1876.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



251 



egories and sent by the hundred to different 

 parts of the world. 



It was in this nursery that the splendid Ber- 

 tolonia Van Houttei was raised, which caused 

 such a flutter of sensation by the wonderful 

 combination of glistening colore playing on the 

 foliage — a plant which won gold medals wher- 

 ever it was exhibited. It is impossible, however, 

 to enumerate a tithe of what has been raised 

 here, but we must not pass silently the Azaleas, 

 of which many of the finest varieties extant of 

 A. indica have been raised in this nursery. 

 Some of these were noticed in our report of the 

 Brussels Show, but one, a charming semi-double 

 white C. Van Eckhaute, was omitted. It was 

 from this nursery that A. mollis was first dis- 

 tributed, and nowhere else can such fine and 

 striking varieties be found. Azaleas of all sec- 

 tions are planted out during the summer, and 

 are potted or mossed in the autumn, and sent by 

 thousands to all countries. 



Camellias, too, are another staple of this nur- 

 sery, and in the autumn of last year probably 

 500,000 plants might be seen and all grown in 

 pots, some being plunged in brick pits and others 

 placed in the avenues formed by Lombardy Pop- 

 lars where the plants could enjoy shade without 

 drip. Tuberous Begonias are here seen in bril- 

 liant arraj' and in the foremost varieties of the 

 day ; they are also planted out in leaf soil during 

 the summer. * 



The glass department is very extensive, the 

 structures being mostly plain brick pits with 

 span roofs. There are also some very large 

 houses, one being about 100 yards in length, re- 

 sembling a railway tunnel ; another is quite cir- 

 cular, having been originally erected for the 

 Victoria regia and other aquatics, but now occu- 

 pied with Palms. Altogether there are upwards 

 of forty houses, with pits and frames innumera- 

 ble. These are all filled with plants of almost 

 every genus usually cultivated under glass, 

 which are propagated and sold in a wholesale 

 manner. 



The nursery grounds are also very extensive, 

 and are now intersected by a line of railway. 

 The different quarters are divided by hedges of 

 evergreens, the enclosures forming bulb gardens; 

 gardens of herbaceous plants, in which the estab- 

 lishment is very rich ; hardy fruit gardens, Rose 

 gardens, enclosures for deciduous trees, and 

 evergreens. Such is an outline of this great 

 nursery. 



Shall we enter the large white family dwelling? 

 No need to speak of the hospitable welcome 

 which has been so long accorded to all and 

 every wandering horticulturist. But we may 

 briefly sketch the business bureau where its 

 owner for so many years labored with indomi- 

 table energy and herculean strength. Alas ! that 

 the central point of interest should be now the 

 "empty chair!" There the great man sat, 

 spurning a coat, even a vest, when in the dis- 

 charge of his duties. Without rising from his 

 chair he could by a system of wire communi- 

 cation summon whom he wanted from any part 

 of his nui*sery. There he sat with his several 



clerks before him engaged in correspondence in 

 every European language, himself guiding, di- 

 recting and transacting his large business, and 

 conducting his literary work. There he was 

 surrounded by his fine library of horticultural 

 books, amongst which, of course, a long series of 

 volumes of the Journal of Horiiculture and Gar- 

 deners' Clironicle were arranged and referred to. 

 But now he is gone. An united family have lost 

 an_ honored head, and horticulture has lost one 

 of its best ornaments. 



As the best biography and greatest memorial 

 of a man is written in his work, we have given 

 this sketch as faintly shadowing the character of 

 him whom many friends of many nations mourn. 

 M. Van Houtte has left behind him a rare exam- 

 ple of industry; he was a man of great botanical 

 and literary ability, and his memory will be 

 cherished at home and abroad, and his name 

 will be mentioned as one both honored and 

 illustrious. 



He has left a widow, two daughte!rs and a son, 

 who will continue the management of his 

 nursery. This son, M. Louis A. Van Houtte, 

 has attained to manhood. He is a gentleman of 

 activity and an accomplished linguist." 



HOKTICULTUEAL JUDGES AT THE CENTENNIAL. — 



It is not to be wondered at that in an affair of 

 such tremendous magnitude as the Centennial, 

 things should not all go right. It is indeed 

 amusing to hear of this or that one body, or 

 even individual, who feels himself or his cause 

 has been "snubbed." By what we can learn, 

 everybody in every sort of way has been 

 "snubbed." They have all "snubbed" one 

 another. It is at least a satisfaction to find that 

 the authorities are willing to repent when con- 

 victed of wrong. Among their slips was the 

 overlooking of judges for horticulture and pomo- 

 logical products. The last has been some time 

 remedied, and now we have for horticultural 

 judges Messrs. Thurber, Breckenridge, Saunders, 

 and F. Pentland. It strikes us as fortunate that 

 the omission occurred at first, for it is very 

 doubtful if so able and honorable a jury would 

 have been selected in the first instance. 



"Palms" on Palm Sunday. — The English 

 papers are trying to find out why their people 

 use willows for "palms" on Palm Sunday, and 

 fancy they find Scripture for it : " Ye shall take 

 you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, 

 iaranches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick 

 trees, and willows of the brook." The Catholics 

 in this part of America use box branches, but do 

 not search Scriptures for authority. The most 

 rational explanation is, that the willow was used 

 because they could not get "palm," and the box 



