Deceinl)er 9, 191 i it>i 



of his early life. When a young man, he applied himself to 

 tjardeninj;^, and obtained a situation as gardener to Mr. Stephen 

 Davy, of Redruth, whose horticultural estahlishment appears to 

 have been on a modest scale, but which, under Lobb's manage- 

 ment, became thoroughly efficient. After remaining in the ser- 

 vice of Mr. Davy a few years, Lobb entered the nursery of Mr. 

 X'eitch, at Plxeter, for the purpose of improving his knowledge 

 of plants. For a long time previous he had cherished an ardent 

 desire for travel and adventure; he was quick of observation, 

 ready in resources, and practical in their application; he had 

 also devoted much of his leisure time to the study of botany, in 

 which he had acquired considerable proficiency. Mr. Veitch, 

 finding hiin thus qualified, proposed that he should go on a mis- 

 sion to South America for the purpose of collecting plants in 

 that rich quarter of the globe, an offer which Lobb gladly ac- 

 cepted. He sailed from Plymouth in 1840 for Rio Janeiro. On 

 his arrival in Brazil he first proceeded to the Orgaos mountains, 

 where he met with several beautiful Orchids at that time ex- 

 tremely rare in English gardens; he then proceeded to Chile by 

 crossing the great Pampas of the Argentine Republic and the 

 Chilean Andes. Continuing his journey southwards he pene- 

 trated the great .\raucaria forests, where he collected a large 

 quantity of seeds of Araucaria iinbricata; he was thus instru- 

 mental in bringing this remarkable conifer into general u>e for 

 ornamental planting. He returned to England in 1844, renewed 

 his engagement with '\\x. Veitcli, and sailed again for Brazil in 

 Ai)ril of the following year. After sending home from Rio Ja- 

 neiro a consignment of plants which he had collected in south- 

 ern Brazil, he proceeded to Valparaiso, for the purpose of ex- 

 ploring southern Chile, at that time but little known to Euro- 

 peans, except along the coast. 



"Here a rich harvest awaited him. Among his earliest 

 successful introductions from this region were Lapageria rosea, 

 Escallonia macrantha, Embothriicm coccineum, Philesia biixifolia 

 and Desfontainca spinosa. Following up these brilliant achie- 

 vements, he continued his explorations in Valdivia, Chile, and 

 northern Patagonia, where he collected seeds and plants of 



