1839J 



FARfvlEliS' kl^GISTEK 



^25 



or ornamental pifints, Dr. Fraas had planteil a 

 certain nunibor of dahlias, which I brou«:ht from 

 Trieste ami Icll at Athen?, on my first journey 

 there. On my return, after a very short period of 

 time (two monlh?,) I Ibnnd all these plant?; opown 

 and in lieaulii'ul hior.ni ; besides this, I saw a fine 

 collectiorl of annual plants, which grow there with 

 Unexatripied rapidity and viijor. 



We may rationally conclude that the country 

 lias not always been so hare of vegetation as it is 

 at present; the soil is very CfuilCu! and good in the 

 plains; ihounh less so on the elevations of the 

 rtiountainsj which are generally calcareous. 'Die 

 best proof of the leriility of the soil is, that Dr. 

 Fraas having had a number of mulberry trees 

 transplanted, the .«tems of which were generally 

 more than a loot in diameter, they all, wiihoul a 

 single exception, continued to grow. Tlie year 

 after their Iransplaniation the heads were a little 

 (iut, and in a llwv months afterwards, they lonned 

 new ones, which exceeded the old ones in strength, 

 size, and thickness. 



The Atlieiililtl nursery is situated in the forest 

 of olive trees nieniioned at the beginning of this 

 paper, at about half a league from Athens, on the 

 road which leads from that city to Eleusis. 



On the other side of the road, the military com- 

 mander has had the sod prepared, where the 

 olives are planted regularly, and cultivated lor the 

 advantage of the Bavarian aarrison ; pea-j, kid- 

 ney-beans, cabbages, turnips, &c., are raised here 

 very successfully; This place, as vveli as the 

 king's garden, can be easily watered by a conduit, 

 which proceeds li-om the ciiy. Watering is very 

 necessary, and it isi not surprising to see an almost, 

 total want of vegetation in so warm a climate; at 

 Athens particularly, since this rivulet, if I may so 

 call it, is the only one which supplies water du- 

 ring thd whole year. We read in ancient history, 

 and see in many modern maps, several rivers 

 marked near Athens. In the time of Alexander 

 the Great, as we are told in history, a small part 

 of his cavalry was sullicient to exhaust the water 

 of the Cephisus; at present its bed is very percep- 

 tible, but 1 never saw a drop of water in it. fn 

 the neighborhood of tlie cily several other dried 

 up beds of rivers are also pointed out. 



The resident plenipotentiary of Austria, J\I. le 

 Chevalier Prokesh von Osien, his also lornicd a 

 garden in the Knglish style. He planted chest- 

 nut trees, catalpa syring(ef>lia, acacias of dillt;r- 

 ent sorts, some of which have grown, but many 

 have perished. Prince Puckler JMuskau, who ar- 

 ranged the plan of this garden, advised him to 

 plant at first en 77iassc, all the trees ttiat would 

 grow rapidly during the rainy season, to procure, 

 at least, some shelter lor trees of a belter (piality. 

 He did so, and, as far as I could observe, he will de- 

 rive advantage lioni it. The poplargrows with as- 

 tonishing rapidity, notwithstanding the great 

 drought. Pinus pinca and P. maritima, which 

 grow every where on these shores, would also be 

 ornauienle to these gardens, as their forms are 

 agreeable ; and the other species of cnnifera, cul- 

 tivated in our plantations, do not thrive so well 

 here as these two species. 



An Italian landed proprietor has also formed a 

 garden in the neighborhood of Athens. I ob- 

 served with pleasure the rapid growth of a great 

 number of liuit trees, chiefly apple and pear trees, 

 which he had planted ; many of them were loud- 

 VoL. VH— 29 



ed with fruit. It is also worthy of remark, that 

 dale stones, sown in the open air, have come up 

 and grown admirably, in this gentleman's garden, 

 as well as in the king's garden. 



Before my departure, M. J^ang of Darmstadt, 

 a very able architect, was commissioned to make 

 a plan of a private garden, which was to be form- 

 ed near the new royal palace, the building of which 

 was proceeding rapidly. A public garden, in the 

 Eiigli-^h taste, was to be joined to the former, to' 

 surround it, and be a place of resort lor the popu- 

 lation of Athens. 



The hew palace will be magnificent and very 

 large. The beautiful marble of Pentelicus is al- 

 most the only nuilerial used in its construction. 



M. Lang decided immediately on the Italiari 

 style for the king's private flower-garden, marking 

 on the plan the place f<ir a good nufnber of palm 

 trees, and groups of orange, lemon, and oleander 

 trees. The whole lo lie divitled into compart- 

 ments by low walls, ornanionied with statues, 

 vases, &c., of marble, which they expected lo find 

 in the ruins of the ancient monuments. I have 

 no doubt that, when the whole is finished, I shall 

 be put in possession of the plans and elevations,, 

 and I shall then have much pleasure in transmit- 

 ting them to you. 



I think Greece is a country in which a garden 

 well planted and executed would have a magical 

 ed'ect. All sorts of trees might be used in the ar-^ 

 raiigementi I even think a great number of 

 South American trees would thrive. What could 

 we not ed'ect by uniiinir \h(t jni'isijloias kcnncdyas, 

 and the superb and light acacias of New Holland^ 

 with groups aC oleander, tnyrile, and lauriis Tiobi- 

 lis, crowned by magnificent date trees, evergreen 

 oaks, acacia jalibrissi II, ciiprcssus pyrarnidatis and 

 horizontalis, nnd drange and lemon trees 1 All 

 these would thrive ; and the Greeks would be 

 happy in beina able to enjoy their gardens all ihe 

 year round, while we are obliged to witness five 

 or six changes annually, every one more disagree- 

 able than the other. 



Add lo this the magnificent and imposing views, 

 of the sea, of the Gulf of Salaniis, of the ruin? of 

 the Acropolis, of the Triumphal Arch of Adriari, 

 of the ruins of th-d temple of Jupiter Olympus, 

 &c., and we may easily conceive the beauty that 

 mighl be given to an Athenian garden. 



I sh.ill not forget to comn>unica(e to you, at the 

 same time, some particulars <is to the customs of 

 the Greeks themselves, with respect to the subject 

 that interests us. 



Their culinary veixetablcs consist generally of" 

 young pumpkins, not fully grown, cvcurbita lage- 

 narial, with other species and varieties ; the frui! 

 and seeds of fiibiffciis csciilenlns are used exacffy 

 as peas and kidney- beans are here. Their taste ia 

 rather sour and very relreshini; ; tomutoe.=? (sola- 

 ituni lycnpersicum) are used all over the coun- 

 try in almost every dish. Cicer arictinum is 

 eaien by the common people, who generally carry 

 some of these plants in their hands, eating the 

 seeds without any preparation. Cucurbita citrul' 

 las, the water-melon, is brought in immense quan- 

 tities from the islands of the Archipelago, The 

 people eat them greedily ; they are very good and 

 refreshing, but homevvhat dangerous. Several 

 other kinds of melons are also brought from the 

 islands, some of them of an exquisite flavor. The 

 flail is not need for thrashing out the corn in 



