for the immense mass of 

 useful matter which it contained, and for 

 the then unusual circumstance of a greal 

 quantity of wood-cuts being mingled with 

 the text. This book obtained an extraordi- 

 nary sale, and fully established his fame as 

 an author. Soon after was published an 

 anonymous work, written either partly, or 

 entirely by Mr. Loudon, called the Green- 

 house Cofnpaniou ; and shortly afterwards, 

 Observations on Laying-cut Farms, in folio, 

 with his name. In 1824, a second edition 

 of the Encyclopedia of Gardening, was 

 published, with very great alterations and 

 improvements; and the following year ap- 

 peared the first edition of tlio Enryclopcsdia 

 of Agriculture. In 1826, the Gardeners'' 

 Magazine was commenced, being the first 

 periodical ever devoted exclusively to horti- 

 cultural subjects. The Magazine of Na- 

 tural History, also the first of its kind, was 

 begun in 1828. r»Ir. Loudon was now oc- 

 cupied' in the preparation of the Encyclopce- 

 dia of Plants, which was published early 

 in 1829, and was speedily followed by the 

 Hortus Britannicvs. In 1830, a second 

 and nearly rewritten edition of the Encyclo- 

 paedia of Agriculture was published, and 

 this was followed by an entirely rewritten 

 edition of the Encyclopaedia of Gardening, 



\\\ 1831 ; and the Encyclopaedia of Cottage, 

 Farm, and Villa Architecture, the first he 

 published on his own account, in 1832. 

 This last work was one of the most success- 

 ful, because it was one of the most useful 

 he ever wrote, and it is likely long to con- 

 tinue a standard book on the subjects of 

 which it treats. 



Mr. Loudon now began to prepare his 

 great and ruinous work, the Arboretum 

 Britannicum,* the anxieties attendant on 

 which were, undoubtedly, the primary cause 

 of that decay of constitution, which termi- 

 nated in his death. This work was not, 

 however, completed till 1838, and in the 

 mean time he began the Architectural Mag- 

 azine, the first periodical devoted exclusive- 

 ly to architecture. The labour he under- 

 went at this time was almost incredible. 

 He had four periodicals, viz : the Garden- 

 ers' Natural History, and Architectural 

 Magazines, and the Arboretum^ Britanni- 

 cum, which was published in monthly num- 

 bers, going on at the same time ; and to 

 produce these at the proper times, he lite- 

 rally worked night and day. Immediately 

 on the conclusion of the Aboretum Britan- 

 nicum, he began the Suburban Gardener, 

 which was also published in 1838, as was 

 the Hortus Lignosus Londinensis ; and in 

 1839, appeared his edition of ReptoH''s Land- 

 scape Gardening. In 1840, he accepted 

 the editorship of the Gardeners^ Gazette, 

 which he retained till November, 1841 ; and 

 in 1842, he published his Encyclopcedia of 

 Trees and Shrubs. In the same year he 

 completed his Suburban Horticulturist, and 

 finally, in 1843, he published his work on 

 Cemeteries, the last separate work ho ever 

 wrote. In this list, many minor productions 

 of Mr. Loudon's pen have necessnrily been 

 omitted ; but it may be mentioned that he 

 contributed to the Encyclopedia Britan- 

 nica and Brande\s Dictionary of Science; 

 and that he published numerous supplements 

 from time to time, to his various works. 



No man, perhaps, has ever written so 

 much under such adverse circumstances, as 

 Mr. Loudon. Many years ago, when he 

 came first to Englnnd, in 1803, he had a 

 severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism, 

 which disabled him for two years, and ended 

 in an anchylosed knee and a contracted left 

 arm. In the year 1820, whilst compiling 

 the F.ncyclopcsdia of Gardening, he had 

 another severe attack of rheumatism ; and 

 the following year, being recommended to 

 go to Hrighton, to get shampooed in Mahom- 

 med's Baths, his right arm was there broken 



* This work ^vas publislied on J. C. Loudon's own 

 account, at an expense of more than £10,000.— Ed. 



