234 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



FORIEGN NOTICES. 



A T-oNiio.v CnnrciSM. — The English justly stand 

 at the head of all nations in the beautiful art of 

 Lanascape (;aritening-, and the London .-Irl Union, 

 a journal of reputation, devoted to the Arts, is 

 rather chary of its praise of American productions. 

 ^Ve may be pardoneil, therefore, for not being in- 

 sensible Xa conimcmluliotis like the followinp:, 

 whicl) we lind in a late number of that periodical. 

 It is extracted from a review of the 2d edition of 

 our Landscape Gardkning : 



"If it was with some misgiving- that we first 

 opened this volume, such feeling quickly gave way 

 to cordial ap|)roliation ; for it is one that has very 

 agreeably disabused us of some prejudices and mis- 

 conceptions, by convincing us that sound criticism 

 and refined taste, in matters of art, are not confined 

 to this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Downing has 

 here produced a very delightful work; one that 

 must be welcomed even in this country as a valua- 

 ble aildition to what we ourselves already possess 

 on the same subjects, and which cannot fail to 

 prove of equally extensive and beneficial influence 

 in America, where quite a new territory is opened 

 for the exercise of the art of Decorated Landscape 

 Scenery, and its architectural accompaniments. The 

 encouraging recei)tion the book has met with, is it- 

 self a gratifying proof that the author's countrymen 

 possess a relish for the elegant and humanizing pur- 

 suits he treats of; and should they obtain from him 

 some of the generous enthusiasm with which he 

 regards this '• old world " fatherland of ours, there 

 would be less bitterness ami asperity on our side 

 and on the other. 



• • • ♦ • • 



"We have at least introduced to our readers a 

 work which, such of them as are at all interested 

 in gardening, planting, or building, will become 

 not only acquainted, but familiar with, as a judi- 

 cious instructor and agreeable companion." 



Wordsworth's Favorite Flower. — Mr. 

 Wordsworth is fond of the Hollyhock, a partiality 

 scarcely deserved by the flower, but which marks 

 the simplicity of his tastes. He had made a long 

 avenue of them of all colors, from the crimson 

 brown, to rose, straw-color, and white, and pleased 

 himself with having made proselytes to a liking 

 for them among his neighbors. — Foreign Cor- 

 Tribune. 



The Stanwick Nectarlne. — Fruit of this new 

 and extraordinar}' production was received Au- 

 gust 29, 1846, from the Right Hon. Lord Prudhoe, 

 in whose garden at Stanwick-park it had ripened. 

 His lordship obtained the variety from stones given 

 him by Mr. Barker, formerly Her Majesty's Vice 

 Consul at Aleppo, and now residing near Suedia, 

 or Souadiah, in Syria, whose favourable climate 

 is peculiarly suitable for the cultivation of Asiatic 

 and European fruits. A year or two since he 

 brought to this country, amongst other things. 

 Peaches and Nectarines with sweet kernels — such 

 varieties previously unknown in Europe, and pro- 

 bablv never heard of till their existence was an- 



nouncoil by Mr. Tlarkcr. The Nectarine forming 

 the subject of this notice, is about the size of an 

 Elruge, and like it in shai)e, except in being less 

 heart-shaped at the base. Its skin is pale, like that 

 of the White Nectarine, where shaded, with a vio- 

 let tinge next the sun. The flesh is white, ex- 

 ceedingly tender, juicy, rich, and sugary, without 

 the slightest trace; of the flavor of iirussic acid. 

 The stone is middle sized, ovate, with rather a 

 prominent sharp edge, very rugged, and of a cho- 

 colate colour. The kernel is sweet, like a nut, 

 imparting nothing of the bitter-almond flavor. 

 The fruit of the Peach and Nectarine, partaking so 

 much as it does of the qualities of the bitter-al- 

 mond, must have been very deleterious in its un- 

 improved state. Mr. Knight, who himself suc- 

 ceeded in producing a melting Peach from an 

 Almond (figured "Hort. Trans.," vol. iii. j). 1,) 

 states that the Tuberes of Pliny must have been 

 swollen Almonds, or imperfect peaches ; anil Du- 

 hamel has given an account of a fruit which accu- 

 rately corresponds with this description, being 

 sometimes produced by a variety of Almond-tree 

 in France. Mr. Knight adds: " The bitterness, in 

 this case, I conclude can only arise from the pre- 

 sence of the prussic acid, and as this acid, without 

 being extracted by distillation, operates very in- 

 juriously upon many constitutions, some explana- 

 tion appears to be given of the cause why the 

 Peach was reported to possess deleterious qualities 

 when it first came from Persia into the Roman 

 empire." 



" Stipantur calathi et pomis, qure barbar.i Persis 

 Miserat (ut fama est) patriis armala veneiiis." 



Columella, lib. 10. 



The varieties of the Peach and Nectarine now 

 generally cultivated, retain but little of the injuri- 

 ous properties acribed to the species by ancient 

 authors; and, when well ripened, they can be 

 generally eaten with impunity, notwithstanding 

 the slight prussic acid flavor which pervades even 

 their luscious sugary juice; but some constitutions 

 are liable to be effected by this trace. It was, in- 

 deed, considered unlikely that amelioration would 

 be carried much farther. For at least a century 

 little improvement has been effected, and in every 

 variety the kernels have proved intensely bitter. 

 But at last this is overcome; in the specimen above 

 described, the deleterious quality considered inher- 

 ent in the species has disappearetl; and Mr. Barker 

 himself informed me that his fruits with sweet 

 kernels may be eaten as a full meal, in quantities 

 at any time of the day, and repeatedly, with per- 

 fect safety. Mr. Crawford Baillie, gardener to 

 Lord Prudhoe, has furnished the following addi- 

 tional memorandum concerning the Stanwick Nec- 

 tarine : " The Stanwick Nectarine was raised from 

 seeds sown in March, 1843, and budded the same 

 autumn on the Bellegard Peach. In 1845 a few 

 flower-buds were produced near the ends of some 

 of the strongest shoots, but the wood not being suf- 

 ficiently ripe, they proveil abortive. The tree on 

 its own roots is a strong and robust grower, and 



