May 18, 1876. 1 



JODRNAIi OP HORTICULTUKR AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



380 



as expressed in Ms own (M. Van Iloutte'a) words — " I have 

 not seen that man or that money ever since." In continuation 

 of the narrative of his life and business he further remarked — 

 " I came back to Belgium to start clear. I had little money 

 but plenty of health. I bought the little plot of ground where 

 you saw my porter's lodge. That was all I had thirty-five 

 years ago, and now you have seen my place. It has all been 

 done by hard work. But," continued the man who had so 

 much respect for his assistants, " I did not make it all myself; 

 my men did it, my good men. I have foremen on my place 

 who have been here twenty to thirty years. My plan has been 

 this : mark it — When I have a good man I keep him, I do not 

 part with him for any money. When I have a bad man I will 

 not keep him if he will pay me, for a good man makes other 

 men good ; a bad man makes other men bad." Those are 

 true words worthy of being reprodncad. In them is embodied 

 a policy which has proved to bo a sound policy and successful, 

 and which in the third part of a century has resulted in one 

 of the most extensive businesses in the world. In the conduct 

 of that business — " this," once said M. Van Houtte, " is 

 my plan : I do the best I can for my friends abroad, and the 

 best I can for my friends at home and my men in my nursery, 

 and when I do the best I can for all these I do the best for 

 myself." These are " words of wisdom," uttered by a man 

 who had proved their worth — a man who was a " tower of 

 strength " in his generation , and whose memory will be cherished 

 in all civilised countries where it has bo long been a " house- 

 hold word." 



The funeral took place at Gendbrngge on the 12th inst., at- 

 tended by a large concourse of the population. Among those 

 who were present were Comte de T'Serclaes, Governor of the 

 Province; Comte de Kerchove,Bergoma3ter of Ghent ; General 

 Baltia; M. Dumont, Counsellor at the Cour de Cassation; 

 Professor Morren of Liege, M. Crupiu of Brussels, M. Yobert, 

 Director of the State Railways ; M. Oswald de Kerchove, 

 M. Kickx, M. Eodigas, M. Pynaert, M. Ambroiee VerEchaffelt, 

 M. .J. Verschaffelt, M. Charles Van Geert, many public function- 

 aries, and about two hundred workmen connected with M. Van 

 Houtte's establishment. This vast crowd could not be accom- 

 modated in the house, and they therefore congregated outside 

 in the nursery, surrounded by the brilliant achievements of 

 their departed friend ; and here Comte de Kerchove took the 

 opportunity of addressing those assembled in feeling terms on 

 the brilliant career of the renowned horticulturist. After an 

 address from M. Pynaert the funeral cortege moved off in the 

 following order : — The Corps d'Harmonie of Geudbrugge, a de- 

 tachment of infantry, the clergy, the coffin covered with the 

 burgomaster's uniform and the decorations of the deceased. 

 The workmen of the establishment placed upon it a magnifi- 

 cent crown, and immediately behind was a deputation from 

 workmen not connected with the deceased, who carried another 

 crown as their last homage to their patron. The pallbearers 

 were Professor Morren , M. Ambroise Verschaffelt, M. Sejmortier, 

 Alderman of Gendbrngge, and M. Gust, Guilmot. The funeral 

 service was celebrated at the church of Gendbrngge, which was 

 far too small to admit the crowd,which consisted of 1.500 persons. 

 At the grave three eloyes were delivered ; the first in Flemish 

 by M. Guchteneire, the two others in French by Professor 

 Morren and M. Aug. Van Geert. 



A notice of M. Van Houtte would be incomplete without 

 some reference to his nursery, even if it embraces but an out- 

 line glance and includes but its salient points. The business 

 connections of the establishment extend not only to every 

 nation in Europe, but also to North and South America, China, 

 and .Japan. The nursery, which we recently visited, is situated 

 about two miles from Ghent. There is no external show of 

 grandeur, no parade of wealth which those who are truly rich 

 and great — the aristocracy of nature — never display. Yet if 

 men of great acquirements and substantial resources do not 

 revel in show, they work with perseverance in every honour- 

 able and legitimate way to achieve success ; and above all they 

 take care that what they have for the world the world ehail 

 know about. 



M. Van Houtte not only availed himself of the agency of 

 the press, but his catalogues were distributed with a liberal 

 hand. These catalogues were not merely trade lists, but have 

 long been manuals of reference and guides to msuy readers. 

 The correctness of the several issues is generally admitted, 

 and both the information and the manner in which it has 

 been conveyed have been instructive and entertaining. But 

 numerous and extensive as have been these issues, they are 

 small in comparison with the great work pnblished periodically 



of the "Flore des Serres et des .Jardins de I'Europe." This 

 work is a monument of its late proprietor's and editor's taste 

 and industry. It has reached its twenty-second volume, and 

 contains 2201 coloured plates, 2300 woodcuts, and 1500 articles 

 relating to horticulture. Specimens of these platei adorned 

 one of the walls at the lato centenary exhibition at Brussels, 

 and were awarded the first prize for horticultural publications 

 — the large silver-gilt modal. M. Van Houtte also published 

 a serial work on fruits — the "Pomona" — also with coloured 

 illustrations. In the issue of these works, and the energy dis- 

 played in producing the coloured plates as truthful and as 

 perfect as possible, the art of chromo-lithography was con- 

 siderably advanced. No more striking sight is afforded in 

 the nursery than the preparation of these plates. In a long 

 corridor-like building are fourteen or fifteen presses, and tho 

 entire process from the first sketching of the plants to the 

 final colouring by hand of the several plates is conducted. 

 That may be termed the fine art department of the nursery, 

 and has long given employment to several workers. It is a 

 wonderful feature of a wonderful place, and is probably — in 

 connection with the nursery — unequalled by any establishment 

 of the same nature in the world. 



M. Van Houtte was not only a manufacturer but also a 

 raiser of plants, and he is worthily commemorated in one of 

 the sections of the genus Gesnera. Ilouttea includes tho 

 species of which G. pardina is a type. Of this family of plants, 

 in their various sections, more new and valuable varieties 

 have been raised here than in any other establishment ; and 

 when the collections are flowering their rich velvety foliage, 

 elegant habits, and variously coloured flowers demonstrate how 

 superior they are, and hosr effective for summer, also winter 

 decoration. Tho Gloxinias are worthy of especial mention. 

 We have seen fifty thousand of these plants flowering in the 

 nursery, seedlings planted in leaf mould and protected by glass 

 lights. Of this number raised annually it is seldom that more 

 than a dozen are selected to add to the catalogue list, the re- 

 maining corms being classed in categories and sent by tho 

 hundred to different parts of the world. 



It was in this nursery that the splendid Bsrtolonia Van 

 Houttei was raised, which caused such a flutter of sensation 

 by tho wonderful combination of glistening colours playing on 

 the foliage — a plant which won gold medals wherever it was 

 exhibited. It is impossible, however, to enumerate a tithe of 

 what has been raised hero, but we must not pass silently tho 

 Azaleas, of which many of the finest varieties extant of A. in- 

 dica have been raised in this nursery. Some of these were 

 noticed in our report of the Brussels Show, but one, a charm- 

 ing semi-double white (C. Van Eckhaute), was omitted. It 

 was from this nursery that A. mollis was first distributed, 

 and nowhere else can such fine and striking varieties be found. 

 Azaleas of all sections are planted out during the summer, and 

 are potted or mossed in the autamn, and sent by thousands to 

 all countries. 



Camellias, too, are another staple of this nursery, 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 planed in the avenues formed by Lombardy Poplars where 

 the plants could enjoy shade without drip. Tuberous Begonias 

 are here seen in brilliant array 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 circular, having 

 been originally erected for the Victoria regia and other aquatics, 

 but now occupied with Palms. Altogether there are upwards 

 of forty houses, with pits and frames innumerable. 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 establish- 

 ment is very rich ; hardy fruit gardens, Rose gardens, enclo- 

 sures 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 bueiness bureau where its owner for so 



