THE MAGAZINE 



OF 



HORTICULTURE. 



NOVEMBER, 1849. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. Notes made during a Trip to London ayid PariSy 

 in the Autumn of 1849. By J. E. T. 



I MADE a few notes during a hurried trip to London and 

 Paris, this autumn, which you may publish, if you think 

 them of sufficient interest. 



Two hours and a half spent at Kew Gardens, about seven, 

 miles from London, permitted only a very cursory examina- 

 tion. These gardens, and the collections they contain, have 

 been raised, by the energy and judgment of the present direc- 

 tor, Sir W. J. Hooker, the well-known and celebrated botan- 

 ist, to a high pitch of excellence. Numerous structures of 

 glass have been adapted to every kind of plant, from the 

 towering palms, the arborescent ferns, and the lofty acacias 

 and pines, to the more humble growths of the tropical rocks, 

 bogs, and plains ; and the stoves have every convenience for 

 simulating the moist atmosphere and heat required for many 

 of the tender plants of those regions. There is also an exten- 

 sive rock-work, for Alpine plants of temperate and cold cli- 

 mates, on which these gems seem to grow and flourish almost 

 as well as on their native spots. 



It would be impossible for me to say whether I preferred 

 the magnificent growth of the trees in the arboretum and 

 pleasure-ground, comprising alone 176 acres, or the fine ap- 

 pearance of the beautiful pines of all climates, or the palm 

 and fern-house ; but one department struck me as of singular 

 utility, and well worthy of imitation here, — it was the collect 



VOL. XV. — NO. XI. 61 



