Introduction
The runaway success of Alicia Amherst’s History of Gardening in England (1895) surprised nobody more than its modest author. Plenty of horticultural manuals offered practical advice but Amherst and her contemporary Gertrude Jekyll helped put gardening into its wider social context. In this passage, she records the first appearance of a much-loved fruit but also gives us a glimpse of a courageous man.
THOMAS Johnson was born at Selby, in Yorkshire, but was himself an apothecary of London, and had a shop on Snow Hill.* It was in this shop on Snow Hill that the banana was first exhibited in England. Johnson received the bunch of fruit from Dr Argent,* who got it from Bermuda. Gerard* had only seen a pickled specimen sent from Aleppo. Johnson hung the bunch up in his shop until it ripened. He says: “Some have judged it the forbidden fruit;* other-some the grapes brought to Moses out of the Holy Land.”* He was the most eminent botanist of the time, and obtained some distinction as a soldier. He joined the army to fight for the Royalist cause, and died from wounds received at Basing in 1644.*
* Thomas Johnson (?1595/1600, to 1644) had set up as an apothecary in London by 1626. He received the degree of Bachelor of Physic by the University of Oxford in 1642, and MD (Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of Medicine) on May 9th, 1643. Thomas Shearman Ralph (1813-1892) published some of Johnson’s writings in ‘Mercurius botanicus’ (1849).
* Dr John Argent (?-1643) was an eminent doctor, who was elected President of the College of Physicians every year from 1625 to 1733 except 1628.
* John Gerard (?1545-1612) was a botanist and surgeon who maintained a large herbal garden in London. In 1597 he published an illustrated Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes that ran to 1,484 pages. Johnson revised and enlarged it in 1633.
* The forbidden fruit is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden; Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat it, but the serpent lured them into disobedience. See Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7. Tradition since the Middle Ages has held that the fruit was an apple, probably drawing on the Apple of Discord in Greek myth, but the Bible does not actually say what it was.
* When Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egypt and across the desert to the land of Canaan, he sent spies into the land to see what it was like. They came back carrying grapes as evidence of its fertility. See Numbers 13:17-27.
* In 1842, the year before Johnson received his MD, the Civil War broke out, pitting King Charles I against his own Parliament in Westminster. Johnson sided with Charles and the Royalists. He took part in the defence of Basing House in Hampshire, a Royalist stronghold, in 1644 and on September 14th received a shoulder wound from which he died a fortnight later.
Précis
Historian of gardens Alicia Amherst noted that Thomas Johnson, a London-based botanist, pharmacist and surgeon during Charles I’s reign, was the first man in England to exhibit the banana, in his pharmacy in Snow Hill. She set the moment in sobering context, by adding that Johnson later gave his life for the Royalist cause in the Civil War. (58 / 60 words)
Historian of gardens Alicia Amherst noted that Thomas Johnson, a London-based botanist, pharmacist and surgeon during Charles I’s reign, was the first man in England to exhibit the banana, in his pharmacy in Snow Hill. She set the moment in sobering context, by adding that Johnson later gave his life for the Royalist cause in the Civil War.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, if, just, not, since, unless, whereas, whether.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Fruit. Obtain. Snow.
2 Forbid. Hill. Out.
3 Born. Receive. Royalist.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Time. 2. Most. 3. Fight. 4. Bunch. 5. Snow. 6. Judge. 7. Army. 8. Base. 9. Fruit.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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