of the matter „-as therefore, with oommonctable sagacity, excluded from mention in the
original proposal. Wan-en Hastings had in 1785 been driven into resignation of the
office of GoTemor-Benoral by the snccossfnl machinations of his enemies in England;
Colonel Kyd's proposal did not therefore come officially before that great and far-seeing
statesman, but before Sir John Macphersen, who acted as Governor-General pending
the arrival of Lord Comwallis from England. Sir John Macpherson recorded a minute
in its favour; and a copy of this minnto, together ivith the proposal itself, were sent
home by tho Calcutta Government, warmly recommended to the Court of Directors, in
a public general letter dated 21st August 1786. So much in fact were the local
Government impressed with the advantages of Colonel Kyd's proposed scheme that,
without waiting for a reply to this letter from the Board, they secured land for the
Garden " i n anticipation of sanction;" and, in a letter dated 27th July 1787, they
reported this action to the Directors. This second letter, however, must have crossed a
despatch, dated London, 31st July 1T87, in which the Board not only conveyed their
sanction to the formation of the Garden suggested by Colonel Kyd, but warmly approved
his action in bringing the proposal to their notice.
Colonel Kyd's country house and garden* stood near the village of Sibpur, on a
promontory round which the Hooghly bonds in passing the site of the present Fort
WiUiam (at that time only recently completed), and which was known then (as it is
now) as Shalimar. And it was land in the vicinity of Shalimm-, and separated from his
own private garden only by a <Utch, winch Colonel Kyd selected for the proposed Botanic
• Tlie foilowing extract is from ihe late Dr. T. Anderaona "Notw on the foundation of the Botanic Garden
Calcnttn," in the Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, volume I, neir seriea, p. 171;—
• I hare endeapoured to discover the site of Colonel Kyd's garden, referred to hy Dr.' Roxburgh in tho second
volumo of the " Mora Indica," page 6i0. It is currently reported thtit Colonel Kyd built the house on the rirer bant,
which I have already referred to, and the grounds around that house, estendhig westwartb to the eastern boundary of
Bishop's College, seem to have been Colonel Kyd's private garden. Tliese grounds are known as Kyd's Garden,
Eoyd's Garden (Sir John Eoyd, Judge of the Supreme Court, to whom Eosburgh dedicated his genus of Capparidacole
Jloydsia), Barwell's Garden, and in 3819 I find them styled Metcalfe's Garden. The land on which Colonel Kyd
ia supposed to have built the Shalimar House belongs to tho zamiudars eaUed the Sibpur Ghowdries. Tho laud
is held from them on a perpetual lease (mowrasipottah) said to be drawn up in Colonel Kyd's name, and this
leaao is now in the possession of the widow of Eajah Kisseunath, near Murshidabad. Uutil 1820 this garden of
Shnlimar. which I believe was Colonel Kyd'. private garden, was aeparated from the Botanical Garden, merely by a
ditch, crossed by a masonry bridge, over whioh was brought a metalled road, which ran in a continuous line on a bund
from the Shalimar House into what was then part of the Botanical Garden. This road and bridge still exist.''
The following extract from the diary of a friend of Major Alexander Kyd gives a rather depreciatory aetxmnt of the
g.lrden house which that officer had inherited from Colonel R, Kyd. The ooncludiog note by another hand, which states
the price at which Major Kyd sold it. shows, however, tliat it must have been rather a good house, for in those days
Es. 40,000 went much further tlian tho same sum would do now: '21si JamMn) ITDE.—Breakfast at Major Kyd's.
The house and grounds vety neat and well laid out. but only two good apartments m it, which are at the extremities
of the two wings. The little octagon room in the middle, to which there is a dome, is so small as scarcely to dine
six people with seiTants behind their chairs, and the ornaments are so multiplied as to give that a trilling appearance,
which, were it on a sufficient scale, would have a grand elfeet; but all this blame is not to be imputed to the Major ;
It arose from his unwillingness to pull down the old house in which tho octagon room was as having boon built hy
his uncle, from whom he mherits it. The building has, however, upon the whole, an hnposing appearance on the
outside, and is abundantly convenient.' In IT'Jo Major Kyd sold his "Garden House" to iSabob Sydat Alii for
Es. 40.000.
Garden. The piece of land thus solected measures more than three hundred acres in
extent, and is of rather irregular shape. It consists of a rather narrow strip running
along the right bank of the Ilooghly for about a mile and a half, but expanding towards
its lower extremity into a large square block. Tho upper part of this piece of land
was in the hands of some villagers, " who had no other title than possession to produce
as giving them right of tenure." These squatters appear to have been compensated and
turned out. The lower part of the land (where it expands into a square block) had
been the site of an old fort or outpost, and it is marked in old charts of the Ilooghly
river as " thana." A creek appears to have run up through this piece in tho direction
of the great Banian, which appears even then to have been rather a large tree.
Colonel Kyd, whose office at this time was that of Military Secretary to Government,
was appointed Honorary Superintendent of the Garden, a post which ho retained until
his death. He never lived within the Garden. In fact there was no dwelling-house
vtithin its limits untfl his successor, Dr. Roxburgh, built the present Superintendent's
house in 179.5. Colonel Kyd probably, as was the fashion of the day, had a town
house in Calcutta. But he appears to have passed a good deal of his time at Shalmiar;
and in his will he directed that he should be buried in his garden there. The part
of tho Botanic Garden nearest to Colonel Kyd's house was devoted to the planting
of teak trees, in accordance with the Company's earnest desire to supply themselves
with timber for sldp-building. The experienco of thirty-four years having shown that
good teak timber cannot be successfully raised en the muddy soil of the Gangetic
delta, this part of the garden (extending to about 40 acres) was in the year 1820
given up b j Govevumeut to the Lord Bishop of Calcutta (Dr. Middleton) as the site
for a Christian College. The Garden was thus reduced to its present area of 270
acres. During the hot season of 1793 Colonel Kyd appears to have become very sick,
and to have known that ho was about to die; for on the 18th of May he made a
new will, which was filed in the Supreme Court of Calcutta on the 10th of June
1793, Colonel Kyd having died on the 26th of Slay. The will is so interesting, and
throws so many lights on Kyd's character, that I venture to print part of it as an
appendix to this brief memoir. By this will the bulk of Colonel Kyd's property was
left to his relative Alexander Kyd, then a Major in the Bengal Engineers. In spite
of the instructions given in bis will, Colonel Kyd was buried in the South Park
Street Cemetery in Calcutta. The tomb is covered by an oblong platform of masonry,
and is described as being situated immediately to the right on entering the gate; but.
as it is marked by -no tablet or monument, it is not now distinguishable. A beautiful
marble urn by Banks the sculptor was, however, in 1795 erected to his memory in the
Botanic Garden on a site selected by Dr. Koxburgh. This ura is still in excellent
preservation and is much admired. It stands upon a marble podeStal, on which this
inscription is caived—' Hoberio Kyd, mil irib. korti Fundatori: posuit A, K. MDCOXCV.''