388 



Most of these places possess what we know as a continental 

 climate ; that is to say the winters are colder than those of Britain, 

 and the summers much hotter. These extreme conditions as 

 to temperature result, generally, in a great reduction in the number 

 of evergreens that can be grown as compared with Britain, but, on 

 the other hand, in a finer development of many deciduous flowering 

 trees which in our country are very subject to injury from spring 

 frosts. Thus some of the deciduous American, Asiatic, and 

 Caucasian trees, which I saw in considerable numbers, are only to 

 be equalled in Great Britain, by a specimen out of the common, 

 here and there. But, so far as I was able to observe, there is 

 nothing in Central Europe to equal the Asiatic and West American 

 conifers as one sees them grown, for instance, in the gardens of 

 Perthshire. Each type of climate has its advantages and dis- 

 advantages, but, on the whole, the advantage is decidedly with 

 our own so far as the cultivation of ornamental trees and shrubs 

 is concerned. 



One could not justly base a criticism of continental landscape 

 gardening on a visit of so short a duration as mine. For one 

 thing, most of the places I saw are not an expression of the more 

 recent phases of landscape art ; they represent the thoughts and 

 modes of 100 to 200 years ago. But Versailles and its tradition, it 

 would appear, has had a desolating effect on the gardens of Europe. 

 Every petty monarch or prince seems to have felt it necessary to 

 support his dignity by aping the methods of the great Louis, as far 

 as his means allowed, and one result was often a Versailles on a small 

 scale. About the time of the French Revolution more poetical 

 and romantic ideas with regard to gardens began to prevail, and 

 they found their expression in the so-called " English Garden " of 

 the time. Marie Antoinette herself made one at Petit Trianon— a 

 charming spot. But the " English Garden " was very frequently 

 as extreme in one direction as is Versailles in another. The least 

 approach to formality was tabooed, and the paths and promenades 

 took very tortuous lines, often meaningless in so far as their curves 

 and windings led to nothing in particular. With a century's 

 tree-growth upon them, some of these " English Gardens " have 



Ul their Wav hp.P.nm a oa mA«A^A Mrt „r, „« TT ~m~- 



Brussels and Tervueren. June 2. 1908. 



9 



The chief object in visiting Brussels was to see the newly 

 formed Arboretum at Tervueren. This has been planned by, and is 

 under the control of Professor Bommer, conservator of the Botanic 

 barden at Brussels. The out door department of the Brussels 

 Botanic Garden does not offer many features of interest, and 

 neither m position nor extent can it be described as worthy of the 

 capital ot Belgium. On the other hand the glasshouses are 

 excellently managed— there is a verv fine collection of rare 



plants, admirably cultivated. No doubt the new plantations at 



Garden 



and 



grow 



__ ■ "~ v ^^ ^m^ ■*. ^ _^~ T ¥ L V r^-f l/|Y| I 1 #■* 1 111 I W % \ I | I I » j » * LI 



The best use to which it could be put would be to 



transform it into an ordinary town garde 

 out-door collections entirely to Tervueren. 



