The oriental plane, which fell just as it was going to be taken down in 1904, was one of the finest in London, planted by Philip Miller, and is quoted by Loudon, in 1837, as then 115 feet high. Some of the other famous trees have also died, such as the cork trees and paper mulberries; but some have been more fortunate, and are among the oldest of their kind in England. The _Koelreuteria paniculata_ is probably the finest in this country, and the other old trees which were noted as being particularly fine specimens in 1813 or 1820, and which are still alive, are _Diospyros Virginiana_, the Persimmon or Virginian date plum, the Quercus ilex, black walnut, mulberry, and _Styrax officinale_. _Rhus juglandifolia_, which grows by the wall, was probably planted when introduced from Nepaul in 1823. The wistaria and pomegranate are old and still flourishing, and young plants of the trees once famous in the Garden are doing well. The amount of attention the novelties in the Physic Garden used to attract is well shown by the spurious translation of De Sorbière’s travels. The little book, published in 1698, purported to be a translation of De Sorbière, but was really an original skit. The writer pretends De Sorbière visited the Garden, and reported a delightful series of imaginary flowers. “I was at Chelsey, where I took particular notice of the plants in the Green House at that time, as _Urtica male oleus Japoniæ_, the stinking nettle of Japan; _Goosberia sterelis Armenia_, the Armenian gooseberry bush that bears no fruit (this had been potted thirty years); _Brambelia fructificans Laplandiæ_, or the Blooming Bramble of Lapland; with a hundred other curious plants, and a particular Collection of Briars and Thorns, which were some part of the curse of the Creation.” That it was worth while laughing at the Garden in a popular skit, shows what an important position it had taken. The green-houses were among the earliest attempted, and many scientific visitors describe their plans and arrangements. They were rebuilt at great cost in 1732. The statue to Sir Hans Sloane, by Michael Rysbrach, stood in a niche in the green-house wall. It was moved to the centre of the Garden in 1751, where it still stands. The Garden was honoured by a visit from the great Linnæus in 1736, and he noted in his diary: “Miller of Chelsea permitted me to collect many plants in the Garden, and gave me several dried specimens collected in South America.” Among the valuable bequests to the Garden were collections of dried plants, now in the British Museum of Natural History, and a library left by Dr. Dale in 1739, on condition that “suitable and proper conveniences” were made for them at the Physic Garden. They should be there still, and the new buildings are eminently suited for their reception; and their use to students would be very great, now that the Garden is well equipped for supplying all the requirements for the modern teaching of botany. [Illustration: CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN]