best gardens existing to-day in Florence 

 and its neighborhood are due to the influ- 

 ence of the Medici family, Among these, 

 the Boboli, constructed in relation to the Pitti Palace, 

 are the largest and most important, although they 

 cannot be said to be the most beautiful. To one 

 thoroughly imbued with the charm of the compact 

 'treatment of the best villas about Rome, the large 

 scale and the endless paths and avenues of Boboli 

 are at first a shock, recalling the enormous stretches 

 of great parks in France, although they do not in 

 reality cover a very large area. Here interminable 

 avenues in relentless straight lines climb one hill 

 after another, and the visitor wanders about the place 

 with an increasing sense of fatigue. If, however, 

 he does not allow this fatigue to get the better of 

 him, he will discover much that is charming in the 

 details of the arrangements, and much that will re- 

 move his first sense of disappointment. The amphi- 



