52 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
New Plant 
houses. 
The 
Arboretum. 
by a separate furnace, to be demolished. In the new range, now 
known as the “ T Range ” on account of its shape, compartments 
were provided for tropical aquatics, orchids, economic 
plants, begonias and gesnerads, Cape heaths, and 
miscellaneous stove plants. To these houses, which 
still fulfil the same functions, a house for Nepenthes, or pitcher 
plants, was added in 1897. 
During the whole of Sir Joseph Hooker’s directorate the pro- 
gress and condition of the collection of hardy trees and shrubs were 
a matter of special concern to him. The present dis- 
position of the various natural orders and genera was 
mainly his arrangement, whilst the Pinetum, or col- 
lection of coniferous trees, was entirely his creation. This important 
feature of the Arboretum, which contains probably the most com- 
prehensive collection of conifers in existence, dates from 1871-2. The 
pleasant and interesting walk that leads through the southern section 
of it, from the Isleworth Gate to near the Pagoda, was made in 1873. 
One of the great improvements effected in the Arboretum (or 
Pleasure Grounds) was the formation of avenues. Both grassy walks 
and gravel paths were bordered by a formal alignment of trees, 
usually belonging to the same or allied genera. This arrangement is 
not only effective as a garden feature, but it also enables the trees to 
be examined and compared conveniently. The Thom Avenue was 
planted in 1868, as were also the quaint and striking avenues of Irish 
yews leading up to the Pagoda, and the two rows of deciduous trees 
on the Pagoda Vista. The Avenue of Atlas Cedars, now a popular 
route from the Sion Vista to the Pagoda, was made in 1871 ; in the 
following year was formed the Acacia Avenue, which runs through 
the collection of Leguminosse, and in 1874 the Holly Walk. The 
Sweet Chestnut Avenue, which runs parallel with the western end of 
the Sion Vista, was planted in 1880. 
All this, however, was only part of a great scheme for the re- 
organisation of the tree and shrub collections which was inaugurated 
T f llin anC ^ carr * ec * ou * by' Sir Joseph Hooker. The results of 
1 * much of the work done in this department in his 
father’s time had been disappointing. The poor soil 
of Kew and the arid conditions that very frequently 
prevail there during the summer months render the establishment 
of transplanted trees a task of great difficulty. The facilities for 
and the 
Public. 
