THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 22, 1858. 
led to its general substitution in place of tlie Linnsean method. 
It is not our purpose here to enter into anything like a de¬ 
tailed account of the numerous memoirs contained in the 
transactions of Societies, and in the appendices to the most 
important books of travel or voyages of discovery, in which he 
shed new and unexpected light on many of the most difficult 
problems in the reproduction, the anatomy, the distribution, 
the characters, and the affinities of plants. It is sufficient to 
say that, the universal consent of botanists recognised the 
title conferred upon him by his illustrious friend Alexander 
von Humboldt, of “ Botanicorum facile Princeps ;” and that 
nearly every scientific Society, both at home and abroad, con¬ 
sidered itself honoured by the enrolment of his name in the 
list of its members. After the death of Dryander, in 1810, 
lie received the charge of the noble library and splendid col¬ 
lections of Sir Joseph Banks, who bequeathed to him their 
enjoyment for life. At a later period they were, with his 
assent, transferred to the British Museum, and for the last 
thirty years he has been Keeper of Botany in that national 
establishment. He received, also, during the Administration 
of Sir Robert Peel, a pension of £200 per annum, in recog¬ 
nition of his distinguished merits. In 1833, he was elected 
one of the eight foreign associates of the Academy of Sciences 
of the Institute of France, his competitors being Bessel, Yon 
Buch, Faraday, Herschell, Jacobi, Meckel, Mitscherlich, 
Oersted, and Plana. In 1839, the Council of the Royal 
Society awarded the Copley Medal, the highest honour at 
their disposal, “ for his discoveries during a series of years on 
the subject of vegetable impregnation;” and, in 1849, he 
became President of the Linnsean Society, of which he had 
been in earlier life, for many years, librarian. The University 
of Oxford conferred upon him, in 1832, the honorary degree 
of D.C.L., in company with Dalton, Faraday, and Brewster; 
and he received from the King of Prussia the decoration of 
the highest Prussian civil Order, “ pour le merite,” of which 
Order Baron Yon Humboldt is Chancellor. This illustrious 
man still survives, at the age of 88, to deplore the loss of one 
whom he always regarded with feelings in which veneration 
and affection were equally mingled. 
We have hitherto spoken of Robert Brown only as a man 
of science, but those who were admitted to the privilege of 
his intimacy, and who knew him as a man, will bear unanimous 
testimony to the unvarying simplicity, truthfulness, and bene¬ 
volence of his character. With an appearance of shyness and 
reserve in the presence of strangers, he combined an open¬ 
heartedness in relation to his familiar friends, and a fund of 
agreeable humour, never bitter or caustic, but always appro¬ 
priate to the occasion, the outpourings of which it was de¬ 
lightful to witness. But what distinguished him above all 
other traits was the singular uprightness of his judgment, 
which rendered him on all difficult occasions an invaluable 
counsellor to those who had the privilege of seeking his ad¬ 
vice. How profoundly these admirable qualities had endeared 
. him to the hearts of his friends was unmistakeably manifested 
by the sympathetic tenderness with which his last hours were 
watched and soothed. With his faculties unclouded to the 
last, he died on the 10th inst., surrounded by his collections, 
in the room which had formerly been the library of Sir Joseph 
Banks. “ It was in the year 1810,” says one of his distin* 
guished friends, who contributed greatly to relieve the suffer¬ 
ings of his last illness, “ that I first became acquainted with 
! Mr. Brown, within three feet of the same place in the same 
room where I saw him so nearly drawing his last breath three 
days ago. He was the same simple-minded, kind-hearted 
man in November, 1810, as he was in June, 1858, nothing 
changed but as time changes us all.” 
His funeral took place on the 15th inst., at the cemetery at 
Kensal Green, to which it was attended by a numerous con¬ 
course of his scientific and personal friends.— {Times.) 
KEW BOOKS. 
The Orchard House.* —The cultivation of fruit trees in 
pots, under glass, is now practised to a large extent, and with 
* The Orchard House ; or, the Cultivation of Fruit Trees in Pots, 
under Glass. By Thomas Rivers, of the Nurseries, Sawbridgeworth, 
Herts. Fifth Edition. London : Longmans, 15558. 
various degrees of success. There are some people who have 
the happy knack of doing everything they undertake to their 
own satisfaction, and the admiration of everybody else ; and 
there are others who, do what they will, and take what 
trouble you may with them, are always blundering and 
floundering. Many examples of both of these characteristics 
are found in the culture of fruit trees in glass houses. In the 
same county, or even in the same town, you may see an in¬ 
stance, where the trees are full of luxuriance, with well-deve¬ 
loped dark green foliage, flat and shining, as if they had been 
laundried, and the fruit large, highly-coloured, and succulent; 
but, perhaps, just over the wall, is another house, where the 
plants are smothered with green fly and red spider, and the 
fruit rarely ever attains above the size of a nutmeg, or a 
walnut at the most, with a flavour remarkable for its bitter¬ 
ness. Now, it is possible to overcome all these drawbacks. 
Mr. Rivers has shown how he manages Ids trees, and his in¬ 
structions, in the little work before us, are so plain, so easy, 
and intelligible, that we recommend all who would do as he 
does to possess themselves of so sure a guide. The cultivation 
of fruit trees in pots requires much care and watchfulness, 
and those who begin it must make up their mind to encounter 
obstacles; but these are neither so formidable nor insurmount¬ 
able but that any one, having ordinary capacity, may easily 
overcome them. Mr. Rivers has made the subject attractive 
and popular, and those who will follow his instructions can¬ 
not fail to succeed. 
As an example of the manner in which the subject is treated, 
and by way of calling attention to a subject on which much 
of the success or failure of orchard-house culture depends, we 
give the following:—“In the orchard-house culture of Peaches 
and Nectarines, syringing must play an important part; for 
the red spider is so fond of their leaves, that, like Sinbad’s 
Old Man of the Sea, he will stick closely, and cannot be dis¬ 
lodged without applying the syringe close to the under surface 
of the leaves. If this pest be suffered to make the least pro¬ 
gress, the flavour of the fruit will be entirely destroyed. A 
small pocket lens in the hands of the amateur will be the best 
instrumtent to discern it; looking closely at the under sur¬ 
face of the leaves, if it be there, a small bright-red speck, like 
a red grain of sand, will be seen. The experienced gardener I 
does not look for them. One glance at the upper surface of 
those leaves, which show some minute yellow specks, is quite 
enough for him. If, therefore, the least sign be apparent, 
continue the regular syringing, even till the fruit is ripe; 
otherwise, syringing may be discontinued when the Peaches 
and Nectarines commence to soften, preparatory to ripen¬ 
ing.” 
We observe an error at page 115, in classing KirTce's Plum 
among the kitchen varieties. It is essentially a dessert Plum, 
and one of the best in cultivation. 
Beauty oe the Sea-weeds. —Of all the sea-weeds for an 
aquarium, the Green Laver is, perhaps, the very best. It is 
very pretty, from its delicate green colour, and the various 
folds and puckers into which it throws itself. Its power of 
expiring oxygen seems to be almost unlimited. I have in my 
aquarium a large plant of this species, which generally ( lives 
very contentedly in the place where it had been deposited. 
But, a few days ago, the sun shone brightly enough to pierce 
through the veil of smoke with which the metropolis is gene¬ 
rally hidden from his presence, and consequently there was a 
greater abundance of light than usual. On looking at the j 
aquarium, I found that the ulva had risen in the water, and 
was hanging in most elegant festoons from the surface, ; 
forming emerald caves and grottoes, such as the sea-nymplis i 
would love. Even at a little distance it was a pretty sight, 
but a closer inspection revealed still more beauties; for, being I 
excited by the unwonted light, the plant had poured forth so 
much oxygen, that its entire surface was thickly studded with I 
tmy sparkling beads, that had buoyed up the Avhole plant, ! 
each bubble acting as a miniature balloon. When, however, I 
a black cloud came over the sun, the bubbles soon detached i 
themselves, ascended to the surface, and, as there were no 
more to take their place, down dropped the plant to the 
bottom. — {The Common Objects of the Sea-shore , by the 
ltev. J. G. Wood.) 
