Frederick William Burbidge ( 1847 - 1905 )

Borneo in the 1800s Lay waiting for the interpid collector , offering its vast assortment of botanical riches and beckoning enticingly . One of the pioneer orchid collectors who answered the siren call was Frederick W.Burbidge ,gardener , writer , artist ,and traveler .

Frederick William Burbidge was born at Wymeswold ,Leicestershire ,England , on 21 March 1847. His father was a farmer and fruit grower ,and in childhood the son gained that love for horticulture that sustained him throughout a useful and active life. He was educated by home study and at the village schools and , after some experience in private gardens , he went to the Chiswick gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society . There , in 1868, he won numerous awards and certificates in his examinations . He also gained high honors in examinations at the Society of Arts in 1874, using his training there as background when he left Chiswick and went to the Royal Gardens at Kew. Here ,among other duties ,he gave considerable time to the art of botanical illustration . While at Kew he became increasingly involved in the plant studies then being conducted , and his thoughts and activities centered on the acquisition of horticultural and botanical learning .

From 1873 to 1877 Burbidge was a member of the staff of The Garden and became a frequent contributor to the gardening press. His book on Cultivated plants (1877) was especially noted as one of the most useful horticultural texts of the period.

In 1877 Burbidge undertook a collecting expedition to Borneo in the employ of Messrs. James Veitch & Sons . The main purpose of the trip was to obtain and introduce new plants to horticulture , as well as birds, insects ,and other objects of scientific interest. In particular ,he was urged to search for certain nepenthes known to inhabit the island . These plants had previously been discovered by Sir Hugh Low in 1851, but his attempts to introduce specimens into European gardening had failed . Thomas Lobb searched for the plants in 1856, and though he actually reached the foot of the mountain upon which they grew, the hostility of the natives prevented him from collecting . Burbidge ,however , was successful on both scores and was later able to introduce living plants and seeds. He also visited the three native courts of Jahore, Brunei, and Sulu, making extensive collections in the interior of the latter.

On his return from an extended trip through Australia and the Fiji Islands he met Peter C.M. Veitch, and together they formed the first expedition to Kina Balu, Borneo's Sugar Loaf Mountain .The journey was exhausting and endured with difficulty , for the entire route from Gaya Bay to the mountain and back to the coat through the villages of Kuong , Kalawat, and Bawang had to be covered entirely on foot.The expediton proved fruitfull neverthless , and on his return to England in 1879 Burbidge brought back many dried specimens and original drawings as well as numerous living plants . The following orchids were particularly well received and popularized in British glasshouses: Paphiopedilum lawrenceanum and Paphiopedilum burbidgei ,dendrobium burbidgei and Dendrobium cerinum , bulbophyllum leysianum and Bulbophyllum petreianum , Phalaenopsis mariae and Phalaenopsis grandiflora , Masdevallia burbidgei and Aerides burbidgei. His account of the Bormean expedition was later recorded in his entertaining and enjoyable book ,The Gardens of the Sun.

Upon his return home Burbidge was appointed curator of the Trinity College Botanic Gardens at Dublin,Ireland .His accomplishments in that capacity became known to all of horticulture and , in recognition of his work , in October 1897 the Victoria Medal in horticulture was conferred upon him. He was also highly pleased when the authorities at Trinity colleage conferred upon him the honor of master of arts honoris causa. Besides other degrees and awards , he was also a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Veitch medalist.

For some time Burbidge had suffered from heart trouble , but it was with unexpected suddenness that a seizure killed him in his sleep on 24 December 1905 , at his home in Dublin .

References

Gardeners ' Chronicle ,1889 ,F.W. Burbidge ,M.A. Vol.6 ,no . 139.

Gardeners' Chronicle . 1905. Obituary .Vol. 38 ,no . 992.

Gardening World ,The . 1906 - Book Notes News ,etc ,Vol .44 ,no . 518 .

Orchid Review ,The . 1906 .Obituary .Vol .14,no. 157.

Van Steenis ,C.G.G> J. 1950 .Cyclopaedia of Collectors .Flora Malesiana .Vol. 1,ser.1.

Veitch ,,James H. 1906 .Hortus Veitchii. Chelsea London: James Veitch & Sons Ltd.