H4 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  1906. 
the  centre."  The  contents,  bought  from  the  nurseryman  for  £2,000, 
consisted  of  the  following :  A  belt  of  elm  trees  of  considerable  size 
on  the  outer  margin  ;  an  inner  circle  of  small  beeches;  a  group  of 
trees  on  a  lawn,  where  the  secretary's  house  and  museum  now  stand, 
and  a  few  other  trees  scattered  about ;  two  old  greenhouses ;  a  cot- 
tage of  wood  and  brick  ;  some  sheds ;  and  general  nursery  stock. 
One  of  the  first  steps  taken  by  the  Fellows  of  the  Society  was 
directed  towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  main  purpose  of  their 
charter,  namely,  the  conversion  of  the  plot  of  ground  they  had 
acquired  into  a  botanical  and  ornamental  garden.  With  this  object 
in  view  a  prize  was  offered  by  the  Society  for  the  best  plan  sub- 
mitted dealing  with  the  laying  out  of  the  ground  along  these  lines. 
The  difficulties  that  the  numerous  competitors  had  to  contend  with, 
in  constructing  a  plan  for  a  garden  that  would  combine  the  requisite 
scientific  features  with  those  of  an  ornamental  ground,  were  so  great, 
that,  although  the  prize  was  awarded  for  one  of  the  plans  sent  in,  the 
latter  was  not  considered  sufficiently  satisfactory  for  adoption  in  its 
entirety.  It  is  to  R.  Marnock,  who  was  appointed  Curator  on  the 
recommendation  of  J.  C.  Loudon,  the  well-known  horticulturist,  that 
the  Society  is  indebted  for  the  very  effective  arrangement  of  its  gar- 
dens, and  it  is  indeed  difficult  to  realize  that  their  diversified  land- 
scape has  been  artificially  evolved  from  a  nearly  flat  piece  of  market 
garden. 
The  soil  which  Marnock  had  to  deal  with  was  the  rather  unin- 
viting London  clay,  a  stiff  clay  sprinkled  with  coarse  gravel,  the 
latter  becoming  more  abundant  a  little  to  the  south  of  Regent's 
Park  ;  this  clay,  however,  by  reason  of  its  impermeability,  was  well 
adapted  to  the  first  operation  that  was  undertaken,  namely,  the 
formation  of  the  Lake  (see  Plates  XVII  and  XVIII).  The  material 
removed  for  this  purpose  was  utilized  in  constructing  the  mound 
which  divides  the  Lake  from  the  main  walk  (see  Plate  XVII  for 
this  and  other  details  described  below).  The  north  of  the  gardens 
was  next  attacked  and  the  terrace  constructed.  On  the  southern 
portion  of  this  terrace  the  principal  portion  of  the  Conservatory  was 
erected  in  1845,  the  wings  being  added  later,  the  east  wing  in  1870, 
the  west  wing  in  1875,  by  private  subscription  among  the  Fellows. 
This  conservatory  was  the  first  iron  and  glass  house  of  considerable 
size  erected  in  England,  while  its  heating  arrangements  were  also  a 
novel  feature  at  the  time.    The  hot-water  pipes  are  placed  under- 
