82 KEW GARDENS 



might have been usurped by Kew, through this 

 King's favour. 



To the same favour was mainly due the 

 rise and progress of the Gardens, that have been 

 hitherto left too much in shade upon pages that 

 bear their name. Now that nothing but the 

 present " Palace " remains to block them out of 

 our view, it is time to trace their development 

 from a princely hobby into a national institution. 



