lxxvi Sir William Jackson Hooker . 
The show concluded by one of the riggers offering to stand 
on the truck of the spar for the gratification of H.R.H. the 
Duchess of Cambridge, who was present on the occasion, 
but who declined the offer. It should be recorded that all 
expenses attending the transport of both spars from their 
native forest to Kew, together with their dressing and rigging, 
were borne by Mr. Stamp, and that this second spar is 
believed to be the finest in Europe. 
Museums . Referring to the storehouse for fruit in the 
old kitchen garden of Kew, alluded to at p. lvii as left stand- 
ing in 1846 when that piece of ground was added to the 
Botanic Gardens, it appeared to my father that it might be 
converted into a Museum of Economic Products of the vege- 
table kingdom, raw and manufactured, and for the exhibition 
of large fruits and other objects of varied interests, nowhere 
displayed to view. Of such objects he had a large collection, 
formed chiefly for the use of his class in Glasgow, and others 
were scattered about the offices of the Gardens, some of them 
being the property of Mr. Smith, the Curator. Procuring a few 
trestles and planks, he formed of them a long table in the 
central room of the building, arranged all these articles on 
it, ticketed them, and invited the Commissioners to come and 
see them. This they did (I happened to be present on the 
occasion), and listened to his eloquent discourse upon them, 
during which he showed how such a collection of vegetable 
products might, besides interesting and instructing the public, 
prove of great service to the scientific botanist, the physician, 
the merchant, the manufacturer, the chemist and druggist, 
the dyer, and to artisans of every description. All these 
might find in such a collection the raw material (and to a 
certain extent the manufactured article) employed in their 
several professions, trades, or arts, correctly named, together 
with their native country and some account of their history. 
The suggestion was adopted by the Commissioners, and, 
being approved by the Treasury, the room was fitted with 
glazed cases filled with objects and opened to the public 
in 1848, as the first Museum of Economic Botany ever formed. 
