SIR WILLIAM HOOKER, 1841 TO 1850 39 
Near the summit of the tower a reservoir for water was con- 
structed. This was originally intended to afford sufficient pressure 
for the tallest palms to be watered overhead. The 
supply of water to the Palm House was subsequently 
p ’ incorporated in the elaborate system which now supplies 
the whole of the buildings, plant-houses and grounds. The reservoir 
on the tower is, however, still used as a reserve during repairs, etc. 
This handsome tower, built on the lines of an Italian campanile, is 
107 feet high, and is one of the most pleasing architectural features 
of Kew. 
When once the site of the Palm House had been settled upon 
and its erection commenced, Nesfield was free to develop his plans 
for the treatment of the main walks and avenues in the 
^csfidd’s • • • 
. grounds. He made this house the pivot of his design, 
and the leading features of his plan remain unaltered. 
They consist of (1) the gravel walk, 25 feet wide, which commences 
at the Main Entrance, extends 200 yards in the direction of No. III. 
Museum, and, after taking a turn almost at right angles about that 
building, continues in a straight line for 500 yards up to the Pond ; 
and (2) the three wide vistas which radiate from the western 
entrance of the Palm House. It was some years before the latter 
portion of his plans was carried out. The Sion Vista, for instance, 
was not opened up until 1851. 
In the ’forties great expectations were entertained of the place 
the deodar was to occupy in gardens. A row of trees was planted 
Deodars on eac ^ s ^ e Broad Walk, and the Pagoda and Sion 
vistas were afterwards treated in the same way. Un- 
fortunately, the hopes that were held in regard to this tree were not 
fulfilled. Neither the soil nor the climate of Kew suits it. The 
best and healthiest specimens still remain, but they amount to less 
than a tithe of the trees originally planted. 
At the time the Palm House was being built, the Pond on the 
north-east of it was merely a shapeless piece of water. A part of 
The Pond ^ orma ^ design f° r the treatment of the environs 
of the Palm House was to deepen and enlarge this pool, 
and to bring it to its present form. About half the Pond is bounded 
by sloping banks ; the rest is enclosed by a stone wall ornamented 
with flower-vases. The wall and the steps leading down to the water 
were built in 1847. 
