FOREIGN NOTICES. 



385 



snake a prodigious consumption of these fruits j 

 uiid although the confectioners of Auvergne as- 

 *iure n.s that the flesh of gourds and pumpkins 

 i'iannot be made iuto paste, (an ex|>eriinent wlii/jh 

 ithcy have probably acver tried 1) those of Venice 

 ynalTectedlj pass off the paste of gourds, without 

 pretending to have apricots mixed with it. 



In one of the islands of Venice, near the rail- 

 avay station, there is a Botanic Garcien, under the 

 able iupeiintendonce of Mr. Joseph Ruchinger. 

 Tiiiis garden W2ls formed by a decree of the 23d 

 April, 1810, and ha.s arrived slowly but steadily 

 to the pros|>erous condition in which at appears at 

 the present day. The nuaiber of plants cultivated 

 in it amounts to five thousand. The garden is in 

 the form of a parallelogram, and very extensive. 

 It is bounded by two large ditches of saltish wa- 

 ter connected with the canals, and on digging to 

 the depth of three feet, & briny kijid of water i« 

 .found:; and if this soil, otherwise rich m mineral 

 niubstanoes, suits some plants, there are others, 

 .and o[ this number those with large roots, to 

 avhich it is essentially hurtfuL Moreoii'er, there 

 are some kinds that cannot be cultivated at Ve- 

 nice, even in pots, owing to the proximit}- of the 

 <ianaLs, and the air surrounding this locality being 

 charged ivith saline particles. 



There are many plaots in thi-s garden which 

 <leserve notice, whetter for their rarity, iine 

 growth, eas}' culture, or the readiness with which 

 they flower and fruit. Of this nmuter Ls the 

 handsome Yucca aloifolia, thirty yeaxis old, mid 

 planted wit during twenty-eight years. It grows 

 by a south-west wall, without other shelter, 

 and is about twenty feet high, divided into ten 

 .branches, which every year «end out numerous 

 panicles of flowers, that always ripen their fruit. 

 JVear the entrance ito the garden is a pretty clump 

 of Thuja occidentalis(ArborvitsB,) about four feet 

 high, rising in twelve regular pyramids- near 

 this is another entirely foiijued of La«rus nobilis 

 (<bay,) abou't six feet high, then another of Taxus 

 baccata (yew,) abosjt fosr feet high. There are 

 many trees remarkable for th«ir 'vigorous vegeta- 

 -tion, as Plaatanus orientalis, sixty feet high; 

 JBroussonetia papyrifera, upwards of forty feet; 

 I'Gleditschia triacaiyihos, sixty feet ; Ails-nthus 

 glandulosus, forty-five feet:; and a superb tree of 

 iVIelia Azedarach, thirty feet. 



Leaving these ixne. specimens, the visitor is led 

 towards the conservator)', in front of wliich a large 

 number of Cacti are growing, some in pots, and 

 otiiers in the gK<Kind. Many of these plants de- 

 serve particixlar .mention.; and, perhaps, ia their 

 native countries tliey eould not 'be grown finer 

 than they are here, I obsei-ved, in particular, a 

 Cereiis nycticalus, thirteen feet high, though only 

 «even years old- C, setaeeus, t-an fett, and five 

 years oid- a plant of C, serpentinus bad attained 

 sixteen feet in eight years; C.. ramosus, nine feet 

 in six years ; and a C.. triangularis, thirteen feet 

 in eleven years. Those who are in the habit of 

 growing succulents, know that the Cereuses grow 

 ¥.QL. m. 2^ 



very fast; but it is very seldom they reach such 

 dimensions, in so little time. In the present in- 

 stance, the vigorous growth may be traced to the 

 mode of culture employed by M. Ruchinger. He 

 treats these plants as everybody does the dahlias; 

 that is, with well-manured soil and plenty of wa- 

 ter. These essentials, with the humid and mari- 

 time atmosphere of Venice, sufficiently explain 

 this luxuriant vegetation. 



The Ojmntias, which are treated in the same 

 manner, arc still more curious than the Cereuses. 

 I do not think there is to be foimd in Europe a 

 larger specimen ,o[ O. brasiliensis than that grow- 

 ing in a box before the large conservatory in this 

 garJerL It is thirty-two j-ears old, with its trunk 

 quite thorny, upwards of twenty feet high, and 

 more than eighteen inches in circumference. It 

 is slightly conic, and terminated by a rounded 

 head. It resembles a large tree without leaves, 

 and flat branches, which are yearly covered with 

 fruit„ Neaa- this were large cliunjxs of other sorts 

 of opintias. Of thusc most distinguished, were 

 O;. crassa, about five feet high; O, cylindrica, up- 

 wards often feet; O. dejecta, nearlj' five feet; 0. 

 pioolominea, six feet; 0. spinosissima, ten feet; 

 and O. undulata, upwards of four feet high. The 

 iine thorns with wliich the most of these plants 

 are furnished, and the. large and numerous flowers 

 which succeed each.othej" on their articulated ilisks, 

 render them objects .of tli<5 most lively interest 

 both to botanists and gardeners. In this garden, 

 also, are two plants of Ginko biloba [ Salisburia 

 adiantifolia, the Maiden-hair tree,] aiale and fe- 

 male, upwards of forty feet in height,- Mid two of 

 Junipcxus vir.giniana, growing in the form of round- 

 ed pyramids, and reaching the height of twenty 

 feet. Some of the clumps contain numerous ar- 

 borescent subjects, both deciduous and e-vergreen. 

 Others, of a circular form, are arranged according 

 to the Linnxean s\-stem, and serve as a sort of bo- 

 tanic school;; while another department is set 

 apart for plants possessing medicinal properties. 

 Those, also, employed in the arts and sciences, as 

 well as those of a poisonous nature, are allotted 

 separate pbxces. Not far from these plats is ano- 

 ther, in which is growing a white poplar (Populus 

 alba,) hardly tliirty-two years old, and already 

 upwairds of seventy feet high; the bottom of the 

 ditches constantly percolating water, into which 

 the roots no doubt penetrate, may explain, to a 

 certain extent, this activity of development. 



A iittle farther on is a subterranean passage, 

 constructed with materials obtained at the demo- 

 lition of the convent of which the garden has 

 usurped the place. From this the visitor proceeds 

 over an aqueduct, wliich introduces from the ca- 

 nals the water necessary for the culture of marine 

 plants. Close to this is a mound constructed with 

 old ruins, tastefully planted, and commanding a 

 magnificent view. From hence may be seen a 

 great number of the canals, the railway station, 

 and, in the distance, the Euganeen mountains, at 

 the back of the new bridge which .connects Venic* 



