FOOTNOTES:

£.s.d.1642.Sept. 15—Borrowed from Jacob Kirwan (for which there was deposited with him in lieu thereof, for the space of nine months, the worth thereof in plate, the names whereof are written in the College book of plate),5000”Nov. 24—Borrowed from Anne Hinson, Widow (for which there is deposited with her a parcel of plate, the particulars whereof are written in the plate book—the moneys were borrowed for twelve months),50001642.Nov. 24—Received for some small pieces of plate—viz., gold spoons,270”Dec. 24—Borrowed from Abraham Butts and John Rice, Executors of John Allen, Bricklayer, for twelve months, at 8 per cent., on a mortgage of 273 oz. 14 dwts. of plate (viz. 4 Bowles, 7 Tankards, and 4 College Potts),50001643.July 22—Received for some broken pieces of plate which were coined,19150”Oct. 24—Received the overplus which arose out of the coining of the plate pawned to Dr. Roak and the Widow Hinson.1644.”   20—Received for some parcels of plate which were coined,12621645.April 19—The plate which had been pawned, as above, to Abraham Butts and John Price, was made over by them to Mr. Stout in 1643, who, upon non-payment of the moneys, had the plate coined, and the principal and interest being retained, handed over to the Bursar the balance,684”Dec. 12—Received for two College potts, weighing 67 oz. 3 dwts.,1618””   24—Received for one College pott,714016456.Jan. 17—Received for two parcels of plate, weighing 39 oz. 4 dwts.,918”Feb. 12—Received for three parcels of plate,101991646.May 28—Received for a Spanish cup coined,686”Aug. 16—Received for Mr. Courtenay’s flagon, which was coined,15166”Oct. 3—Received for a piece of plate which was broken up and coined to supply the College with provisions against the approaching siege (it had been presented by Sir Robert Trevor of Trevillin, Co. Denbigh, Governor of Newry, a former benefactor of the College),30198””   10—Received for Sir Richard Irven’s College pott,1836””   17—A candlestick coined,15173”Nov. 30—do.do.,15150””   27—Certain parcels of plate coined (viz. 94 oz. 5 dwts. toucht plate, 16 oz. 12 dwts. uncertain plate),2610016467.Received for Sir William Wentworth’s basin and ewer, weighing 128 oz. 4 dwts.,301981647.April 17—Received for some parcels of plate,1579”May 25—do.do.,18143”June 12—do.do.,11180””   29—do.do.,143”July 22—Received for some parcels of plate coined,221271647.Sept. 4—Received for a dozen of spoons coined,3160”Oct. 21—do.do.,610”Nov. 13—In part from Mr. Tounge for a gilt salt and six spoons, toucht plate,500””   20—The balance of same,1100””   27—For Adam Ussher’s double gilt salt coined,31301647/8.Feb. 7—Received for Mr. Alvey’s College pott and salt, which were pawned for ten pounds,10001648.April 12—Received in lieu of a silver bowl from Mr. Taylor,400””     —Received from the Provost on a piece of plate, for covering the House,250”May 20—From Mr. Van Syndhoven for a gilt bowl, pawned,6001649.”   24—For Mr. Alvey’s plate, from Alderman Huitcheson,11104

The whole exceeds £500, then a very large sum. Yet there must have been much more besides, for it seems impossible that in the subsequent thirty years 5,000 ounces had again accumulated. It is not likely that Winter and his associates encouraged such donations, and we may assume that they commenced again with the Restoration. There remain from the Restoration time only two relics, both of which escaped the wreck to be presently related as being consecrated to the service of the Chapel, viz., a very handsome alms-plate (15·7), inrepousséwork (hall mark A.R., with a figure under them, enclosed in a heart-shaped oval), given by Nehemiah Donelan in 1666; and a far larger (31·05), perfectly plain alms-plate, of great simplicity and beauty, given by Richard Bellingham in 1669. There are four later copies (1746, 1814?) of this plate in the set now used in the Chapel.

We now come to the disastrous days of James II. I again quote from Dr. Stubbs.

We find in the College Register of January 17, 16867:—“The Provost and Senior Fellows considered that at this time materials for buildings are cheap, and that workmen may be hired at easy rates, have agreed on to finish the buildings, where the foundation is laid on the south side of the Great Court, and to that end they have resolved to ask leave of the Visitors of the College to sell so much of the plate as will be sufficient to defray the charge of the said buildings.”A memorial was presented to the Visitors, and their answer was received by the 24th January, permitting the sale of the plate for the purpose of either building or of purchasing land. On the 26th of January a petition was presented to the Earl of Clarendon, then Lord Lieutenant, asking permission to sell the plate in London, instead of in Dublin, “since exchange runs so high at present.” On the 29th of January the Lord Lieutenant granted leave to the College to transport into England 5000 ounces of wrought plate, duty free. On the 7th of February 3999 ounces of plate were shipped on board the “Rose” of Chester, consigned to Mr. Hussey, a merchant of London, who was directed to insure a considerable portion of it. On the 12th of February Lord Tyrconnell was sworn into office as successor to the Earl of Clarendon; and on the 14th he gave directions to have the College plate seized on board ship; and it was brought on shore, and lodged in the Custom House by order of the Lord Deputy. Whereupon the College made application to have the property belonging to the Body given back to it; to which the Lord Deputy’s reply was, that he had written to the King concerning it, and that he had no doubt they should have it ultimately restored to them.THE COLLEGEMACE.On the 2nd of April the plate was restored to the College on a promise that they would “no otherwise employ it but for the public use, benefit, and improvement of the College, nor transport it from Ireland without the permission of the authorities;” and on the 7th it was brought from the Custom House, and deposited for safe keeping “in a closet in the Provost’s lodging;” and the Board at once decided that the produce of the plate should be laid out in the purchase of land, and that such purchase should be inquired after.On the 8th of June an offer was made by Mr. John Sandes, in the Queen’s County, to sell land in that county (the estate now called Monaquid and Cappeneary), to the College for £1150. On the 5th of July the Board offered to Mr. Sandes to pay him £1000 in money from the sale of the College plate, and to give him a twenty-one years’ lease of the lands at £80 a-year. If he refused, the Board decided to offer Sir George St. George eight years’ purchase for his land in the county of Kilkenny. On the 21st of November the plate was ordered to be sold to Mr. Benjamin Burton, at 5s.per ounce, to purchase Monaquid from John Sandes. On the first day of April following Burton purchased 3960½ ounces, for which he gave his bond to pay £990 2s.6d.On the 7th of February, 16878, the Lord Deputy sent for the Provost about the sale of the plate by the College, which he said was “against his command, and their former obligations.” The Provost told him that it was to purchase £80 a-year for the College. The Lord Deputy said that “he did not know but £80 a-year might be as good for the College as the plate,” but he directed them to hold their hands until he had consulted the Attorney-General (Nagle).It is clear that Nugent, having now become Chief Justice, was a bitter enemy of the College, and at the bottom of all this trouble, for we find that he took upon himself to send for Mr. Burton, and to examine him as to the purchase of the plate. Burton admitted that he had done so, and the Chief Justice charged him with having bought stolen plate which belonged to the King, and bound him over to prosecute the Provost and Senior Fellows at the next Term.The Provost afterwards consulted the Attorney-General, who, upon hearing the whole matter, approved of the design of the College to buy land with the proceeds of the plate, and promised to give a true representation of the affair to his Excellency. On the 17th February the Lord Deputy told the Provost that he had discoursed with the Lord Chancellor and some of the Judges about it, and thought that matter might be accommodated. He bid the Provost to beware of the title of the land, and to consult the Attorney-General, which the College afterwards did; and Nagle gave his advice and assistance in the drawing up of the deeds relating to the purchase of the land; and on the 12th of April, 1688, the purchase of Mr. Sandes’ estate was completed at £1150, the balance of the plate money being paid out of the common chest.

We find in the College Register of January 17, 16867:—

“The Provost and Senior Fellows considered that at this time materials for buildings are cheap, and that workmen may be hired at easy rates, have agreed on to finish the buildings, where the foundation is laid on the south side of the Great Court, and to that end they have resolved to ask leave of the Visitors of the College to sell so much of the plate as will be sufficient to defray the charge of the said buildings.”

“The Provost and Senior Fellows considered that at this time materials for buildings are cheap, and that workmen may be hired at easy rates, have agreed on to finish the buildings, where the foundation is laid on the south side of the Great Court, and to that end they have resolved to ask leave of the Visitors of the College to sell so much of the plate as will be sufficient to defray the charge of the said buildings.”

A memorial was presented to the Visitors, and their answer was received by the 24th January, permitting the sale of the plate for the purpose of either building or of purchasing land. On the 26th of January a petition was presented to the Earl of Clarendon, then Lord Lieutenant, asking permission to sell the plate in London, instead of in Dublin, “since exchange runs so high at present.” On the 29th of January the Lord Lieutenant granted leave to the College to transport into England 5000 ounces of wrought plate, duty free. On the 7th of February 3999 ounces of plate were shipped on board the “Rose” of Chester, consigned to Mr. Hussey, a merchant of London, who was directed to insure a considerable portion of it. On the 12th of February Lord Tyrconnell was sworn into office as successor to the Earl of Clarendon; and on the 14th he gave directions to have the College plate seized on board ship; and it was brought on shore, and lodged in the Custom House by order of the Lord Deputy. Whereupon the College made application to have the property belonging to the Body given back to it; to which the Lord Deputy’s reply was, that he had written to the King concerning it, and that he had no doubt they should have it ultimately restored to them.

THE COLLEGEMACE.

THE COLLEGEMACE.

On the 2nd of April the plate was restored to the College on a promise that they would “no otherwise employ it but for the public use, benefit, and improvement of the College, nor transport it from Ireland without the permission of the authorities;” and on the 7th it was brought from the Custom House, and deposited for safe keeping “in a closet in the Provost’s lodging;” and the Board at once decided that the produce of the plate should be laid out in the purchase of land, and that such purchase should be inquired after.

On the 8th of June an offer was made by Mr. John Sandes, in the Queen’s County, to sell land in that county (the estate now called Monaquid and Cappeneary), to the College for £1150. On the 5th of July the Board offered to Mr. Sandes to pay him £1000 in money from the sale of the College plate, and to give him a twenty-one years’ lease of the lands at £80 a-year. If he refused, the Board decided to offer Sir George St. George eight years’ purchase for his land in the county of Kilkenny. On the 21st of November the plate was ordered to be sold to Mr. Benjamin Burton, at 5s.per ounce, to purchase Monaquid from John Sandes. On the first day of April following Burton purchased 3960½ ounces, for which he gave his bond to pay £990 2s.6d.On the 7th of February, 16878, the Lord Deputy sent for the Provost about the sale of the plate by the College, which he said was “against his command, and their former obligations.” The Provost told him that it was to purchase £80 a-year for the College. The Lord Deputy said that “he did not know but £80 a-year might be as good for the College as the plate,” but he directed them to hold their hands until he had consulted the Attorney-General (Nagle).

It is clear that Nugent, having now become Chief Justice, was a bitter enemy of the College, and at the bottom of all this trouble, for we find that he took upon himself to send for Mr. Burton, and to examine him as to the purchase of the plate. Burton admitted that he had done so, and the Chief Justice charged him with having bought stolen plate which belonged to the King, and bound him over to prosecute the Provost and Senior Fellows at the next Term.

The Provost afterwards consulted the Attorney-General, who, upon hearing the whole matter, approved of the design of the College to buy land with the proceeds of the plate, and promised to give a true representation of the affair to his Excellency. On the 17th February the Lord Deputy told the Provost that he had discoursed with the Lord Chancellor and some of the Judges about it, and thought that matter might be accommodated. He bid the Provost to beware of the title of the land, and to consult the Attorney-General, which the College afterwards did; and Nagle gave his advice and assistance in the drawing up of the deeds relating to the purchase of the land; and on the 12th of April, 1688, the purchase of Mr. Sandes’ estate was completed at £1150, the balance of the plate money being paid out of the common chest.

The terrible risks to which the old Communion Plate was presently exposed have been mentioned (cf.p. 41) in a former chapter.

From the period of the 2nd Restoration, a great series of gifts commences with the salver given by Provost Huntingdon, which is stated to be worth £30. This estimate is far above the value, and can never have been paid for it. I think it not unlikely that it was the very piece given by the College to him, in testimony of his kindness to the exiled members of the College in 1690. He was afterwards, by their influence, made Bishop of Raphoe, but died in a few days after his consecration. This present may have been bequeathed back again to the College.

PLUNKET, 1702.MEADE, 1708.PUNCH BOWLS.

PLUNKET, 1702.MEADE, 1708.PUNCH BOWLS.

With the increase of prosperity, after William III. had conquered at the Boyne, we find the habit arising of presenting forks, spoons, and other plate for ordinary table use, by Fellow Commoners. There is a considerable stock of this kind, now hidden in the College safes, dated from 1693 to 1705, and some of it a good deal later; and with these simpler articles are eighteen silver candlesticks of very good design, all of Queen Anne’s period. The finest and largest were given for the use of the altar by Pierce Butler, the 4th Viscount Ikerron (now the 2nd title of the Earl of Carrick) in 1693. Of nearly the same period are a number of handsome salvers and cups, fluted, as Irish silver so often was at that period, ranging from 1690 to 1708. The handsomest cups are those given by Archbishop Palliser and Mr. Duncombe, of Cork, respectively, which are reproduced onp. 273. The best of the salvers are a pair given by the Marquis of Abercorn, at the entrance of his elder two and his younger two sons, whose arms and names are engraved upon the centre. An epergne of George II.’s time is given onp. 274. But the number of these beautiful gifts, and their variety, is such that it would require a volume to reproduce them, and a specialistto describe them. Of the cups we have given several specimens onp. 267. The punch-bowls, and the beautiful ladles made for them subsequently (1746), are not easily to be surpassed. But on a par with them may be placed the College mace (seep. 271), with the hall mark of 1707, of which there is no mention made, unless it be in the College Register. The gilt silver salver from the bequest of Claud. Gilbert in 1734 (seep. 268) is the last great addition to the Communion Plate. What was since made or given is mere copying of the old models.

We should have imagined that these are only a few specimens of the large gifts now received by the College from its increasing classes, and from the increase in the wealth of its members; yet we hear the following curious story:—

DUNCOMBE CUP,1680.

DUNCOMBE CUP,1680.

PALLISER CUP,1709.

PALLISER CUP,1709.

“Lord Mornington, for Plate, £659 11s. 7d.” Whether this sum represents the price of the plate purchased from him by the College, or that which he was authorised to expend for the College, we cannot say. In eight years from 1758, a sum of close upon £1250 was expended in purchases of this description. No doubt the College had at this period many large cups presented to it from time to time, but in respect to ordinary table silver it appears to have been in Provost Baldwin’s time very deficient. When the Lord Lieutenant was entertained by the College, plate had to be hired of the silversmiths for the occasion; but as each Fellow-Commoner had been for a long period charged £6 at his entrance for plate, and each Pensioner 12s., a very considerable sum must have accumulated which was applicable for this purpose.

“Lord Mornington, for Plate, £659 11s. 7d.” Whether this sum represents the price of the plate purchased from him by the College, or that which he was authorised to expend for the College, we cannot say. In eight years from 1758, a sum of close upon £1250 was expended in purchases of this description. No doubt the College had at this period many large cups presented to it from time to time, but in respect to ordinary table silver it appears to have been in Provost Baldwin’s time very deficient. When the Lord Lieutenant was entertained by the College, plate had to be hired of the silversmiths for the occasion; but as each Fellow-Commoner had been for a long period charged £6 at his entrance for plate, and each Pensioner 12s., a very considerable sum must have accumulated which was applicable for this purpose.

Looking carefully into the plate chests to see how this large sum of money was spent, we only find a number of large dishes for turbot, joints of meat, &c., and their covers, all of solid silver, together with side cover dishes, and thirty-three open dishes of various sizes, which can account for it. The supply of knives and forks, which is large, all comes from special and named bequests. The designs are not very good, and the plate of a kind not easy to use now-a-days.[171]When the next misfortune happened to the College Plate, it is a pity that the large and now useless disheshad not gone out of fashion. Provost Hutchinson, desiring to have a set of plates to match the dishes, got leave to melt down old cups and pots to make the set which we still possess, and which are really handsome (circ.1780). A MS. is preserved among the College documents specifying the cups so destroyed, as well as the coats of arms upon them. They mostly dated from the reign of George I., and were in many cases one of a pair given by the same donor, of which the second still survives. But with this act of his Provostship, long before the close of the century, all public spirit in the matter seems suddenly quenched. The tax forargenthad been abandoned, we know not when. Provost Murray and his successors had no taste for display, still less for adding material dignity to the College, and it has been left for our own generation to re-discover the beauty and the value of this series of ancient gifts, which for three generations were only seen at dinners in the Provost’s House. The feelings of generous young men were probably damped by seeing that what their predecessors had givenin usum Collegiihad disappeared from sight, and was lost out of mind. Possibly the tutors may have fanned the indignation of their pupils at the appropriation of the gifts intended for the College Hall by the Provost for the adornment of his country seat. The Fellow Commoners could no longer obtain plate for their breakfasts or luncheons, as the students of Oxford or Cambridge Colleges did, and still do. With the return of greater respect for these bequests will return again to the members of the College the desire to leave this very tasteful record of gratitude for the daily contemplation and use of succeeding generations.

EPERGNE (REIGN OF GEORGE II.).

EPERGNE (REIGN OF GEORGE II.).

FOOTNOTES:[169]The first line is a hexameter, as is the second line of the previous inscription. Moses is a traditional Christian name in Lord Downshire’s family (Hill).[170]Cf.Stubbs,op. cit.p. 83, who quotes from the Lismore Papers, iii., p. 80. I also presume that Mr. Alvey’s plate, mentioned in the list on page 3, must mean Provost Alvey’s donation, which would be as old as 1609. “Sir William Wentworth’s basin and ewer,” in the same list, would point to his government of Ireland as a date.[171]A pair of these soup tureens and covers were given as early as 1722 by William Fitzgerald, Bishop of Clogher.

[169]The first line is a hexameter, as is the second line of the previous inscription. Moses is a traditional Christian name in Lord Downshire’s family (Hill).

[169]The first line is a hexameter, as is the second line of the previous inscription. Moses is a traditional Christian name in Lord Downshire’s family (Hill).

[170]Cf.Stubbs,op. cit.p. 83, who quotes from the Lismore Papers, iii., p. 80. I also presume that Mr. Alvey’s plate, mentioned in the list on page 3, must mean Provost Alvey’s donation, which would be as old as 1609. “Sir William Wentworth’s basin and ewer,” in the same list, would point to his government of Ireland as a date.

[170]Cf.Stubbs,op. cit.p. 83, who quotes from the Lismore Papers, iii., p. 80. I also presume that Mr. Alvey’s plate, mentioned in the list on page 3, must mean Provost Alvey’s donation, which would be as old as 1609. “Sir William Wentworth’s basin and ewer,” in the same list, would point to his government of Ireland as a date.

[171]A pair of these soup tureens and covers were given as early as 1722 by William Fitzgerald, Bishop of Clogher.

[171]A pair of these soup tureens and covers were given as early as 1722 by William Fitzgerald, Bishop of Clogher.

(Decorative chapter heading)

“The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns.”

In the year 1711 there was a Lecturership of Botany in connection with the Medical School of Trinity College, and there was apparently a “Physic Garden” near the School, extending from the Anatomy House towards Nassau Street, as seen on Rocque’s Map (ante,p. 187). Dr. Nicholson was the first Lecturer; he published a pamphlet of some 40 pages, entitledMethodus plantarum, in horto medico collegii Dublinensis, jamjam disponendarum, Dublini, 1712, which the writer has not seen. The garden could not have been on a very large scale, but it would appear to have supplied the needs of the School for over fifty years, for it is not until during the Lecturership of Edward Hill that we find that the garden was transferred to the neighbourhood of Harold’s Cross, where it was in part the private property of the Lecturer on Botany, but assisted by a grant in aid from the College. Dr. Stubbs[172]tells us that “in 1801 a Curator was appointed, and that in March, 1805, his salary was fixed at £130 yearly, out of which he was to employ two labourers all the year round,and two additional labourers from March to December.” Mr. Hill retired from the Lecturership in 1800, which, on the passing of the Act 25 George III. (1785), “for establishing a complete School of Physic in Ireland,” had been made into a University Professorship. There was some difference of opinion between Hill and the College authorities as to the value of the plants and houses, and in the College accounts for 1803 there occurs the following entry:—“Dr. Hill, allowed him by the award of the arbitrators, to whom the cause between the College and him concerning the Botany Garden was referred, £618 19s. 8d.”

The two last decades of the last century were noteworthy, from a botanical point of view, for the immense interest that was taken in Great Britain and Ireland about the cultivation of exotic plants; the latter voyages of Captain Cook, and those of Captain Vancouver, had, through the zeal of Banks, Solander, and Menzies—to mention only a trio of the worthies of that period—been the means of bringing to the Kew Gardens many most interesting plants; the publication by Aiton of hisHortus Kewensis, a catalogue of the plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and of Francis Bauer’sDelineations of Exotic Plantscultivated in the same gardens, had given a fresh impetus to their study, and from about this date the period of the scientific Botanic Garden may be said to date, and the day of the “Physic Garden” to end.

The subject of having a Botanical Garden in Dublin began to be debated about 1789, and in 1790 the Irish House of Commons voted a sum of £300 to the Dublin Society “in aid of the cost of providing a Botanic Garden;” this Society, which took an active interest in everything tending to promote the welfare of the country, at once appointed a Committee, consisting of Drs. Perceval, Hill, and Wade, to consider the question. Dr. Perceval had just retired from the Secretaryship of the Royal Irish Academy. Dr. Hill was the Dublin University Professor of Botany. Dr. Wade was the Lecturer on Botany to the Dublin Society, and the author of the first published catalogue of Dublin plants, and ofPlantæ rariores in Hibernia inventæ. On the report of this Committee, the Royal Dublin Society resolved that letters should be written to the University of Dublin and the College of Physicians requesting their advice and assistance, and hoping that they would approve of the measure and have money granted towards the scheme. This letter was sent in June, 1791, and after the long vacation the Board of Trinity replied through their Registrar as follows:—“That it had been of a long time the anxious wish of the Board of Trinity College to co-operate in any scheme by which a Botanic Garden may be established on the most useful principles; that for this purpose they had allocated anannual sum at present exceeding £100, and in order to expedite the plan they had appointed a Select Committee of the Senior Fellows, who were ready at the most convenient time to meet any deputation from the Dublin Society and the College of Physicians, and to report their proceedings to the Board.” At this time the College of Physicians had not replied to the invitation of the Dublin Society; but on December 8th, 1791, they also intimated that they had appointed a Select Committee, consisting of Sir W. G. Newcomen, Bart., Andrew Caldwell, and Patrick Bride, to consider the subject.

What negotiations may have taken place during 1792 are not known, but we find that in 1793 a Bill was brought in to the House of Commons, by the Right Hon. the Secretary of State, “to direct the application of certain sums of money heretofore granted towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden to the Dublin Society, and for the appointment of Trustees for that purpose;” whereupon the Provost and Board of Senior Fellows presented the following petition:—

“MARTIS, 11 DIE JUNII, 1793.“A petition of the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of the College, under their common seal, was presented to the House and read, setting forth, that the Petitioners and their predecessors have for a long series of years used their best endeavours to promote the study and improve the faculty of Physic in said College, and considerable sums of money have been, and are annually and otherwise applied by them for that purpose.“That an Act having passed in this kingdom for the establishment of a complete School of Physic, of which the University Professors make a part, namely, the Professors of Botany, Chemistry, and Anatomy, the petitioners, for the encouragement of science, and without obligation from the charter or statutes so to do, have continued to make a liberal provision for the support of those professorships; that a Botanic Garden is indispensably necessary for the success of that science, but the funds of said College are totally inadequate to the establishment or support of such an institution, they have exerted their utmost efforts to promote it by allocating for that purpose a fund, which in the last year amounted to £112, but which will be insufficient for the establishment or maintenance of such an institution; that the Legislature having been pleased to grant several sums of money to the Dublin Society towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, that society caused application to be made to the petitioners for their advice, assistance, and contributions, and, as the petitioners are informed, applied to the College of Physicians for the like purposes, and the members of the College have, as far as in them lay, granted the annual sum of £100 for the purpose out of funds vested in them for medical purposes; the petitioners apprehend that by the application of the said several funds, and by the co-operation of a certain number of persons out of the said three bodies, the success of said scheme will be most effectually promoted; that the copy of a bill for these purposes having been laid before the petitioners, they are humbly of opinion that the said bill, if passed into a law, wouldtend to promote the success of the said institution, which they consider as necessary to a complete School of Physic, and useful to the University, and whatever regulations may be made in respect to the said establishment, they humbly hope that the wisdom of the Legislature will provide that medical and other students shall have the full benefit of it, the petitioners having nothing in view but their advantage, the success of said School of Physic, and the advancement of science.“Ordered, that the said petition be referred to the committee of the whole House, to whom it was referred to take into consideration a Bill for directing the application of certain sums of money heretofore granted towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, and for the appointment of trustees for that purpose.”[173]

“MARTIS, 11 DIE JUNII, 1793.

“A petition of the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of the College, under their common seal, was presented to the House and read, setting forth, that the Petitioners and their predecessors have for a long series of years used their best endeavours to promote the study and improve the faculty of Physic in said College, and considerable sums of money have been, and are annually and otherwise applied by them for that purpose.

“That an Act having passed in this kingdom for the establishment of a complete School of Physic, of which the University Professors make a part, namely, the Professors of Botany, Chemistry, and Anatomy, the petitioners, for the encouragement of science, and without obligation from the charter or statutes so to do, have continued to make a liberal provision for the support of those professorships; that a Botanic Garden is indispensably necessary for the success of that science, but the funds of said College are totally inadequate to the establishment or support of such an institution, they have exerted their utmost efforts to promote it by allocating for that purpose a fund, which in the last year amounted to £112, but which will be insufficient for the establishment or maintenance of such an institution; that the Legislature having been pleased to grant several sums of money to the Dublin Society towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, that society caused application to be made to the petitioners for their advice, assistance, and contributions, and, as the petitioners are informed, applied to the College of Physicians for the like purposes, and the members of the College have, as far as in them lay, granted the annual sum of £100 for the purpose out of funds vested in them for medical purposes; the petitioners apprehend that by the application of the said several funds, and by the co-operation of a certain number of persons out of the said three bodies, the success of said scheme will be most effectually promoted; that the copy of a bill for these purposes having been laid before the petitioners, they are humbly of opinion that the said bill, if passed into a law, wouldtend to promote the success of the said institution, which they consider as necessary to a complete School of Physic, and useful to the University, and whatever regulations may be made in respect to the said establishment, they humbly hope that the wisdom of the Legislature will provide that medical and other students shall have the full benefit of it, the petitioners having nothing in view but their advantage, the success of said School of Physic, and the advancement of science.

“Ordered, that the said petition be referred to the committee of the whole House, to whom it was referred to take into consideration a Bill for directing the application of certain sums of money heretofore granted towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, and for the appointment of trustees for that purpose.”[173]

A petition from the President and Fellows of the King’s and Queen’s College of Physicians in Dublin, under the common seal, was presented to the House and read, setting forth—

“That in the year 1758 the House was pleased to appoint a committee to inquire into the best means for the establishment of a complete School of Physic in this kingdom, and to refer a petition from the petitioners for that purpose to the said committee, before which several of said College were examined, who, on such examination, declared their opinion that a Botanic Garden was necessary to such an institution; and the said committee was pleased to enter into a resolution to that effect: that in the year 1790 the Legislature was pleased to grant to the Dublin Society, towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, and the said society, &c.”[173]

“That in the year 1758 the House was pleased to appoint a committee to inquire into the best means for the establishment of a complete School of Physic in this kingdom, and to refer a petition from the petitioners for that purpose to the said committee, before which several of said College were examined, who, on such examination, declared their opinion that a Botanic Garden was necessary to such an institution; and the said committee was pleased to enter into a resolution to that effect: that in the year 1790 the Legislature was pleased to grant to the Dublin Society, towards providing and maintaining a Botanic Garden, and the said society, &c.”[173]

It then proceeds in a manner similar to the petition from the College, and it was ordered for consideration with it. With what immediate result is not apparent; but on the 20th of June in the next year (1794) the Dublin Society petitioned the Irish House of Commons that “they might have the sole management of the sums granted by Parliament for the purposes of a Botanic Garden, and that such sums may not be invested in trustees contrary to the grant already made to it, and further, that no other body may be joined with said society in the execution of the trusts reposed in it.”

The influence of the Society proved to be stronger in the House of Commons than that of the University of Dublin or the College of Physicians, and the Dublin Society was intrusted with the sole management of the sums voted, and so the conjoint scheme ended. The Dublin Society, in February, 1792, had appointed a Committee, consisting of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Bishop of Kilmore, Sir W. G. Newcomen, S. Hayes, Th. Burgh, And. Caldwell, and Col. C. Eustace, with powers to take groundfor a Botanical Garden for the Society; and on the decision of the House of Commons being known, the Society, on the 26th February, 1795, took possession of sixteen acres of ground near the “town of Glasnevin, which Major Tickell held by a Toties Quoties Lease from the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church.”

In July, 1806, the Board of Trinity College took a lease of a small piece of ground near Ball’s Bridge, about a mile from the College, containing over three acres; in 1832 they acquired about two acres adjoining in addition, alongside the Pembroke Road. In 1848 about two acres more as a shelter belt along the Lansdowne Road were added, so that the garden now consists of something more than eight acres in all. The first-mentioned plot was surrounded by a high wall, and in 1807 the laying out of the ground was commenced by the newly-appointed Curator, J. T. Mackay. Some twenty years after, we find Mackay writing as follows about “several foreign plants naturalised under the climate of Ireland, chiefly in these gardens”:—

“The College Botanic Garden, which was established in 1807, is situated on the Black Rock road about half-a-mile from Dublin. The soil is a deep sandy loam.“It may be necessary to remark in order the degree of cold the plants were subjected to. Although the winters in Ireland are in general very mild, the intensity of the frost during the last five winters has been occasionally very great, as in December, 1819, the thermometer once fell to 15° Fahr.; in January, 1820, to 16° Fahr.; in February, 1821, to 16° Fahr.; in December, 1822, to 25° Fahr.; in January, 1823, to 15° Fahr.; and on December 3, 1824, to 18° Fahr.”He gives a list of thirty-seven plants, chiefly natives of Chili, China, New South Wales, and the South of Europe, planted in the open air, and among them “Veronica decussata, a native of the Falkland Islands, the only shrubby species of the genus.Olea europea, which was unprotected for the last seven years.Ligustrum lucidum: one plant in the open border was now six feet high [it is now twenty feet].Pittosporum tobira, lately introduced, stood without protection.Solanum bonariensestood planted near a wall.Cassia stipulaceastood out by a wall, in a south-east exposure, for the last eight years, and produced copiously its showy blossoms in April and May, but required some mat protection in severe weather.Aristotelia Macqui: one specimen is now fourteen feet high; it retains its leaves in mild winters, but drops them in spring before another set is produced.Mespilus japonica(Loquat) grows to a large size, retains its leaves throughout the winter, but never flowers; andMelaleuca albastood out on a south-east wall for the last five years, and blossomed last summer.”[174]

“The College Botanic Garden, which was established in 1807, is situated on the Black Rock road about half-a-mile from Dublin. The soil is a deep sandy loam.

“It may be necessary to remark in order the degree of cold the plants were subjected to. Although the winters in Ireland are in general very mild, the intensity of the frost during the last five winters has been occasionally very great, as in December, 1819, the thermometer once fell to 15° Fahr.; in January, 1820, to 16° Fahr.; in February, 1821, to 16° Fahr.; in December, 1822, to 25° Fahr.; in January, 1823, to 15° Fahr.; and on December 3, 1824, to 18° Fahr.”

He gives a list of thirty-seven plants, chiefly natives of Chili, China, New South Wales, and the South of Europe, planted in the open air, and among them “Veronica decussata, a native of the Falkland Islands, the only shrubby species of the genus.Olea europea, which was unprotected for the last seven years.Ligustrum lucidum: one plant in the open border was now six feet high [it is now twenty feet].Pittosporum tobira, lately introduced, stood without protection.Solanum bonariensestood planted near a wall.Cassia stipulaceastood out by a wall, in a south-east exposure, for the last eight years, and produced copiously its showy blossoms in April and May, but required some mat protection in severe weather.Aristotelia Macqui: one specimen is now fourteen feet high; it retains its leaves in mild winters, but drops them in spring before another set is produced.Mespilus japonica(Loquat) grows to a large size, retains its leaves throughout the winter, but never flowers; andMelaleuca albastood out on a south-east wall for the last five years, and blossomed last summer.”[174]

James Townsend Mackay was the author of theFlora Hibernica, published in Dublin in 1836. He was made an honorary LL.D. of the University of Dublin in 1849. He was an excellent botanist, and his name is still kept in grateful and pleasant memory in the Gardens which he laid out, and which he so ably managed for over fortyyears. Harvey named after him a beautiful acanthaceous plant,Mackaya bella. On his decease Mr. John Bain was appointed Curator, and on his retirement on an annuity Mr. Frederick Moore was appointed, on whose succeeding his well-known father, Dr. David Moore, in the care of the Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin, the post was given to F. W. Burbidge, M.A.—about all of whom, as happily still living, we cannot write.

The outer garden, which runs along two sides of the ground originally enclosed, is surrounded by a lofty iron railing. This space has been most judiciously planted with trees and shrubs. Hollies in variety are especially luxuriant. Advantage has also been taken of the wall, which is now covered with many choice plants, among which may be mentioned fine plants ofMagnolia grandiflora, which in some years flower profusely;Colletia feroxandC. cruciata, large specimens ofPyrus japonica,Wistaria sinensis,Chimonanthus fragans,Choisya ternata,Smilax latifolia, and many such like.

The inner garden contains a well-arranged collection of the principal natural orders of plants, a large stove-house, two green-houses, an orchid and a fern house. Opposite one of the green-houses there is a small pond, the water for which is brought in from the River Dodder; but, in addition to this water-supply, the garden has a supply under pressure from the City of Dublin Water Works.

The Gardens are open during daylight to the officers and students of the College, and to others on orders to be obtained from any of the Fellows or the Professor of Botany. Lectures are delivered in the Gardens during Trinity Term to the Medical School Class, and to students working for the Natural Science Medal.

Between 1830 and 1840 there was a small collection of plants kept in presses in No. 40 College, which chiefly consisted of a series of specimens gathered in Mexico and California by Dr. Coulter; but it was not until 1844, when the late Dr. W. H. Harvey was appointed Curator, while Dr. G. J. Allman was elected to the Professorship of Botany, that the foundation of the present Herbarium was really laid. Dr. Harvey, prior to 1841, had spent several years in an official position at the Cape of Good Hope, where he had succeeded in making large collections of the native plants, and he had from time to time published(chiefly in Hooker’sJournal of Botany) many descriptions of new and rare forms. Compelled by the state of his health to return to Europe in the spring of 1842, in the following year his health was sufficiently restored to make him wish for some active employment. The Professorship of Botany became vacant in 1843, and Harvey was a candidate. To qualify him for the post, Harvey was made a M.D.Honoris Causa; but it was contended that this was not sufficient, and that a properly qualified medical man alone could occupy the chair. As a result, Allman was elected to the Professorship, and the post of Curator of the Herbarium was specially endowed for Harvey, who presented his collection of dried plants to the College, and received some increased pay therefor, with a proviso that, should other provisions be made, and that as a result he were to lose the post, a certain sum that was agreed upon should be paid to Harvey by the College. He entered upon his duties in March, 1844, and for a little over twenty years the Herbarium was yearly increased by his zeal and labour. In September, 1844, we find a record of his adding 4,000 species at “one haul” to the collection, from Sir W. Hooker’s duplicates; a few weeks later were added 1,400 species from the interior of the Swan River Colony, collected by Drummond. Soon the couple of rooms in No. 40 became too small, and room after room was added until the whole of the first or floor flat was filled. With this increase of specimens came the necessary demands on the Bursar for money, not only to pay for new plants, but for the necessary paper on which to mount them. At first an annual sum of £10 was placed at Harvey’s disposal; then on his urgent entreaties, supported by those of John Ball, who from the first days of the Herbarium to the last of his own was ever a faithful friend of Trinity College, this sum was increased to £30 (this to include the ten). Next we find serious objection taken to a special charge of £34 for paper, and Harvey was obliged to promise that he would be content if allowed to spend an average annual sum of £10 on this most important adjunct to a Herbarium.

BOTANICAL GARDENS—THE POND. WINTER.

BOTANICAL GARDENS—THE POND. WINTER.

In spite of all these little drawbacks, by the year 1850 the Board’s confidence in Harvey had so increased, and the Bursar had become so sympathetic, that we find a yearly sum of £108 paid as Herbarium expenses, and collections were bought from Spruce, Bowker, Wright, Fendler, Jameson, and many others.

The year 1858 was rendered notable by the purchase of Count Limingan’s Herbarium for £237, the duplicates of which were disposed of to the Melbourne University Herbarium and to the Queen’s College, Cork. During 1849-50 Harvey visited the United States, and by this visit greatly added to the College collections; and his lengthened tour in Australiaand the South Sea Islands during 1853-55, chiefly made for the purpose of collectingAlgæ, resulted in making the College Herbarium so rich in these forms that it has become a necessary resort for all students of this group of plants, containing as it does the types as well as the finest series of specimens collected by one who was during his lifetime the chief authority upon these plants. Harvey died on the 15th of May, 1866, at Torquay. To the very last the College Herbarium was in his thoughts. To the writer of these lines he dictated a letter, signed by him in pencil, and dated the 12th May, 1866, giving directions about certain packages of plants:—“The six bundles ofEricabelong to the Cape Government Herbarium, and should be put with the others in the box, so that they may not be forgotten when the packing time comes. On the table you will find in an old marble paper cover the MSS. of the new edition of theGenera of South African Plants, which put by carefully, and which Dr. Hooker will probably inquire about;” and so on with four pages of last words, for the letter concludes, “I tell you all these things because I never expect to see the Herbarium again, and I wish to leave all things as straight as I can.”

In 1878 the Herbarium was transferred from No. 40 College, these rooms being required for students, to the large room over the great staircase leading to the Front or Regent’s Hall; but since then, as no money is allowed for the purchase of new specimens, the increase of the collection has depended exclusively on donations, and some very generous ones have been received, among which may be mentioned as among the more important those from Dr. Grunow, of Vienna; Professor Farlow, of the Harvard University; Dr. E. Bornet, of Paris; Professor A. G. Agardh, of Upsala; and Baron F. Mueller, of Melbourne.

The general collection in the Herbarium is a fairly representative one. There is still kept as a distinct collection the one made by Harvey for the purpose of writing theFlora Capensis. The British Collection is also kept by itself. There is a very fine series ofalgæand of mosses, and a small collection of lichens and fungi. A commencement has been made of a collection of woods, fruits, and seeds in the Botanical Museum.

(Decorative chapter ending)

FOOTNOTES:[172]History of the University of Dublin(1591 to 1800), p. 270.[173]Taylor:History of the University of Dublin, pp. 101-2.[174]Dublin Philosophical Journal, vol. i., 1825, p. 211.

[172]History of the University of Dublin(1591 to 1800), p. 270.

[172]History of the University of Dublin(1591 to 1800), p. 270.

[173]Taylor:History of the University of Dublin, pp. 101-2.

[173]Taylor:History of the University of Dublin, pp. 101-2.

[174]Dublin Philosophical Journal, vol. i., 1825, p. 211.

[174]Dublin Philosophical Journal, vol. i., 1825, p. 211.

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