26 



purpose. In Great Britain every garden of note was visited, 

 and Dr. Fischer universally received proofs of good will from 

 the managers, to whom our new establishment became in- 

 debted for most valuable additions. The purchases in England 

 amounted to about 40,000 Rs., or £1,600, and the presents 

 received ought to be valued at even more than that sum. 

 Mr. Goldie, well known from his travels in North America, 

 was entrusted by Dr. Fischer with the care of these treasures 

 on the voyage from London to St. Petersburgh. In the mean 

 time, a choice selection had arrived from the Royal Gardens 

 at Berlin. The total increase of plants thus obtained was 

 fourteen thousand five hundred and ninety-eight, in eight 

 hundred and eighty-eight genera, and three thousand two 

 hundred and thirty species, of which about four hundred 

 perished on the way. The total number of species in the 

 garden was at this time about ten thousand. 



This splendid collection, brought together at so much ex- 

 penditure of labor and money, ran, almost immediately, the 

 risk of being totally destroyed, in a few minutes time, by the 

 Jearlul inundation which visited St. Petersburgh on the 19th 

 JNovember, 1824. The waters, cooled down to the freezing 

 point, rose to the height of fifty-two inches in our houses, upset 

 stands and pots, and flooded and damaged what did not perish 

 with cold. The extreme height of the flood fortunately lasted 

 but a tew minutes; the waters subsided as rapidly as they had 

 advanced, and, with some inconvenience, we were able to set 

 toot the same evening into the houses. The flues had not 

 been much injured, and, after many vain attempts, we suc- 

 ceeded m lighting the fires. It took fully six weeks to get 

 the houses properly dried ; and after a couple of months, when 

 order had been restored, we counted the extent of our loss, and 

 found it to amount to quite one-fifth of the collection. 



femce 1824 we have increased our stock of plants by every 

 possible means. Collectors have been dispersed, whose labours 

 procured us many rare specimens. The expenses were de- 

 frayed by His Imperial Majesty. Turtschaninow visited 

 pastern bibena; Szovits the North-west of Persia, Armenia, 

 Larabog and Circassia; Hohenacker Circassia, Carabog, and 

 lalysh; Niever a part of Kamschatka; Wiedeman Natalia; 

 Uaron VVrangel caused the Russian colonies on the North- 

 west coast of America to be examined ; Tshernich was our 

 collector m California; Riedel and Lushnath visited the pro- 

 vince of Rio Janeiro, where they had a temporary garden to 

 Siw plants for the return of the Russian vessel from Kam- 



