\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 King \b \cf4 \ATXht13201000 George III\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 was a keen patron of horticulture, and over 7000 varieties and species w
ere introduced into England for cultivation during his reign. It was normal practice for ships taking out agricultural crops to the newly established colonies to bring back a collection of local flora for private gardens and nurseries, including the Ki
ngÆs gardens at Kew. All sorts of boxes and containers were devised for this purpose, but almost one thousand plants were lost for every one that survived the hazardous journey by ship. Sir Joseph Banks, the naturalist who accompanied Captain Cook on
his voyage round the world in the 1770s, was both President of the Royal Society and effective head of Kew Gardens. He counselled captains ôagainst all temptations of idleness or liquorö, because ôone day or even an hourÆs negligence may destroy all th
e trees and plants which may have been collectedö.\par
ô\i The great cabin was appropriated for the preservation of plants, and extended as far forward as after the hatchway. It had two large sky-lights, and on each side three scuttles for air, and was
fitted with a false floor cut full of holes to contain the garden pots, in which the plants were to be brought home. The deck was covered with lead, and at the foremost corners of the cabin were fixed pipes to carry off the water that drained from the
plants, into tubs below to save it for future use\i0 ö. Quoted from William Blight, Captain of the \i Bounty\i0 on its 1787 mission to collect breadfruit in the Pacific and transport them to the West Indies where it was hoped they could be grown as che
