THE ENGLISH NATIONAL GARDEN. 



477 



and Scotland. In this group are some fine 

 specimens of the new and rare spruces ; for 

 instance, a i^j^o-Zam, (Douglass' Spruce,) 30 

 feet high; Morhida, or Smithiana, (Smith's 

 Himalayan Spruce,) 5 feet; and of the sil- 

 ver fir tribe, a fine Wehbiana, 6 feet high ; 

 of the Pine tribe, there are a great many 

 of the rarer sorts from southern Europe, 

 such as the Cemhra, or Cemlran Pine, La- 

 ricio, or Corsican Pine, Pinea, or Slo?ie 

 Pine, each 20 to 30 feet ; and Austriaca, 

 or Black Pine, — a hardy fine species ; and 

 from Mexico and California, bordering on 

 the Pacific, Pinus insignis, a remarkable 

 pine, 5 feet high, — an elegant tree, remarka- 

 ble for the grassy greenness of its foliage 

 at all seasons, not very hardy, but appears 

 to do well ; Pinus sabiniana, (Sabine's Pine,) 

 12 feet high, — a very pretty tree; the ends 

 of the branches are like plumes ; Pinus 

 Coulteri, (Coulter's Pine,) resembles the 

 former, — having the same glaucous foliage, 

 but the leaves are upright; Pinus excelsa, 

 or Bhotan Pine, a noble tree, with some- 

 thing of the habit and appearance of our 

 White Pine ; and many others. 



From this interesting group of trees, I 

 passed to the plant-houses. There are of 

 these, I believe, upwards of twenty. Each 

 one is numbered, and, as far as practica- 

 ble, devoted to one family or closely allied 

 families of plants ; for instance, No. 1, 

 the old Conservatory, a fine stone building, 

 near the entrance, formerly filled with 

 palms, recently removed to the great 

 palmstove, of which I shall speak presently, 

 now filled with large and beautiful speci- 

 mens of Proteas, Banksias, Dryandrias, &c. 

 No. 2, called the Orangery; an old house, 

 built in 1761, occupied till 1841 with orange 

 trees, now filled with the rare and more 

 tender conifers, such as Arauearxa excelsa, 

 or Norfolk Island Pine ; a tree of surpass- 

 ing beauty, but unfortunately tender, and 



fit only to grace the conservatory in winter, 

 or the lawn in summer. There are speci- 

 mens here of various ages and sizes, some 

 of them the largest in Europe, except that 

 in the " Jardin d'Hiver," in Paris. There 

 are also fine specimens of Canninghami, 

 Braziliana, and of Pinus longi folia, {long 

 leaved pine,) and many others, besides im- 

 mense specimens of Rhododendron arbore- 

 um. Camellias, Camphor Tree, &c. &c. 



Coming to the smaller houses, we find 

 No. 3 filled, mainly, with succulent plants, 

 as Crapulas, Mesembryanthemums, Semper- 

 virums, &c. Another with Gloxinias, Ges- 

 nerias, Achimenes, &c. Another with New- 

 Holland plants, such as Epacris, Heaths, 

 and Acacias. Another with Cactus, Eu- 

 phorbias, and Stapelias. Of the cacti, the 

 collection is immense. They are divided 

 into classes, such as Melocactus, Echinocac- 

 tus, Opuntias, Rhipsalis, &c.; and among 

 them are specimens of extraordinary size ; 

 some are said to weigh nearly seven hun- 

 dred pounds. And among the Euphorbias 

 are some nearly as large as a flour barrel. 

 Another house is devoted to Camellias ; 

 another to Ferns ; another to Orchideous 

 plants ; which latter now attract a great 

 deal of attention. Leaving the smaller 

 houses, we come to the Great Palm Stove, 

 which Sir Wm. Hooker calls " the glory of 

 the gardens ;" and so it really is. There 

 is not, I think, in Europe its equal for ele- 

 gance and completeness of finish; and so, 

 well it may be, for it cost about £40,000, 

 ($200,000.) 



It consists of a centre and two wings, (as 

 you will see by Fig. 51.) The whole length 

 362 feet ; the centre is 100 feet wide, and 

 66 feet high ; and the wings 50 feet wide, 

 and 30 high. It is entirely constructed of 

 iron, stone, brick, and sheet glass, — not a 

 particle of wood being about it. The roof 

 is circular. The iron posts are inserted in 



