KEW GARDENS,*
-KEW GARDENS are visited by some three million people every year; but few of those who admire the daffodils in spring and enjoy the shady trees in summer give a thought to the Jodrell Laboratory and the workers in the Herbarium. Many find their way to the rock-garden, but few have ever beard of a HOrtU8 SiCCUS. Yet among scientific institutions Kew is one of the most important in the Britiah Empire. It is very fitting, therefore, that a book about Kew should be written by the Assistant-Curator, Mr. Bean, for, so far as we know, nothing of the sort has yet been attempted. Mr. Bean has most happily succeeded in combining historical and descriptive chapters. At the same time, he draws the attention of readers who are likely to forget it to the important f3cientifie work of Kew. Colonial Governments consult the authorities at Kew unceasingly, and Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer has even been invited to advise the Turkish Ambassador on the authenticity of mandrakes for the Sultan. The Gardens as they exist to-day are, of course, a combination of several properties, and have undergone vast changes within the last century. The two estates of chief importance are Kew House, a Royal residence demolished in 1803, and Richmond Lodge, also Crown pro- perty, which stood in the Old Deer Park. The botanic garden was formed in 1760. Next year the "Great Stove," the largest hothouse in England, was erected. It stood for exactly a century. In the spring of 1762 the Gardens were enriched by some rare trees removed from the Duke of Argyll's garden near Hounslow. A cedar of Lebanon, a Turkey oak, and perhaps others, still survive. Kew also owes a great deal to Lord Bute, the Prime Minister. Few students of history Probably know that this detested statesman was a botanist. His death came from a fall on the cliffa of Hampshire when he was trying to secure a specimen of a plant which was new to him. For our own part, we never go to Kew without thinking of William Cobbett working there as a gardener, having tramped from Farnham in search of employment and excited the compassion of the authorities : "And it was during this period that I was at Kew that the present King [William IV.) laughed at the oddness of my dress while I was sweeping the grass-plat round the foot of the Pagoda." When Queen Charlotte died at Kew Palace in 1818 Kew ceased to be a Royal residence.
Kew went through a perilous crisis after the late Queen's accession when Lord Surrey was Lord Steward. It was partly owing to the efforts of John, sixth Duke of Bedford, a patron of horticulture at Woburn, that the continued existence of 'few as a botanic garden was assured. The establishment Was then (1840) transferred to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. Thence it passed into the hands of the Board of Works, and now, for the last five years, Kew has been under the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. The good fortune which brought Kew under Sir William Hooker and his son, Sir Joseph Hooker, the greatest botanist of the last century, is duly acknowledged by Mr. Bean. Sir Joseph, who retired in 1885, has lived to receive the Order of Merit on his ninetieth birthday. Under Sir William in 1841 the hazardous experiment was tried of admitting the public to the Gardens. For the last twelve years young women have been employed as gardeners. This very interesting book, besides history, contains a capital description of the most remarkable plants and the latest improvements. It is slid to think that unless something is done to chock smoke in London, the days of Xew are numbered.
• The Royal Botanic Hardens, Ken: Historical and Descriptive. By W. J. ,,J309-11, Assistant-Curator. With an Introduction by Sir Wilham Thisolton- "):0!*, R.C.M.G., F.R.S., Ice. With 20 Reproductions in Colour by H. A. Olivier, and 40 lialf-tooe Plates from Photographs by E. J. Wallis. London: Cassell and Co. [20s. nat.]
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