EARL OF DUCIE, 1827-1921. 



The late Earl of Ducie, who died at his seat, Tortworth, Gloucestershire, was 

 born on June 25, 1827, and was the " father " of the House of Lords, which he 

 entered on the death of his father in 1853. He was also the "father" of the 

 Royal Society, to which he was elected in 1855, as well as the oldest Lord 

 Lieutenant in England, having been appointed by Palmerston in 1857. 



He was the eldest of ten brothers and four sisters, several of whom survive 

 him, but his only son, Lord Moreton, died in 1920, leaving no heir, so that he 

 is succeeded by his brother, the Honourable Berkeley Moreton, formerly 

 Colonial Secretary for Queensland, where he has resided for many years. 



Lord Ducie was a type of man more common perhaps in the early Victorian 

 era, to which he belonged, than at present, who received the honour of our 

 Fellowship rather on account of his position and his general interest in 

 Science, than for any special study or work that he had done. 



If, however, Arboriculture is a science, and a tree-planter has a claim to 

 be elected an F.R.S. in virtue of his lifelong devotion to a pursuit which has 

 beautified rural England beyond any other country, then I have no hesitation 

 in saying that he would, even as a simple country squire, have deserved it. 

 When he inherited the noble domain of Tortworth, 68 years ago, he found 

 nothing more to induce him to become a leader in Arboriculture than many 

 •others have found ; for his father, though an eminent agriculturist, had done 

 little or nothing to set him an example. Loudon had laid a good foundation 

 for more exact knowledge than our ancestors possessed of the great number 

 •of exotic trees which will thrive in this country, and the introduction by 

 Douglas and others of numerous North American conifers, had attracted many 

 -and created a fashion for planting a " Pinetum " in many parts of England. 

 Some of the most famous of these Pineta were made on soils or in climates 

 which later experience has proved to be unsuitable, and in consequence when 

 .the generation which had planted them died out, they sometimes became 

 neglected and many of the species died. But the varied soils and situations 

 .at Tortworth, coupled with the favourable climate of the vale of Gloucester, 

 favoured Lord Ducie's early experiments so well, that he never rested in his 

 labours till he was past ninety, when his bodily and mental powers began to 

 fail. But his pleasure and interest in watching the growth of his trees never 

 diminished, and he set an example to all planters by the care which he gave 

 to his trees for many years ; with the result that at Kew alone can a collec- 

 tion be found, so well grown, well pruned, and generally well cared for as at 

 Tortworth. 



When I first began to collect material for a more up-to-date work on the 

 trees of Great Britain, he encouraged and assisted me to a greater extent than 

 any other man, and was never so pleased as when he could show me in one or 

 other remote corner of the park or plantations, some rare American oak, 



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