70 HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TREES. PART I. 



himself and family; else of necessity it must have fallen a prey 

 to the booksellers/' Date 1731. 



Mr. John Ellis was remarkable for his exertions in devising 

 plans for importing acorns and other nuts and seeds of 

 American trees, which through his means were thus brought 

 over in large quantities. He was a contemporary of Collinson, 

 and, like him, was early in life engaged in merchandise; but 

 he afterwards became agent for West Florida in 1764, and for 

 Dominica in 1770. He had a very extensive correspondence, 

 and was the means of introducing many articles of natural 

 history, besides trees and shrubs. He was the author of 

 The Natural History of Corallhies, The Natural History of 

 Zoophytes, &c, and established the genera HaleszV?, Gordon/a, 

 Gardens, and others. As a proof of the amiable feeling that 

 subsisted at that time between English and French naturalists, 

 maybe mentioned, that, during the war, Duhamel, who was then 

 (1757) at the head of the French marine establishment, promised 

 to Ellis and Collinson to return whatever plants were taken by 

 the French. John Ellis died in 1776, aged 66. 



Alexander Garden, M.D.,„was a Scotch physician, settled at 

 Charlestown, in South Carolina, where he married in 1755, and 

 died in 1791, in his 52d year. He sent home a number of 

 American trees and shrubs, including the Ptelea, the fringe 

 tree, several species of Magnolz'tf, Zamia integrifolia, &c. Lin- 

 naeus intended the loblolly bay, called Lasianthus (now Gor- 

 don/a Lasianthus), to be named after him, which honour Dr. 

 Garden solicited ; but, unfortunately, his letter arrived too late by 

 a month, Mr. Ellis having, in the meantime, named it Gordbnia. 

 Another genus, the Garden^, commemorates the name of this 

 ardent naturalist. 



Subsequently to the year ] 730, foreign trees and shrubs appear 

 to have been planted in various country seats, and more espe- 

 cially in those laid out in the modern style. Among the earliest 

 of these are included Stowe, and part of the scenery at Blenheim. 

 At the former are some fine old cypresses, cedars, and acacias, 

 planted in Brown's time; and in the latter were, till lately, the 

 oldest deciduous cypresses and Lombardy poplars in England. 

 We believe the very first place in which the Dutch style was 

 made to give way to the English manner was Corby Castle, in 

 Cumberland, which began to display the new taste so early as 

 1706 {Warner) ; but it does not appear that many foreign trees 

 were planted. 



Pains Hill was planted by the Honourable Charles Hamilton, 

 six+h son of the Earl of Abercorn, about the same time that 

 WoUirn Farm was laid out, viz. 1735. Mr. Hamilton not only 

 indulged the public with a sight of his improvements at Pains 

 Hill; bin allowed strangers the use of low chairs, drawn by 



