Florence — Bologna. 213 



apple, peach, cherry, apricot, and almond trees, and many- 

 new and rare shrubs scattered about the lawn. Among the 

 latter, I noticed the Hakea fiorida, with its curious and glossy- 

 lanceolate leaves, Pomaderris aspera, Metrosideros saligna, 

 Melaleuca styphelioides, and densa, Hakea pectinata, with 

 stiff antler-like leaves, and many other curious plants. It is al- 

 together an interesting place to the lover of fine trees. At Pisa, 

 there is a good Botanic Garden, but not equal to that at Naples. 



At Florence, there is also one of some acres in extent, but 

 containing nothing remarkable. I found here in the Museum 

 a most interesting collection of seeds dried, fossils impressed 

 with leaves and plants, and a large variety of plants in pots, 

 most exquisitely finished in wax. Also, prepared in wax, a 

 magnified anatomy of leaves, fruit, &c., infested by insects. 

 There was a collection of foreign and native fruit prepared in 

 wax. Among the flowers were many rare and beautiful, and 

 being represented in full bloom, bore a very close resemblance 

 to nature. 



The city of Florence is surrounded by villas, and, in fact, 

 they are scattered all through the valley of the Arno. There 

 are none, perhaps, so highly finished, or of such extent as 

 those I have mentioned at Naples, but were very beautiful 

 little country places. One of the best of these belongs to an 

 English gentleman named Lambert. His lady is an ardent 

 lover of flowers, and possesses a very fine collection of camel- 

 lias, comprising over 500 kinds of the most new and rare, and 

 including many of Florentine origin. She pointed out to me 

 many of our finest American varieties, and expatiated upon 

 their beauties with all the pleasure of an amateur. The ca- 

 mellia will endure the winter in Florence, and many beauti- 

 ful varieties have originated there. For the sake, however, 

 of a better bloom, she had provided them with a very nice 

 house, where they were then in full flower. It was by far 

 the best collection I saw in Italy. She had also a good col- 

 lection of rare exotics in a stove. All the araucarias were 

 growing rapidly in the open ground. 



At Bologna, which is in the papal territory, I found a good 

 Botanic garden, under the direction of Bartholoni, an excel- 

 lent professor of Botany, but, for want of funds, it is not in a 

 very flourishing state. The Greenhouses contained some good 



