Nurseries of Messrs. Hovcy ^' Co.., Cambridge. 443 



you have some correspondence with this house, and may- 

 wish to know some particulars about their establishment, 

 I shall give you some from notes and observations which I 

 made at the time of my visit. 



The Cam.bridge nurseries are about two miles from the 

 city of Boston ; but such are the facilities for travelling, that 

 you can take an omnibus every few minutes of the day, 

 which lands you near the spot. The principal entrance is 

 on Cambridge street, a fine wide avenue leading to Harvard 

 University, just beyond. Entering by this gate you find 

 yourself upon a fine, smooth, promenade walk, about sixteen 

 feet wide, bordered on each side by circular masses of exotic 

 flowers ; directly in front of you stands a span-roofed plant- 

 house, or conservatory, of Grecian construction. It is about 

 ninety feet long and twenty feet wide, with a low span- 

 roof The entrance-front, which is ascended by a broad 

 flight of steps, is formed by a projecting part of the main 

 house, and comprises the office, gardener's room, &c. The 

 garden front shows a fine facade. The whole is highly fin- 

 ished with a heavy entablature, and pilasters between all the 

 sashes, which reach to the floor all round. 



It is seldom that a house like this, in an architectural 

 point of view, is to be found in a nursery establishment ; and 

 its position is admirable, both as regards convenience and 

 effect. In front of this house is a fine open lawn, of an acre 

 or more, dotted with clumps of flowering plants, and single 

 trees of the rarer species, more particularly of the new weep- 

 ing trees and coniferae. This lawn is encircled by a broad 

 walk, on the lawn side of which are circular beds of the 

 choicest summer blooming plants. I did not much like this 

 multitude of circular beds, but it is the general style through- 

 out the country. The people here seem to have a Londonian 

 fondness for round figures ; but, with all my prejudice, I 

 must confess, that this part of the grounds looked more like 

 the private pleasure ground of some English gentleman than 

 that of a public nursery, and manifests, in a very striking 

 manner, the liberal and extensive scale on which the proprie- 

 tors of this establishment conduct all their operations. 



