MAY 1, 1847. 



169 



cost of which was agreed to be shared between the Society and 

 Mr. Hartley. These delays prevented its being finished till very 

 lately, and the Garden Committee have not yet thought it ad- 

 visable to recommend its being heated. 



A portion of the wall which cuts off the hothouses from the 

 view of visitors proceeding into the Garden along the main 

 walk has been removed, so that the latter now leads by a slight 

 bend directly to .the front of the hothouses ; and thus in some 

 degree is cured one of the great defects in the original design of 

 the Garden. A further outlay, in extending the hothouses east- 

 ward, has been suggested by this change; but the subject has 

 not at present been brought distinctly under consideration. 



A collection of the finest new Roses, not previously in the 

 Garden, has been purchased ; and the renewal of the soil of the 

 great Peach-border, commenced in 1845, has been completed. 



Shortly after Mr. Fortune's return to his duties, the Curator- 

 ship of the Apothecaries' Garden at Chelsea became vacant ; and 

 he having been appointed to it, with the approbation of the 

 Garden Committee, a vacancy was thus caused among the Super- 

 intendents in the Society's Garden. The Garden Committee 

 thought it desirable to take advantage of this opportunity to 

 consolidate the Hothouse and Hardy Department by appointing 

 Mr. Gordon to the charge of both ; and the experience which 

 has since been gained as to the practical working of this measure 

 has satisfied the Committee of its being highly advantageous, 

 not only as effecting considerable diminution in the cost of the 

 Garden, but as rendering the machinery of the establishment 

 more perfect. That Mr. Gordon understands the cultivation of 

 stove and greenhouse as well as of hardy plants, is abundantly 

 shown by the admirable condition of the whole of the great col- 

 lection now under his charge. 



The Fruit Department has always been regarded by the public 

 as one of the most valuable portions of the Garden. With a 

 view to increase its efficiency, the Garden Committee thought it 

 advisable to send Mr. Thompson, its Superintendent, to Paris, to 

 inspect the best examples of French winter pruning, aud to 

 collect such information as the very important but generally un- 

 attractive season of early spring would furnish. Mr. Thompson 

 reached Rouen on the 1st of March, and remained at Paris for 

 nearly three weeks, in which time he was able to examine all the 

 principal horticultural establishments as far as Fontainebleau. 

 In this service he was greatly aided by the assistance of Mr. 

 Francis Rauch, a German gentleman residing in Paris, and 

 familiar with all that relates to its gardens ; and the Council 

 desire to take this opportunity of publicly expressing their thanks 

 to Mr. Rauch for the invaluable aid he gratuitously rendered the 



