648 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 10, 1908. 
< NOTICES. , 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
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6difopiol, 
Nicholson. 
Those of our readers who were fortu¬ 
nate enough to know the late Mr. George 
Nicholson will regret to hear of his sad 
death at his residence at Larkfield Road, 
Richmond, Surrey, on September 20th. 
As a young man he entered the curator’s 
office at Kew in 1873. He was assistant 
curator to the late John Smith II. Mr. 
Nicholson was appointed curator on the 
death of the last named in 1886 and held 
that post till his lamented retirement in 
July, 1901. He had been ailing for some 
time, the malady being heart disease, 
which many attribute to his exertions in 
mountain climbing. He was an ardent 
plantsman and was well acquainted with 
many of the Swiss and French moun¬ 
tains, where he was often welcomed by 
the many friends he had made to go in 
quest of plants. Although he did a con¬ 
siderable amount of climbing, he did not 
climb simply for the sake of this pastime. 
His quest of knowledge of plant life was 
always the foremost consideration. 
From the time he entered Kew Gardens 
he studied plant life with great enthusi¬ 
asm, giving attention chiefly to British 
plants and to trees and shrubs in which 
he was considered one of our leading 
authorities. This fact was very early 
recognised by Sir Joseph Hooker while 
forming the Kew Arboretum, and he got 
invaluable assistance from Mr. Nichol¬ 
son. Indeed, we are highly indebted to 
him for the most recent revision of the 
“Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs” grown 
in the Arboretum at Kew. He was most 
indefatigable in his researches concern¬ 
ing the names of plants and in reducing 
the host of synonyms to simplicity in 
showing which was the oldest and most 
correct name. 
In the way of British botany, he will 
be remembered by many on account of 
his “Wild Flora of Kew Gardens” itself. 
The plants that grow there naturally are 
by no means few considering the flat 
nature of the country near the river 
bank. Besides this, he, of course, 
studied British botany generally and had 
a most excellent knowledge of British 
plants making a herbarium. He was not 
satisfied merely with the names of species 
and more prominent varieties, but went 
into the minutiae of plants, and his her¬ 
barium contained an immense number 
of species and forms of such things as 
Roses, Hieraciums and other subjects of 
that class. Many varieties of British 
plants have been named after him by 
different botanists, thus indicating his 
great zeal in collecting uncommon or 
rare subjects. Many of the minutiae 
upon which these critical plants depend 
for their determination were separately 
collected and mounted on sheets with 
great care. We have several times had 
the pleasure of inspecting things in his 
herbarium and examined the Roses a 
short time before he presented his her¬ 
barium to Aberdeen University, where 
he said it would be better looked after 
than he would then be ^ble to do. 
Amongst gardeners he is best known 
as the Editor of “ The Dictionary' of 
Gardening,” which has found a wide 
acceptance wherever English is spoken 
and elsewhere all over the world. He 
was connected with many societies, was 
a much appreciated friend of many bot¬ 
anists, was a Fellow of the Linnean 
Society as well as a V.M.H. 
THE 
TABLELIKE 
_ ' Rodgersia 
FSia tabularis. 
For some years the Rodgersias were 
represented in gardens by R. podophylla 
only. Now several of them have been 
introduced, all of them striking plants 
for the bog garden, more particularly 
for the sake of their foliage than for the 
flowers, although the latter are not de¬ 
void of ornament. The subject of this 
note is remarkably distinct from any of 
those already in cultivation and at first 
sight recalls the better known plant 
Saxifraga peltata. 
The leaves are orbicular, more or less 
deeply lobed, and attached to the stalk 
nearly by' the middle, the basal portions 
of the leaves being united, as we see in 
Nelumbium. The result of this com¬ 
bination is that the leaves are slightly 
hollow in the centre, as if they were in¬ 
tended to hold a drop of water. These 
leaves are about a foot in diameter and 
from amongst them arises the flower stem 
to the height of 3 ft. or thereby, bearing 
a panicle of white flowers. These flowers 
are not unlike those of a Saxifraga on 
a small scale. Most gardeners would 
Rodg-ersia tabularis. 
Maclaren and Sons. 
