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country almost equally flat but much drier. It is here that one 

 first encounters the immense plantations of Scotch pine which iill 

 so much of the landscape as seen from the train all the way to 

 Berlin, and then southwards to Dresden. 



Mr. Hesse's nursery has long been known to us at Kew as one of 

 unusual size and interest. It covers 100 hectares and some 250 

 people are employed in it. Admirably kept and managed, it is at 

 the present time a remarkable testimony of what one man's business 

 capacity and organising qualities can accomplish, for it is entirely 

 the creation of its present owner. Mr. Hesse grows a large number 

 of fine specimen trees which are kept, not to sell, but as permanent 

 features of the nursery and as stock plants." Among them are 

 many rare and interesting things. Picea Breweriana, for instance, 

 is here, a single plant raised from seed 15 years ago. This plant 

 and one at Kew are believed to be the only two trees of this 

 species in Europe at the present time, except for the few plants 

 which have been raised from them by means of grafts and cuttings. 

 There is a singularly beautiful variety of the common spruce 

 whose young shoots are creamy white ; it was raised here, and is 

 called Picea excelsa, var. argcnteo-spica. The new cork-barked fir 

 from Arizona {Abies lasiocarpa. Hook., var. arizonica) is grown in 

 large quantity. The Servian spruce {Picea Omorica) by its 

 behaviour here, confirms the high opinion of its merits we 

 had already formed at Kew. The rare Japanese Abies Mariesh 

 has hitherto been so difficult to obtain that it was a surprise 

 and pleasure to find it here in considerable numbers. But 

 Mr. Hesse has always kept a keen look-out for new things. 

 The West American larch {Larix occidental)' s), for instance, about 

 which hopes are entertained that it will make a substitute for the 

 common larch in British woods, was introduced to this nursery 

 and grown more than twenty years ago. It is evidently not so 

 hardy as L. europaea, for it would not stand the winters at Weener. 

 In connection with the question of hardiness in North Europe, it 

 may be of interest tc some readers of the Kew Bulletin to learn, 

 on the authority of Mr. Hesse, that Crataegus coccinea (North 

 American) and C. sanguinea (North Asiatic) are hardy in parts of 

 Russia where the common thorn {C. Oxyacantha) will not live. 

 It would occupy too much space to enumerate one-tenth of the 

 interesting plants in the Weener nursery. There are enormous 

 breadths of garden rhododendrons, many fine lilies and herbaceous 

 Plants. And as for the commoner forest trees, and trees used 

 for street planting, they exist in hundreds of thousands. 



Herrenhausen, Hanover. June 6. 



Leaving Weener on the evening of June 5, Bremen was reached 

 the same night. The following morning, after a brief inspection 

 of one of the town parks, which was found to contain many fane 

 old trees, notably weeping ash, fastigiate oak, and some , lar ge 

 Magnolias, the journey wfs resumed to Hanover. The point ; of 

 interest in Hanover is Herrenhausen, an ancient seat of the , Kg£ 

 of Hanover. The place has a particular association with Ke w 

 because the last King of Hanover lived for some. yea* tw Hunter 



House, the buildings Kew Green near %^^Si£to 

 afterwards became the Kew Herbarium. The private grouu 



