VARIOUS ADVENTURERS 145 



Menzies did not lose his taste for nautical life. He 

 presently served again in the Navy as Surgeon, and visited 

 the West Indies. Afterward he settled in London, pur- 

 suing the practice of his profession ; and died at an 

 advanced age in 1842. His Herbarium is in the Edin- 

 burgh Botanic Garden. His Journal was not published 

 in full. The MS. was among those dispersed at the 

 Banks sale in 1886. 



Menzies is one of the names highly honoured at Kew. 

 He was the discoverer of Sequoia sempervirens, of Cali- 

 fornia. His name is immortalized in Menziesia ferruginea, 

 a plant of North America allied to the Ericacece. The 

 introduction of Araucaria imbricata was due to Menzies. 

 The story goes that he was at a dinner given by the Vice- 

 roy of Chile to Captain Vancouver and his officers, where 

 part of the dessert consisted of nuts which Menzies had 

 never before seen. Instead of eating all his share, he took 

 some with him on board, and having obtained a box of 

 earth, planted them. They sprouted, and he succeeded in 

 bringing five plants to England, which were safely re- 

 ceived at Kew. One was planted in the Arboretum ; and 

 another given to Sir Joseph Banks for his garden at 

 Spring Grove. 1 



Among the philanthropic schemes of the period was 

 an Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Inland 

 Districts of Africa. The first committee of the Associa- 

 tion consisted of Lord Rawdon, Bishop Watson of Llan- 

 daff, Andrew Stuart, Henry Beaufoy, and Sir Joseph 

 Banks. There were ninety-five subscribers (at five 

 guineas) ; but Beaufoy and Banks appear to have given 

 liberal aid, in addition to unflagging personal attention 

 to the carrying out of their plans. The hopes with which 

 they started were not all fulfilled, nor were the actual 

 results achieved anything like commensurate with the 

 expenses incurred in treasure and in human life. Yet 



1 John Smith : Hist. Records of Kew Gardens, p. 287. 

 L 



