November 7.] THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 79 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
M 
D 
w 
D 
NOVEMBER 7—13, 1850, 
Weather near London in 1849. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef.Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
Barometer. Thermo. 
Wind. 
Rain in In. 
7 
Th 
Hooded Crow cornea. 
30.077—29.973) 57—40 
s.w. 
0.05 
6 a. 7 
22 a. 4 
6 57 
3 
16 
9 
311 
8 
F 
Birch stript. 
30.313—30.254| 59—52 
s.w. 
— 
8 
20 
7 44 
4 
16 
5 
312 
9 
S 
Pr. Wales e., 1841. Lord Mayor’s Day. 
30.330—30.253 60—44 
s.w. 
10 
18 
8 37 
5 
Iff 
0 
313 
10 
Son 
24 Sun. aft. Trin. Bunting’s song 
30.246—30.2011 59—32 
S.E. 
11 
17 
9 36 
6 
15 
55 
314 
11 
M 
St. Martin. [ceases. 
30.277—30.260 60—35 
S.W. 
— 
13 
15 
10 36 
31 
15 
48 
315 
12 
Tu 
Larch leaves fall. 
;30.168—30.012 55—35 
s.w. 
— 
15 
14 
11 40 
8 
15 
41 
316 
13 
W 
Britius. Wood-pigeons flock. 
29.896— 29.708 55—39 
s.w. 
0.18 
17 
12 
morn. 
9 
15 
33 
317 
There is a striking interest attached to the birth-place of the goodly 
great; not that one fancies for a moment that so much excellence must 
have been nestled in some luxuriant sunny nook of the earth, for all 
experience is against that, but because the imagination delights to picture 
the man as he was a boy in the scenes of his childhood, and to dwell upon 
! the things which ministered to give him his first knowledge in life. “ One 
naturally wishes,” says Dr. Lettsom, “ to be acquainted not only with the 
most interesting circumstances of his life and character, but even with 
those which may be trifling in themselves.” Now, it so happened to a 
young medical friend, that when sailing among that cluster of the West 
Indian Archipelago called the Virgin Islands, that the anchor was dropped 
near one known as the Little Vandyke. But one goodly residence in a 
declivity facing the sea, embosomed in tropical vegetation, and with its 
white frontage smiling through it, was to be seen; and he learned, to his 
surprise and pleasure, that he was looking upon the birth-place of the 
justly celebrated physician whose words we have just quoted. Under a 
tropical sun, on that little dot of land in the world of waters, did John 
Coakley Lettsom first see the light on the 22nd of November, 1744—a 
month of memorable events in his career; for it was that on which he 
married; on the 1st of November, 1815, he died ; and on the 7th, in the 
Friends’Burial Ground, Little Coleman-street, “earth to earth” closed 
his appearance in this world. If “ the old wife’s tale ” of the seventh son 
being born to strange fortunes were correct, surely young Lettsom might 
have been augured to a life of twofold wonders, for seven times did his 
mother bear twins, all boys, and of the seventh pair he was one. When 
about six years old he was sent to England to be educated, without any 
settled plan for his after-life, but which was determined by his provi¬ 
dentially landing at a port where Mr. Fothergill, a distinguished preacher 
among the Quakers, and brother of the celebrated physician of that name, 
happened to be visiting. By the adviee of that excellent man, who 
watched like a parent over his future life, he was placed under the tuition 
of Mr. Thompson, uncle to the physician of the same name, and who was 
then his assistant in the school. Between these embryo men of medicine 
a friendship, never interrupted, was then commenced. Young Lettsom 
continued here, and under the care of Mr. Fothergill, until he selected the 
latter as his guardian, in consequence of his father’s death. Mr. Fother¬ 
gill accepted the responsible office, and placed him, with a view to his 
future profession, with Dr. Sutcliff, of Settle, in Yorkshire. After the 
usual period of medical pupilage he proceeded to London, and selected 
St. Thomas’s Hospital as the medical school in which to complete his 
education. He was fond of poetry; had read “ The Pleasures of Imagin¬ 
ation ” with delight, and looked forward with no small expectation to the 
gratification of being under its author, then one of the physicians to the 
Institution. Such expectations were doomed to utter disappointment,— 
poets then as now are too often amiable only in their verses. He found 
Dr. Akenside the most supercilious and unfeeling physician that he had 
hitherto known. If the affrighted patients did not return a direct answer 
to his queries, he often discharged them from the hospital instantly. 
He,—yes, the author of such poetry,— evinced a particular disgust to 
females, and generally treated them with harshness ! Lettsom left this 
tutor, amiable only in “ imagination,” after a two years’ pupilage, and 
now commenced his practical illustration—an illustration uniform through¬ 
out life—of his favourite maxim, “ Beneficence is the source of true 
happiness, and the occasions of exercising it are innumerable.” He was 
obliged to return to his native island, to take possession of the estate 
which descended to him upon his brother’s decease. He found there but 
little except a number of negro slaves, and these he emancipated. “ I was 
now twenty-three years of age,” said Dr. Lettsom, “ and I found myself 
five hundred pounds worse than nothing.” He devoted himself to the 
medical profession in the Island of Tortola; and here so strenuous were 
his exertions, and so extensive his practice, that in a short time he was 
enabled to return to Europe, and after visiting the great medical schools 
of Paris and Edinburgh, finally took his degree of Doctor of Medicine at 
Leyden, in 1769 . In the same year he was admitted a Licentiate of our 
College of Physicians ; and settled in London under the auspices of Dr. 
Fothergill. His progress into practice was rapid, and it soon exceeded in 
emolument that of his admirable patron. In 1783 his fees received 
amounted to ^3600, and by the year 1800 they had increased to ^*12,000 ; 
whilst Dr. Fothergill’s professional income never amounted to half the 
latter sum. This was a noble reward to the poor planter of Tortola, who 
had emancipated his slaves though the act precipitated him into debt; a 
greater danger was that the fine linen and faring sumptuously might be 
his spiritual ruin, but he escaped this shipwreck also, and the increase of 
wealth only rendered him more zealous, because more powerful, in esta¬ 
blishing institutions for the relief of the poor, mitigating disease, and 
assuaging pain. Few persons, says one of his friends, had so much 
power, and none more inclination, to serve their sick and sorrowing 
fellow-creatures as Dr. Lettsom. He seemed always to consider it as 
amongst the foremost of his duties to assuage the mind as well as relieve 
the person of his patient; and although his daily practice made it neces¬ 
sary that he should set a just value on time, he never hurried away from 
the invalid who, he believed, might be as much assisted by his physician’s 
society as by his prescription ; and his heart, not seldom, filled the hands 
of such as stood in need of his bounty as well as skill. 
But we must turn to the facts which especially entitle this good man to 
our present notice; and it might be sufficient to state that he was an 
accomplished student of natural history and a great lover of gardening ; but 
he also wrote upon these subjects several volumes, which we will notice 
in their chronological order. His Natural History of the Tea-tree grew 
to a goodly quarto volume, in 1772 , from a mere inaugural thesis which he 
wrote, On the Virtues of Tea, to deliver when admitted to his doctor ’3 
degree three years previously. In 1774 he published The Naturalist’s 
Companion , embracing very full particulars for collecting and preserving 
every description of specimens, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. 
His Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel , or Root of 
Scarcity, appeared in 1787> and first roused attention to this most useful 
root. He was laughed at for urging its merits somewhat beyond their just 
title, but that it deserved nearly all his praise is now shown by its extensive 
cultivation. In 1796 he published Hints for promoting a Bee Society. 
It would have been a strange contradiction if he had not been an advocate 
of the depriving system; and he urges eloquently the benefits derivable 
from a central Society to promote the preservation and keeping of those 
“industrious labourers whose produce, when accepted by the hand of 
man, is pure gain.” These are but a small section of his literary efforts, 
but his other works were chiefly in aid of charitable and professional 
objects. Nor did he only write of such subjects, but as Mr. Scott truly 
addressed him— 
“ Not only does thy pow’rful aid supply 
Life to the languid form and fading eye ; 
Not only man’s frail race thy skill befriends— 
To vegetable life thy power extends ; 
Reared by thy hand each plant more beauteous grows, 
Shoots more luxuriant, and more fragrant blows.” 
This horticultural skill was exhibited by him at his seat, Grove-hill, Cam¬ 
berwell, where he spent “ such scanty store of moments ” as he could 
pilfer from his professional occupations. The spot, whilst yet a youth, 
had attracted his attention, and the resolution lie then formed, to become 
its purchaser, he succeeded in realising early in life. Those who know 
the spot need no comment from us ; and we seem to feel that it partakes 
of the bathos to add that tradition describes it as occupying the ground of 
the gentleman who fell by the hand of his nephew, George Barnwell. It 
will not be without its use to record the sanatory habits of so excellent an 
authority, who lived to be seventy-one, and for twenty-six years was with¬ 
out a day’s illness. He walked to see his patients for two or three hours 
daily, using his carriage for the remainder; he rarely exceeded three 
glasses of wine at his dinner; coffee was his favourite beverage ; before 
going to rest he uniformly bathed his limbs in cold water, and in the 
morning similarly refreshed his entire body. The equability of his temper 
and the benevolence of his heart aided to promote his health ; nor must 
it be omitted that his serenity was sustained by uniformly pursuing, yet 
without sectarian bigotry, that example set by Penn—one of the founders 
of his society—who considered as a friend every truly Christian man. 
Meteorology of tiie Week. —From twenty-three years observations 
at Chiswick, it is found that there the average highest and lowest tem- 
eratures of these days are 51° and 36° respectively. The greatest heat, 
3°, and the lowest coid, 22°, occurred on several days during the period. 
Rain fell on 83 days, and 78 days were fine. * 
So many have been the queries received by us, in 
consequence of Miss Martineau’s letter on Cow-keeping, 
published in our last volume (page 334), that we are 
induced to answer them thus prominently; and though 
we refer to no one correspondent in particular, yet we 
think that each will find an answer to his queries if he 
reads what follows. 
Success in cow-keeping depends upon a strict atten¬ 
tion to three essentials:—1st. Selecting a productive cow. 
2ndly. Providing her with nutritious food; and 3rdly. 
Supplying that food to her judiciously. 
Now, with regard to the first essential, which has 
been brought before us in a dozen different forms, it 
resolves itself into an answer to the plain query put by 
No. CX., Yon Y, 
