in the United States of America. 283 



I miglit enumerate a great many more places here ; but, as 

 I found nothing particularly remarkable, I proceed at once to 

 Philadelphia, making only an exception of the seat of the 

 Count de Survilliers, elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, 

 and formerly King of Spain. His seat is near Bordentown, 

 in the state of New Jersey, where he has effected great im- 

 provements, and is now actively employed in others ; conse- 

 quently, the place is in an unfinished state at present. It is 

 most gratifying to see this amiable nobleman withdrawing 

 himself from the busy scene of politics into retirement, and 

 expending his princely fortune in rural improvements. 



When at Philadelphia, I had an opportunity of attending 

 the meetinfj of their horticultural society. A regular routine 

 of business was gone through, and several things exhibited ; 

 various foreign communications were read, one of which, from 

 the East Indies, was soliciting, in the strongest terms, a re- 

 ciprocal exchange of plants, &c. The whole of the proceed- 

 ings were conducted in a manner which, if persevered in, 

 must be highly conducive to the furtherance of gardening and 

 botany. The secretary. Dr. Pickering, to whom I was in- 

 troduced, is, I understand, a most scientific and enthusiastic 

 botanist, and uses the most strenuous exertions for the advance- 

 ment of that science. I first called at the nursery of Hibbert 

 and Buist. The latter-named partner had visited England 

 and Scotland during the summer of 1831 [see p. 273. note], 

 and had taken back an extensive collection of plants from 

 both countries ; which, in part, went tolerably well, though a 

 great many died during the voyage. He and myself sailed 

 from London on the same day, but in different vessels. I 

 allude to this, with the intention of directing the attention of 

 those who are in the habit of sending plants abroad. We 

 both had large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay 

 plants, principally packed in matted baskets; and the voyage 

 being long (seven weeks), they suffered severely, notwithstand- 

 ing our most assiduous attention and care. I had with me a 

 basket of choice pelargoniums, of which I expected to save 

 very few, but I did not lose one. For the sake of experiment, 

 I took from a respectable London nurseryman, Mr. Dennis, 

 King's Road, Chelsea, a quantity of the same tribe, with 

 the mould shaken completely from the roots, and packed them 

 with dry ASphagnum in a fish basket, which I placed at the 

 mizen-mast head : after we had been six weeks at sea, I was 

 desirous to examine the result ; when I found every one alive 

 and health3^ In repacking them, I suppose I was not suf- 

 ficiently careful ; for, a week afterwards, I found them all 

 dead: but I highly approve of the plan. As it respects sending 



