148 MEMOIR OF DR. HARVEY. 



Herbarium. Of these latter my pickings fill two large deal 

 cases and one large hamper. The latter is filled with dried 



fruits. Last Sunday I spent with Dr. F r, at Banstead. The 



country is very pretty ; no village worth the name, only a few 

 scattered houses, an inn, and a church at some short distance 

 through the fields. Banstead lies on the chalk, which you know 

 is always hilly, with fine short grass * cropped by nibbling sheep.' 

 There are woods, and hedgerows, and scattered houses, an ex- 

 tensive prospect over flatter country, a common, and ' downs,' 

 and those downs are just now ornamented with thousands of 

 purple blossoms of Cnicus acaulis, a common English plant, 

 though not found in Ireland. It has no stem, but a bright 

 purple thistle blossom sits on the ground in the middle of a star 

 of leaves. I picked up specimens for drying. The Doctor and 

 I took a pleasant walk after morning- service to Chipstead, and 

 so on to AVoodmanstem, where we arrived in time for evening 

 song, or vespers I should say — a nice little church, Puseyite I 

 suppose it would be called, as it has a painted window and an 

 ornamented altar-cloth. ■ We are to spend next Sunday together 

 in town, and go to hear Mr. Maurice. 



" The only great man I have seen in London is Mr. Rogers, 

 the poet. He is feeble on his feet, and looks like a walking 

 corpse, but otherwise does not seem the worse for the wear. 

 We met him at the Chiswick Gardens, and Sir William had a 

 long chat with him, while I stood listening. The old man told 

 funny stories of this and that distinguished person. A lady, 

 that I afterwards heard was Queen Adelaide, drove past, but I 

 did not look at her. 



" Two plants of Fourcroya gigantea are now coming into 

 blossom at Kew. They look like the American agave lifted 

 on a trunk or stem. About three weeks ago both plants 

 started flower-stalks, which grew at first at the rate of two 

 feet, and now grow one foot per diem. The stalk at first was 

 as thick as a man's thigh, and looked like a giant head of 

 Asparagus. It is now twenty-seven feet high, and pushes out 

 into the open air through the roof of the greenhouse. It is still 

 growing, and may grow three or four feet farther. The side 

 branches are coming, and when in flower there will be a large 

 number of greenish-yellow blossoms. It is feared the plant 

 may die with the exertion of blossoming. Next week the 



