Remarks on various Etiglish Gardens. 381 



Gardens. I ha4 been told that these gardens contained the 

 largest collection of any ; but I would give the preference to 

 those of Messrs. Loddiges and Mr. Lee, and every practical 

 gardener will be of the same opinion. The collection is, how- 

 ever, pretty large, and I saw many beautiful and new plants 

 there ; amongst others, the Araucdria imbricata in the open 

 air attracted my attention. What a picturesque and majestic 

 tree it must be in its native country ! I saw the Hovea lan- 

 ceolata against the wall of a green-house, but it did not seem 

 to thrive in the open air; however the plants are yet small, and 

 will perhaps do better in future. The hot-house plants looked 

 well, with the exception of some New Holland ones. The 

 pine-plants and forcing-departments are pretty well managed. 



With respect to the pleasure-ground, I have no high opi- 

 nion of it. The trees are in a miserable state, and badly dis- 

 tributed. I met with a little piece of water, which I think 

 would have been better omitted. What good effect can be pro- 

 duced by a mass which is composed of a whole collection of 

 trees ? Besides that, there is a temple on an elevation, sur- 

 rounded with trees all of round forms ; every landscape-gar- 

 dener will admit that the effect would be much better, if one or 

 two sorts of pointed-headed trees were mixed with them. I do 

 not apply this remark to a temple confined amidst a mass, but 

 only when it stands free, with a view from the garden. It is 

 true, however, that in Kew pleasure-grounds many trees cannot 

 be employed on account of their not growing well ; but many 

 American trees and shrubs will do very well, and produce a 

 good effect, 



English Parks. — I was not much pleased with most of the 

 English parks which I saw. 1 think the taste in landscape- 

 gardening, now prevalent in Germany, superior to that of 

 England. 



Hampton Court. — From Kew I went to Hampton Court. 

 The most remarkable objects here are the forcing-houses, the 

 orangery, the large vine, and the fig-house. The forcing of 

 peaches, nectarines, cherries, vines, figs, cucumbers, and straw- 

 berries, is carried on with much spirit, and the houses were all 

 in a very good state, as was also the caliijary garden. 



Claremont. — In Claremont, the seat of Prince Leopold, I 

 was very much delighted with all the arrangements. The cu- 

 linary garden, and the forcing and other houses, were in such 

 a good state as to equal any thing I ever saw. The pine-plants 

 and hot-house plants looked pretty well, and the whole shows 

 the superior taste of Mr. M'Intosh. 



Walton (Lord Tankerville's). — This is a very remarkable 

 place. The houses are somewhat old, and too small for some 



