Chronica - Acta Horticulturae

Angela Clarke Receives ISHS Medal
Award
Mrs. Angela Clarke, retiring General
Secretary of the Institute of Horticulture (IoH)
for the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland,
received an ISHS medal and scroll in recognition
of her long and very effective service on behalf
of the Society from Professor Dr. Geoffrey R.
Dixon, Council Member. The presentation was
made during the Annual General Meeting of
IoH on 30th September 2006, held this year at
Trentham Gardens, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Trentham Gardens combine elements of
British and Italian landscape design established
for the Dukes of Sutherland in the 18th and
19th centuries principally by the work of Zad
Stevens and George Fleming. Estate records for
Trentham date back to the Domesday Book (the
Erin Taylor
Angela Clarke receiving an ISHS medal and scroll from Geoffrey R. Dixon.
survey of Britain ordered by King William 1) of
1086. It is now the subject of £100 million
investment programme by Trentham Leisure
Ltd., to reconstitute and renovate the gardens
and estate for public recreation and enjoyment.
(For reference to Trentham Gardens see The
Gardeners’ Chronicle (1848), Garden Memoranda
- Trentham Hall, 21 October edition, page
703).
The newly appointed IoH Administration
Manager is Mrs. Erin Taylor. We wish Erin a successful
time at the IoH.
New Books, Websites
BOOK REVIEWS
The books listed here are non-ISHS-publications.
For ISHS publications covering these
or other subjects, visit the ISHS website
www.ishs.org or the Acta Horticulturae
website www.actahort.org
The Pineapple: King of Fruits. Fran
Beauman. 2005. Chatto and Wimdus. 336p.
ISBN 0-7011-7699-7 (hardback). £16.99.
Fran Beauman has thoroughly researched the
world’s literature on the history of pineapple in
preparation for writing this well documented
and skillfully presented book. The book is well
illustrated, including several color plates, and
also has a bibliography and index. Lovers of
pineapple the fruit or pineapple the crop, as
well as lovers of good books, will enjoy reading
this wonderful history of pineapple. As with
many of the world’s crops, there is no history of
the domestication and early development of
pineapple. So this delicious history of the fruit
really begins with its “discovery” by Columbus
in 1493 in the New World. Much of the story is
centered in Europe, particularly England but
also in the Netherlands and France, where the
fruit was relatively unavailable until fast oceangoing
ships were invented. Notably, history is
about the unusual rather than the common and
pineapples were unusual in Europe and they
have a surprisingly rich history there. In tropical
countries where pineapple fruits were common,
their history is sparser. One can conclude from
reading this book that such was the case
because the fruit in its home environment was
quite ordinary. Hawaii appears to be the exception
in tropical regions because of its unique
role in leading the world in the mechanized
production and processing of pineapple. The
young industry in Hawaii was supported by a
well-organized research program and imported
laborers. As a result, the growth of the industry
in Hawaii is quite well documented. But the
story of pineapple in Hawaii makes up only a
small portion of this fascinating book.
CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE •VOL 46 • NUMBER 4 • 2006 • 31