 | Rural attractions of London: Trees and shrubs from Japan have been planted to spectacular effect in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Great cedars and specimens of Cupressus obtusa rise in clusters amid the 288 acres. Kew is, of course, a scientific research centre whose single, most important contribution to the Empire occurred when Henry A. Wickham, a resident in Brazil, was asked to return post- haste with as many seeds of Hevea brasiliensis as he could bring. He bowled up to Kew in a hansom cab in June 1876 with 70,000, which were immediately sown. Two months later, about 1,900 seedlings were dispatched to Ceylon, and from these the great rubber industry of the Far East grew. |
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