KEW TO-DAY 
65 
garden or park so near Charing Cross possesses in like degree. In 
no other such place can one rid one’s self so readily of the feeling that 
London is all round one. Kew has always tried to preserve as much as 
possible the amenities of the private garden — that is to say, the least 
possible restraint on the freedom of visitors is exercised. For this 
reason the rich people who ride down from town in motor-cars or 
carriages can, on any but the crowded days, wander over its lawns 
and examine its treasures without losing entirely that sense of rest- 
fulness and freedom which they prize in their own domains. 
For this reason, too, it appeals with peculiar force to those whose 
lot is cast in shop or office or factory. No one feels the delight of 
Kew more than the tired worker with scanty leisure, who 
Types of £ n( j s himself free for a summer afternoon, and comes here 
Visitors. 
with wife and child. Botany in itself interests him probably 
not more than Greek, yet he admires the trees and lawns, the flower 
groups and beds please him, the strange and unfamiliar types of 
flower and leaf in the glass-houses arrest his attention. Still, the 
time of true enjoyment 'comes when, having wandered off to some 
shady spot, he stretches himself on the soft turf, and for an hour or 
two does nothing more arduous than watch the smoke from his pipe, 
whilst his spouse, in an attitude of less abandon, keeps an eye on 
the youngsters. Even then it would not be right to assume that he 
and those who have given still less notice to individual plant and 
flower are indifferent to the peculiar charm of Kew. They may 
not express it in so many words, but they breathe the free air with 
a keener relish and their mood is happier because they have surround- 
ing them smooth, well-kept lawns, beds of rare flowers, an unrivalled 
variety of vegetable forms — in a word, that combination of beauty 
and order which gardening implies. 
Both amateur and professional gardeners visit Kew in large num- 
bers with a view to gaining a knowledge of the most suitable plants 
for their own gardens, to find out the names of those they already 
possess, and to become acquainted with the latest additions to cul- 
tivated plants. Every effort is made to acquire for Kew the best and 
newest things, whether they be introductions from foreign 
countries or the fruit of the plant-raiser’s skill at home. 
It is not always possible, under the many disadvantages 
that an unsuitable environment entails, to bring plants at Kew to 
the same perfection that is attained in gardens where the general 
Professional 
Visitors. 
K 
