Domestic Notices : — England. 463 



such importance, we have been so long -without 5 but we trust, that as this 

 pursuit is now in almost universal esteem, we too, ere long, shall have an 

 establishment of the kind. The lecture was extremely well attended, and 

 appeared to afford much gratification. (Suffolk Chronicle, March 23. 1833.) 

 [See p. 376.] 



The Primrose Hill Botanic Garden, noticed Vol. VIIT. p. 470., seems 

 to be making progress; a meeting of subscribers having been held at 

 Gray's Inn Coffee-house, July 18., at which a number of resolutions 

 passed. Plans and estimates have been made out by W. B. Clarke, Esq., 

 Architect, in order to give subscribers a general idea of what is intended. 

 We sincerely wish the scheme success ; but we must defer what we have 

 to say on the subject till our next Number. 



Provincial Botanical and Horticultural Gardens. — At a meeting of the 

 Bristol and Clifton Botanical and Horticultural Society, held at Bristol, 

 June 25., it is stated that proposals v.'ere circulated for establishing a new 

 society with a garden. The following paragraph on the subject is ex- 

 tracted from the Bristol Gazette: — " The principal novelty of the day 

 was the circulation of a prospectus for a new society, to be called the 

 Bath and West of England Botanical and Horticultural Society, to which 

 several members of the Linnsean Society and of the London and other 

 horticultural societies have offered their best assistance. The principal 

 outline of the terms proposed is, that a sum sufficient for the formation of 

 gardens, &c., shall be raised by shares of ten guineas each, and an annual 

 subscription of two guineas ; and that holders of two or more shares shall 

 receive from the gardens, under certain regulations, new plants, cuttings, 

 seeds, &c. The authors judiciously remark, that, as the expenses attendant 

 on the formation and subsequent permanency of the establishment must 

 necessarily be great, nothing but the most extensive cooperation of per- 

 sons of influence can authorise the attempt. We sincerely wish that this 

 effort may be successful. It is lamentable that Liverpool, Manchester, 

 Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c., should possess (and many of them 

 have long possessed) botanic gardens, and that the distinguished cities of 

 the West of England should be destitute of all similar establishments. Such 

 a one has often been talked of for our own city, but hitherto with as little 

 success as for Bath. We should rejoice to see a botanic garden flourishing 

 at each of these cities ; but as prudence often dictates to adopt that which 

 is most practicable instead of that which is most perfect, it well deserves 

 consideration whether the lovers of botany and horticulture in each place 

 ought not, in prudence, to unite their forces, and establish a botanic 

 garden at an intermediate point, equally accessible to the residents of each. 

 A favourable situation for such a garden presents itself at Bitton, where 

 there is an extremely rich soil of warm dry alluvial gravel, a favourable 

 southern aspect, a wai-m climate, and the important advantage that a gen- 

 tleman resides there who already possesses on the spot as rich and numer- 

 ous a collection of plants as, perhaps, any private individual can boast of, 

 whose zeal and activity in horticultural and botanical pursuits are inde- 

 fatigable, who has an extensive correspondence with foreign botanists, and 

 who probably could be induced, upon adequate terms, to impart not only 

 his numerous plants, but his invaluable aid and superintendence as the 

 curator of the intended garden. Under his care the successful progress 

 of the undertaking might be considered as secure. The choice of this 

 situation, which is nearly equidistant from Bristol and from Bath, for the 

 site of a garden, would doubtlessly induce many inhabitants of Bristol and 

 its immediate vicinity to be contributory to such a plan, who may other- 

 wise be restrained from it by the lingering hope that they may one day 

 more satisfactorily employ their funds in founding a botanic garden in their 

 own city. If, however, the predominance of subscribers resident in Bath 



