75 
GLIMPSES OF SOME BRITISH BOTANICAL 
GARDENS AND THEIR CONSERVATORIES. 
By W. R. Guitrorte, F.L.S., Direcror Mrtzourne 
Botanic Garprns.* 
(11th August, 1893.) 
Having been granted a holiday by the Government some three 
years ago for the purpose of visiting Europe, I made the best use 
of the opportunities thus afforded me of seeing the principal gardens 
and parks, public and private, of Italy, Switzerland, Germany, 
France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. 
During my travels I saw so much in the way of gardening and 
horticulture that was really interesting and useful to me that I 
devoted my time almost entirely to wandering from one garden 
or park to another, until I had fairly exhausted my holiday. 
It may truly be said that Britain itself is a garden from one 
end to the other, so beautiful in the simplicity of nature and so 
frequent, so extensive and so well cared for, are the private 
parks, gardens, and ornamental grounds of the wealthy classes, 
and so liberally are the places of public resort and recreation 
endowed. In dealing with the subject “Some British Botanical 
Gardens and their Conservatories,” I have endeavoured to 
describe, as concisely as possible, the principal points of interest 
in five of the most instructive of these scientific institutions, 
referring also to some of the rare and beautiful plants’ they 
contain. 
I had the advantage of seeing the Royal Botanic Gardens of 
Kew under favorable circumstances, and, although to them must 
fairly be conceded the pride of place, as being the finest in exist- 
ence as scientific gardens, I cannot agree that they possess any 
strikingly picturesque natural features or that they contain many 
examples of high-class landscape art, in fact, they were never 
intended as such; they are what might be termed a botanical 
map of the world. 
* The lecture was illustrated by coloured drawings (life size) of the 
following plants :—Nelumbium speciosum (lotus lily), Nepenthes (pitcher 
plant), Sarracenia (side-saddle plant), Anthurium (flamingo flower), Brownea 
macrophylla, Musa coccinea (scarlet banana), Rafflesia Arnoldi (root flower), 
and Raoulia eximia (New Zealand vegetable sheep). 
