A  no.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1905.  J 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
567 
the  interest  of  the  general  public  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  and  its 
products. 
(2)  To  encourage  and  render  assistance  to  scientific  botanists, 
travelers,  merchants  and  manufacturers. 
(3)  To  train  plant  collectors  and  gardeners  for  home,  Colonial 
and  foreign  service. 
With  the  first  of  these  we  are  only  slightly  concerned  in  the  pres 
ent  paper,  and  only  indirectly  with  the  third,  but  the  second  is  of 
the  greatest  interest,  inasmuch  as  Kew  has  become  the  fountain- 
head  of  information  on  medicinal  plants  in  this  country. 
Trie  ramifications  of  each  of  these  groups,  however,  have  become 
so  numerous,  and  the  details  of  their  varied  developments  so  intri- 
cate, that  it  will  be  conducive  to  clearness  at  this  stage  to  subdivide 
the  matter  under  the  following  heads : 
The  extension  of  the  gardens,  with  special  reference  to  the  col- 
lections growing  out  of  doors. 
The  Plant  Houses. 
The  Museums  of  Economic  Botany,  the  Jodrell  Laboratory  and 
the  Herbarium. 
The  Administration  of  Kew  and  its  Work. 
THE  EXTENSION  OF  THE  GARDENS. 
The  Botanic  Garden,  at  the  beginning  of  Sir  William  Hooker's 
directorate,  was  but  fifteen  acres  in  extent.  The  first  extension  of 
this  area  took  place  in  1843,  when  about  forty -seven  acres  of  the  ad- 
joining pleasure  grounds  were  added  to  it  for  the  formation  of  an 
arboretum,  and  were  separated  from  the  pleasure  grounds  by  a  wire 
fence.  This  addition  was  at  the  time  considered  to  be  ol  sufficient 
extent  for  the  purpose,  and  preparations  were  made  for  carrying 
out  the  project,  but  when  the  pleasure  grounds  were  placed  under 
the  charge  of  Sir  William  Hooker  by  the  Commissioners  of  Woods 
and  Forests,  on  July  9,  1845,  he  utilized  these  for  the  formation  of 
an  arboretum,  and  the  forty-seven  acres  which  had  previously  been 
fenced  in  were  made  use  of  for  the  development  of  the  general  col- 
lection. In  his  report  to  Parliament  for  1853,  Sir  William  states 
that  since  the  pleasure  grounds  were  placed  under  his  charge  they 
have  "  been  laid  out  primarily  as  an  arboretum  for  the  cultivation  of 
every  tree  and  shrub  which  will  stand  the  open  air  in  this  climate." 
The  Nursery  was  formed  in  1850. 
