190 BRITISH PHYSICIANS. but royal munificence, at this time largely bestowed upon the botanic gardens at Kew. In my opinion, no other garden in Europe, royal or of a subject, had nearly so many scarce and valuable plants. That science might not suffer a loss, when a plant he had cultivated should die, he liberally paid the best artist the country afforded, to draw the new ones as they came to perfection ; and so numerous were they at last, that he found it necessary to employ more artists tlian one, in order to keep pace with their increase. His garden was known ail over Europe, and foreigners of all ranks asked, when they came hither, permission to see it ; of which, Dr. Solander and myself are sufficient wit- nesses, from the many applications that have been made tlirough us for that permission." The account which we have here given is the more honourable to Fothergiil, because it comes from the pen of a distinguished individual, who was not merely an excellent judge of horticultural pursuits, but the patron of all that was useful to his country and his age, — the late Sir Joseph Banks. A winding canal, in the figure of a crescent, formed this garden into two divisions, and occa- sionally opened on the sight, through branches of rare shrubs, which lined the walks on its sides. In the midst of winter, when the earth was covered with snow, evergreens were here clothed in full verdure. Without exposure to the open air, a glass door, from the mansion-house, gave entrance into a suite of hot and green-house apartments, nearly 260 feet in extent, and containing above 3400 distinct species of exotics, whose foliage formed a beautiful contrast to the shrivelled natives of
