The Barberries 



Fitting indeed is this shrub as a remembrance of the 

 great scientist whose name it bears. A Chilian plant, 

 it was first brought to the notice of Englishmen by 

 Charles Darwin, who found it on his celebrated voyage 

 round the world on the Beagle, 1831-1836. But its 

 entrance into our gardens dates from a more recent 

 year, and is owed to a Cornishman, William Lobb, 

 who was one of Messrs. Veitch's most successful plant 

 collectors. Sent out by this firm in search of new 

 and rare flowers to the then almost unknown regions 

 of Chile, his first journey in 1840 had, as a prime 

 result, the introduction here of the well-known Arau- 

 caria, the " Monkey Puzzler " ; and his second journey, 

 five years later, gave, as chief treasure, the Darwinian 

 Barberry, which he found growing profusely in Chiloe, 

 an island off the south coast of Chile. " If Messrs. 

 Veitch had done nothing else towards beautifying our 

 gardens, the introduction to this single species would 

 be enough to earn the gratitude of the whole gar- 

 dening world, in England at any rate,"* was the 

 welcome given to the new shrub. 



The plant has proved thoroughly hardy here and 

 will grow in almost any garden soil. Its evergreen 

 leaves are about an inch in length, and are of curious, 

 often triangular shape, ending in a sharp, almost 

 prickly point, below which are a pair of shoulders, 



* Gardener's Chronicle. 

 29 



