lOO Notes and Gleanings. 



with walks, and planted with trees, and beds of flowers, as is the case in parts 

 of Germany. These grounds, or gardens, especially as most of the stations 

 have buffets or restaurants attached to them, seem to afford places of resort to 

 the rural population; and with the exception of the grounds or gardens about 

 the imperial country palaces or residences of the nobility, the public gardens 

 or promenades in St. Petersburg, and an extensive park on the banks of the 

 Neva near that city, these were the only attempts at ornamented grounds that 

 I noticed. In the city of Moscow I saw a strange mixture of churches, palaces, 

 and cottages. Some of the houses of the nobility had fruit or other gardens 

 attached to them. In many of the palaces and great houses, a large space is 

 appropriated to a winter-garden, and stocked with plants and flowers ; thus en- 

 abling their occupants to satisfy a taste, that, in more southern countries, tinds its 

 gratification in the open air, whicli the climate here forbids. 



Fruit of different kinds — early pears, peaches, plums, cherries, strawberries, 

 and raspberries — seemed to be in ample supply in the market of St. Petersburg 

 and at the railway stations. Peaches, though handsome, were of indifterent quali- 

 ty : the strawberries were large, fine, and very good. With the exception of 

 strawberries, raspberries, and perhaps cherries, uii these fruits were, I suppose, 

 brought from a distance. I presume the climate of St. Petersburg is too cold 

 to permit the cultivation of fruit-trees ; at least, I saw none. At Moscow, I saw 

 in the gardens in the city some apple and pear trees. To the eastward of that 

 city, at some distance, I was told that a good many apples and pears are 

 raised. 



I can say but little of the flora of Russia. The flowers that I saw in cultiva- 

 tion, mostly annuals, were such as are common in all parts of Europe. Patches 

 of wild flowers on the roadside and in the pastures were frequently seen, but 

 none that were particularly beautiful ; a plant producing a long spike of purple 

 flowers being most noticeable and most common. 



The facilities for travel in Russia, although much greater than they were a 

 few years since, are still very imperfect in comparison with those in most other 

 parts of Europe. A railway extends eastward from the frontier to the upper 

 waters of the Volga, from whence, by means of steamboats on that river, there 

 is a communication with the Caspian Sea ; and another from St. Petersburg 

 south-westerly through Warsaw to both the Prussian and Austrian frontiers, 

 where it connects with the roads running through Germany. Other railways 

 are in contemplation or progress, one of which, connecting the western cities 

 with the Black Sea at Odessa, and aftbrding means of transport to the products 

 of a rich, fertile agricultural district, will soon be completed ; and probably, be- 

 fore no very long time has elapsed, all the western and southern parts of the 

 empire will be furnished with means of intercommunication. 



The cultivation of beets for sugar is a not unimportant branch of rural indus- 

 try in many parts of Europe, and receives much attention in portions of Russia, 

 where a good many are raised ; and manufactories for converting them into 

 sugar are established. 



In returning from Russia, I passed through a part of Poland. The character 

 of the country and soil was not unlike that of Russia, except that it was more 



