82 
EUROPEAN TRIP 
In July, I left with Mrs. Svenson for Europe for a visit to vari- 
ous botanic gardens and also for the purpose of examining type 
material of sedges and other American plants preserved in Euro- 
pean herbariums. Arriving in Sweden in the middle of July, a 
visit was immediately paid to Dr. Skottsberg and to the remark- 
able botanic garden which he has developed within the north- 
western limits of the city of Gothenburg. In addition to the 
general features which one finds in botanic gardens, a ravine with 
century-old native trees has been preserved, together with the 
natural herbaceous vegetation. The remarkable rock garden, 
partly carved out of granite ledges, has extensive moraines with a 
real alpine character. From Gothenburg, the writer proceeded 
to Copenhagen, where through the kindness of Dr. Hagerup, he 
was allowed to examine the herbarium assembled in the late 
eighteenth century by the Danish botanist, Vahl, which contains 
many types of sedges that have been greatly misunderstood by 
later workers. The Botanic Garden, built around a lake and 
among old ramparts which once stood at the edge of the city, has 
a unique display of native plants in a setting of miniature sand 
dunes and bogs. An ingenious construction of small concrete and 
wire compartments jutting out into the lake, provides for the 
growth of aquatic plants, such as species of Pofamogeton and 
Ranunculus, which are not ordinarily easy to grow. The ex- 
tensive rock garden is especially rich in Saxifraga. 
En route from Copenhagen to Stockholm, a visit was made to 
the birthplace of Linnaeus, which is now easily accessible by 
automobile. It is kept in good condition, serving both as a 
Linnaean Museum, and as a repository of antiques from the 
surrounding country, especially of old wooden household utensils. 
As in New England, much of the farm land of a century ago in this 
Linnaean countryside has grown up into woodland, and timber is 
now the greatest natural resource of the area. The groves of tall 
Norway spruce and Scotch pine, innumerable rock-bound lakes of 
irregular outline, and bogs whitened with acres of cotton grass 
(Eriophorum) make the district most interesting from a botanical 
and scenic point of view, and one feels that the landscape could 
not have changed greatly since the time of Linnaeus. 
