January  26,  1830. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULl LRE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
03 
DEATH  OF  MR.  JOHN  LEE. 
At  last,  after  an  unusually  long  and,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
term,  honourable  career,  one  of  the  most  respected  and  trusted  of 
horticuliurists  of  the  century  has  passed  away.  “John  Lee,  of 
Hammersmith,”  as  he  was  familiarly  called  by  his  many  friends,  over 
at  least  two  generations,  during  which  ho  was  a  leading  personality 
in  the  nursery  trade,  died  at  the  lesidence  of  his  son,  Warwick 
Gardens,  Kensington,  on  Friday,  the  20th  inst.,  in  the  ninety-fourth 
year  of  his  age. 
Iho  deceased  gentleman  retired  from  active  business  in  1877 
after  fifty-four  years  of  uninterrupted  work,  and  several  of  our  readers 
will  remember  the  complimentary  dinner  given  to  Mr.  Lee  at  the 
Horticultural  Club  on  February  15th  of  that  year,  though  some  of 
them,  alas  !  predeceased  the  then  guest  of  the  evening.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  the  names  of  the  Chairman  and  Vice-Chairman,  Dr. 
Ro&g  tfie  Hon.  and  Rev.  J.  T.  Boscawen,  also  Mr.  John  Wills, 
who  decorated  the  tables  so  superbly,  Mr.  B.  S.  Williams,  Mr.  G.  Deal, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Lee.  The  survivors  will  remember  t-he  feeling  and 
appropriate  terms  in  which  the  Chairman  spoke  of  his  long  friend¬ 
ship  with  Mr.  Lee,  and  wished  him  on  the  part  of  himself  and  those 
assembled  long  life  and  happiness  to 
snjoy  his  well  earned  rest ;  nor  will 
they  forget  the  extraordinary  ovation 
which  Mr.  Lee  received  when  he  rose 
to  return  thanks  for  the  compliment 
paid  him  by  his  friends. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  quiet,  unobtrusive  manner  of 
Mr.  John  Lee,  his  innate  gentleness 
of  demeanour,  and  his  uprightness  of 
character,  placed  him  on  the  highest 
pedestal  of  popularity  in  assemblages 
of  horticulturists.  Though  never 
effusive,  those  friends  wdio  had  long 
enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  his  society 
knew  full  well  that  he  possessed  a 
warm  and  honest  heart.  In  dis¬ 
cussions,  of  which  prominent  men 
are  often  the  victims,  never  a  word 
was  heard  about  John  Lee  that 
would  not  have  been  said  in  his 
Fig.  13. — Mr.  John  Lee. 
hearing;  and,  correlatively,  never  was  heard  frum  his  lips  a  sentence 
which  could  be  construed  as  in  the  least  degree  a  reflection  on  any 
of  his  contemporaries. 
The  esteem  in  which  ho  was  held  was  never  more  strikingly 
manifested  than  on  the  occasions  of  the  anniversary  dinners  of  llie 
Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.  His  connection  with  this 
important  Charity  dated  from  its  establishment  in  1838,  and  for  year's, 
and  until  far  advanced  in  the  “eighties,”  there  was  no  happier  man  at 
the  festive  board  than  he.  When  the  “father”  was  called  up  a 
momentary  stillness  occurred  which  seemed  to  make  the  tremendous 
reception  accorded  him  the  more  crushing.  As  the  tall  spare  form 
appeared  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  him,  and  ears  were  intent  to 
catch  every  word  that  fell  from  his  lips.  Not  that  he  was  eloquent, 
but  because  it  was  felt  he  was  better  than  that — sincere.  He  was  one 
of  those  men  who  could  say  a  good  deal  in  few  words,  and  these 
carried  with  them  the  conviction  that  the  Institution  had  no  firmer, 
truer  friend  on  its  roll  than  the  “  father— John  Lee  ;  ”  and,  as  recorded 
on  page  C-l,  he  has  left  the  splendid  charity  £100  free  of  legacy  duty. 
Though,  as  stated,  the  deceased  gentleman  retired  from  active 
business  in  1877,  when  the  firm  was,  and  is,  known  as  Charles 
Lee  &  Son,  we  believe  he,  on  the  death  of  his  junior  brother  Charles  in 
September,  1881,  took  for  a  time  a  share  in  the  management,  to  lessen 
the  s  rain  suddenly  thrown  on  his  nephew  and  present  head  of  the 
business,  Mr.  William  Lee.  Long  after  that  Mr.  John  Leo  attended 
the  meetings  of  the  Fruit  Committee  at  the  Drill  Hall,  as  well  as  at 
Chiswick,  when  his  ripe  experience  was  of  great  value  in  estimating 
the  merits  of  the  products  inspected,  and  his  observations,  as  they  w’ere 
entitled,  always  carried  weight  with  his  colleagues. 
The  firm  of  which  the  subject  of  these  notes  was  for  a  great  length 
cf  time  the  head,  is  of  historic  character,  and  has  been  identified  for 
flomething  like  a  century  and  a  half  with  the  progress  of  horticulture 
in  this  country.  James  Lee,  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  one  of  its 
founders  about  1750.  He  was  for  some  time  with  Phillip  Miller  at 
the  Chelsea  Botanic  Garden,  and  afterwards  gardener  to  the  Duke  of 
Argyll  at  Whitton,  Middlesex.  In  conjunction  with  Kenned^’,  then 
•gardener  to  Lord  Bolton  at  Chiswick,  he  commenced  business  at  The 
Vineyard,  Ilammercmitb,  and  which  ultimately  became  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  kingdom.  James  Lee  was  also  a  botanist  and  author, 
and  died  in  1797.  lie  is  credited  with  the  distribution  of  the  Fuchsia 
in  England.  This  is  the  story  as  we  find  it  recorded  : — 
“The  Fuchsia  was  introduced  by  the  casual  observation  that  a  strange 
flower  had  been  seen  at  Wapping.  Mr.  Lee,  nurseryman,  Hammer- 
^fimith,  was  told  of  a  flower  coloured  crimson  with  a  fold  like  purple  ; 
ribbon  in  its  centre.  He  hastened  to  Wapping,  found  the  plant,  and, 
for  8  guineas,  induced  the  owner  to  sell  it,  though  she  wished  to  keep 
it  because  “brought  from  the  West  Indies”  by  her  liusband.  Mr. 
Lee  propagated  it  rapidly  from  cuttings,  and  in  the  following  year 
Sold  300  plants  for  as  many  guineas.” 
This  was  long  known  as  Fuchsia  coccinea,  but  is  said  by  the  Kew 
authorities  to  be  F.  magellauica,  introduced  in  1789,  while  the  true 
coccii.ca  is  a  modern  introduction — 1878.  Janus  Lee  is  portraited 
with  a  spray  in  his  hand,  the  flowers  of  which  ho  is  examining, 
botanist-like,  with  a  lens  for  noting  the  essential  characters.  It  is  not 
a  Fuchsia,  but  appears  to  be  an  (Enothera.  He  is  thus  on  the  track 
in  classifying  his  then  new  plant,  for  both  belong  to  the  same  natural 
order — Onagracc  m. 
fl'he  Vineyard  Nursery,  where  the  foundations  of  the  firm  were 
laid,  has,  like  many  other  old  metropolitan  nurseries,  fallen  a  ’prey  to 
the  builders  and  is  eaten  up.  The  present  nurseries  are  at  Lleworth, 
Feltham,  and  Ealing,  and,  as  imiiosing  exhibits  have  shown,  are  rich 
in  ornimental  trees  and  shrubs.  But  the  building  invasion  is  moving 
on,  and  will  conquer  in  time  as  sure  .as  death  has  conquered  the  grand 
old  man  whose  remains  were  intcired  in  the  Brompton  Cemetery  on 
Tuesday  last  in  the  presence  of  sorrowing  friends.  Besides  the 
members  of  the  family  we  not  ced  among  those  who  paid  a  last  mark 
of  respect  to  the  deceased  gentleman,  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch,  Dr.  IMaxwell 
fl’.  Masters,  ^fr.  R.  A.  Milligan  Hogg,  Mr.  N.  N.  Sherwood,  I\Ir.  G.  J. 
Ingram,  Mr.  G.  Monro,  and  Mr.  A.  Dawkins. 
WINTER  IN  THE  SAHARA. 
A  CONTRAST  indeed  to  the  vagaries  of  our  island  home.  Though 
even  in  this  arid  and  (ttrnally  scorching  clime,  where  in  most  parts 
rain  is  an  unknown  quantity,  the  nights  can  be  tolerably  cold, 
certainly  extremely  so  if  reckoned  in  contrast  to  the  terrific  heat  on 
the  daytime.  As  regards  the  flora  of  the  Sahara  proper,  with  such  an 
indispensable  as  above  mentioned  wanting,  it  must  of  necessity  be 
but  sparse,  anel  for  the  most  part  conspicuous  only  by  its  absence;  but 
there  are  delightful  exceptions. 
In  and  a’^ound  the  ciises  there  is  variety  in  abundance,  and  much 
that  affects  readers  of  “our  Journal,”  if  only  as  regards  their  appetites. 
In  these  beautiful  spot's,  surrounded  as  they  are  on  all  sides  by  the 
pitiless  desert,  Nature  seems  to  endeavour  to  make  amends  for  the 
destitution  around,  and  even  outdo  herself  in  extravagant  vegetation. 
Carefully  irrigated  and  cultivated  to  the  highest  degree,  they  are 
interesting  to  the  traveller  and  student  of  Nature  to  no  ordinary 
extent.  For  my  part,  during  a  sojourn  at  Biskra  a  few  years  ago,  in 
the  winter,  I  was  enabled  to  study  ihe  products  and  trade  c  f  the  crisis, 
and  many  featuns  of  desert  life.  At  El  Kantara,  another  crisis  and 
gorge  of  surpassing  loveliness,  and  of  romantic  surroundings,  some 
100,000  Date  Palms  (there  are  over  double  this  number  at  Biskra)  are 
grown.  Besides  rice,  millet,  and  many  other  grains,  numbers  of  fruit, 
flowers,  and  Ferns,  some  cultivated,  some  wild,  feast  the  eye  in  their 
bountiful  pirofusion.  Let  it  not  be  supposed,  moreover,  in  such  an 
out  of  the  way  j  lace  that  there  are  no  ulterior  attractions. 
In  addition  to  the  climate,  which  probably  is  unrivalled  for  those 
inclined  to  consumjrtion  and  asthma,  Biskra  is  unusually  favoured  in 
having  a  range  of  mountains  (the  Aure’s),  where  the  gazelle  and  other 
game  can  be  pursued,  and  from  the  summit  of  which  a  wonderful 
panorama  of  the  Saharan  desert  may  bo  viewed.  Then  there  are 
several  other  ciises  within  easy  reach  by  camel  or  on  foot  in  the 
immediate  vicinity.  In  a  narrow  lane  of  one  of  th’se  the  writer 
w'as  m.aking  a  lunch  of  Dates  as  he  walked  along  (it  is  astonishing  how 
sustaining  they  are  when  on  the  tramp),  when  an  attractive  little  Arab 
boy  joined  company  and  carried  on  a  kind  of  conversation  with  the 
aid  of  the  scant  smattering  of  Arabic  the  writer  possessed.  On 
parting  a  few  Dates  were  offered  this  scion  of  the  desert,  and  though 
looked  at  with  evident  desire,  were  yet  firmly  refused,  owing  to  its 
being  the  Fast  of  Ramadan,  when  from  sunrise  to  sunset  nothing  must 
be  consumed.  This  is  a  matter  they  are  extremely  strict  about. 
In  one  direction,  within,  I  tliink,  a  day  or  so  from  Biskra,  the 
mirage  is  accommodatingly  en  evidence,  and  a  short  half  day’s  trudge 
across  the  sand  brings  one  to  the  very  celebrated  hot  sulphur  springs 
of  Hammam  Salahin.  Then  there  is  always  the  chance  of  coming 
across  a  caravan.  The  camel  was  an  endless  object  of  mystery  to  me. 
It  apparently  lived  on  nothing,  and  as  if  making  belief  to  execute  a 
good  square  meal  on  tiny  coarse  tufts  of  Rush  struggling  among  the 
stones  and  sand. 
I  must,  in  closing,  make  mention  (though  not  in  the  Sahara) 
of  the  beautiful  Maidenhair  Fern  of  enormous  size  I  found  in  the 
most  prodigal  quantities  deep  down  the  wild  gorge  above  Blida,  a 
most  interesting  place  in  a  spur  of  the  Atlas  Mountains.  Here,  too, 
numbers  of  monkeys  abound.  A  sight  more  appealing  to  an  English¬ 
man  in  this  s.rme  place  is  the  fine  stud  of  some  five  hundred  Arab, 
Syrian,  and  Saharan  thoroughbred  stallions  ;  while,  to  the  lover  of 
fruit  culture,  the  extensive  Orange  groves  of  every  known  shape,  size 
and  flavour  are  an  attractive  study. — T.  A.  Carnegie  Cheales. 
