384 Calls at Gardens and J^ur series. 



and therefore confine our remarks to the garden apartment. The whole 

 is under the superintendence of our excellent correspondent, Mr. J. W. 

 Russell, who, though almost constantly eniployed in the concerns of the 

 cemetery, has, by his devotion to floriculture, found time to enrich the gar- 

 den with a showy collection of annual flowers; the effect of these around 

 Forest Pond is highly striking to persons as they enter the place, and 

 contrasts finely with the sombre appearance of the hemlocks, sjiruces, 

 firs, white pines, and other evergreens, which line the main entrance 

 for two or three hundred feet. In the garden is a profusion of that 

 showiest and sweetest ornamental annual flower, — the Petiinia nyctagini- 

 flora ; splendid balsams of the spotted, strijied, and self-colored kinds ; 

 mignonette, stocks, globe amaranthus, &c., patches of in great abun- 

 dance. Around Garden Pond, Mr. Russell has planted a large number 

 of dahlias of the more common varieties, which are now flowering; 

 they are trained to arched birch sticks, which are thatched together, thus 

 forming a sort of hedge, and effectually ])rotecting them from the wind. 

 In another part of the garden, Mr. Russell has a large bed of seedling 

 dahlias ; ilew of them have as yet flowered; if the frosts hold off" until 

 late in the season, a larger part of them will show blossoms ; two or 

 three we noticed,- which were very double, and of fine colors. The col- 

 lection of double asters is very good, and placed as they are in the large 

 beds by themselves, they make a magnificent display : the variety of 

 colors is not so numerous as in some collections, being mostly reds. 

 Some few weeks since, we saw in flower at this place four or five species 

 of Aselepias, among which was purpurascens tuberosa, piilchra, phylo- 

 laccoides, &c.; the specimens were very fine; this singular genus should 

 be more valued by gardenei's. Mr. Russell has displayed much taste in 

 the manner of decorating many cemetery lots in a neat simple style, 

 perfectly in keeping with the place, and for which he deserves much 

 credit. 



Belmont Place, Watertown, J. P. Gushing, Esq, — Sept. 1th. Im- 

 provements are continually going on here, which will make this fine 

 residence one of the most interesting in the country. The garden under 

 the care of Mr. Haggerston, is a perfect specimen of neatness and high 

 keeping. The green-house, stoves and forcing houses, are also kept 

 in fine order. Since our remarks ({). 68), there has been a great change 

 in this department ; the graperies which were then unplanted, are now 

 filled with the wood of the vines, which have made a very vigorous 

 growth, and is ripening well. Two houses for peaches, &c., have since 

 been erected, one on each side of the garden, and the young trees are 

 planted out. In the green-house are several fine plants in bloom : 

 Alstroerneria salsilla was just opening several buds ; it is a beautiful spe- 

 cies ; the beauty of this genus is not sufficiently known by most lovers 

 of plants to be fully appreciated ; to us it is one of the most delightful of 

 the Amaryllidese ; in this same family, Amaryllis belladonna, of which 

 there were several plants, was displaying its umbels of delicate rosy 

 pink flowers. Ixora crocata, an elegant -species, not so common as I. 

 coccinea, Avas covered with its cymes of dull red blossoms ; Rochea ful- 

 cata and Cerbera theveta, Mr. Haggerston stated to us had been finely 

 in flower ; the latter a most desirable addition to choice collections ; it 

 belongs to the Apocineas. In the stoves, the first thing we noticed was 

 a grand specimen of that magnificent bulb, the Crinum amabile ; we 

 counted in one umbel, upwards often of its lovely blossoms then in per- 

 fection; the whole number which had opened, including these, was 

 thirty-two. Hibiscus insignis, the same species mentioned in our last 

 as flowering at Mr. Lowell's, is here trained to the back wall of the 

 stove, and has produced numerous ])anicles of its rich flowers; Hibiscus 

 rosa sinensis, three double varieties, of, are elegant, with their large 

 scarlet, red and yellow blossoms ; Combretum purpureum, a most gor- 



