THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
i 
AUGUST,  1906.  l> 
5  t> 
LONDON  BOTANIC  GARDENS. 
By  Pierre  Eue  Feux  Perredes,  B.Sc,  F.L.S., 
Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
A  Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Research  Laboratories,  London. 
(Concluded  from  p.  325.) 
THE  CHELSEA  PHYSIC  GARDEN  UNDER  THE  PRESENT  ADMINISTRATION. 
In  1893  the  Apothecaries  "applied  to  the  Charity  Commis- 
sioners for  a  Scheme  which  might  provide  for  their  relinquishment 
of  the  trust."  On  this  occasion  they  were  more  successful  than  they 
had  been  in  their  previous  negotiations  with  the  Royal  Society  and 
the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  for,  as  a  result  of  their  application, 
a  Treasury  Committee,  consisting  of  Sir  Henry  Longley,  Sir  W.  T. 
Thiselton-Dyer,  and  Mr.  Spring  Rice,  was  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  matter,  "  with  reference  to  a  suggestion  that  the  garden  should 
be  supported  by  Imperial  funds,  with  especial  reference  to  its  use  by 
the  students  of  the  Royal  College  of  Science  at  South  Kensington." 
The  principal  reason  advanced  by  the  Society  of  Apothecaries  for 
abandoning  the  garden  was  that  the  latter  was  no  longer  suitable  for 
the  purposes  of  a  botanic  garden,  owing  to  the  deleterious  effects  of 
London  smoke  and  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  soil.  The 
above-mentioned  Treasury  Committee,  however,  "  satisfied  them- 
selves that  the  garden  was  still  well  fitted  for  botanical  purposes,  and 
that  its  advantages  were  likely  to  be  highly  appreciated  by  the 
students  of  the  Royal  College  of  Science  and  of  the  various  Poly- 
technics." In  view  of  this  favorable  report  the  Charity  Commis- 
sioners approached  the  Trustees  of  the  London  Parochial  Charities 
to  ascertain  whether  the  latter  would  be  willing  to  provide,  or  to 
assist  in  providing,  funds  for  the  maintenance  of  the  garden.  The 
(353) 
