Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1905.  J 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
563 
are  somewhat  conflicting ;  they  are  known,  however,  to  have  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Ormonde  for  several  years  before 
they  became  the  property  of  Queen  Caroline,  wife  of  George  II. 
The  palace  had  been  rebuilt  a  second  time  by  the  Duke  of 
Ormonde,  and  Queen  Caroline  spent  large  sums  in  converting  the 
gardens  into  pleasure  grounds  and  adorning  them  with  ornamental 
buildings.  Queen  Caroline  died  in  1737,  an^  Richmond  Gardens 
remained  unchanged  until  George  H's  death  in  1760,  but  all  traces 
of  her  occupation  were  obliterated  in  the  reign  of  George  III.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  "  Love  Lane,"  which  sepa- 
rated these  from  the  original  Kew  Gardens,  was  abolished,  as  men- 
tioned above. 
KEW  HOUSE  AND  ITS  GROUNDS. 
The  building  stood  in  the  private  grounds  of  the  present  palace 
and  to  the  south  of  it.  Lord  Capel,  of  Tewkesbury,  who  died  Lord 
Deputy  of  Ireland  in  1696,  came  into  this  property  by  marriage 
with  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  its  former  owner,  Richard  Bennett, 
Esq.  Lord  Capel  was  much  devoted  to  the  culture  of  plants,  and 
it  is  to  his  collections  that  the  origin  of  the  botanical  history  of 
Kew  is  traced.  Lady  Capel  survived  her  husband,  and  died  in 
1 72 1.  Kew  House  then  passed  to  Samuel  Molyneux,  Esq.,  who 
had  married  Lady  Elizabeth,  grand-niece  of  Lord  Capel.  About 
the  year  1730,  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  obtained  a  long  lease  of 
Kew  House  and  its  gardens  from  the  Capel  family,  and  caused  a 
new  arrangement  of  the  gardens  to  be  carried  out.  He  died  in 
175 1,  and  his  widow,  the  Princess  Augusta  of  Saxe  Gotha,  Dowager 
Princess  of  Wales,  who  survived  him  for  twenty-one  years,  gave  to 
them  the  scientific  character  which  has  since  developed  into  their 
most  salient  feature.  In  1759  William  Aiton,  a  former  pupil  of 
Philip  Miller  at  the  Chelsea  Physic  Garden,  was  engaged  by  her  to 
establish  a  Physic  Garden.  John  Haverfield  was  chief  gardener,  and 
on  the  death  of  George  II  in  1760  appears  to  have  had  Richmond 
Gardens  put  in  his  charge,  Aiton  remaining  at  Kew.  When  Hav- 
erfield died  in  1784,  Aiton  succeeded  to  Haverfield's  post,  and,  until 
his  death  in  1793,  the  management  of  both  gardens  was  entrusted 
to  him.  Soon  after  Aiton's  appointment  extensive  works  were  car- 
ried out  at  Kew,  notable  among  these  being  a  "  stove  "  warmed  by 
pipes  containing  hot  air. 
The  practice  of  sending  out  collectors  from  Kew  was  inaugurated 
