. Retrospective Criticism. 4-81 



The composition of the materia!, and the manufacture of Mr. Russel's 

 flue tubes, he says, are only known to the person who has the manufactory 

 at Battersea. In appearance it seems to come nearer the Bath stone than 

 any other, is as firm and hard as metal, and fire, water, and weather proof. 

 Mr. Russel will undertake to get it manufactured of any form, and to send 

 it to any part of the united kingdom. 



The Sun Inn, Maidenhead, July 25. — From Dropmore to Maidenhead 

 the road presents a series of views of richly wooded, highly cultivated, and 

 considerably varied surface; with, every now and then, the winding waters 

 of the Thames bursting into view. It is highly gratifying to observe the 

 excellent gardens of many of the country inns in England : to those who 

 have a garden of their own, it keeps up the illusion of home ; and nothing 

 can be more for the interest of the innkeepers, than to heighten this illusion 

 as much as possible. In Poland and Russia, where the public inns do not 

 even supply beds for travellers, no one can ever forget where he is ; in 

 England, if the inn is in a quiet situation, and surrounded by a large garden, 

 a rich man travelling with his family has almost every thing he could wish 

 for. The gardens of the inn at Salthill are not only extensive and abound- 

 ing in flowers and trees, but varied in surface, full of romantic shady walks, 

 covered seats, bowers, and picturesque views. The ornamental garden of 

 the Sun Inn at Maidenhead is neatly laid out ; and it is pleasing to recog- 

 nise in it the taste for grotesque masses of roots, mosses, and flowers, 

 which seems to have been introduced into this part of the country by 

 Lady Grenville. The kitchen-garden is well stocked with every culinary 

 vegetable ; and, in a range of brick-built pits, asparagus, sea-kale, kidney- 

 beans, potatoes, and mushrooms are forced, and are succeeded by cucum- 

 bers and melons. 



Perhaps the time is not far distant, when libraries, more or less extensive, 

 will be kept at every inn, and even at every public-house, for the use of the 

 guests. At very large inns there might be a public room devoted to books 

 and intellectual entertainment ; occasionally, dramatic public readings, 

 sermons, lectures, philosophical experiments, tableaux (Encyc. of Gard., 

 § 281.) &c. To inns having such institutions there ought to be a tutor, 

 or, as The Mummy suggests, a philosopher, attached ; and it might be well, 

 perhaps, in some cases to have a family governess to assist in the concerts, 

 and form the nucleus of small parties of bachelors and strangers, who might 

 prefer spending their evenings in a public library, and with a degree of allu- 

 sion to family society, to sitting alone in a room. At any rate, if it be 

 allowable to contemplate improvement in every other thing, why not in 

 public inns ? 



Art. XI. Retrospective Criticism. 



ACCENTING the Names of Plants. — Sir, Amongst the many useful articles 

 contained in your valuable Magazine, I consider the accenting the names 

 of plants, so as to direct gardeners to the right pronunciation of them, not 

 one of the least, of which the alteration you have made in the last number, 

 is a considerable improvement, in making use of the two accents (the grave 

 and the acute) to mark the long and the short syllable. There are some 

 names of plants which all the country gardeners pronounce wrong ; and, by 

 the habit of doing so, have taught ladies and gentlemen who are not bota- 

 nists to do the same : so that, if a good botanist happens to be in company 

 with such ladies or gentlemen, inspecting a collection of plants, and hears 

 them mispronounce the name of any plant which he has to name after- 

 Vol. III. — No. 12. i I 



