Volume labelled 'Horticultural Society: reports of Garden Committee 1822-27'
Information
Title - Volume labelled 'Horticultural Society: reports of Garden Committee 1822-27'
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Chk/2/1/2/2
Date - 1 Jan 1822-Mar 1827
Scope & content - Printed volume of Garden Committee reports. The volume comprises different sections for the years 1822-1827 and includes information relating to the formation and progress of the garden, lists of officers, committee members and fellows, sets of rules and regulations, plans of the garden and financials
Overview of contents:
Statement relative to the establishment of a garden, February 1822
Statement of accounts, 1 Jan 1822-1 Jan 1823
Letter from Joseph Sabine, 4 Apr 1823
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1823
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1824
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1825
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1826
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1827
A pencil notes state that these items were found in the basement in Mar 1946 and bound
Three items have been pasted into the front of the volume:
'Memorandum for visitors to the garden of the Horticultural Society, April 1823', including information relating to signing the visitor's book, catalogues of fruit trees and kitchen garden vegetables in the garden, and the rules against collecting specimens from the garden
Two copies of a letter from J. Douglas, written 18 April 1823, relating to the publication of the first report into the formation and progress of the garden of the Horticultural Society, the list of subscribers, and proposals for structural developments to the garden, such as walling the kitchen garden and the introduction of a water supply
Physical description: Bound in half leather over blue marbled paper-covered boards. Dimensions: 28.5 (h) x 22.5 (w) x 1 (d) cm
Condition: Fragile. Binding is breaking and some pages are coming loose, edges of pages reasonably robust. Producible but handle with care
Summary of contents:
'Statement relative to the establishment of a garden; drawn up for the information of the members of the Society by the Council, February 1822' [comprising 11 pages], including the proposed site of the garden in Chiswick; its extent and the term of the lease; the proposal for plants to investigate (eg fruits and esculent vegetables) and experiments to perform; the organisation of the staffing; the voluntary contributions from members towards the expenditure of the garden; admissions to the garden; the exhibition of specimens grown in the garden; and the propagation of plants for the purposes of stocking the garden as opposed to selling
'Statement of the accounts of the garden of the Horticultural Society of London', 1 Jan 1822-1 Jan 1823, including subscriptions and expenses
Letter from Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society, to an unknown Lord, 4 Apr 1823, relating to the opening of the garden at Chiswick to members on 23 Apr 1823
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1823:
Report comprises 26 pages, including an account of the establishment of a garden for the purposes of experimentation, the first being a plot in Kensington in 1818, with additional grounds being hired in Ealing in 1820, and the subsequent lease of grounds in Chiswick at the end of 1821. The report includes a detailed explanation of a plan for the division and general arrangement of the garden, with an account of works completed in the different garden departments, such as the orchard, kitchen garden and ornamental garden. Particular mention is made of the collection of fruit trees, the distribution of plant grafts, the growth of esculent plants, the collection of hardy bulbous plants, the limited collection of herbaceous plants to only three genera, namely Paeonia, Phlox and Iris, and the collection of plants by plant collectors on overseas expeditions. The report ends with an account of the employment and training of labourers and under-gardeners
Appendices to the report include a 'Statement relative to the establishment of a garden' Feb 1822 [for a summary of this statement see above]; an 'Abstract of the bye-laws for the garden'; a list of the subscribers to the garden with subscription amounts; a list of the members of the Garden Committee and officers of the garden; a list of expenses for the garden; and a plan of the garden, Apr 1823
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1824:
Report comprises 19 pages, detailing the state and progress of the garden, including an account of all works executed in the preceding year in the different garden departments, a financial summary, a notice relating to the distribution of specimens and an account relating to the employment and training of labourers and under-gardeners
Developments in the Fruit Department include the addition of rare and useful fruits to the collection, in particular those collected in the United States of America from the expedition of David Douglas [for the papers of David Douglas, 1823-1829, see RHS/Col/5]. Further developments in the Fruit Department include the classification of fruit varieties, primarily apples and strawberries, and an account is given of the examination and classification of culinary vegetables. Developments in the Ornamental Garden Department include the investigation of the hardy bulbs collection, the planting and subsequent growth of hardy annuals, the describing of chrysanthemums and the increase in the number of valuable hothouse and greenhouse plants, as a direct result of sending plant collectors abroad. Developments in the Kitchen Garden include the erection of walls on the east and west of the garden and the planting of peach, nectarine, pear, apricot and other fruit trees on the walls. Developments in the Experimental Garden include the erection of a curvilinear house, with a winter vegetable house and a peach house, and the construction of newly designed pits. Developments in the Ornamental Experimental Garden include changes to the hollow pits. Developments in the arboretum include the installation of an 'overflowing well' for the purpose of creating an ornamental canal for the growth of aquatics
Appendices to the report include lists of subscribers to the formation of the garden, with subscription amount, a list of Garden Committee members and names of officers, and an abstract of chapters VIII and IX of the bye laws of the garden relating to donations and annual payments
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1825:
Report comprises 20 pages, detailing the state and progress of the garden, including garden, staff and structural developments, the preparation of specialised reports and notices with results of observations and experiments, and the preparation of catalogues with the contents of the garden. Other notable topics in the report include the arrangement of labourers and under-gardeners, the increase in visits to the garden, the distribution of plants from the garden, and subscriptions
Developments in the garden include the arrangement of fruit trees, hardy trees and shrubs, additions to the fruit collection and arboretum, and additions to the collections of rare and curious plants from fellows and correspondents of the Society. Donations of rare and curious plants include living plants from the East India Company, Mexican seeds from George Canning, tropical South American seeds and living plants from Robert Hesketh, consul in Maranham [Maranhao, Brazil], Chinese plants from John Damper Parks [for the papers of John Damper Parks, 1823-1824, see RHS/Col/4], and tropical Orchideae from David Douglas in Rio Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. Staff developments include the retirement of William Morgan, the gardener in the Fruit and Kitchen Garden, the resignation of William Christie, and the promotion of Donald Munro to principal gardener, overseeing the practical management of the whole garden. Structural developments in the garden include the construction of two pine-pits, the construction of a building in the arboretum for a meeting room, the formation of turf of the arboretum and the gravelling of paths
There are five appendices to the report. Appendix 1 is a set of rules and regulations for the 'exhibition of the garden' (ie visiting), including opening days and times, the admission of members and non-members, the signing of the visitor book, rules against collecting specimens from the garden, and the non-admittance of servants in livery. Appendix 2 is a set of rules and regulations for the distribution of 'articles' (ie plants, cuttings, grafts and seeds) from the garden. Appendix 3 is a list of subscribers to the formation of the garden at Chiswick, with subscription amounts. Appendix 4 is a notice relating to subscriptions to the garden and the 'privileges acquired thereby', including the benefits of different levels of donation, such as the receipt of plants, cuttings and seeds. Appendix 5 is a list of Garden Committee members and names of officers, including the principal gardener
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1826:
Report comprises 29 pages, detailing the state and progress of the garden, including garden, staff and structural developments, the publication of four annual reports and the preparation of a catalogue of collections from the fruit department. Other notable topics in the report include the increased opportunity for the distribution of specimens from the garden, the increase in visits to the garden, the arrangement of labourers and under-gardeners, subscriptions and financials, and the lease of a property as a residence for the gardener
Developments in the garden include the continued collection and classification of fruiting trees and plants, hardy ornamental trees and shrubs, and esculent vegetables, and the acquisition of plants from the plant collector James McRae [for the papers of James McRae, 1824-1826, see RHS/Col/6], Mr Floy [Michael Floy] and others. An account is given of the arrangement of the arboretum including locations of borders planted with roses and azaleas and the location of a canal of water. Structural developments include the construction of a pine house with sheds behind, the construction of two pine pits based on a design by Mr Baldwin, the construction of a workshop and store rooms and a range of sheds
There are seven appendices to the report. Appendix 1 is a plan of the arboretum at Chiswick with a key. Appendix 2 is a set of rules and regulations for the distribution of 'articles' (ie plants, cuttings, grafts and seeds) from the garden. Appendix 3 is a set of rules and regulations for the 'exhibition of the garden'. Appendix 4 is a set of regulations for the admission of labourers into the garden 'for the purpose of instruction and improvement in horticulture', including the age of candidates, the process of application, the process for promotion both within the garden and external employment, and the circumstances leading to dismissal. Appendix 5 is a list of subscribers to the formation of the garden at Chiswick, since 1 Apr 1825. Appendix 6 is a set of classifications of fellows of the Horticultural Society according to their contribution towards the establishment and support of the garden, including numbers of subscribers and total numbers of fellows. Appendix 7 is a list of Garden Committee members and names of officers, including the principal gardener
Report of the Garden Committee, 31 Mar 1827:
Report comprises 16 pages, detailing the state and progress of the garden, including the collection of plants to ascertain nomenclature, the publication of a catalogue of fruit trees growing in the garden and the future publications of similar catalogues of hardy trees and shrubs and esculent vegetables. Other notable topics in the report include the distribution of specimens from the garden, the increase in visits to the garden, the reduction in the number of labourers and clerks and information relating to subscriptions
Developments in the garden include the continued acquisition, growth and distribution of plants from correspondents of the Society, including Camellia reticulata and Azalea indica phoenicea [Rhododendron indicum] from China, and hardy North-West American plants collected by David Douglas. Plants of note from the Douglas collection include the rare and hardy shrubs Gaultheria shallon, Ribes sanguineum, Arbutus tomentosa [Arctostaphylos tomentosa], Arbutus laurifolia [Arbutus unedo], Rubus spectabilis, Berberis aquifolium and Berberis nervosa [identification unresolved as at Jan 2022]
Appendices to the report include a set of rules and regulations for the sale of fruit and vegetables from the garden, a list of subscribers to the formation of the garden, with subscription amounts, a notice relating to subscriptions and the associated privileges, and a list of Garden Committee members and names of officers. The report ends with the prices to purchase previous reports and the Catalogue of Fruits
Extent - 1 volume
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - Royal Horticultural Society
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)