John Hill (1716-75) was trained as a pharmacist and then became a gardener and curator of dried plants for the Duke of Richmond. He left to become an actor before opening up a pharmacy in Covent Garden. He then translated a treatise on mineralogy which finally brought him a degree of financial security and a calling. He became a writer of many subjects, his most impressive being the twenty-six volume ‘Vegetable System’ for which he personally designed and etched 1,600 plates. Hill also worked on the ground breaking for Kew Gardens and as a gardener at Kensington Palace. Hill is noted for introducing the Linnaean system of botanical nomenclature to England. This is from the ‘Eden, or a Compleat Body of Gardening’ which is arranged as a calendar week by week beginning at the end of August. Dunthorne (1938) 129; Henery (1975) no. 805; Hunt (1958) 559; Nissen ZBI (1978) 880; ‘Oak Spring Flora’ (1997) pp. 197-201; Sitwell & Blunt (1956) p. 59.