RARE AND NOTABLE PLANTS 



rather sparingly, so much grass starts 

 as to give a pale green carpet; while 

 the trees are trimmed up ten to fif- 

 teen feet on their trunks, and give the 

 eye a prospect far into the grove, and 

 the footman or horseman free access." 



As we may readily imagine, the 

 original Germantown settlers were a 

 busy people, so with the exception 

 of Pastorius, Godfried Lehman, and 

 a few others, we have little from them, 

 and for our information we are 

 obliged to depend upon visiting trav- 

 elers. Ten years before the time of 

 Deane's report Major Robert Rogers 

 wrote thus of Philadelphia: 



"In short, scarce anything can af- 

 ford a more beautiful landscape than 

 this city and adjacent country, which 

 for some miles may be compared to 

 a well regulated, flourishing garden, 

 being improved, as I have been in- 

 formed, to as great advantage as al- 

 most any lands in Europe." 



In 1799 Duke de la Rochefoucault 

 described Germantown as "a long vil- 

 lage near 2i/^ miles in extent. The 

 houses to the number of about 300 

 are all built on the side of the high- 

 way, and are erected pretty close to 

 each other." 



19 



