l^TS.] 



.-V A D H OR TICUL TURIS T. 



123 



so we timidly inquired for ice, and to our great 

 delight some chunks soon tloated in the liquid. 

 I cannot describe the curiosity with which we 

 were regarded by those in the vicinity as w-e sat 

 indulging in that delicious drink; and, relating 

 the, to us, amusing incident a day or two after, 

 while dining with a leading English nurseryman, 

 he assured us that he did not wonder at it, for he 

 did not remember that he had ever tasted ice 

 water in his life ! 



But we were nicely cooled off, and started for 

 a tour round the park. It seems to Imve an out- 

 line of a])out two miles, and has much of the 

 continually varying character of the Notting- 

 ham arboretum, alread}' described, only with 

 more room; there is, of course, a much greater 

 variation, and these variations of a much more 

 elaborate character. The land is flat and the 

 great worJc has to be wholly one of art. The 

 ancient ditches, to which we have referred, have 

 been gathered into great lakes, and scores of 

 boats with ladies in them showed that the 

 healthy exercise of rowing was a feminine ac- 

 complishment. There were more varieties of 

 American trees here than I had seen anywhere, 

 the Silver Maple especially in considerable 

 quantity, but it does not grow Avith the vigor it 

 does in our river bottoms at home. Among the 

 specialties of this park were bark basket beds 

 which had painted cable rope for borders ; beds 

 wholly of Moss roses, then beds of other roses, 

 forming regular rose gardens ; beds of Zonale 

 geraniums, in which immense quantities of one 

 kind would be massed ; and only imagine a gar- 

 den in which the tobacco was the leading leaf 

 plant of beauty, while the purple Senecio or 

 Tacoboia formed a sort of base color between the 

 large tobacco leaves. The sub-tropical garden 

 is a special feature of Battersea Park. To this 

 end palms, tree ferns, Indian rubbers, and simi- 

 lar things in pots and tubs are sunk in the 

 ground for the Summer. It is a principal ele- 

 ment in giving the great variety this park pos- 

 sesses, and so far a success. Then there are 

 rock gardens; and of this we must sayit seemed 

 the most successful attempt at rock-woi'k we 

 over saw, and does great credit to its designer, 

 Mr. Pulham. The stones in some places are 

 arranged so as to resemble natural strata, in 

 which effort considerable geological knowledge 

 must have been called into service. Then to 

 make the work look still more natural, across on 

 the opposite side of the wide ]il;iin, rocks are ar- 

 ranged in a very similar way, so that the way ap- 

 pears as a gulch through the rock torn out by na- 

 ture. Then rock-loving bush(>s and genuine rock 

 ])lants are introduced among the rocks with little 

 rills and cascades ; all so natural and yet so beau- 

 tiful that you stand and look enraptured, not 

 thinking of it as a work of art, but only wonder- 

 ing why you had not met with so charming a 

 sight in the wild haunts of nature before. I had 

 often heard of the carpet beds and tropical gar- 

 dening of this park, but never of its wild rock 

 garden, but to me it was the loveliest of all. 

 The carpet beds, to -be sure, are exquisitely 

 beautiiul. They were real carpets, for the leaf 

 plants are kept down by scissors and shears to 



a perfect level, and no color is allowed to in- 

 trude a hair's breadth on the line marked out 

 for another. The plants used are all the same 

 as we use for "massing;" for carpet bedding, as 

 understood here, is almost unknown in our land. 

 We have mosaics, but no carpets. I had noted a 

 silvery plant used in these carpet productions 

 not found in our gardening, and desirous to 

 know its name, with the inquiry I handed my 

 card to one of the foremen, as I had found by 

 experience the value of an American card in 

 obtaining kind consideration. After saying the 

 plant was Leucophyton Brownii, and looking at 

 the card he observed that one of the honorable 

 Commissioners of the London parks was on the 

 ground, and he w^as sure he would not be forgiv- 

 en if he allowed me to go without an introduc- 

 tion. I knew what this meant ; and as I had cut 

 out for part of my day's work the use of one of 

 my American letters to James McHenry, Esq.. 

 wiiom I had understood had a model suburban 

 garden, and which I might take as a tvpe of that 

 style of English gardening, it was not without 

 some reluctance that I went with my new found 

 friend and was introduced to Mr. Rogers. On 

 reading my name he treated me with the utmost 

 cordiality, and was kind enough to say there 

 was no one from America whose visit to the 

 park gave him more pleasure than this of one 

 with whose Avritings he had ])een so long famil- 

 iar ; and there was no help for it, I had to go 

 over the pretty grounds again. And yet I was 

 not sorry, for we cannot do more than learn 

 wherever we are, and I found Mr. Rogers a gen- 

 tleman remarkably well versed in horticultural 

 taste, and I could not but wish that all park 

 commissions were as ably and intelligently 

 served. From Mr. R. I learned that there are 

 occasionally changes among the personnel of 

 Park Boards as with us, but the Secretary of 

 the Board, and all other ofticers of Departments 

 are in a measure permanent, and this ensures 

 the carrying out of a uniform plan of manage- 

 ment. There is no waste of public funds which 

 follow changes, and no useless otticers. There 

 are two hundred acres in the park, and notwith- 

 standing the many varied details, all un- 

 der one foreman. There are men who have- 

 charge of divisions, who were first taken as 

 laborers; these are "advanced men." The 

 number of guards vary with the seasons. At 

 times when thousands throng the park they may 

 be as high as sixty. The lowest numl)cr is ahoiU 

 sixteen. The plants for bedding purfxisi's are all 

 raised on the grounds. Fur these purposes 

 there are eight greenhouses, each 2U feet by 100. 

 besides frames. It may give some idea of tiie 

 immense luimber of plants required for orn:i- 

 mentation of this character, when I say that i.i 

 the beds this season there were no less tha'i 

 7.') ,000 Lobelias, and 48,000 Geraniums. So grea; . 

 however, is the national love of gai-dcniuL;- 

 among all classes, that whatever feehng there 

 may be against public exi)enditures, those on 

 paiks and public gardens are rarely objected t<'. 



The Boston Public Treks. — A correspDU- 

 dent writes that in our remarks on trees for 



