526 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1  November,  1905. 
students'  garden  and  by  the  withdrawal  of  supplies  to  schools. 
Kew,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  not  of  much  assistance  to  the  elementary 
student,  except  in  so  far  as  it  enables  him  to  obtain  a  general  view 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom  and  its  products.  To  the  student  of  for- 
estry, however,  the  Arboretum  is  invaluable,  and  the  Indian  Forest 
students  from  Cooper's  Hill  visit  the  gardens  weekly  during  the 
Summer  months  on  that  account. 
The  work  of  Kew  in  the  field  of  research  has  been  so  extensive 
and  so  varied  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  consider  these  activ- 
ities in  a  general  way,  and  to  content  ourselves  with  the  selection 
of  a  few  illustrative  examples. 
The  branch  of  botanical  research  in  which  Kew  has  achieved  the 
greatest  fame  is,  undoubtedly,  that  of  Systematic  Botany.  The 
Hortus  Kewensis}  a  work  which  has  already  been  mentioned, 
was  the  most  important  contribution  to  Systematic  Botany  that 
emanated  from  Kew  before  1841.  This,  however,  is  an  inconsider- 
able accomplishment  when  compared  with  later  monumental  works, 
such  as  the  Genera  Plantarum,  of  Bentham  and  Hooker ;  the 
Index  Keivensis,  of  Hooker  and  Jackson,  and  the  series  of  Colo- 
nial floras — e.  g.  the  Flora  of  British  India,"  the  Flora  Capensis, 
and  the  "  Flora  of  Tropical  Africa," — by  various  members  of  the 
staff  and  others.  These  achievements  have  only  been  rendered 
possible  by  the  existence,  at  Kew,  of  a  great  Herbarium  and  an  ex- 
tensive Library.  The  herbarium  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  his  scientific 
library,  and  the  collection  of  Bauer's  drawings,  had  all  been  trans- 
ferred  to  the  British  Museum  alter  his  death,  so  that  the  present 
Herbarium  and  Library,  on  which  these  publications  are  chiefly 
founded,  are  independent  creations,  in  which  the  labors  of  Bentham 
and  the  two  Hookers  have  played  an  important  part. 
1  "  .  .  .  the  'Hortus  Kewensis,'  a  work  of  three  volumes,  published 
in  1789,  with  the  name  of  William  Aiton,  the  King's  gardener,  on  the  title- 
page  as  author.  It  was  actually  the  work  of  Daniel  Carl  Solander  and  of  Jonas 
Dryander,  in  succession  librarians  to  Banks  ;  the  original  specimens  from  which 
the  descriptions  were  drawn  up  are  incorporated  in  the  Banksian  herbarium 
which  is  now  in  Cromwell  Road  [British  Museum  (Natural  History)].  The 
second  edition  of  this  book  in  five  volumes,  nominally  the  product  of  William 
Townsend  Aiton,  son  of  the  elder  Aiton,  was  written  partly  by  Jonas  Dryander, 
who  succeeded  as  Banks'  librarian  after  the  death  of  Solander,  and  completed 
by  Robert  Brown,  who  became  librarian  when  Dryander  died  in  1810  ;  the  book 
appeared  in  1810-1813." — Mr.  B.  D.  Jackson  in  "  Return.  House  of  Commons." 
1901,  205,  p.  112. 
