Public Parks. 15 



a graveled walk on either side, each forty feet wide ; on the outside 

 of all is a slope of turf, planted in the rear with a group of trees and 

 shrubs in the natural style ; back of this, on both sides, is a narrow 

 I'oad adapted to traffic, which also gives access to a line of detached 

 villas. 



The famous Bois de Boulogne is an ancient royal forest in the 

 suburbs of Paris. It remained nearly in its natural state until 1855, 

 when Napoleon III. commenced its improvement, and this work is 

 now regarded as one of his most popular acts. It contains 2,158 

 acres, thus divided : wood, 607 acres ; open turf, 875 acres ; water, 

 174 acres; roads, 365 acres; nurseries and flower-beds, 171 acres; 

 length of carriage road, 36 miles ; bridle path, 7 miles ; and walks, 

 16 miles. The Bois de Vincennes is a natural forest, the improve- 

 ment of which was commenced several years ago, but discontinued, 

 and is now chiefly used for reviewing troops and for artillery- 

 purposes. Work has recently been commenced on it again. Men- 

 ceau and Buttes de Chaumont are new parks, which are very 

 popular — the last being quite unique in design. The Jardin des 

 Plants, a zoological as well as botanical garden, near Paris, is much 

 frequented. 



At Frankfort, Leipsic, and Vienna, pleasure grounds have been 

 provided by razing the wall, and filling the moat, and by the skillful 

 arrangement of the materials, making the ground-work of a garden 

 in the natural style. In other cities the leveled ramparts have been 

 made into broad roads, bordered with trees. The Boulevards of 

 Brussels are straight streets, 125 feet wide, with rows of trees 

 between them, a walk 21 feet wide ; carriage-road, 36 feet wide ; a 

 soft graveled horseback road, 21 feet wide ; a business road, 30 feet 

 wide, with a flagged walk for rainy weather. Houses are on these 

 boulevards, in front of which are private gardens, or fore-courts. 

 Brussels has also an old park, and two botanical and zoological 

 gardens. 



The Prater is the principal rural promenade at Vienna, and has 

 a straight carriage-road over a mile in length, with a walk on one 

 side, and an equestrian pad on the other. Near the city it contains 

 a great number of coffee and play houses ; but being five miles in 

 length, portions of it are thoroughly secluded and rural. At one 

 time it was the most frequented park in the world, the Bois de 

 Boulogne and the Central Park being more frequented at this time. 



