January 9. THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
273 
I) 
M 
D 
W 
JANUARY 9—IS, 1855. 
Weather n 
Barometer. 
ar London in 
Thermo. Wind. 
1853. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon's 
A^e. 
Clock 
af. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
9 
To 
Sphodrus planus. 
29.119—29.096 
40—37 I E. 
06 
6 a 8 
8 a 4 
10 43 
21 
7 
18 
9 
10 
w 
Dyschirius gibbus. 
29.6ofi—29.435 
38—34 N. 
02 
6 
10 
11 55 
22 
7 
43 
10 
'1 
. th 
Droroius quadrimaculatus. 
29.896—29.833 
38—31 1 N. 
— 
5 
11 
morn. 
e 
8 
7 
11 
12 
F 
Dromius rufescens. 
29.833—29.659 
.40—29 S.E. 
02 
4 
13 
1 9 
24 
8 
30 
12 
13 
S 
Dromius linearus. 
29 . 656 — 29.596 
42—28 S. 
03 
4 
14 
2 28 
25 
8 
53 
13 
14 
Son 
2 Sunday after Epiphany. 
29 . 873 — 29.707 
45-26 S.W. 
10 
3 
16 
3 52 
2fi 
9 
16 
14 
15 
M 
Dromius punctomaculatus. 
29 . 715 — 29.624 
40—32 S.E. 
2 
17 
5 18 
27 
9 
37 
15 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last twenty-eight years, the average highest and lowest tem- 
| perat.ures of these days are 41.4°, and 31.2°, respectively. The greatest heat, 56°, occurred on the 14th, in 1849; and the lowest cold, 4°, on 
I 14th, in 1838. During the period 104 days were fine, and on 92 rain fell. 
The ordinary monthly Meeting of the British Pomo- 
looicai. Society was held at the Rooms, 20, Bcdford- 
street, Covent Garden, on Monday the 1st inst., John 
Lee, Esq., in the chair. 
Specimens of a seedling Apple, from William Mar¬ 
shall, Esq., Ely, were presented. The variety was 
found to he of good size and colour, tender flesh, con¬ 
siderably juicy, and crisp, with the aroma which is 
peculiar to the Oslin, but not nearly so powerful. The 
Meeting was of opinion, that although a good variety, 
it would not be desirable to increase the number already 
in cultivation by adding it to the list, as it possessed 
no superior merits. A collection of Apples and Pears 
from Mr. Cranston, of Hereford, illustrative of the 
varieties of fruits cultivated in the neighbourhood of 
that city, was of considerable interest. S. Geo. Wintle, 
Esq., of Gloucester, also sent a collection of Apples 
from the orchards in the neighbourhood, which contained 
some excellent specimens of the Ashmead's Kernel, and 
Golden Harvey, and also of several other varieties 
peculiar to that district. The characters and merits of 
each variety both in this and Mr. Cranston’s collection 
were noted by the Secretary, with the object of embody¬ 
ing them in the Transactions of the Society. 
The Meeting then proceeded to the appointment of 
Members of the Local Committees, when the following 
gentlemen were elected for Ireland:—N. Niven, Esq., 
Drumcondra, near Dublin; W. Bewley, Esq., Black 
Rock, near Dublin; J. Abel, Esq., Limerick. 
The following gentlemen were elected ordinary Mem¬ 
bers:—George Gibson Richardson, Esq., Rcigate; 
Samuel George Wintle, Esq., Gloucester; Rev. R. H. 
Graves, D.D , Brigown Glebe, Mitchelstowu, Ireland; 
Mr. Henry Lane, Jun., Berkhampstead. 
The history of Botany furnishes us with several 
instances of enterprising men, who devoted a large 
measure of their means, or personal enterprise, to the 
enrichment of the botanical collections of this country 
with the vegetable products of foreign regions. To 
such men the present generation is greatly indebted ; 
and thus it is that the names of the Tradescants, Peter 
Collinson, Dr. Anderson, John Eraser, James Lee, and 
the Loddiges, are so familiar to the minds and the 
memories of all true lovers of botanical science. For 
nearly half-a-contnry, however, that spirit of private 
enterprise has, except in a few instances, given way to 
the united efforts of corporate bodies and government 
officials; and it was not till the bold and energetic 
course which has been pursued by a provincial nursery 
man of England was adopted, that a new era in 
botanical discovery was begun, which has placed the 
name of “ Veitch, of Exeter,” among the worthies of 
science in these our own times. 
The father of Mr. James Veitch was a native of 
Jedburgh, in Scotland, and towards the close of the last 
century he came to England, where he acted, for many 
years, as land steward, on the property of Sir Thomas 
Acland, at Killerton, near Exeter. Some years after¬ 
wards, he established a nursery at Killerton, and there 
the subject of our present notice was born, on the 25th 
of January, 1792. 
The success which attended the formation of the 
Killerton Nursery was so great, that, in course of time, 
Mr. James Veitch found the distance of eight miles 
from Exeter disadvantageous to the interests of the 
establishment, as it prevented him from competing with 
those nurseries which were nearer the city; and accord¬ 
ingly, in 1832, he purchased that largo extent of ground 
formerly called Mount Radford, but now converted into 
what is better known by the name of the “ Exeter 
Nursery,” an establishment which, by the industry and 
energy of Mr. Veitch and his son, has attained such a 
position as to be justly regarded as the finest of the 
kind ever known in England. 
In the year 1837 there were, in the Killerton nursery, 
two young men named William and Thomas Lobb, who 
were gardeners, and who were remaining there with a 
view to improvement in their profession. In this same 
year, Mr. William Lobb was sent by Messrs. Veitch as 
gardener to Stephen Davey, Esq., of Redruth, in Corn 
wall, and after remaining there for three years, he was 
appointed by Mr. Veitch to proceed to the Brazils as a 
botauical collector; and he accordingly left Eugland in 
18-40. The singular success which rewarded his re¬ 
searches, is, perhaps, unparalleled in the history of 
botanical discovery; the labours of David Douglas not 
even forming an exception. In the first parcel sent 
home were those two justly popular plants, Dipladenia 
splenilens, and Hinilsia violacea; and from these, down 
to the later arrivals, including the wonderful Welling- 
tonia gigantea, what a mass of interest and beauty hat- 
been added to the gardens of Great Britain! 
About three years after Mr. William Lobb left, his 
brother, Thomas Lobb, who was then in the Exeter 
No. CCCXXVIII. Vox.. XIII. 
