328 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



May 18, 1912. 



nursery has for some time past been 

 closed ; and a number of fine orchards, 

 which abutted on the Common, have 

 disappeared. 



Other King's Road nurseries which have 

 ceased to exist, but had a reputation in 

 their day, were those of Markham & 



the Royal Society with their names or re- 

 puted names attached, until the number of 

 2,000 had been reached. Those of each 

 year had to be specifically different from 

 those of former years. No other build- 

 ings were to be erected, except such as 

 should be needed for the work of the 



Green, on the site of Markham Square, Physic Garden. 



Among famous men who have held posi- 

 tions in the Garden, we may mention Dr. 

 Lindley, the first editor of the Gardeners 9 

 Chronicle. This celebrated scientist held 

 the post of Hortus Prefectus for over 30 

 years. Another name which readily occurs 

 to the mind is that of Nathaniel Ward, the 

 talented inventor of the " Wardian " 



In the case of the non-fulfilment of any case, which has proved so successful in 

 of the conditions of the deed, the garden enabling living plants to be safely trans- 



and Mrs. Moore's, immediately opposite 

 the end of the Royal Avenue. The house 

 then occupied by the proprietress of this was to be held by the heirs of Sir Hans ported over long distances. 



nursery is still in existence. 



Sloane in trust for the Royal Society ; or, 



Shaylor's nursery, 

 existed in Oakley Street, is said to have 

 been the place where the first Moss Rose 

 flowered in this country. 



which formerly failing this Society, for the Royal College 



Chelsea Physic Garden. 



The Chelsea Physic Garden has the dis- 

 tinction of being the second oldest of the 

 existing botanic gardens in England. The 

 first place is taken by Oxford, which 

 possesses records going about 40 years 

 further back. The Physic Garden at 



of Physicians^ on the same terms. 



The fame of the Physic Garden soon be- 

 came world-wide, and in 1682, during the 

 curatorship of Dr. Watts, the system of ex- 

 change of plants and seeds with foreign 

 gardens was instituted. Dr. Herman, of 

 the Leyden garden, was the first to visit 

 the Physic Garden with this object in 

 view, and Dr. Watts returned the visit in 

 due form. 



Phillip Miller succeeded Dr. Watts as 



A list of the curators of the Physic Gar- 

 den may be interesting, and we give it 

 b elow : — 



Philip Miller, 1722-1770. 

 William Forsyth, 1770-1784. 

 John Fairbairn, 1784-1814. 

 J. W. Anderson, 1814-1846. 

 Robert Fortune, 1846-1848. 

 Thomas Moore, 1848-1887. 

 William Hales, 1899 . 



Thomas Moore was for many years co- 



editor of the Gardeners' Chronich\ and 



was the author of numerous works on 



Chelsea was founded in 1670 by the Society c ™ to ^ ™ Ferns and other botanical and horticul- 



of Apothecaries, which had been granted 



a Royal Charter, and became an indepen- 

 dent corporate body in 1617. Their keen 

 interest in botany may be traced in the 

 fact of their having held an examination 

 in this subject as early in their corporate 

 history as 1619, for the benefit of their ap- 

 prentices. Thomas Johnson, the editor of 

 Gerard's famous Herbal, gives graphic 

 accounts of the early " herborisings " in- 

 stituted in 1633 by the Society. These were 

 well sustained, having been continued 

 until quite late into the 19th century. 



The Society must have possessed an 

 earlier garden at Westminster, as we read 

 of the plants having been transferred 

 thence to Chelsea. The lease of the Chel- 

 sea ground was taken from Lord Cheyne, 

 but in 1712, Dr. (afterwards Sir) Hans 



and ability over the fortunes of the gar- 

 den for 48 years (from 1722 to 1770). It 



tural subjects. From the death of Moore, 

 in 1887, until the transference of the Gar- 



was at this period that a writer re- den tQ the city p arochial foundation in 

 marked of the Chelsea Garden that it i 899? the position of curator was vacant. 



11 exhibited the treasures of both the 

 Indies/' Miller's Gardeners' Dictionary 

 is well known to all horticulturists ; it 

 went through eight editions, and was 

 translated into several languages. 



During Miller's long term of office, he 

 had many pupils, some of whom became 

 famous. Among others, we may men- 

 tion Aiton, who was ultimately sent to 

 Kew to take charge of the garden of 

 the Dowager Princess of Wales ; Sir 



Mr. William Hales has entirely re 

 modelled the gardens, and, with the aid 

 of the trustees, revived their old 

 glories, making them again a centre of 

 horticultural and botanical learning. As 

 we announced last week, Mr. Hales was 

 elected an Associate of the Linnean 

 Society only a fortnight ago. 



Much valuable information about Chel- 

 sea and its gardens may be found in 

 volume 5 of Old and New London, by 



Joseph Banks, whose mother -lived at the E Watford, and also in Memoirs of tfu 



Botanic Garden at Chelsea, by Field and 



old Tower House, close by the Garden ; 

 and Dr. Solander ; all of whom received 

 their early training at Miller's hands. The 



Semple. The Gardeners' Chronicle pub- 



an 



lished, February 3, 1900, p. 65, 

 article on the London Botanic Garden 



Sloane purchased from the Lord Cheyne year 1736 was a notable one in the history 



the whole of the Manor of Chelsea, within of the garden; it was distinguished by a w h7ch~ forme rly existed in Sloane Street, 

 which the garden lay. 



The Apothecaries' Society soon found 

 the Physic Garden a heavy drain on 

 their corporate funds, and in 1714 a de- 



visit to the garden from Linnaeus, the great which win be of uge tQ any whQ wish to 



Swedish botanist. 



In spite of the fame and success of the 

 garden, its support was always a severe 



investigate this subject. 



putation waited on Sir Hans Sloane, and strain upon the slender resources of the 



Apothecaries' Society. At length, in 

 1753, the year of Sir Hans Sloane' s death, 



discussed with him the financial position 

 of the garden. The result of this inter- 

 view is not clear, but in 1718 a further con- the Society felt itself compelled to apply 

 ference was held, and within a few weeks to the President and Council of the Royal 



afterwards Sloane intimated that he was 

 prepared to transfer the property to 



the Society on certain specified terms. 



The deed of transfer, dated 1722, states 



that the conveyance was made u to the end 



that the Garden may at all Times be used 



as a Physick Garden, and also for the 



better Encouraging and Enabling the 



Society, with a view to getting them to 

 take over the garden. This attempt, how- 

 ever, met with no success. 



The immediate difficulties were somehow 

 tided over, but in 1770 the pressure was 

 again acute, and from that date onwards 

 the Society had a continual struggle 

 against financial embarrassment. 



Society to support the Charge thereof for However, in 1898, a Royal Commission 



was appointed to report upon the suit- 



, Wisdom, 

 and Glory of God in the Works of His 

 Creation," and that their apprentices and 



HINTS ON EXHIBITING. 



(Concluded from p. 312.) 



The Naming of Exhibits. 

 The naming of exhibits is a most important 

 item in any horticultural exhibition. It is often, 

 however, done extremely carelessly, and I have 

 seen exhibitions in which the naming was a posi- 

 tive disgrace. There are two main faults which 

 are common in this respect — bad, indistinct writ- 

 ing, and incorrect spelling. The latter is a fre- 

 quent cause of mistakes in local papers; the 

 reporters are often entirely ignorant of Latin, an 

 take the spelling blindly from the label.^ Proper 

 names, too are often misspelt — I renn 



ability of the garden for carrying out the 

 wishes of its benefactor, the result of 



Rose " Jules Finger 



re 



ported 



others might learn to distinguish good and which was the appointment of the City 



useful plants from those which bore re- 

 semblance to them " and yet were hurt- 

 ful;" and many other such laudable pur- 

 poses. This deed, it may be noted, pro- 

 hibited the growing of herbs for conversion 

 into drugs for the Society's use. There 



other important clauses, among 



others, that the Society should pay £5 



per annum to Sir Hans Sloane and his 



heirs " for evermore " ; that 50 specimens 



of distinct dried nlants were to be nre- 



Parochial Charities as trustees of the gar- 

 den. Sufficient endowment was then pro- 

 vided to relieve the financial strain, and 

 many alterations and renovations were 

 entered upon, after which the garden took schedule of the 



were 



up once more its useful career, which has 

 since then been unbroken. Of the valu- 

 able work it has done, and the opportuni- 

 ties for research it has provided, many 

 students of botany have written and 

 spoken, and it is a matter for oongratula- 



" Jewel's Finger ! " 



Every name should be written in a clear, 

 medium-sized hand for individual small exhibit 

 and for cut flowers, picked fruits and vegetables, 

 and in a large, bold hand for specimen planu. 

 Of course, it is really much better to take ■ 

 trouble to have the names printed. ln . 



International Show there 



the subject oi 



sented to the President and Council of tion that it has been enabled to survive. 



is some excellent advice on - h'bitors 



naming, and it is to be hoped that exni 

 will not fail to avail themselves of it &*' 

 8, and example). The size, of course is too . < ^ 

 for a small exhibit— it is intended to sno ^ 

 maximum. A card of this size could eas ^ 

 cut into three for small exhibits— it is * 

 , and can be obtained at any station 



size 



