504 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 8 



ed tlie Alstei. In a purely botanical point of 

 view, the o;ar(ien is chiefly rich in Cape plants, in- 

 troduced by M. Ecklon, vviih a fair proportion of 

 the Chilian and other new thiniri!, which have 

 been miich raised, of late, in German gardens; 

 several very interesting Califoniian plants from 

 the Petei^sburgh garden, and the oniinary quan- 

 tum of ill-nanied, ili-defined garden species, which 

 infest continental, and especially German, bo- 

 tanic gardens. Aaiu.igst the Cape plants, the 

 most curious are the palms, introduced by Ecklon, 

 and published by Professor Lehmann, under the 

 name of rnkathia. There are six or seven spe- 

 cies, chiefly in small specimen^^, but, amongst 

 those receiveil h.st December, 4here are two or 

 three, above eight feet high, that are now shoot- 

 ing leaves trora the top. There is also a very ex- 

 tensive collection, lately introduced, of medicinal 

 plants. The whole is kept up at the expense of 

 the state or town of Hamburcjh, and is open to 

 the public, nominally, on certain days, at certain 

 hours; bat, really, all day, and every day, with- 

 out fee or payment. If is under the immediate 

 arrangement of an active and intelligent curator, 

 JVl. Ohlendp.fl', and under the general superin- 

 tendence ol"'the professor of botany. Dr. Leh- 

 mann." (' Cohpanion to the Botanical Magazine,' 

 vol. ii p. 74. )J 



Booth's Nursery, atFloetbeck, near Hamburgh, 

 the same writer observes, continues to jje the first 

 in Germany, and has received extensive additions 

 since 1 last saw i», especially ip the houses. It 

 contains, altogethoj, 105 E n. 'Lis h acres atFloet- 

 beck, and ten more at some distance. I was 

 •surprised to hear fi*om Mr. Bo ith, that a great 

 part of his commerce is novV with America. This 

 nursery is, however, also the great entrepot of the 

 nursery commerce between Germany and Eng- 

 land {^Companion to the, Botanical Magazine,'' 

 vol. ii. p. 75.) 



Denmark, Sweden and "Norway. — A very in- 

 teresting work has lately been published on Nor- 

 way, entitled the 'Journal of a Residence'' there, bv 

 Mr. La\ng; but, as the subject of it belongs more 

 to agriculture and to general improvement, than to 

 gardening, we shall pass it over, strongly recom- 

 mending its perusal, as a work lull of practical in- 

 formation, and of liberal and benevolent views. 

 Some curious extracts from it, on the subject of 

 the uses of the pine and fir tribe, will be found in 

 our 'jJrboretum et Fruticetnm Britannicum.'' 



Russia. — It is in contemplation to erect a splen- 

 did palm-house in the Im[)erial Botanic Garden at 

 St. Petersburgh; and Dr. Fischer, the director of 

 that garden, has been some months in England, 

 for the purpose of inspecting the different modes 

 of construction, and of heating. We understand 

 that Mr. Kewley is li'ke to be employed for the 

 latter purpose. A railroad is forming from the 

 very centre of St./ Petersburgh to the village 

 Tzarskojeselo, and continued to the great parkof 

 Pawlowzk, of which details will be found in the 

 ^Architectural Magazine.'' An agricultural school 

 has been fliunded by the government in the pro- 

 vince of Moliiloff', which will be found noticed in 

 our succeeding volume. 



In Poland, we have been agreeably surprised, 

 during the past year, with the account of Count 

 Wodzitzcki'a arboretum, at Cracow, which has 

 been established upwards of twenty years, and 

 of which details will be found in our succeeding 

 volume. 



From Switzerland we have received some no- 

 tices of remarkable trees, by Mr. Strutt, the emi- 

 nent artist; who lately resided there; and we learn 

 irom othrr sources, the botanic garden of Gene- 

 va, is in its usual state. The paper, by M. 

 Adolphe de Candolle, on the ligneous flora of 

 Switzerland, given in this volume, will be read 

 with interest. 



From Italy we have received some most inter- 

 esting communications, from our highly scientific 

 and intelligent correspondent. Signer G. Maneiti, 

 which will be found undertheir appropriate heads. 

 There can be no question that gardening is in a 

 prosperous state in Lombardy. In the kingdom 

 of Naples, we are informed by an English gen- 

 tleman, who has resided there many years, that 

 very great general improvement has taken place, 

 in cos-^quence of excellent Macadamized roads 

 having been formed all throuffh the interior of the 

 country. It is now practicable, in the kingdom 

 of Naples, to live in a country house apart from 

 a village or a town; which was not the case till 

 these roads were formed, and the banditti either' 

 employed on them, or deterred from pursuin^^ 

 their avocations, by the facility these roads afford 

 of detection. If is difficult for a native of Britain, 

 in the present day, to form an idea of the great 

 additional comfort which such a state of things 

 must be to the owners of property in the south of 

 Italy. From Signor Manetti we have received, 

 this autumn, a quantitj' of seeds of the Lombar- 

 dy poplar, which we have distributed; and, if they 

 should vegetate, and plants should be raised from 

 them, there will doubtless be found among diem, 

 the female, which has not hitherto been intro- 

 duced ; the Earl of Rochfbrd, in 1758, having 

 only brought over cuttings of the male plant. 



On the state of gardening in Spain, Portugal, 

 Sardinia, Greece, the Ionian Isles, Malta, Gib- 

 raltar, and other parts of Europe, we have noth- 

 ing to state. It is gratilying to find at Gibraltar 

 a descendant from the family of Andrew Heron 

 of Bargally, as noticed in a future page, imbued 

 with the same taste as that eminent botanist and 

 horticulturist, and cultivating there "florists' flow- 

 ers," pelargoniums, and other cape shrubs, with 

 the plantain of the tropics, and the raspberry of 

 the north of Europe, all in the same garden. 



From Africa and Asia, we are without garden- 

 ing news; unless it may be considered as belongs 

 ing to this head, that plants, in boxes covered 

 with glass, and hermetically closed, have arrived 

 safely, with all the plants alive, at Calcutta, from 

 London ; and at Messrs. Loddiges's, London, 

 from Dr. Wallich, at Calcutta. " CSee p. 263.J 

 The discovery of the tea plant in Assam, in great 

 abundance, was announced in our preceding vol- 

 ume; and, as we have since learned that this im- 

 mense tract of country abounds in botanicdl riches, 

 we hope it may be found to contain many plants 

 which are likely to prove hardy, or halt-hardy, 

 in the temperate climates of Europe and North , 

 America. 



In North America, gardening, in common with 

 every other description of rural improvement, is 

 making rapid progress. Two magazines, exclu- 

 sively devoted to gardening, are published, one in 

 Philadelphia, the other at Boston; and, as we be- 

 live they have both reached a second volume, we 

 may consider them as established. In these maga- 

 zines, accounts are given of the improvements 



