Vlll 
PREFACE 
courtiers, statesmen, scientific men, and landscape gardeners have, 
each in their turn, helped to extend and to beautify them. The 
Kew Gardens of to-day represent the work of many minds. 
My thanks are due to Lieut. -Colonel Prain, the director, for grant- 
ing me exceptional facilities to study the rich collection of books in 
the library at Kew bearing. on matters with which these pages deal, 
and for allowing me to consult the archives of the establishment. 
The earlier history of Kew Gardens is largely based on the “ Historical 
Account of Kew to 1841,” contributed by Sir W. Thiselt on-Dyer to 
the Kew Bulletin for 1891. I have also to express my thanks for 
help given by several of my colleagues at Kew, especially Mr. S. A. 
Skan, Mr. J. Aikman, and Mr. W. Irving. The two plans which 
appear in the body of the work — one illustrating the successive 
enlargements of Kew since 1760, the other representing it as it is 
to-day — have been carefully made by Miss E. Goldring. I am 
sensible that the book owes much of whatever attractiveness it 
may possess to the reproductions in colour of Mr. H. A. Olivier’s 
beautiful pictures, and to the half-tone engravings after the ad- 
mirable photographs by Mr. Edward J. Wallis. 
W. J. B. 
Kew , 1908. 
