THE DERBY ARBORETUM. 515 



grounds, called the Derby Arboretum. It interested me in three 

 ways : first, as having been especially formed for, and presented to 

 the inhabitants of the town by their member of Parliament, Joseph 

 Strutt, Esq., a wealthy silk manufacturer here ; then, as containing 

 a specimen of most of the hardy trees that will grow in Britain ; 

 and lastly, as having been laid out by the late Mr. Loudon. 



As a public garden the gift of a single individual it is cer- 

 tainly a most noble bequest. The area is about eleven acres, and is 

 laid out so as to appear much larger, the boundaries concealed by 

 plantations, etc. There are neat and tasteful entrance lodges, with 

 public rooms for the use of visitors (where a lunch is provided, at 

 the bare cost of the provisions), and where books of reference are 

 kept ; so that any person who wishes to pursue the study of trees, 

 can, with the aid of the specimens in the garden, quickly become 

 familiar with the whole history of every known species. During 

 five days in the week, these grounds are open to all persons without 

 charge ; and on the other two days, the admission fee is sixpence 

 merely enough to keep the place in good condition. 



The grounds were in beautiful order, and are evidently much 

 enjoyed, not only by the good people of Derby, but by strangers, 

 and visitors from the neighborhood. I met numbers of young peo- 

 ple strolling about and enjoying the promenade, plenty of nurses and 

 children gathering health and strength in the fresh air, and, now 

 and then, saw an amateur carefully reading the labels of the various 

 trees and shrubs, and making notes in his memorandum-book 

 doubtless, with a view to the improvement of his own grounds. 

 Every tree or plant is conspicuously marked with a printed label 

 (a kind of brick set in the ground at the foot of the tree or shrub, 

 with the name under a piece of glass, sunk in a panel upon the top 

 of the brick) ; and this label contains the common name of the plant, 

 the botanical name, its native country, the year of its introduction 

 (if not a native), and the height to which it grows. The most per- 

 fect novice in trees, can thus, by walking round the arboretum, ob- 

 tain in a short time a very considerable knowledge of the hardy 

 Sylva, while the arboriculturist can solve many a knotty point, by 

 looking at the trees and plants themselves, which no amount of 

 study, without the living specimen, would settle. Then the whole 



