THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 221 
the efforts of the mere closet student, there can be no doubt that these 
meetings were of the greatest service in promulgating and elucidating the 
natural sciences. 
What Sir Joseph Banks’s meetings were in his day, Mr. Lambert’s are 
at the present time; and every Saturday during the London season, his 
reception-rooms are crowded with persons eminent for their learning or 
talents, not only Englishmen, but foreigners. Mr. Lambert is well known 
by his splendid work on the pine and fir tribe; and he probably possesses 
the finest library of botanical works in England. He has also a magnifi¬ 
cent herbarium, containing, among other rarities, the botanical specimens 
collected by Ruiz and Pavon for the Flora Peruviana; the dried plants of 
Pursh, used for his North American Sylva; the dried specimens of Pallas, 
and those of many other celebrated botanists. Besides these collections, 
which possess a high degree of historical interest in addition to their in¬ 
trinsic value, Mr. Lambert’s herbarium is continually being increased 
by additions from every part of the world. Some time since he received 
a splendid collection of the Banksias and Proteas, those extraordinary 
plants of Australia, the novelty and magnificent appearance of which pro¬ 
cured for the coast where they were first seen the name of Botany Bay. 
From the tropical regions of the western hemisphere Mr. Lambert has 
some extraordinary specimens of Cactus, particularly two of the muffs or 
crowns of the Old-Man Cactus (Cereus senilis ), which are probably the 
only specimens of the kind in Europe. 
Among the numerous other objects of interest in Mr. Lambert’s posses¬ 
sion, is a table of the Deodar, or Indian Cedar (Cedrus Deodor a); the 
grain of which is fine and close, and thus, very different from that of the 
Cedar of Lebanon, the wood of which is inferior to common deal. There 
are many fine models of celebrated temples, and an enormous specimen of 
white coral. 
The most extraordinary specimens of Mr. Lambert’s collection of bota¬ 
nical rarities are, however, contained in what he calls his New Zealand 
room; but this demands a separate notice. 
It is impossible for any person to be more kind and liberal than Mr. 
Lambert is, with all this power to oblige; for his books and his herbarium 
are always open to the use of all literary persons. 
