472 
May  29,  1902. 
j'orUXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Thomas  Andrew  Knight,  F.R.S. 
President  of  the  Il.H.S.  from  1811 — 1838. 
new  Society  was  founded.  Its  objects  were  defined  to  be  ‘  to 
collect  every  information  respecting  the  culture  and  treatment 
of  all  plants  and  trees,  as  well  culinary  as  ornamental  ’ ;  ‘to  foster 
and  encourage  every  branch  of  horticulture,  and  all  the  arts  con¬ 
nected  with  it’;  and  ‘to  give  premiums  for  improvements  in 
horticulture  whenever  it  shall  be  judged  expedient  to  do  so.’  In 
the  first  paper  of  the  ‘  Transactions  ’  of  the  new  society  Mr. 
Knight  says  :  ‘  The  establi.shment  of  a  national  society  for  the 
improvement  of  horticulture  has  long  been  wanted  ;  and  if  such 
an  institution  meet  with  a  (jegree  of  support  proportionate  to  the 
importance  of  its  object,  if  it  proceeds  Avith  cautious  circumspec¬ 
tion  to  publish  well-ascertained  facts  only,  to  detect  the  errors 
of  ignorance,  and  expo.se  the  misrepresentations  pf  fraud,  the 
advantages  which  the  public  may  ultimately  cleriA’e  from  the 
establishment  will  probably  exceed  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of 
its  founders.’  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  much  as  London 
lias  changed  during  the  nineteenth  century,  the  meeting  at  which 
the  Horticultural  Society  Avas.founded  took  place  on  the  premises 
of  Me.'t.srs.  Hatchard,  booksellers,  187,  Piccadilly,  a  firm  ivhich 
still  occupies  the  same  premises. 
“The  Society  commenced  work  at  once,  and  vol.  i.  of  its 
‘  Transactions  ’  contains  numerous  interesting  and  practical  papers 
read  before  it  in  1805  and  subsequent  years,  among  them  being 
contributions  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  President  of  the  Royal 
Society,  on  ‘  The  Introduction  of  the  Pota.to  into  the  United 
Kingdom,’  ‘The  Management  of  StravUerries,’  ‘The  Forcing- 
houses  of  the  Romans,’  &c  ;  by  Mr.  Knight,  F.R.S.,  on  ‘Pro¬ 
ducing  New  and  Eaidy  Fruits,’  ‘New  and  Early  Potatoes,’ 
‘  Grafting,’  ‘  Training  Fruit  Trees,’  ‘  Forcing  Grapes,’  ‘  Manage¬ 
ment  of  the  Onion,’  &c.  ;  by  Mr.  Salisbury,  F.R.S.,  on  the  ‘  Culti¬ 
vation  of  the  Tuberose,’  ‘  The  Dahlia  ancl  its  Cultivation,’  ‘  The 
Cultivation  of  Rare  Plants,’  Ac. 
Royal  Charter  Granted. 
“  In  1809  a  Royal  Charter  of  Incorporation  Avas  granted  to  the 
Society,  Avhose  object  is  therein  briefly  de.scribed  to  be  ‘  the  im¬ 
provement  of  horticulture  in  all  its  branchesj  ornamental  as  Avell 
as  mseful.’  The  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  as  stated,  Avas  nominated 
first  president,  Charles  Greville  treasurer,  and  Richard  Anthony 
Salisbury  as  secretary ;  the  Council  comprising,  among  others, 
Earl  PoAvis,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  P.R.S., 
W.  T.  Aiton,  gardener  to  the  King,  and  author  of  the  ‘Hortus 
KeAvensis,’  and  T.  A.  Knight.  In  1812  volume  i.  of  the  ‘Trans¬ 
actions,’  previously  referred  to,  Avas  published,  though  the  Society 
had  as  yet  no  local  habitation,  sharing  AA’ith  the  Linnean  Society 
such  accommodation  as  it  could  offer  in  Gerard  Street,  Soho,  at  a 
rent  of  tAventy-five  guineas.  In  1811,  on  the  death  of  the  Earl  of 
Dartmouth,  Thomas  AndreAV  Knight,  Esq.,  the  founder  of  the 
Society,  Avas  elected  president — a  ijost  he  occupied  for  twenty- 
seA'en  years,  to  the  signal  advantage  of  the  Society,  and  of  horti¬ 
culture  generally.  MeaiiAvliile  the  number  of  FelloAA’s  had  in¬ 
creased  but  sloAvly,  and  the  claims  of  the  Society  to  the  support 
of  all  interested  in  gardens  and  gardening  Avere  hardly  recognised. 
But  in  1816  the  first  bye-laAvs  Avere  passed,  and  the  affairs  of  the 
Societv  ordered  on  a  bu.rtness-like  footing — practical  steps  leading 
to  such  a  rapid  inci’ease  of  prosperity  that  in  1818  the  income  Avas 
£1,791,  the  expenditure  £1,719,  and  there  Avere  surplus  assets 
A'alued  at  £4,400 
Experimental  Garden  at  Kensington. 
“  In  1818  and  the  following  years  an  experimental  garden  Avas 
established  at  Kensington,  with  a  nursery  at  Ealing ;  and  per¬ 
manent  offices  Avere  acquired  by  the  purchase  of  No.  21,  Regent 
Street,  at  a  coat  of  £4,200.  About  this  time  the  annual  sub¬ 
scription,  Avhich  had  originally  been  £2  2s.,  was  raised  to  £3  3s., 
a  rise  Avhich  seemed  rather  tc  encourage  than  to  check  elections, 
845  neAv  FelloAvs  having  joined  the  Society  in  1819-21.  In  1822 
the  gardens  of  the  Society  were  moved  from  Kensington  and 
Ealing  to  Chiswick,  where  a  thirty  years’  lease  of  thirty-three 
acres  had  been  obtained  from  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  the  lease 
being  reneAved  in  1852  for  a  like  period.  The  gardens  of  the 
Society  [avIucIi  are  briefly  described  hereafter]  have  continued  at 
ChisAvick  ever  since,  but  their  area  has  been  reduced  from  thirty- 
three  acres  to  tAvelve. 
Importation  of  New  Plants. 
“  A  valuable  feature  of  the  Society’s  work — one  AA-hich  has  had 
a  great  and  enduring  influence  on  British  horticulture — may  Avell 
be  referred  to  here.  As  early  as  1818  it  Avas  recognised  that, 
funds  permitting,  a  horticultural  society  could  not  do  better  than 
take  steps  to  obtain  from  countries  beyond  the  borders  of  Europe 
valuable  and  interesting  trees,  shrubs,  plants,  and  seeds.  The 
earliest  arriAmls  came  from  China,  through  an  active  and  energetic 
FelloAv  of  the  Society,  Mr.  John  Reeves  ;  and  from  India;  through 
the  East  India  Company.  In  this  Avay  many  valuable  ornamental 
plants  were  introduced  into  Greait  Britain,  such  as  Azaleas, 
Paeonies,  Roses,  Camellias,  Chr,ysanthemums,  &c.  One  of  Mr. 
Reeves’  introductions  Avas  the  lovely  Wistaria  sinensis,  AA’hich 
reached  England  in  1818.  The  large  tree  of  this  climber  at 
ChisAvick  is  probably  a  relic  of  the  original  introduction.  The 
success  of  these  early  efforts  encouraged  the  Society  to  send  out 
collectors  at  its  OAvn  cost.  This  they  did  Avith  such  success  that, 
to  quote  Mr.  AndreAA’  Murraj'^  (‘  The  Book  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  1862 — 1863,’  page  15),  ‘  the  results  have  affected' 
the  appearance  of  all  England.  NoAA'here  can  a  day’s  ride  noAv  be 
taken  AA'here  the  landscape  is  not  beautified  bj’-  some  of  the  intro¬ 
ductions  of  the  Horticultural  SocietA^’ 
Foyal  Horticultural  Society’s  Collectors. 
“  The  first  collector  sent  abroad  aa  us  Mr.  Don  in  1821 ;  he  AA'as 
accompanied  by  Air.  Forbes,  aaIio,  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Zambesi,  unfortunately  succumbed  to  the  climate.  In  1823 
Mr.  David  Douglas  Avas  employed  as  a  collector  on  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  Sir  William  Hooker,  then  Professor  of  Botany  at 
GlasgoAv.  In  1824  and  subsequent  years  Mr.  Douglas  visited 
North  America  doAvn  to  California,  and  his  explorations  bore  rich 
and  valuable  fruit.  Among  trees  aa’c  oAAe  to  him  Pinus  Lam- 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Bart.,  1743—1820. 
One  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  Society  in  1804 
