Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton
JHC444
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
JDH/2/16 f.88
Thiselton-Dyer, Sir William Turner
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
22-4-1883
© Descendants of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Letters to Thiselton-Dyer
The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
English
Original MS
4 page letter over 1 folio
 

JDH agrees with what Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer [WTTD] has observed about the lateness of spring vegetation immediately south of the Alps. JDH met Mr Duckworth at the Royal Institute, he had recently seen WTTD & Harriet Thiselton-Dyer, they attended Balfour's lecture which was good in substance but not style. JDH never saw McMurdo's garden but imagines it was a 'floriferousness' looked after by his wife, a skilled gardener. JDH discusses plans for the Temperate House at RBG Kew & what should be put in the 'octagons', wings & centre depending on the conditions. He is certain they should be able to grow Banksias, south European plants & things from the Cape & Australia as they used to do in the abysmal old glass houses No.1 & No.3 museum, figures of the plants grown there can be seen in the BOTANICAL MAGAZINE. JDH hopes de Barg will 'be carried'. Bliss is going on holiday & will prepare the pay sheets before he goes. [John] Smith has returned to RBG Kew but will leave again soon & still does not look well. JDH praise the work of Garrett as foreman & the improvements made to the No. 4 glasshouse. [William] Watson is generally doing well but JDH complains he put the sick palms in the unheated Cinchona pits, among other things. JDH doubts 'Master Derry's competence'. Heavy transplanting work is going on in the arboretum & lumber needs moving from the Zinnia[?] garden. He is about to begin work in glasshouse No.1 where things along the paths are killing each other whilst the middle is a vacuum. JDH wants [George] Bentham to arrange Munro's grasses, he needs to work if he is to recoup his expenses for the last part of GENERA [PLANTARUM]. Spottiswoode has gone to Italy for his health, Huxley is also reportedly ill. Tyndall & his wife visited, they are building a house. WTTD is invited to dine at the Pharmaceutical Society. Brandis will arrive in a week. Sends regards to Bessie White as was.

Transcript

well but does not look it.
I get on very well indeed with Garrett who seems to me to get more work out of the men than any foreman in his place has done. & goes about amongst them himself. & it is very long since I have seen the hard wooded things in the No 4 so well done -- the house is quite brilliant now.
Watson*3 behaves very nicely, but wants looking up in details -- especially in the pits. He has got all the sick Palms in the Cinchona pit! Where there was today no heat at all, & the weather bitterly cold. The pipes were not even heated! The tropical Ferns on the other hand are kept at boiling point: I have my doubts of Master Derry's competence.
In the Arboretum I have heavy transplanting work in hand & I must get the lumber within sight in the Zinnia[?] Garden out of the way. -- I begin No 1 tomorrow with Watson [1 del. word illeg], the things are all killing one another along its paths & the middle is a huge vacuum.
Bentham*4 is pretty well, I am encouraging him to arrange Munro's grasses & hope he will. I fear he won't see his money back for par I last part of Genera [Plantarum] if he does not pick up strength. He asked me

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Kew
22 April [18]/83
My dear Dyer*1
I was very glad to get your letter & good news of yourself & Harriet.
How curiously your account of the spring vegetation immediately south of the Alps tallies with mine, though in fact mine beats yours, for it has been my lot to find a late spring in May & even on the Mediterranea[?] shores three times running.
I met Dr Duckworth at the R[oya]l Institute two nights ago & he told me of having seen you & Harriet. We went to Balfours' lecture which was good as to matter, but very inartistically delivered.
No I never saw McMurdo's garden -- but can imagine it! floriferousness under his wife's care, for she is a capital practical gardener.
I take what you say about The Temp[erate].

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House -- we shall do very much in the wings octagons & would
[1 word illeg.] in wings; but what the centre wants is spring heat & that sets the things in the ground off too fast, & dries the pots on the shelves which should not stand on open wood-work. However more can be done than is done. In old days the Banksias & other Australia plants were as fine in No 1. & in the Museum No 3, as ever they w I saw them in Australia. & a reference to the figures of S[outh]. Europe, Cape & Australia plants in the old vols of Bot[anical]. Mag[azine]. shows what was then done under wretched glass houses.
We have settled for on de Barg, & he will I hope be carried.
Bliss goes on his holiday tomorrow for a fortnight, I told him to prepare the pay sheets before he went for the fortnight.
[John] Smith*2 came back last Friday night to put his house in order, & in 10 days will leave for the West[?], he calls himself

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well but does not look it.
I get on very well indeed with Garrett who seems to me to get more work out of the men than any foreman in his place has done. & goes about amongst them himself. & it is very long since I have seen the hard wooded things in the No 4 so well done -- the house is quite brilliant now.
Watson*3 behaves very nicely, but wants looking up in details -- especially in the pits. He has got all the sick Palms in the Cinchona pit! Where there was today no heat at all, & the weather bitterly cold. The pipes were not even heated! The tropical Ferns on the other hand are kept at boiling point: I have my doubts of Master Derry's competence.
In the Arboretum I have heavy transplanting work in hand & I must get the lumber within sight in the Zinnia[?] Garden out of the way. -- I begin No 1 tomorrow with Watson [1 del. word illeg], the things are all killing one another along its paths & the middle is a huge vacuum.
Bentham*4 is pretty well, I am encouraging him to arrange Munro's grasses & hope he will. I fear he won't see his money back for par I last part of Genera [Plantarum] if he does not pick up strength. He asked me

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to go to see him at Wilton Place last week to take last directions in care of his death.
Spottiswoode is sent to Italy because of his cough, & Mrs S. is gone with him. Huxley*5 has I hear been in bed for a week.
Tyndall*6 & his wife have spent the afternoon here -- they too are going into bricks & mortar.
You are invited to dine with the Pharmacuticals[sic]*7 on the 22 May in Willis['] rooms, I have told them that you are abroad, & will be for some time; & that I have informed you of the invitation
We had 3 or 4 days of S[outh]. W[esterly]. mild weather followed by North Easters, which persist & are vile.
I have just heard from Brandis, who will be here in a week.
With best love to Harriet & kind regards to Bessie White that was.
Ever affect[ionate]ly yours | JDHooker[signature]
PS If you want to answer address is The President Bloomsbury Square.*8

ENDNOTES


1. Sir William Turner Thiselton--Dyer (1843--1928). British botanist and third Director
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1885--1905). He succeeded Joseph Hooker in the role after serving as his Assistant Director for ten years. He previously held
professorships at the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester, Royal College of
Science for Ireland and Royal Horticultural Society. He married Hooker's eldest
daughter Harriet in 1877.
2. John Smith (1821--1888). Curator or 'head gardener' of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1864--1886. His predecessor as Curator was also named John Smith.
3. William Watson (1858--1925). Gardener employed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1879. Assistant Curator from 1886 and Curator from Aug 1901 to 1922.
4. George Bentham (1800--1884). British botanist who donated his herbarium of more than 100,000 specimens to Kew. He spent 27 years with Joseph Hooker in research and examination of specimens for the work Genera Plantarum, an influential work on plant taxonomy which is the foundation of many modern systems of classification.
5. Thomas Henry Huxley (1825--1895). Biologist, teacher, and promoter of science. Best remembered for his defense of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, his support earning him the nickname 'Darwin’s bulldog'.
6. John Tyndall (1820--1893). A prominent 19th Century physicist who published many science books and brought experimental physics to a wider audience.
7. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, founded in 1841.
8. This post script refers to the invitation of the Pharmaceutical Society which Hooker mentions on the final page of this letter.

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