394 . Miscellaneous. 
third meeting an introductory address was read by Dr. Sigmond. 
After stating the objects of the Society, and the necessity there is 
for a garden within reach of those lovers of the works of Nature 
who are found for a great part of the year congregated within this 
vast metropolis, but who have hitherto been denied so great and 
healthful a luxury, the Doctor entered upon a historical review of 
the gardens of antiquity; he referred to both sacred and profane 
history to show, that whenever Man was painted in a situation of 
pure felicity and of virtue he was placed in one of these delightful 
spots ; such were the gardens of Eden, of the Hesperides, of Adonis, 
of Alcinous. He then traced the history of gardens from Grecian 
and Roman authorities ; and showed that our Saxon ancestors were 
repositories of botanical knowledge; he referred to the reigns of 
Henry the First, Henry the Third, Richard the Second, and Eliza- 
beth, to show that the cultivation of flowers had always been car- 
ried on with singular avidity. The discovery of the New World, 
and the persecution which drove the Protestants from the Nether- 
lands, gave a great impetus to botanical research in England. 
Charles the First created the place of Royal Herbalist. Gardens 
have been established in various parts of England, at Oxford, in 
1632, at Chelsea, in 1673, &c.; but still a garden so near the 
metropolis as to serve as a school for the rising generation, and a 
source of recreation to all classes, has been long a desideratum. 
[It is surely much to be wished that this Society should meet with 
due encouragement, as the greatly increasing number of those stu- 
dents in the medical schools and the colleges now established in the 
metropolis, and others, of whose studies and recreations Botany forms 
a part, makes a well-stocked garden in the immediate vicinity ex- 
ceedingly desirable; and no spot could have been selected within 
the same distance so well adapted as the Inner Circle of the 
Regent’s Park, or likely to retain its salubrious air so long un- 
impaired by surrounding buildings. A plan of the Garden is an- 
nexed to our present Number. Its attraction as a scene of healthy 
and delightful relaxation may well be made tributary to the interests 
of science in behalf of a numerous class whose opportunities of pur- 
suing botanical studies at a greater distance from town must neces- 
sarily be much less frequent than a garden so readily accessible 
would afford.—R. T.] 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
A new species of the Australian genus ALcyonr.—It is thus cha- 
racterized : Alcyone rujicollaris ; plumage glossy green ; upper parts 
and sides blue; under parts rufous; chin of a lighter red; a semi- 
collar of rufous feathers on the nape of the neck. Wings short; 
third and fourth quills longest. Tail short. Bill black at the base, 
shaded to dark brown at the tip. Legs reddish-yellow. Claws of . 
all the toes longitudinally furrowed. Seven inches in length from 
the tip of the bill to the extremity of the tail. 
Habitat, mangrove trees, Port Essington. It is active, and so 
