456  London  Botanic  Gardens.  { A™  VtSbei^K111 
terized,  we  find  that  Chelsea  and  Regent's  Park  have,  in  the  main, 
played  an  educational  role,  whereas  Kew  stands  out  prominently  as 
a  center  of  scientific  research  and  as  the  cradle  of  botanical  enter- 
prise in  India  and  the  Colonies.  The  history  of  the  development  of 
the  respective  gardens  is  of  paramount  importance  in  this  connec- 
tion, and  a  brief  outline  of  this  will,  accordingly,  be  given. 
The  main  considerations  which  led  the  members  of  the  Society  of 
Apothecaries  to  establish  a  garden  at  Chelsea,  for  the  cultivation 
and  systematic  arrangement  of  indigenous  and  exotic  plants,  were 
that  "  their  apprentices  and  others  "  might  "  better  distinguish  good 
and  useful  plants  from  those  that  bear  resemblance  to  them,  and 
yet  are  hurtful,  and  other  the  like  good  purposes."  The  garden,  it 
is  true,  was,  to  some  extent,  utilized  at  first  for  the  cultivation  of 
plants  to  be  converted  into  drugs  for  the  Society's  use,  but  this 
practice  was  soon  abandoned.  At  a  relatively  early  period  in  the 
history  of  the  Society  a  "  Demonstrator  of  Plants  "  was  appointed 
in  connection  with  the  garden ;  James  Petiver,  F.R.S.,  officiated  in 
this  capacity  as  early  as  1709,  but  it  was  not  until  1724  that  the 
Demonstrator  of  Plants,  then  Isaac  Rand,  was  appointed  to  the 
superintendence  of  the  garden,  with  the  title  of  Prcefectus  Horti,  or 
Director  of  the  Garden.  The  duties  of  the  office  of  Demonstrator 
of  Plants  and  Prcefectus  Horti  were  defined  in  detail  by  a  garden 
committee,  on  the  appointment  of  William  Curtis  to  the  post  in 
1773.  The  enumeration  ot  these  duties  is  of  special  interest,  in  that 
it  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  nature  of  the  work  that  the  Society  was 
doing  at  that  time,  in  connection  with  its  garden.  That  this  was 
chiefly  educational  in  character  will  be  gathered  from  the  provisions 
in  question,  which  were,  briefly,  as  follows:  (1)  The  Society's  Dem- 
onstrator of  Plants  and  Prcefectus  Horti  was  to  superintend  the  gar- 
den and  library,  and  to  encourage  and  cultivate  the  knowledge  of 
botany  among  students  of  the  Society ;  (2)  "  to  demonstrate  the 
plants,  especially  in  the  officinal  quarter,  with  their  names  and 
uses,"  at  least  once  a  month,  from  April  to  September;  (3)  "to 
make  some  annual  excursion,  for  two  days  at  least,"  in  the  company 
of  "  two  or  three  "  competent  «'  botanical  members,"  for  the  purpose 
of  collecting  plants  not  commonly  found  near  the  metropolis,  pre- 
paratory to  a  demonstration  of  the  same  at  the  Society's  "  General 
Herborizing  "  ;  (4)  to  "  accompany  and  conduct  the  students  of  the 
Society  in  their  search  after  indigenous  plants  "  upon  every  day  ap- 
