268 



MR. DOWNING'S LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. 



person in one walk from another one parallel 

 to it, thougli only twenty or thirty feet off. 

 If these ridges, or undulations in the surface, 

 had been cleverly planted with groups and 

 masses of trees and shrubs, the effect would 

 have been very good ; but dotted as they are 

 with scattered single trees and shrubs, the 

 result is a little harsh, with neither the ease 

 of nature nor ;the symmetry of art. If one 

 looks at the Derby arboretum, therefore, as 

 an example of Mr. Loudon's landscape- 

 gardening, one would not get a high idea of 

 his taste. But I believe this would not be 

 judging him fairly, as I think he intended 

 this place as a garden for instructing the 

 British public in arboriculture, even more 

 than as a specimen of public pleasure grounds. 

 And every one who is familiar with botanical 

 gardens, knows how ugly they generally are, 

 from the very plain reason, that instead of 

 planting only beautiful objects, they must 

 necessarily contain a great mass of species, 

 very uninteresting except to the scientific 

 student. 



I noticed one tree which was entirely new 

 to me, and which I am sure will be a valuable 

 acquisition to our pleasure grounds at home. 

 It is the " hoary Pyrus," from Nepaul, Py- 

 rus vestita, — a very striking tree, in its large 

 foliage, which is dark green above, and hoary 

 white below. It is very vigorous and hardy ; 

 the specimen about 30 feet high. 



The Derby arboretum, altogether, as I 

 learned there, cost above $50,000. Consider- 

 ed as the creation and bequest of a private 

 citizen to his townsmen, (and to the country at 

 large,) it is certainly a magnificent donation. 

 When one remembers what a gratification is 

 afforded to the numerous inhabitants of a 

 large town, /or all time to come, by this ar- 

 boretum, what a refreshment after a day's 

 labor for those who have no garden of their 

 own, what an instructive walk — every year 

 increasing in extent — even for those who 



have, what an attraction to strangers, and what a 

 source of pride to the citizens to whom it espe- 

 cially belongs, one cannot but look upon Mr. 

 Strutt's gift, as something done in the 

 largest spirit of philanthropy. Quite as con- 

 siderable sums have often been given by mer- 

 chants in my own country, to found hospitals 

 and asylums for the diseased in mind and body. 

 Perhaps it may not be long before some one 

 of them will follow the example of Mr. 

 Strutt, and form a public garden or park, 

 as such places should be formed, and present 

 it to one of our large cities or towns, now so 

 much in need of it. Would it not keep his 

 memory more lovingly fresh in the minds of 

 his fellow men, and their descendants, than 

 any other bequest it is possible to conceive ? 



The Botanic Garden in the Regent's 

 Park. — As a pendant to this sketch of the 

 arboretum at Derby, let me give you an out- 

 line of another garden in the midst of the 

 Regent's Park, at the west end of London. 

 It cannot, perhaps, be strictly called a public 

 garden ; it is, more properly, a suhscription 

 garden, as it was made, and is maintained, 

 by about 1600 members, who either pay 20 

 guineas at the outset, or 2 guineas a year. 

 The privileges they have, are the free enjoy- 

 ment of the grounds, conservatories, etc., at 

 all times, and the admission of their friends, 

 (not more than two per day,) by tickets. As 

 there is no other way of getting admission, 

 (even the fee, that is so all-potent in most 

 cases, does not prevail here,) of course, very 

 few strangers ever see this garden — the best 

 worth seeing, of its kind, perhaps, in all Eu- 

 rope. As I had, fortunately, been one of the 

 honorary members for some years, I was glad 

 to claim my rights, soon after my arrival in 

 London. 



The scene, as you enter the grounds, is ex- 

 tremely beautiful and striking, especially when 

 you recall (what, without an effort, you would 

 certainly forget,) that you are in the midst of 



