344 Arboretum in the Garden 



ago gave six gallons a minute, does not now give one gallon, and water is 

 accordingly supplied to the garden from one of the public water companies. 

 The flow of most of the other artesian wells, that we have heard of, has 

 diminished in a not less extraordinary proportion ; the natural consequence 

 of the great increase of the number of these wells, within a limited district, 

 in diminishing the source of supply. The water-borers at Paris will, we 

 trust, profit by this fact. 



On a former occasion, we stated the advantages that would result to the 

 visitors of this garden, from having all the hardy plants, species as well as 

 varieties, conspicuously named. Our correspondent, Mr. Murray, has 

 shown (Vol. III. p. 29.), that this may be done in the Glasgow garden, in a 

 most superior stj'le, at the rate of 2.35. per hundred ; say in the Chiswick gar- 

 den at 305. per hundred ; or, for the 3000 articles that may require naming, 

 45/. ; a trifle scarcely more than a fifth part of the amount of the receipts 

 for produce sold last year. With respect to Mr. Murray's tally (fig. 16. 

 Vol. III. p. 29.}, we can state it from experience to be far^ preferable to 

 painting the name on plates, either of iron or lead, however carefully these 

 plates may have been prepared. We received a tally from Mr. Murray a 

 little more than two years ago, and stuck it in the ground along with some 

 others, with the names painted on cast-iron, the iron being previously boiled 

 in oil, and afterwards three times painted. We also stuck in some on which 

 the names were painted on plates of lead, the plates being prepared by three 

 coats of paint. The letters, both on the iron and the lead, are beginning 

 to fade, while Mr. Murray's letters on wood and under glass are as clear as 

 when they were put in ; the air being completely excluded from the letters. 

 Possibly a card might be substituted for the slip of wood, and the name, 

 class, native country, year of introduction, &c. handsomely printed at a 

 printing-office. We throw out the idea for gardeners who have the naming 

 of private collections, and hope soon to supply some other hints on the 

 subject. — Cond. 



Art. VII. Arboretum in the Garden of the Horticultural Society, 



We have delayed so long to lay the plan of this notable work before our 

 readers, that we fear a number of them will have forgotten our promise to 

 )lo so. The reason of the delay has been an utter aversion, on our part, 

 from the duty of finding fault with a production which, were it any where 

 else but in the garden of a public body, would be beneath criticism. 



The first duty of the critic of any production is to endeavour to ascertain 

 the object which the producer has had in view; and the only data that we 

 have for this is in the name " Arboretum," the references to the plan, and 

 the following passage from the Report of the Garden Committee for 1826 : — ^ 



" The entire garden must be viewed as created for the illustration of all 

 objects connected with gardening, and as intended to fulfil the purposes of 

 the original institution of the Society, pointed out in its charter, ' the 

 improvement of horticidture in all its branches, ornamejital as ivell as 

 usefid.' " 



The words in italics in the above extract are in italics in the report; 

 from which, and from the plan of the water and the turf in the arbo 

 retum, we conclude that that department of the Chiswick garden is meant to 

 exhibit a specimen of landscape-gardening as well as a collection of trees 

 and shrubs. Every one who looks at the plan {fg. 79), and has seen the 

 garden, will we think, allow that we are justified in forming this conclusion ; 

 and therefore we may fairly proceed to examine it, first as a landscape 

 composition of wood, water, and turf; and secondly, as an assemblage of 

 trees for botanical and pictorial study. 



