Podcasts about Hans Sloane

Holly talks about realizing how Hans Sloane's early life likely normalized the idea of colonization for him, and also Museum Mike the cat. Tracy talks about the structure of Nate DiMeo's book as it compares to his podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever wondered what the origins of the word jerk are? Or how you can tell whether your allspice is fresh? Sam, Neil and Allie seek answers to these questions in this mini bonus episode.Suggested ReadingHans Sloane, A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica, with the natural history ... (Volume 1) (1707)Hans Sloane, ‘A Description of the Pimienta or Jamaica Pepper-Tree, and of the Tree That Bears the Cortex Winteranus,' in Philosophical Transactions (1686)Melissa Thompson, Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook (2022)

We've been fine tuning our olfactory organs and immersing ourselves in a cloud of wonderful scents. In this episode Neil explains why asafoetida is a substitute for garlic and onions by some religious groups; Sam chats to food writer and broadcaster Melissa Thompson about jerk seasoning (which includes allspice) and Allie has a gripe about a literary misappropriation of aniseed.Useful LinksFor more information on Melissa Thompson visit the FOWL MOUTHS: Food & Recipe Project website or Instagram. Melissa's book Motherland is a great read as well as being packed with mouthwatering recipes.Neil's recipe for Yorkshire Curd Tart and Seed CakeDogs and anisePepper cake recipe on Traditional Yorkshire Recipes blog‘The Wandering Womb' article in the New YorkerSuggested ReadingThe History and Natural History of Spices: The 5,000-Year Search for Flavour by Ian Anderson, (2023)‘Christopher Columbus, Gonzalo Pizarro, and the Search for Cinnamon' by Andrew Dalby. Gastronomica, (2001)1(2), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2001.1.2.40 The English Huswife (1615) by Gervase MarkhamAllspice Pepper Seasoning: Mexican Case by Miguel Angel Martinez Alfaro Virginia Evangelista Oliva, Myrna Mendoza Cruz Cristina Mapes and Francisco Basurto Peña‘A Description of the Pimienta or Jamaica Pepper-Tree' by Hans Sloane, in Philosophical Transactions (1686)A Natural History of Jamaica (1705) by Hans SloaneThe Hobbit (1937) by JRR TolkienSpice: The History of Temptation by Jack Turner. London: Harper Perennial (2004). Turner says that in Le Paradis sexuel des aphrodisiaques (1971) Marcel Rouet advocated rubbing your penis with pepper oil and allspice before intercourse (as an alternative to raw chillies) to drive your partner wild with excitement!

news birthdays/events the emily post institute has new "accepted norms" for the phone etiquette word of the day news are you an e-bike rider...they're more dangerous than you might think game: 80's trivia do you wash your dishes before you put them in the diswasher? news age proof your resume game:  brain quest ancestry dna...for your dog news dumb tech support calls game: getting to know you goodbye/fun facts....national chocolate milk day. while it's one of our favorite childhood beverages in the United States, it actually has Jamaican origins. the  chocolatey drink can be traced back to the 1400s...The Mayans worshipped a god of cocoa...and chocolate drinks were thought to be medicinal and magical throughout history. In 1687, Irish botanist Hans Sloane was appointed as a physician to the Duke of Albemarle in Jamaica. While in Jamaica, Sloane was introduced to Jamaican chocolate water. He found the drinks to be too bitter and added milk for taste. Because of his position, Sloane was allowed to bring the drink mixture back to Europe. He began preaching of the medicinal benefits and selling it to apothecaries.

Since it was established by the British Parliament in 1753 to house the collection of 71,000 artifacts bequeathed to the nation by physician Hans Sloane, London's British Museum has welcomed millions of visitors, including some of the most famous names in history, through its doors to marvel at its wonders.自1753年英国议会为收藏医生汉斯-斯隆遗赠给国家的71,000件文物而建立以来，伦敦大英博物馆已接待了数百万参观者，其中包括一些历史上最著名的人物，他们都曾走进博物馆的大门，惊叹于博物馆的奇迹。In 1765, the 9-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a piece of music dedicated to the museum on Great Russell Street after a visit. Years later, Karl Marx, Bram Stoker and Arthur Conan Doyle became regular users of its famous reading room.1765年，9岁的沃尔夫冈·阿玛迪斯·莫扎特在参观大罗素街的博物馆后，写下了一首献给博物馆的乐曲。多年后，卡尔·马克思、布拉姆·斯托克和阿瑟·柯南·道尔也成了博物馆著名阅览室的常客。In 1972, the visit of the relics of Tutankhamen drew a record 1.8 million visitors to the museum. Then in 1980, it hosted a Viking exhibition. Currently, China's Hidden Century exhibition is being held at the museum to great acclaim.1972年，参观图坦卡门遗物的游客达到创纪录的180万人次。1980年，博物馆举办了维京海盗展。目前，该博物馆正在举办的“中国隐秘世纪”展览广受好评。But this summer, it is not who has been coming through the museum's doors that is being talked about, but it is what has been taken out of them, as a scandal over missing items has made hugely damaging international headlines.但今年夏天，人们谈论的不是谁走进了博物馆的大门，而是什么从博物馆里被拿走了，因为一桩关于藏品丢失的丑闻成为了极具破坏性的国际头条新闻。When the story first broke in mid-August, the BBC reported that a staff member had been sacked and there was a police investigation over items that were "missing, stolen or damaged", with museum director Hartwig Fischer calling it "a highly unusual incident".英国广播公司（BBC）在8月中旬首次报道了这一事件，称一名工作人员已被解雇，警方正在对“丢失、被盗或损坏”的物品进行调查，博物馆馆长哈特维格·菲舍尔称这是“一起极不寻常的事件”。But less than two weeks later, it was Fischer who was on his way out, with his deputy Jonathan Williams stepping back from duties, as the scandal and reputational damage to one of the world's most highly regarded historical institutions grew, with the revelation that there had been unheeded warnings over suspected thefts two years earlier.但不到两周后，菲舍尔就辞职了，他的副手乔纳森·威廉姆斯也退居二线，因为这起丑闻和对这个世界上最受推崇的历史机构之一的声誉造成的损害越来越大。About 2,000 treasures are thought to have been stolen, but recovery has begun for some of them, BBC cited British Museum chairman George Osborne as saying on Aug 26.英国广播公司8月26日援引大英博物馆主席乔治·奥斯本的话说，大约2000件珍宝被认为失窃，但其中一些已经开始追回。Alert ignored警告被忽视The items involved are dated from 15th century BC to 19th century AD, and had been kept primarily for academic and research purposes.这些物品的年代从公元前15世纪到公元19世纪，主要用于学术和研究目的。Osborne told BBC Radio 4's Today program that not all of the items were "properly cataloged and registered".奥斯本告诉英国广播公司四台的“今日”节目，并非所有物品都“进行了适当的编目和登记”。The BBC reported that art dealer Ittai Gradel alerted the museum in February 2021 when he saw items that belonged to it for sale online, but he received a reply from Williams in July that year, saying "there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing".英国广播公司报道称，艺术品经销商伊泰·格拉德尔在2021年2月看到属于博物馆的物品在网上出售时向博物馆发出了警告，但他在当年7月收到了威廉姆斯的回复，称“没有任何不当行为的迹象”。Senior figures dismissed suggestions of theft as "wholly unfounded", and emails sent to Osborne said "all items are accounted for". But the truth was very different.高层人士驳斥盗窃的说法“毫无根据”，发给奥斯本的电子邮件也称“所有物品都已清点”。但事实却大相径庭。"It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged … the responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director," Fischer's resignation letter said.费舍尔在辞职信中说：“很明显，大英博物馆没有对2021年的警告和现在已经完全显现的问题做出应有的全面回应......最终责任必须由馆长承担。”Though it is called the British Museum, the most frequently searched term on its website is "Egypt". Despite the location, many of its most famous pieces are from much further afield.虽然名为大英博物馆，但其网站上最常被搜索的词却是“埃及”。尽管大英博物馆位于英国，但许多最著名的藏品却来自其他国家和地区。For many years, questions have been asked — and not always satisfactorily answered — about how some of them ended up in British hands.多年来，人们一直在追问其中一些藏品是如何落入英国人手中的，但答案并不总是令人满意。Sloane, whose life's collection started the museum, was a highly respected medic, promoting inoculation against smallpox, and becoming president of both the College of Physicians and the Royal Society. But the museum's own biography of him acknowledges that he worked on slave plantations, and that his wife's family fortune, which helped fund his collection, also had links to slavery.斯隆一生的收藏是博物馆的起点，他是一位备受尊敬的医生，提倡接种天花疫苗，并成为内科学院和皇家学会的主席。但博物馆自己为他撰写的传记承认，他曾在奴隶种植园工作过，他妻子的家族财富也与奴隶制有关，而这笔财富也为他的收藏提供了资金。In addition to the contentious provenance of many of its exhibits, the security lapses exposed by the scandal have demolished the suggestion that the British Museum is a safer repository for priceless items of international cultural significance than their places of origin.除了许多展品的来源备受争议之外，丑闻暴露出的安全漏洞也使人们不再认为大英博物馆是比其原产地更安全的具有国际文化意义的无价之宝的存放处。One of the most high-profile examples of this is the long-running dispute with Greece over the marble friezes from the Parthenon in Athens, acquired by Thomas Elgin in the early part of the 1800s and subsequently sold to the museum. The other is the Benin bronzes, brought back by British soldiers from what is now southern Nigeria, in the late 19th century.其中最著名的例子之一就是与希腊就雅典帕台农神庙大理石楣板的长期争端，托马斯·埃尔金在19世纪早期收购了这些大理石楣板，随后卖给了大英博物馆。另一件是19世纪末英国士兵从现在的尼日利亚南部带回的贝宁青铜器。Member of Parliament Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, told The Guardian that the recent scandal, and the fact that there is a specific law — the 1963 British Museum Act preventing the return of such objects — highlighted the "insulting ridiculousness" of the situation.非洲裔人赔偿问题跨党派议会小组主席、议员贝尔·里贝罗·阿迪告诉《卫报》，最近的丑闻，以及有专门法律（1963年《大英博物馆法》）阻止归还此类文物的事实，表明这种情况“荒唐透顶”。Unfolding scandal不断发展的丑闻"One of the most insulting reasons that they've given is that the other countries that these items belong to would either not be able to take care of them or they are likely to be stolen," she said. "But you've got people in this country putting them on eBay."她表示：“他们给出的一个最侮辱人的理由是，这些物品所属的其他国家要么没有能力处理这些物品，要么这些物品很可能被盗。”她说：“但这个国家的人却把它们放到了eBay上。”Unsurprisingly, the Greek government has been watching the unfolding of the scandal closely, saying that it "reinforces the permanent and just demand of our country for the definitive return" of the marbles.不出所料，希腊政府一直在密切关注着这起丑闻的发展，并表示这“坚定了我国对最终归还大理石的永久而公正的要求。”In an interview with newspaper To Vima, Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said the scandal brought into question the fundamental credibility of the British Museum.希腊文化部长莉娜·门多尼在接受《To Vima》报采访时说，丑闻使大英博物馆的基本信誉受到质疑。"The loss, theft, deterioration of objects from a museum's collections is an extremely serious and particularly sad event," she said. "In fact, when this happens from within, beyond any moral and criminal responsibility, a major question arises regarding the credibility of the museum organization itself … the Ministry of Culture is following the development of the issue with great attention."她表示：“博物馆藏品的丢失、失窃和变质是一件极其严重和特别令人痛心的事情。事实上，当这种情况从内部发生时，除了任何道德和刑事责任之外，博物馆组织本身的信誉也会出现重大问题......我国文化部正在密切关注此事的发展。”An unnamed Greek government official was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that the government "like others in the cultural community, are shocked by the scale of the theft … these issues have no direct bearing on our campaign for our legal right for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece, which continues unabated".《金融时报》援引一位不愿透露姓名的希腊政府官员的话说，希腊政府“与文化界其他人士一样，对盗窃案的规模感到震惊......这些问题与我们争取帕特农神庙浮雕回归希腊的合法权利的活动没有直接关系，我们的活动仍在继续。”In addition to the current temporary exhibition, which ends in October, there are around 23,000 pieces from China among the British Museum's estimated 8 million items, with some there since its foundation.目前的临时展览将于10月结束，除此之外，在大英博物馆约800万件藏品中，约有2.3万件来自中国，其中一些藏品自建馆以来就一直在那里。Given the importance that has recently been placed on repatriating Chinese cultural artifacts that have ended up overseas, the saga has been followed with interest in Beijing. There has been no formal comment from the authorities yet, but there was a strongly worded editorial piece about the issue in the Global Times on Aug 28.鉴于近来对流失海外的中国文物回国的重视，中方一直在关注这一事件。中国政府尚未对此发表正式评论，但8月28日《环球时报》发表了一篇措辞强烈的社论。Emiline Smith, a fellow of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong and a lecturer at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, told China Daily that although the initial story had taken her by surprise, given the museum's status as being the epitome of safe guardianship, it was less of a shock when more details emerged.香港大学犯罪学中心研究员、苏格兰格拉斯哥大学讲师埃米琳·史密斯告诉《中国日报》，虽然最初的报道让她大吃一惊，但考虑到博物馆是安全监护的缩影，当更多细节出现时，她就不那么震惊了。"It was clear that there was total lack of oversight and action contributing to an epic failure," she explained. "This isn't the first theft from a museum, and it's not the first insider theft either — anyone who's been in museum storage would know that things do go walkabout, and in this case, it was very clear that there is far too much in the collection for anyone to be able to control it effectively.她解释说：“很明显，完全缺乏监督和行动导致了史无前例的失败。”她解释说：“这不是博物馆第一次失窃，也不是第一次内部失窃--任何在博物馆仓库里呆过的人都会知道，东西确实会不翼而飞，而在这起案件中，很明显藏品太多，任何人都无法对其进行有效控制。”"It's a problem of documentation, but also a problem of funding in relation to the kind of oversight needed to avoid these things happening. In recent years, the former government's policy of austerity has clearly had a negative impact in terms of the loss of expertise and a weakening of the systems that could have prevented this happening, so it's quite ironic that the former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, one of the political architects of that policy, is now chairman of the museum, when this has emerged."“这是一个归档的问题，也是一个资金的问题，涉及到避免这些事情发生所需的监督。近年来，前政府的紧缩政策显然产生了负面影响，导致专业人才的流失，削弱了本可以防止此类事件发生的系统，因此，前财政大臣乔治·奥斯本作为该政策的政治设计师之一，如今却成为博物馆的主席，而这一事件却出现了，真是颇具讽刺意味。”Although the British Museum had the misfortune to be caught out, other museums around the world, particularly ones with roots in colonialism, could face many of the same difficult questions.虽然大英博物馆不幸中招，但世界各地的其他博物馆，尤其是那些与殖民主义有渊源的博物馆，也可能面临许多同样棘手的问题。In recent years, momentum has been building behind a wider global movement to repatriate items, and Smith said the publicity this incident has received had given that campaign renewed energy.近年来，全球范围内掀起了一场遣返文物的运动，史密斯说，这次事件的曝光为这场运动注入了新的活力。"It seems that for too long, the British Museum has been run by people who have regarded it as a private collection and think no one will ask any questions," she said. "It seems to have been operating on a too-big-to-fail mentality. This has been proven very wrong."她说：”似乎长期以来，大英博物馆都是由一些人在管理，他们把大英博物馆视为私人收藏，认为没有人会提出任何问题。”她说，“大英博物馆似乎一直抱着‘大而不能倒'的心态在运营。事实证明这是大错特错的。”China is one of many countries that will be keeping a close eye on how the story continues to develop, given the amount of items of its own heritage that are in different hands and distant lands. But as Smith pointed out, its approach to repatriation so far has been distinctive.中国是密切关注此事后续发展的众多国家之一，因为中国有大量的文物掌握在不同的人和遥远的国度手中。但正如史密斯所指出的，迄今为止，中国对文物回归的态度是与众不同的。"China has positioned itself slightly differently from other countries, as it's bought back items — normally countries of origin make a legal claim, involving law enforcement and suing, or go down the ethical route, making a public claim," Smith explained.史密斯解释说：“中国的定位与其他国家略有不同，因为它买回了文物--通常情况下，文物来源国会提出法律要求，包括执法和起诉，或者走道德路线，提出公开要求。”"Instead, China … has asked private donors to buy back objects, which are then reinstated through private museums, which has been effective — if Chinese items ever come up at auction, the room is sure to be full of Chinese buyers."“相反，中国......要求私人捐赠者回购文物，然后通过私人博物馆恢复原状，这种做法很有效。如果中国的物品出现在拍卖会上，拍卖场上肯定会挤满中国买家。”Wider shock waves更广泛的冲击Although official voices have not been heard from China on the issue, the Global Times made it clear where the authorities stand over the matter.尽管中国官方尚未就此事发出声音，但《环球时报》清楚地表明了当局对此事的立场。"The Global Times statement showed a desire to go down the ethical route and hold countries accountable for the harms they have done through history," she explained.她解释说：“《环球时报》的声明表明，中国希望走道德路线，让各国为其在历史上造成的伤害负责。”The wider shock waves caused by the museum's very public crash and burn are likely to embolden efforts from communities of origin around the world to reclaim their heritage, a path of action cleared by the most unlikely of helpers — COVID-19.博物馆的公开坍塌和焚毁所引发的更大范围的冲击很可能会使世界各地的原住民社区更有勇气重新找回他们的遗产，而最不可能的帮助者——新冠疫情——则为这一行动开辟了道路。"The pandemic meant museums had to put their collections online, to maintain visitor interest, and that made it easier to discover where things are," she explained.她解释说：“新冠疫情意味着博物馆必须将其藏品放到网上，吸引游客的兴趣，这使得人们更容易发现藏品的下落。”"Now people in even the remotest areas can get hold of a smartphone and follow the story and track things down, so you're getting countries and communities that haven't necessarily spoken up before saying that they want their heritage back. Politically, it's extremely interesting."她解释道：“现在，即使是最偏远地区的人们也可以通过智能手机了解相关故事，追踪相关物品，因此，以前不一定会说出来的国家和社区现在也会说，他们想要回自己的遗产。从政治层面来看，这非常有趣。”As the museum looks to rebuild its credibility, Carl Heron, its director of scientific research, has been appointed as acting deputy director. But the museum's journey back to its former status will be a long one, with difficult decisions to be made along the way.由于博物馆希望重建其信誉，其科学研究主管卡尔·赫伦已被任命为代理副馆长。但是，博物馆恢复其昔日地位的道路将是漫长的，一路上需要做出艰难的决定。What was initially described as a "highly unusual incident" has brought voices and spirits from the past into the spotlight of the present, and the final irony is that these items, long buried in dark archives, could end up shaping the future of the museum world.最初被描述为“极不寻常的事件”将过去的声音和精神带到了现在的聚光灯下，而最后的讽刺是，这些长期埋藏在黑暗档案中的物品最终可能会塑造博物馆世界的未来。"For years, momentum has been dictated by European and North American forces, but it's high time someone else took over at the wheel as what they have been doing has been shown to have failed," Smith said.史密斯说：“多年来，欧洲和北美的力量一直在主导着博物馆的发展势头，但现在是时候让其他人来掌舵了，因为他们一直在做的事情已经被证明是失败的。”"The world is ready for the British Museum to be reinvented, so it needs to take stock of what it has, and come up with an authentic and equitable safeguarding plan that is practical, as opposed to the outdated approach of the gentleman curator. If it changes those values, then there's hope it can reinvent and rebuild itself."“世界已经准备好让大英博物馆重塑形象，因此它需要对自己所拥有的一切进行评估，并提出一个真实、公平、切实可行的保护计划，而不是像绅士馆长那样采用过时的方法。如果它能改变这些价值观，那么它就有希望重塑和重建自己。”Artifact英/ˈɑːtɪfækt/ 美/ˈɑːrtɪfækt/n.（尤指有文化价值或历史价值的）人工制品，历史文物Scandal英/ˈskænd(ə)l/ 美/ˈskænd(ə)l/n.丑行，丑闻

"no riff-raff allowed"

From minting coins to digital currencies, Anne McElvoy is joined by Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, British Museum coin curator Tom Hockenhull, historian of science Patricia Fara and political economist Ann Pettifor to explore the physical and virtual life of money as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of Decimal Day in the UK. The discussion ranges from the symbolism of images we find stamped on individual coins to the cashless society, and whether or not there is a magic money tree. February 15th 1971 was the date when the old British system of pounds, shilling and pence changed, following earlier unsuccessful attempts and the founding of a Decimal Association in 1841. But what is our relationship with money at the moment in a world of bitcoin, and paying by credit cards not loose change ? Patricia Fara's books include Life after Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career; Pandora's Breeches - Women, Science and Power; Science: A Four Thousand Year History Tom Hockenhull is Curator of Modern Money in the Coins and Medals department at the British Museum which was built upon the various collections of Hans Sloane - amongst them were 20,000 coins. His books include Making Change: The decimalisation of Britain's currency and Symbols of Power : Ten Coins That Changed the World. Kenneth Rogoff is a Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics at Harvard University. From 2001-2003, he was Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. His books include The Curse of Cash; This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly co-authored with Carmen Reinhart Ann Pettifor is the author of books including The Green New Deal, and The Production of Money. https://www.annpettifor.com/ Producer: Eliane Glaser. You might be interested in the episode of Radio 3's Words and Music broadcasting on Sunday February 21st at 5.30pm which features a series of readings and music exploring the idea of money. In the Free Thinking archives: "new money" and the wealth gap depicted in Edith Wharton's 1920 novel The Age of Innocence https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000c4ln Does Growth Matter? Anne McElvoy talks with demographer Danny Dorling and economists Richard Davies and Petr Barton https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gbtl Economics: Anne McElvoy talks to Juliet Michaelson, Liam Byrne, John Redwood and Luke Johnson https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03qbv3q Linda Yueh gives the Free Thinking Festival Lecture on Globalisation and restoring faith in the free market https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p062m7mj

"you can put a child on one of these lily pads and they will not fall in"

57:26 - British Museum removes statue of slave-owning founder: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/aug/25/british-museum-removes-founder-hans-sloane-statue-over-slavery-links?   New Statue Context: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3362294473818000&id=169284376452375 Museum felt ‘Extremely Compromised’ by Minister’s Plea to Keep Slave Trader Statue: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/museum-of-the-home-robert-geffrye-statue_uk_5f480bb2c5b6cf66b2b4ed4c? Bonnie Greer Interview: https://youtu.be/u0CcdkFFv7M In defence of Hans Sloane: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-defence-of-hans-sloane? The Little-Known Role of Slavery in Viking Society: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/little-known-role-slavery-viking-society-180975597/ *** 01:22:12 - National Trust restructuring plans are ‘one of the most damaging assaults on art historical expertise ever seen in the UK’: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/national-trust-restructuring-plan-job-cuts? The trendies have destroyed the National Trust: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-trendies-have-destroyed-the-national-trust?   Is the National Trust turning into a National Joke? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8652387/Is-National-Trust-turning-national-joke-GUY-ADAMS-investigates.html? Oxburgh Hall: Thousands of ‘rare items’ found in attic: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-53804700? Amazing secrets found under National Trust manor house’s floorboards: https://www.edp24.co.uk/features/heritage/oxburgh-hall-norfolk-discovery-under-floorboards-1-6796085?   *** 01:58:09 – Muppet of the Month Trump erroneously says 1918 Spanish Flu ‘probably ended’ WWII, which happened two decades later:   https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/10/trump-1918-spanish-flu-probably-ended-wwii-which-happened-two-decades-apart/3340770001/   soupgate Tweet:   https://twitter.com/Archaeos0up/status/1301143528605655041?s=20   The Atlantic Twitter thread:   https://twitter.com/TheAtlantic/status/1301642301656137730?s=19&fbclid=IwAR3gg9GI8Y9QKJwKMk_5sxYq3ZBhIZDyynVQNI65ef9e9rT3KT1KnZtISXU   Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’:   https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/   White House attacks 'false' Atlantic story about Trump insulting dead soldiers: 'What a disgrace!':   https://www.foxnews.com/media/atlantic-story-trump-dead-soldiers? *** 02:20:44 – Media Picks: Mortal Engines (2018): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571234/

57:26 - British Museum removes statue of slave-owning founder: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/aug/25/british-museum-removes-founder-hans-sloane-statue-over-slavery-links?   New Statue Context: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3362294473818000&id=169284376452375 Museum felt ‘Extremely Compromised' by Minister's Plea to Keep Slave Trader Statue: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/museum-of-the-home-robert-geffrye-statue_uk_5f480bb2c5b6cf66b2b4ed4c? Bonnie Greer Interview: https://youtu.be/u0CcdkFFv7M In defence of Hans Sloane: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-defence-of-hans-sloane? The Little-Known Role of Slavery in Viking Society: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/little-known-role-slavery-viking-society-180975597/ *** 01:22:12 - National Trust restructuring plans are ‘one of the most damaging assaults on art historical expertise ever seen in the UK': https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/national-trust-restructuring-plan-job-cuts? The trendies have destroyed the National Trust: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-trendies-have-destroyed-the-national-trust?   Is the National Trust turning into a National Joke? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8652387/Is-National-Trust-turning-national-joke-GUY-ADAMS-investigates.html? Oxburgh Hall: Thousands of ‘rare items' found in attic: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-53804700? Amazing secrets found under National Trust manor house's floorboards: https://www.edp24.co.uk/features/heritage/oxburgh-hall-norfolk-discovery-under-floorboards-1-6796085?   *** 01:58:09 – Muppet of the Month Trump erroneously says 1918 Spanish Flu ‘probably ended' WWII, which happened two decades later:   https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/10/trump-1918-spanish-flu-probably-ended-wwii-which-happened-two-decades-apart/3340770001/   soupgate Tweet:   https://twitter.com/Archaeos0up/status/1301143528605655041?s=20   The Atlantic Twitter thread:   https://twitter.com/TheAtlantic/status/1301642301656137730?s=19&fbclid=IwAR3gg9GI8Y9QKJwKMk_5sxYq3ZBhIZDyynVQNI65ef9e9rT3KT1KnZtISXU   Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers' and ‘Suckers':   https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/   White House attacks 'false' Atlantic story about Trump insulting dead soldiers: 'What a disgrace!':   https://www.foxnews.com/media/atlantic-story-trump-dead-soldiers? *** 02:20:44 – Media Picks: Mortal Engines (2018): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571234/

We'll also learn about the botanical illustrator and collector who established a worldwide reputation for his incredible herbarium. We celebrate the great Himalayan and Alpine mountain climbing and writer - he was also a botanist. We also honor bees with today's poetry. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book gardening in a humane way - helping you create a garden that is healthy and harmonious for all living things. And then we'll wrap things up with an Ode to Basil - my favorite summer crop. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy.   Curated News The hidden gardens of lockdown | The Guardian "As some of the UK's best-loved gardens prepare to reopen to the public, we ask the head gardeners what has been happening behind their closed gates." Gardener Jess Evans: "I can't lie, it's been amazing, and so peaceful," she says. "It's very easy to stick your head down and just crack on and get things done, but this has given us an opportunity to take stock and look at the garden properly." She has also enjoyed the chance to get her hands dirty. "I'm doing more outdoor work than I have done in ages. Usually, I'd be in the office at least two or three days a week, and yet now I've had the perfect excuse not to be."   Hollyhocks | Gardenista "Hollyhocks are designed to give easy access to quantities of pollen, through the open funnels of the single varieties. Just watching a less svelte bee (like a bumblebee) climbing around a hollyhock illustrates how double flowers can be problematic. Aesthetically, the simple singles are very desirable but have been out-marketed by the doubles. The best way to procure singles, in the best colors, is through a generous friend."   What's Green and Sings?   (Click to read this original post)   Alright, that's it for today's gardening news.   Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1706  Today is the anniversary of the death of Leonard Plukenet, who had served as the botanist to Queen Mary II. When he died (like almost every plant-lover of his era), he left his collections and herbarium to Sir Hans Sloane, which is how his collections have become one of the oldest still existing at the Natural History Museum in England. As the royal botanist, Plukenet was an important part of botanical society during the 1600s. Along with George London and William Sherard, Plukenet assisted the zealous botanical aspirations of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Her next-door neighbor was Sir Hans Sloane. When she died, she, too, left her herbarium and other valuable botanical items to Sir Hans Sloane. This is how Hans Sloane became a one-man botanical repository, and that repository ultimately became the Natural History Museum. Plukenet played an unforgettable role in the history of the sacred lotus. And in 2011, Corinne Hannah wrote an exceptional piece about Plukenet's name for the sacred lotus. Here's an excerpt from Corinne's marvelous article, which appeared in the Calgary Herald. "[The] English botanist Leonard Plukenet christened the sacred lotus in 1696 as: Nymphaea glandulifera indiae paludibus gardens foliis umbilicatis amplis pediculis spinosis flore rosea-pupureo, ("nim-fay-EE-ah-gland-you-LIFF-er-AH-in-die-EE-pall-ooh-duh-bus-gardens-fol-ee-ice-umb-Bill-ah-CAY-tis-AMP-YOU-lis-ped-DIC-YOU-lis-spin-OH-sis-flora-row-SAH-poo-PURR-EE-oh") or "the marsh-loving, nut-bearing Indian water lily with large, navel-centered leaves, prickly stalks, and rose-purple flowers. Thank heavens for Carl Linnaeus and his invention of binomial nomenclature, which decreed each plant could only be identified with two names! But Linnaeus was not infallible. He, too, initially identified the sacred lotus as being closely related to the water lily family (Nymphaea). Recent genetic testing has confirmed that sacred lotus belongs to a genus unto itself, Nelumbo nucifera. This aquatic plant is not even remotely related to water lilies. In fact, it is far more closely allied to woody plants such as plane trees or banksias. "   1785  Today is the birthday of the great Sir William Jackson Hooker. Hooker was both a botanist and a botanical illustrator, and he was a great friend of Joseph Banks. Thanks to his inheritance, Hooker was wealthy; he didn't need a patron to fund his work or expeditions. Hooker's first expedition was to Iceland in the summer of 1809. The trip was actually Bank's idea. Hooker came along in order to collect specimens, as well as to trial everything he discovered. Unfortunately, during their voyage home from Iceland, there was a terrible fire. Most people don't realize it, but Hooker nearly died. Sadly, all of Hooker's work was destroyed. But it turns out, Hooker's mind was a steel trap. In a remarkable accomplishment, Hooker was able to reconstruct his discoveries and publish an account of his adventure in a book called Tour in Iceland. Over his lifetime, Hooker established a global reputation for his world-class herbarium. By 1841, he was appointed the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Hooker elevated Kew to greatness. His leadership resulted in an expanding of the gardens from 10 to 75 acres as well as adding a 270-acre Arboretum and a museum for botany. In 1865, there was a virus going around at Kew. Everyone had sore throats. Soon, Hooker, too, became ill. He was 80 years old. The virus overpowered him, and he died. His son Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, and outstanding botanist in his own right succeeded him at Kew.   1900 Today is the birthday of the great Himalayan and Alpine mountain climber and mountaineering writer Frank Smythe. Frank had a diverse range of interests, which he mastered - including photography, collecting plants, botany, and gardening. He is most remembered for his mountaineering and for discovering and naming the Valley of Flowers in the Western Himalayas in India. During his lifetime, Frank would go on seven expeditions to the Himalayas, where he especially enjoyed botanizing and taking pictures. In 1931, Frank stumbled on the Valley of Flowers along with two other English mountaineers after they got lost. The climbers had just finished ascending Mount Kamet, and they were looking for a place to escape bad oncoming weather. The Valley enchanted them, and the flowers made it seem like they were in a fairyland. When Smyth returned to England, he wrote a book called Kamet Conquered, and in it, he named the area the Valley of Flowers. Well, the name Frank gave the Valley caused a sensation. In one of his later books, Frank wrote about the moment he discovered the Valley: "Within a few minutes, we were out of the wind, and in the rain, which became gradually warmer as we lost height. Dense mist shrouded the mountainside, and we paused, uncertain as to the route when I heard Holdsworth, who was a botanist as well as a climbing member of the Expedition, exclaim, "Look!"  I followed the directions of his outstretched hand. At first, I could see nothing but rocks. Then suddenly, my wandering gaze was arrested by a little splash of blue, and beyond it were other splashes of blue, a blue so intense it seemed to light the hillside. Holdsworth wrote: 'All of a sudden, I realized that I was simply surrounded by primulas. At once, the day seemed to brighten perceptibly. Forgotten were all the pains and cold and lost porters. And what a primula it was! Its leek-like habit proclaimed it a member of the nizalis section. All over the little shelves and terraces, it grew, often with its roots in running water. At the most, it stood six inches high, but it's flowers were enormous for its stature, and ample in number— sometimes as many as thirty to the beautifully proportioned umble and in the color of the most heavenly French blue [and] sweetly scented.' In all my mountain wanderings, I had not seen a more beautiful flower than this primula. The fine raindrops clung to its soft petals like galaxies of seed-pearls and frosted its leaves with silver. "   Now you can see how Frank's writing inspired so many people to make a pilgrimage to the Valley. For the people who make the trek, the Valley of Flowers is a seven-day trip from Delhi. It is now a protected national park. As the name implies, it is a lush area famous for the millions of alpine flowers that cover the hills and slopes and nestle along icy flowing streams. Through most of the year, the Valley of Flowers remains hidden, buried under several feet of snow throughout a seven-to-eight-month-long winter. In March, the melting snow and monsoon activate a new growing season. There is a brief 3-4 month window when the Valley of Flowers is accessible – generally during the months of July, August, and September. In 1937, Frank returned to the Valley, where he especially enjoyed botanizing. He gathered specimens and seeds and documented his discoveries. The Valley of Flowers is home to over 500 varieties of wildflowers, and many are still considered rare. Along with daisies, poppies, and marigolds, there are primulas and orchids growing wild. The rare Blue Poppy, commonly known as the Himalayan Queen, is the most coveted plant in the Valley.   Unearthed Words Today's poetry is all about the buzz of July: Bees.   The hum of bees is the voice of the garden. — Elizabeth Lawrence, garden writer   The dandelions and buttercups gild all the lawn: the drowsy Bee stumbles among the clover tops, and summer sweetens all to me. — James Russell Lowell, American Romantic poet   "And pray, who are you?" Said the Violet blue To the Bee, with surprise, At his wonderful size, In her eyeglass of dew. "I, madam," quoth he, "Am a publican, Bee, Collecting the tax Of honey and wax. Have you nothing for me?" — John Bannister Tabb, American poet and priest, The Violet and the Bee   Answer July— Where is the Bee— Where is the Blush— Where is the Hay? Ah, said July— Where is the Seed— Where is the Bud— Where is the May— Answer Thee—Me— ― Emily Dickinson, American poet   All day the bees have come to the garden. They hover, swivel in arcs and, whirling, light On stamens heavy with pollen, probe and revel Inside the yellow and red starbursts of dahlias Or cling to lobelia's blue-white mouths Or climb the speckled trumpets of foxgloves. My restless eyes follow their restlessness As they plunge bodily headfirst into treasure, Gold-fevered among these horns of plenty. They circle me, a flowerless patch With nothing to offer in the way of sweetness Or light against the first omens of evening. Some, even now, are dying at the end Of their few weeks, some being born in the dark, Some simply waiting for life, but some are dancing Deep in their hives, telling the hungry The sun will be that way, the garden this far: This is the way to the garden. They hum at my ear. And I wake up, startled, seeing the early Stars beginning to bud in constellations. The bees have gathered somewhere like petals closing For the coming of the cold. The silhouette Of a sphinx moth swerves to drink at a flowerhead. The night-blooming moon opens its pale corolla. — David Wagoner, American poet, Falling Asleep In The Garden   Grow That Garden Library The Humane Gardener by Nancy Lawson This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife (How to Create a Sustainable and Ethical Garden that Promotes Native Wildlife, Plants, and Biodiversity) In Nancy's words: "A humane gardener challenges herself to see the world through the eyes (and ears and noses and antennae) of other species, from the easy-to-love butterflies and birds to the more misunderstood moles and beetles and wasps and groundhogs. She appreciates all the creatures just trying to make a life outside her door, rather than applying compassion selectively to some species and not others." The book is 224 pages of valuable, inspirational, and critical information designed to help you create a garden that is healthy and harmonious for all living things. You can get a copy of The Humane Gardener by Nancy Lawson and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $16.   Today's Botanic Spark 2015 On this day, Leah Raup, over at the unboredhousewife.com, wrote an ode to Basil. It's a delight. Basil, sweet basil, you are a true summer treat. Straight from the plant is the only way to eat your tender green leaves on Caprese salad or penne, the uses for you are vast – they are many. In ice cream or cookies you're an unexpected flavor, you make me creative and cause me to savor the warm summer air and my bare feet in the grass. I'm pondering ways to store you when autumn comes to pass.

The British Museum’s South Asia Collection is full of Indian objects. Dr. Sushma Jansari, Tabor Foundation Curator of South Asia at the British Museum, does not want visitors to overlook the violence of how these objects were brought to the UK to be held in a museum. So for the 2017 renovation of the South Asia Collection, Jansari, who is the first curator of Indian descent of this collection, made sure to create unexpected moments in the gallery. She highlighted artifacts bequeathed to the museum by South Asian collectors and presented photographs of a modern Jain Temple in Leicester, where she’s from. In this episode, Jansari talks about giving visitors the tools to think about the colonial interest in items in the collection, why she started her excellent podcast, The Wonder House, and how not to let the decolonization movement’s momentum evaporate. Topics and Links 00:00 Intro 00:15 Seleucid–Mauryan war (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid–Mauryan_war) 00:45 Megasthenes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megasthenes) 01:30 Dr. Sushma Jansari, Tabor Foundation Curator of South Asia at the British Museum (https://twitter.com/sushmajansari?lang=en) 02:00 How Events Are Transformed Through History 03:00 Decolonising Museums and Collections 04:21 39. Hans Sloane and the Origins of the British Museum With James Delbourgo (https://www.museumarchipelago.com/39) 04:50 Empire and Daily Life in the U.K. 05:46 Being the First South Asian Curator of the South Asia Collection (https://twitter.com/sushmajansari/status/1053193933810008064?lang=en) 06:30 Working on the 2017 Renovation of the British Museum’s South Asia Collection 08:00 Creating Unexpected Moments in the Gallery 08:15 Mathura lion capital (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathura_lion_capital) 09:30 Visitation Trends Since the Update 10:58 “Not Just One or Two Tweaks” 11:10 Why Jansari Started The Wonder House Podcast (https://thewonderhouse.co.uk) 12:10 “Every Movement Has Its Moment” 12:30 Subscribe to The Wonder House Podcast (https://thewonderhouse.co.uk) Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1486140839?ct=podlink&mt=2&app=podcast&ls=1) 13:30 SPONSOR: Pigeon by SRISYS (https://pigeon.srisys.com/museums/) 14:28 Outro | Join Club Archipelago

Today we celebrate the wealthy Dutch banker who bought enough plants to fill a book for a young Carl Linnaeus and a royal gardener who is an ancestor of Princess Diana. We'll learn about the man who started the first seed company in America and the German botanist buried in the Botanical Garden he curated during his lifetime. Today’s Unearthed Words feature words for children about January. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book written by a beloved Washington DC garden columnist. I'll talk about a garden item that I use all the time in my potting shed and around my garden (so many uses!), and then we’ll wrap things up with the New Zealand gardener, who is featured in one of my all-time favorite garden photos. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles Gardening: Going blue for 2020 The Pantone color of the year for 2020 is Classic Blue. Here's a great post from Nancy Szerlag Detroit News who suggests blue options for the garden: "If I were to look for that color to use in the garden, my first thought would be a Delphinium. Nigella ‘Miss Jekyll' produces exquisite quarter-sized blue flowers on 15-inch plants in full to part sun in late spring or early summer. They are said to reseed annually, so I’m hoping a one-time planting of seed will do the job. A favorite blue flowering shrub of mine is Proven Winners Color Choice ‘Blue Chiffon’ Rose of Sharon. In full sun, it will climb to 10 feet and be covered in lovely anemone-like blossoms for several weeks in summer."   Paris in Bloom - Flower Magazine Here's an excerpt from Georgianna Lane's new book Paris in Bloom. Georgianna's charming images of parks, gardens, shops, and architectural motifs are a vision of Romance and Spring - the perfect gift for Valentine's Day.   Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1685   Today is the birthday of the wealthy Dutch banker and a director of the Dutch East India Company George Clifford III. Clifford loved gardens and had a passion for plants and plant collecting. His work with the Dutch East India Company had made him quite wealthy, and he could afford to purchase the latest plants discovered from around the world in the early 1700s. Clifford invited a young Swedish naturalist to come and stay at his estate. Over two years from 1736 to 1738, Carl Linnaeus helped Clifford with his plant inventory, and he cataloged his vast herbarium. Clifford’s estate gave Linnaeus a treasure trove of botanical specimens, which became the subjects of a book - his early Botanical Masterpiece called Hortus Cliffortianus. The book is essentially an inventory of Clifford's plant collection. Today Clifford's herbarium is housed at the National History Museum in London.   1715   Today is the anniversary of the death of Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort ("BOH-fert"). She was an avid gardener and botanist. She survived two husbands and had eight children. After she was widowed a second time, she focused all of her discretionary effort on gardening. The best horticultural minds of her time helped Mary with her efforts: George London, Lenard Plukenet, and William Sherard. Her next-door neighbor was Sir Hans Sloane, and when Mary died, she (like almost every plant-lover of her era) left her herbarium and other valuable botanical items to him. This is how Hans Sloane became a one-man Botanical Repository. Among Mary's many descendants are Princess Diana and the genus Beaufortia was named in her honor by Robert Brown.   1784  Today, David Landreth started the first American commercial seed business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. David and his family immigrated to Montreal from England in 1780. Four years later, David relocated his family to Philadelphia and named the company simply David Landreth. David was one of the first nurseries to propagate seeds from the Lewis and Clark expeditions. He introduced the Mexican Zinnia in 1798, the garden tomato in 1820, the 'Landreths’ Extra Early' pea in 1822, and the 'Bloomsdale' spinach in 1826. His son, David Jr, took over the business after his death. David Jr. was one of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which started in 1827. Today the Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America.   1848  Today is the birthday of the German botanist and curator of Berlin Botanical Garden, Ignatz Urban.  He helped catalog the Flora of the Caribbean and Brazil. In 1986, Urban’s tombstone was moved to the Botanical Garden he helped relocate during his tenure. He lies alongside other well-known botanists in Berlin.   Unearthed Words Today’s Unearthed Words were written to delight little ears, which makes them timeless in my book. The theme, of course, is January.   Little January Tapped at my door today. And said, "Put on your winter wraps, And come outdoors to play." Little January Is always full of fun; Until the set of sun. Little January Will stay a month with me And we will have such jolly times - Just come along and see. — Winifred Marshall Gales, Abolitionist & Author, January   The sun came out, And the snowman cried. His tears ran down on every side. His tears ran down Till the spot was cleared. He cried so hard That he disappeared. — Margaret Hillert, American author, poet, and educator, January Thaw   January opens The box of the year And brings out days That are bright and clear And brings out days That are cold and grey And shouts, "Come see What I brought today! —  Leland B. Jacobs, Poet & Literature Professor at Ohio State, January    In January it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice. Sipping once Sipping twice. — Maurice Sendak, American illustrator, and writer of children's books (Where the Wild Things Are), In January   Grow That Garden Library The Essential Earthman by Henry Clay Mitchell Mitchell was a garden columnist for the Washington Post, and this book was the sharing of the many posts featured in his column. As a writer, Mitchell was down-to-earth and funny. As a gardener, Mitchell was down-to-earth and funny. This is why, for me, his book is a personal favorite. Here is an excerpt regarding his suggested New Year’s Resolutions for gardeners: “The days are now at their shortest, and the gardener should keep it in mind that his ill humor and (as it may be) gloominess is directly linked to this nadir of the year. All that is necessary is to hold on until spring or a few sunny days, which will surely come in January, February, March, April, or May at the latest. Meanwhile, several activities will help the gardener keep cheerful. Whenever it snows, go out with a broom and swat all conifers likely to be broken down by snow. Whenever there are ice storms, pull the window shades down. When Christmas gift plants… stop blooming, either give them conditions they require or else throw them out. There is no point making yourself miserable by watching a Poinsettia, Cyclamen, or Azalea died over a period of 3 months. Force yourself, for once, to order the varieties of annuals you want from a seedsman in January, so you will not find yourself in a snit in March. Decide those old gardeners are correct, who have been saying for the past few hundred years, that nothing is lovelier or more cheerful in Winter than common ivy, common holly, and common yew. And, you might add, junipers. Put a couple of logs in Lily pools to absorb or deflect some of the pressure of the ice. Do not chop holes in the ice. Fish do not need air holes. If it ever gets warmish again, admire the swelling buds of Elm, Ash, Azalea, flowering Quince. Make up your mind once and for all whether you will give space to a Pussy Willow Bush. Whichever you decide, decide, and stop being of two minds about it. Thank God you do not have to stay in the garden all winter like a blasted Snowdrop ( which should, incidentally, be showing some signs of activity within the year’s first month). Gardeners, on the other hand, will stir about April 8th. You can get a used copy of Mitchell's book and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3. Great Gifts for Gardeners RETON 20 PCS Black Color Heavy-duty Steel S-hooks for Plants, Towels $7.99 Package includes: 20 x S Hooks Heavy-duty steel with PVC coating for durability Great for hanging plants, towels, pans, pots, bags or dozens of other uses around kitchen and bedroom Hook size: Length about 3.4"; Width of open end about 1.2"; Thickness about 0.1" or 3mm The storage hooks can hold up to 40 lbs.; they are made to handle heavier loads.   Today’s Botanic Spark 1983  Today is the anniversary of the death of New Zealand botanist Eliza Amy Hodgson. Hodgson specialized in liverworts. Liverworts are nonvascular plants like mosses. Without a vascular system, mosses and liverworts don’t get very big. These are tiny plants to be sure, and worts are considered one level simpler than mosses. They grow flat on the ground and have large leaf-like structures. Like mosses, worts thrive in moist areas. The word "wort" means "little plant, herb or root" (St. John’s Wort, Pennywort, lungwort, and Bladderwort.) Long ago, herbalists likely thought one of the liverworts resembled a liver - and so used it as a medicine for liver ailments. Thus, the word liverwort means a "liver-like small plant." Now, the reason I chose Eliza Amy Hodgson to close the show today is that she is often shown in a photo, standing in front of a flower border with green foliage and white blossoms. The only problem with the photo is that Eliza is wearing a green hat along with a green dress that is covered in white leaves, which turns the photo into a bit of a Where’s Waldo - and it makes sweet Eliza look like her head is floating above the Landscape. So, here’s a thank you to dear Eliza - who gives us the good reminder never to have your clothes blend in too much with the garden - lest you, in an odd way, become part of the garden itself.

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day.”   ~ Robert Frost   April can be a challenging time in the garden.   How many truly lovely Aprils does one get in a lifetime? I’d venture to say maybe five or six.   Often, the gardens are too wet to get into; provided you could even get to them. Even with the rain, the snow hasn’t completely melted away.   It’s too cold to turn the spigots on, so you’ll have the thrill of trooping through the residue of a long winter: grit and grime, salt and mush.   Until it dries up, there’s really no sense going out.   Content yourself with planning or growing seeds indoors.   Unless you’re having a once in a decade kind of April… then pinch yourself and get going.     Brevities #OTD  We’ve got a big birthday today: Sir Hans Sloane, (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector.    He bequeathed his collection of 71,000 items to the British nation thus singlehandedly establishing the British Museum, the British Library and the Natural History Museum, London.     How was his collection so large? First, he lived into his 90’s and outlived many of his collecting friends. Second, when his friends passed away, they gave Hans Sloane their herbariums and other materials. He was a one man repository for horticultural knowledge.    Fun fact: Sloane is credited with adding milk to cacaoto make  drinking chocolate.   There are many botanical birthdays today. Perhaps Hans Sloane has blessed this day.     OTD Happy birthday to British botanist William Stearn (16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001).    The author of “Botanical Latin”as well as the Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners, a popular guide to the Latin names of plants. He was mainly self-educated which was probably a by-product of being a librarian for the Royal Horticultural Society in London for almost 20 years.   Highly esteemed, he is THE expert on over 400 plants that he named and described.     #OTD  American botanical illustrator Ellen "Nelly" Thayer Fisher was born today in 1847 (April 16, 1847 – October 15, 1911).    The daughter of a doctor, she learned her craft from her brother Abbott.  To make a living, she painted pictures for exhibition but she also gave “lessons by letter” to aspiring artists.  Additionally, her paintings of flora and fauna were widely reproduced as chromolithographs by Boston publisher Louis Prang.     #OTD Mary Gibson Henry died today in (1884 – April 1967).     She was born to be a plants-woman. Her family’s roots in horticulture went way back. Her great-grandfather, George Pepper, was a member of the first Council of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society.    She became an avid botanist and plant collector and also served as president of the American Horticultural Society. The daylily Hymenocallis henryae is named in her honor.     In 1909, she married Dr John Norman Henry. She had a large backyard garden and greenhouses. She had a splendid kitchen garden, native rock plants, and orchards.    Starting in 1929, she went on biannual plant collecting trips. On her first trip, she brought the family - 4 kids and her hubby. Not sure if she continued that, but over the next forty years, she went on over 200 botanical expeditions.   And, she figured out that plant collecting wasn’t for sissies, saying,   "I soon learned that rare and beautiful plants can only be found in places that are difficult of access ... Often one has to shove one's self through or wriggle under briars, with awkward results to clothing and many and deep cuts and scratches ... Wading, usually barelegged, through countless rattlesnake-infested swamps adds immensely to the interest of the day's work.”   On this day in April, Mary died in North Carolina doing what she loved to do: collecting plants     #OTD Born on 16 April 1886, Sir Edward Salisbury was the youngest of nine children.   His passion for plants started as a child. On outings, Salisbury would collect flowers to grow in his own patch at home. Get this: He attached a label to each one, giving its Latin name. His brothers called his garden ‘The Graveyard’.  Typical brothers.    One of the leading British botanists of the twentieth century, he was the director of Kew during the Second World War.  He was not simply an expert on plants themselves, he was supremely interested in their natural habitat.    He wrote many books - my favorite of all of his books is “Weeds & Aliens”. In it, he goes for a walk in the countryside and discovers when he gets home that the cuffs of his wool trousers were full of seeds. He decides to try to grow them and is astounded to discover that he was able to grow more than 300 plants “comprising over 20 different species of weeds."   It was Sir Edward Salisbury who said,  “The double lily was and is a crime against God and man. He lived to be 92.     Unearthed Words Aphra Behn, (Books By This Author), the first professional woman playwright in Britain, whose novel 'Oroonoko', played a crucial role in the development of English fiction, was buried in Westminster Abbey #OTD in 1689.   'All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds' - Virginia Woolf.     Aphra was one of the first women in England to earn a living through writing, inspiring future generations of women to write.   'That perfect tranquility of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend and a good library' – Aphra Behn Today's book recommendation  Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference By Penny Colman (There’s a profile of Mary Gibson Henry in this one)   Today's Garden Chore Todays chore is to get ready to direct sow.  Radish, turnip, and parsnip seeds - get ready to suit up!   Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart #OTD Emily Dickinson's brother, William Austin Dickinson was born today (1829-1895). Of her brother she said, “There was always such a Hurrah wherever you was” William was the oldest of the three Dickinson kids. William was about eighteen months older than his sister Emily.  He tried his hand at teaching but ended up becoming a lawyer; following in the footsteps of both his grandfather Fowler and his father Edward. When they were young, Emily was very close to her brother.  When he was away from home, her letters to him show their common interests and her love for him. She wrote, "Our apples are ripening fast—I am fully convinced that with your approbation they will not only pick themselves, but arrange one another in baskets, and present themselves to be eaten".     Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Over the course of his long life, Hans Sloane collected tens of thousands of items which became the basis for what is today the British Museum. Funded in large part by his marriage into the enslaving plantocracy of Jamaica and the Atlantic slave trade, and aided by Britain’s rising colonial power and global reach, he assembled an encyclopedic collection of specimens and objects from all around the world.James Delbourgo, professor of History of Science and Atlantic World at Rutgers University, is the author of Collecting the World: Hans Sloane and the Origins of the British Museum. In this episode, Delbourgo describes Sloane’s formative years in Jamaica, how his collection was an attempt to catalogue the wonders and intricacies of a divine creation, and how the British Museum, which opened in 1759, came into being as a result of the terms Sloane laid down in his will. Delbourgo also discusses how Sloane’s idea of universal public access to his collections remains radical to this day.Guest:James DelbourgoBook:Collecting the World: Hans Sloane and the Origins of the British MuseumTopics Discussed:00:00: Intro00:15: James Delbourgo00:40: Hans Sloane02:10: Sloane in Jamaica02:58: Earliest Transcription of African Music in the Americas04:21: Sloane in London06:58: Universal Public Access at the British Museum10:40: Admission Charges at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 11:27: Recommendation: Museums in Strange Places12:00: Outro

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane's life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo's book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane's collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Delbourgo‘s new book Collecting the World: The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane (Allen Lane, 2017) tells the fascinatingly complex and controversial story of Hans Sloane, the man whose collection and last will laid the foundation for the British Museum, the first national, free, public museum. For Delbourgo, Sloane was for far too long an overlooked figure, who knitted together the interests of a rising empire through methods of botany, natural history and medicine. Overshadowed in part by his counterpart Isaac Newton, Sloane’s life synchronizes with the changes from seventeenth-century England to eighteenth-century Britain. His life and the time are deeply interwoven with slavery and a new world of commerce. It was thanks to this interconnected world and the many intermediaries that Sloane managed to accumulate so many weird and wonderful objects from different places. He collected, catalogued, and exhibited them according to his own belief system, which centered around binaries of enlightenment versus superstition and sober empiricism versus magic. More than anything, Delbourgo’s book reveals the complex lives and stories around Hans Sloane’s collection and the many different peoples, places and stories that are attached to the silent objects, even today. It raises important historical questions about ownership and authorship of public museums, collections and curatorial practices and makes them relevant for us today. Ricarda Brosch is a museum assistant (trainee) at the Asian Art Museum Berlin (Museum fur Asiatische Kunst Berlin Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), which is due to reopen as part of the Humboldt Forum in 2019. Her research focuses on Ming and Qing Chinese art & material culture, transcultural interchanges, especially with Timurid and Safavid Iran, as well as provenance research & digital humanities. You can find out more about her work by following her on Twitter @RicardaBeatrix or getting in touch via ricarda.brosch@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iszi Lawrence talks to Historian James Delbourgo all about his new biography of Hans Sloane, Collecting the World. They discuss Sloane's pursuit of 'universal knowledge', how he contributed to the founding of The British Museum and his association with the slave trade. Watch Irving Finkel Play the Royal Game of Ur! http://ow.ly/LvO730eFNMI The British Museum Membercast is a monthly podcast made available to ‘all studious and curious persons'. Comedian, podcaster and super-fan Iszi Lawrence (The Z List Dead List) presents snippets from exclusive Members' lectures at the Museum, artfully woven together with interviews and her own musings. Please share your comments and feedback about the podcast! You can talk to us on Twitter @britishmuseum using the hashtag #membercast or email friends@britishmuseum.org

Author and historian James Delbourgo discusses his new book Collecting the World, which explores the life of the 18th-century natural historian Hans Sloane whose collections went on to form the basis of the British Museum in London See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

NARRATOR:  The gateway was designed by the celebrated architect Inigo Jones for Beaufort House in Chelsea in 1621. Lord Burlington admired Jones’s design and acquired the gateway in 1738 when his friend Hans Sloane was demolishing the house. A poem by William Kent describes how the gateway came to Chiswick: Ho! Gate, how came ye here? I came fro’ Chelsea the last yere Inigo Jones there put me together Then was I dropping by wind and weather Sir Hannes Sloane Let me alone But Burlington brought me hither This architecton-ical Gate Inigo Jon-ical Was late Hans Slon-ical And now Burlington-ical Around 200 years after the gate had been installed, Chiswick became a public park. The mental asylum that the Tukes ran here closed in 1929 and the grounds and house were bought by Chiswick and Brentford Council. That same year, His Royal Highness Prince George officially opened the site to the public to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for relaxation and leisure.

Kim Robson talks to Bill McCarrick who is the master chocolatier for Hans Sloane Chocolates.