12 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ July r, issi. 
in Yorkshire, Welders, near Chalfont St. Giles, in Buckingham¬ 
shire, and the Vauxhall Distillery (now Messrs. Burnett’s) in 
Surrey. Mr. G. W. Johnson’s father inherited the Vauxhall 
Distillery and the Buckinghamshire property with a share of the 
personal estate, while his uncle succeeded to Easby Abbey and a 
competency. Some changes in the excise laws by which the 
trade of the English distillers was injuriously affected induced 
Mr. Johnson to dispose of the distillery, and being a man of 
active mind and great ingenuity he embarked in various commer¬ 
cial speculations, of which the celebrated Colebrookdale China 
Works was one. After some years he retired from these, and 
eventually established the Salt Works at Heybridge in Essex. 
Here it was that his two sons, Cuthbert and George, found an oc¬ 
cupation suitable to their natural inclinations, for early in life 
both brothers evinced a strong predilection for the study of practical 
chemistry and the cultivation of the soil. The Salt Works 
enabled them to carry out those experiments in the application of 
salt as a manure, which culminated in a work by Mr. Cuthbert 
Johnson entitled “ The Uses of Salt in Agriculture.” One of 
their most important discoveries was a method for the separation 
of the sulphate of magnesia or Epsom salt from sea water, by 
which the price of the article was very much reduced. 
We have already stated that Mr. Johnson’s connection with the 
gardening press began in 1826, but before this he had written 
articles for the Essex Standard, published at Chelmsford. His 
first communication to “Loudon’s Magazine” was upon “The 
Employment of Salt as a Manure in Gardening.” In the same 
journal he began in 1827 a series of papers entitled “ Outlines of 
Horticultural Chemistry,” which extended over two volumes. 
His first independent work was “ A History of English Garden¬ 
ing, Chronological, Biographical, Literary, and Critical,” published 
in 1829. It contains a vast amount of information, and exhibits 
great patience and research on the part of the author. In ad¬ 
dition to the record of almost every work on gardening which 
has issued from the press in this country, together with their 
various editions, there is a short biographical sketch of the 
authors, rendering the book full of interest. Mr. Johnson tells an 
anecdote in connection with this work which affords him great 
amusement. Some years ago he called at the shop of Pamplin, 
a second-hand bookseller in Frith Street, Soho, and inquired for 
a particular edition of a certain work, which the bookseller told 
him never existed. “It is mentioned in Johnson’s ‘History of 
Gardening,’” said Mr. Johnson. “Ah,” said Pamplin, “ that is 
not a book of much authority.” “ I am aware,” said Mr. JohnsoD, 
“ that it has many faults, for I am the author of it 1 ” 
While still continuing his connection with the Salt Works Mr. 
Johnson devoted all his spare time to the pursuit of literature 
and the cultivation of science. At Great Totham where he re¬ 
sided he conducted experiments in gardening, and especially in 
the application of substances as manure. But the versatility of 
his mind led him to other pursuits, and he, after great research, 
wrote a “ History of Great Totham,” which was printed by Mr. 
Charles Clarke, at his private press in the village, in 1831. 
This work is now extremely scarce, and is eagerly sought after 
by collectors at prices the mention of which produces a smile on 
the author’s countenance. During his researches at the reading 
room at the British Museum while the “ History of Great Totham ” 
was in progress Mr. Johnson discovered that one Edward Good- 
shaft had left an estate for the benefit of the poor of the parishes 
of Great Totham and Little Braxled in Essex. This benefaction 
had for many years been diverted, and the parishes which were 
interested in it were ignorant of its existence. It was through Mr. 
Johnson discovering an extract from the will of Goodshaft that the 
property was restored. In 1835 he published a memoir of John 
Selden, which was dedicated to the late Earl of Derby when he 
was Lord Stanley. In 1839 the two brothers edited an edition of 
Palej’s works with very copious notes, the “Natural Theology” 
being undertaken by Mr. C. W. Johnson, and the “ Evidences of 
Christianity ” by Mr. G. W. Johnson, the latter of whom having for 
some time been reading for the bar, was called by the Society of 
Gray’s Inn in 1839, and then he proceeded to India at the time of 
Lord Auckland’s administration as Governor-General. He was 
appointed Professor of Moral and Political Economy in the 
Hindoo College at Calcutta, and besides being co-editor of the 
Englishman newspaper, he edited the Government Gazette for 
Lord Auckland. His residence in Calcutta did not extend beyond 
three years, and he returned to England in 1842, when he wrote 
“ The Stranger in India,” in two vols., which was published by 
Colburn in 1843. 
Before starting for India Mr. Johnson had been consulted by 
the churchwardens of Braintree in Essex on the question of a 
rate for the repair of the church which had fallen into disrepair. 
This became a question of great public importance, and it was 
on Mr. Johnson's advice that the churchwardens imposed the 
rate. The church was in a very dilapidated state, so much so 
as to be thoroughly unsafe. The churchwarden, a Mr. Velly, 
summoned a meeting of ratepayers of the parish to consider 
the state of the church, and to propose a special rate for its 
repair. The parish of Braintree consisted almost entirely of silk- 
weavers who had settled there years before. The majority of 
these were dissenters, consequently much averse to helping in 
anything to do with the church ; the question, therefore, when 
put at the meeting was only agreed to by a very small minority 
of the ratepayers, the majority refusing to pay a farthing in such 
a cause. Mr. Velly in despair went to Mr. Johnson to ask him 
what he thought could be done when the case was so urgent. 
“What shall you do?” said Mr. Johnson, “why, sir, if the case 
is as urgent as you say it is you ought first to consult an architect, 
obtain his opinion as to the state of the church, then call a meet¬ 
ing of ratepayers and inform them of his opinion. If the dissent¬ 
ing majority still hold out request the signatures of the church 
minority consenting to a rate for repairs, and on that minority 
proceed accordingly.” 
Mr. Velly acted on Mr. Johnson’s advice. He consulted two 
architects, who both pronounced the church unsafe and in need 
of repair; then he called a meeting of ratepayers as arranged, 
and on the majority refusing as usual to consent to a rate, he 
obtained the signatures of those who did agree, and with their co¬ 
operation the church was restored. 
The dissenters, indignant at the course taken by the church¬ 
warden, carried the question to a court of law, and the case was 
heard at Westminster in January, 1846, where it was argued by 
Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Q.C., Mr. T. Barnes, Q.C., and Mr. T. Arnold 
for the plaintiffs in prohibition ; and by Sir F. Thessiger, Mr. 
G. W. Johnson, and Mr. VV. Ogle for the defendants. Lord Den¬ 
man and the three other Judges of the Court of Queen’s Bench 
and the Court of Exchequer decided that the opinion given by 
Mr. Johnson was perfectly correct, and according to precedents 
dating as far back as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This decision 
was appealed against, and the adverse majority being led by 
Mr. Courtauld of Gosfield Hall, carried the case to the House 
of Lords, who decided that the adverse opinion must prevail if 
sustained by a majority of the parishioners. A few months ago we 
saw the following announcement in the Times —“ Mr. Samuel Cour¬ 
tauld of Gosfield Hall, Essex, died on Monday, in the eighty-eighth 
year of his age. Had the death of Mr. Courtauld happened some 
thirty or forty years ago a popular hero would have passed away ; 
but he had lived to be almost fojgotten, reposing, as he had done 
for nearly thirty years, on his laurels. It was he who, in the very 
first year of Her Majesty’s reign, raised in the Consistory Court the 
question as to the legality of a church-rate imposed by a minority 
of parishioners against the will of the majority. This was known 
as the 1 Braintree case,’ and its final decision on appeal by the 
House of Lords in 1853 practically gave the law of church-rates 
in every shape its ciwp de grace. Mr. Courtauld was the head of 
a large crape manufactory at Halstead. He was uncle of Mr. 
George Courtauld, M.P. for Maldon.” 
On his return from India Mr. Johnson settled at Winchester, 
and again turned his attention to gardening pursuits. His first 
success was the issue of “The Gardeners’ Almanack,” published 
by the Stationers’ Company, which continued without interrup¬ 
tion from 1844 to 1866. In 1845 was published “ The Principles 
of Practical Gardening,” the object of which is thus stated in 
the preface—“ For nearly twenty years the author of these pages 
has laboured to make the gardeners of England more generally 
aware than they are, even at present, of the principles on which 
their practices are or ought to be founded. The results of his 
early researches have from time to time been made public, and 
those together with more that are new he now offers to his 
readers in a collected and orderly form.” 
This work was subsequently. much enlarged and re-issued in 
1862 under the title of “The Science and Practice of Gardening.” 
“A Dictionary of Gardening” appeared in 1846 and met with a 
welcome reception. This was the forerunner of “ The Cottage 
Gardener’s Dictionary,” published in 1852. In 1847 Mr. John¬ 
son commenced a series of works called “ The Gardener’s Monthly 
Volume,” the first volume of which on the Potato was written by 
himself. Twelve volumes of this series appeared, each of which 
is devoted to some important subject connected with gardening, 
and written by the best authorities. 
Cn the death of his father-in-law, Mr. Newington Hughes, a 
banker at kiaidstone, Mr. Johnson succeeded to bis property, and 
thus the Fairfax MSS. came into his possession. These consisted 
of the whole of the correspondence of Ferdinando Lord Fairfax 
and his son Thomas, the great parliamentarian general during the 
period of the civil wars. .They were discovered in a chest which 
