976 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[June 7, 1873. 
274,250 persons visited the Gardens on Sundays, and 
278,999 on week-days. The greatest monthly attendance 
(106,236) was in May ; the greatest week-day attendance 
(37,795) was on Whit-Monday, May 20 ; the greatest 
Sunday attendance (18,791) was on August 18. On two 
occasions the daily attendance was only 7. The numbers 
of each class of visitors were much the same as in last 
year, except that there was a greater attendance of pro¬ 
fessional gardeners, an increase attributable chiefly to the 
greater facilities for naming the ferns and ornamental 
herbaceous plants. Increased interest has also been 
shown in the Arboretum as it progresses towards comple¬ 
tion, and especially in the collections of deciduous trees, 
the planting of which has in this country, during the last 
quarter of a century, been to a very great extent super¬ 
seded by that of conifers. 
The degree to which the displacement of deciduous 
trees and shrubs by conifers has extended in England is 
best illustrated by a comparison of both public and private 
parks planted during the last century and the beginning 
of this, with those more recently laid out, and an exa¬ 
mination of nurserymen’s catalogues gives the same 
result. 
Thus, in the Kew grounds, as at those of Sion House, 
Bicton, etc., very many kinds of South European, Western 
Asiatic, and American timber trees, besides numbers of 
shrubs, still survive, few or none of winch are now planted, 
or are to be had in English nurseries ; and even twenty- 
five years ago, when the Kew Arboretum was commenced, 
various American maples, oaks, poplars, limes, etc., were 
procured in England, for which resort must now be had 
to continental nurserymen or to America. 
The demand for deciduous trees and shrubs is rapidly 
reviving, and over and above the interest of this depart¬ 
ment to botanists, Dr. Hcoker states that he has every 
reason to believe that the named collection in the Kew 
-Arboretum will soon be as much frequented by planters 
and landscape gardeners as the Botanic Garden and 
plant-houses now are by amateurs and professional gar¬ 
deners. 
The interest taken by the principal nurserymen, both 
at home and abroad, in this, which w T as once an eminently 
national branch of gardening, is best evidenced by the 
liberality with which the most celebrated firms have for 
some years past presented to the Kew Arboretum many 
rare shrubs and trees ; amongst whom the foremost have 
been Messrs. Booth of Hamburgh, Van Volxem of 
Brussels, Veitch, Lucombe and Pince, Lee, Dickson and 
Turnbull, Paul of Waltham Cross, and Smith of Wor¬ 
cester. 
Botanic Gardens .—No change of importance has been 
introduced into this department. The demand for tro¬ 
pical economic plants from various Governmental esta¬ 
blishments increases so fast, that more accommodation for 
propagating them will soon be required. 
Named ornamental plants selected from the herbaceous 
grounds have been introduced along the shrubberies. The 
American garden at the back of the Palm House has 
been in great part renovated. A named collection of 
ivies has been placed along the Bose walk, the species 
being trained up tree stumps eight feet high, which alter¬ 
nate with the pillar-roses. 
< Large beds of mixed shrubs have been introduced oppo¬ 
site the Museum of Woods, and along both sides of the 
Pagoda vista, within the garden fence. 
A great improvement has been effected by the Works 
department in the painting of the plant-houses, both as 
regards the durability of the composition and the colours 
used. The introduction of a little blue on the girders of 
the long Sueculent House (200 ft. long), and the Temperate 
House in the pleasure grounds, has been much approved. 
The dark green glass with which the fern-houses have 
been glazed has answered well, and very numerous in¬ 
quiries have been made respecting its use in this establish¬ 
ment. Dr. Hooker has no reason to suppose that it has 
any specific effect whatever on the plants grown under it, 
beyond that, by partially intercepting the sun’s heat-rays, 
it prevents scorching of the plants and drying up of the 
houses, whence its use in doing away with the necessity 
for expensive shading during a great part of the year, and 
in days of alternate sun and cloud, is very manifest, as 
also in maintaining a more uniform temperature and 
humidity. The cultivation of ferns and orchids in houses 
large enough to accommodate a stream of several thousand 
visitors in the afternoons of summer and autumn must 
always be a difficult problem, owing to the inevitable 
draughts and consequent drought that attend their transit, 
and there is no question that green glass, under such cir¬ 
cumstances, is, whether in a horticultural or economic 
point of view, decidedly advantageous. In small lean-to 
fern-houses, built against a north wall (the best of all 
arrangements for growth), and in -which the doors are 
habitually kept closed, there is probably no advantage in 
using green glass. The Director is, however, inclined to 
think that certain insect pests are much less troublesome 
in houses thus glazed. 
The Arboretum .—Throughout the winter and spring 
months nearly the whole staff of the establishment has 
been employed in these grounds, in the formation of new 
walks, the rearrangement of the collections, and replant¬ 
ing. A new entrance has been made at the further 
extremity of the grounds for the accommodation of 
visitors arriving from Isleworth and Spring Grove by 
the Islewoi’th ferry (half a mile further up the river than 
the Brentford entrance), consisting of a drawbridge over 
the moat by the river. 
The acacias, robinias, gleditschias, etc., which were 
scattered over about five acres of ground, have been 
arranged in a broad avenue, 250 yards long, leading from 
the old Arch to the Pagoda, the trees of the Old World 
being planted on one side, and those of the New World 
on the other. 
The remaining Leguminosce, which occupy beds in this 
ground, are, owing to the excessive poverty of the soil, 
almost worn out. These will be in part renewed, and the 
rest be classified and replanted. The named collection of 
alders and -willows has been taken to the banks of the 
lake. The named collection of ashes has been planted 
along the Stafford walk (skirting the Botanic Garden 
from the Sion vista to the Cedar vista), and extends for 
250 yards : here also the European and American trees 
are planted on opposite sides of the path, to facilitate 
reference. 
The rose garden on the slope of the mound on which 
the King William Temple stands is completed, and filled 
with a collection of 500 of the best kinds, presented by 
Mr. William Paul, of Waltham Cross ; to whose liberality 
this establishment is indebted for various other gifts. 
A great deal remains to be done before the Arboretum 
is completed. The rearrangement of the collection of 
oaks will be begun forthwith, and will be followed by 
that of the beeches, chesnuts, hornbeams, ostryas, 
planes, etc., which will occupy a belt parallel to the Sion 
vista on the side opposite to the lake. 
The birches will be planted along the path leading 
from the Brentford ferry gate to the Botanic Garden, the 
elms by that running from the Brentford gate to the 
Sion vista, parallel to the river, and the poplars by the 
one leading from the Botanic Garden to the Hollow 
walk ; celtis, morus, and their allies will border the 
walk skirting the Botanic Garden on the south. The 
limes, etc., will be planted along the path leading from 
the Botanic Garden to the Douglas Spar mound. The 
magnolias will occupy the S.E. angle of the grounds near 
the unfinished garden of berberis, clematis, etc., in the 
gravel pit, to the north of the Douglas Spar mound. 
The Pinetum, which is by far the most important and 
extensive collection in the grounds, is now all but corn- 
completed. The genera abies, picea, and a few others, which 
had previously been planted along the new walk on the 
south side of the lake, and extended for 160 yards on both 
sides of the path, are now succeeded by the collection 
