FOREIGN AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



ing could be adapted as the object then more 

 immediately required; and, in my original 

 prospectus, I prominenty mentioned the 

 fact, as one which had received a large share 

 of my attention. Since that day nothing 

 has transpired to alter my views, but, on 

 the contrary, ever3'thing has contributed to 

 strengthen and establish them, and to fur- 

 ther convince me, if such further conviction 

 had been needed, how valuable an appendage 

 to this great metropolis would be a large 

 national place of recreation and instruction, 

 such as I propose. 



AVithin the last twenty years, the phy- 

 siology, economy, and requirements of ani- 

 mated nature, with the effects which climate, 

 locality, and various contingencies have upon 

 their health and habits, have been studied 

 and examined, with the best results. Geo- 

 logy, closely connected with the study of 

 plants, has, in its wondrous discoveries, un- 

 folded to our view the mysteries of ages 

 long gone by, when the earth's inhabitants 

 differed widely from those now seen occupy- 

 ing its surface; of these no recorded history 

 furnishes us with particulars, and but for 

 this science we must have looked back thro' 

 the thick mist of time, with scarcely a glim- 

 mering of light to guide us. By the aid of 

 chemistry and botany many useful disco- 

 eries have been made, which practical hor- 

 ticulture hns rendered subservient to the 

 comforts and happiness of man; and the 

 removal of the duty on glass has given an 

 impetus to this science which onlj'- a short 

 time ago no efforts could possibly have call- 

 ed into action; iudeed, had that duty still 

 existed, no building such as I am now treat- 

 ing of could possibl}' have been erected, and 

 without an extensive use of glass, to equally 

 admit and diffuse a subdued light, no such 

 displays as at present could have been se- 

 cured. 



The achievements of horticulture, how- 

 ever, do not stop here, or merel}' consist in 

 what has been accomplished within the great 

 exhibition building, where dry and polished 

 articles and the most tender fabrics may be 

 safely preserved; but it leads onwards to 

 the formation of climates, which even under 

 opposite influences are rendered healthy, 

 and suited to the wants and requirements 

 of man. Formerly, wherever plants were 

 congregated beneath a glass structure, the 

 atmosphere was invariably deteriorated, and 

 rendered unfit for being more than transient- 

 ly inhaled; the usual method with visitors 

 being to take a hurried view of the chief 

 beauties within, and then retire to a more 

 genial air. But now plant-structures are 



no longer unhealthy , pent up ovens ; although 

 the immense variety of objects they contain 

 form a remarkable contrast with the mea- 

 gre appearance of former collections, yet 

 these objects are seen growing with an ease 

 and natural vigor which, with the limited 

 knowledge and means we possessed former- 

 ly, it was impossible to imitate. The ven- 

 tilation and climate of our dwelling-houses 

 have also been considered, and many addi- 

 tions to our comfort have in this respect 

 been made. The perfection of these inter- 

 nal arrangements, contrasted with the at- 

 mosphere without, renders it still more de- 

 sirable that something on a large scale should 

 be done to counteract the effects of the out- 

 er air, which, in this country, and the neigh- 

 borhood of London especially, is often dur- 

 ing many months in the year impure, mur- 

 ky, and unfit for healthy recreation and 

 enjoyment; and it is to meet this want that 

 I offer the present recommendation. All 

 hitherto erected structures, however great 

 and noble some of them are, fall far short 

 of answering this end, and I cannot but 

 recommend, now that we do possess a build- 

 ing like the Crystal Palace, which in its di- 

 mensions is the best adapted for such a pur- 

 pose of anything that has been hitherto at- 

 tempted, that it should be so appropriated 

 — and especially as its peculiar site between 

 Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens is the 

 best spot that couM have been selected; con- 

 necting as it does those two great prome- 

 nades — it appears exactly calculated to con- 

 centrate beneath its roof the pleasures of 

 both. 



A building like this, if properly laid out, 

 will open a wide field of intellectual and 

 healthful enjoyment; it will likewise, I 

 hope, stimulate the wealthy in large manu- 

 facturing towns to a similar adoption of 

 what may now be raised so cheaply; and 

 when judiciously furnished with vegetation, 

 ornamented Avith sculpture and fountains, 

 and illustrated with the beautiful works of 

 nature, how pure, elevating, and beneficial 

 would its studies and exercises be. At pre- 

 sent England furnishes no such place of pub- 

 lic resort, for although Kew has a splendid 

 Palm-house, where daily arc congregated a 

 great number of individuals, j'et its warm 

 and humid atmosphere is only calculated to 

 admit of visitors taking a hasty view of the 

 wonders of the tropics, as they pass in their 

 walks through the gardens. On the con- 

 trary, in the Winter Park and Garden I 

 propose, climate would be the principal 

 thing studied; all the furnishing and 

 up would have special reference to that 



