498 Notes and Reflections during a Tour : — 



likely to forget the name of a genus than that of a species, 

 of a tribe than of a genus, of an order than of a tribe, of 

 one of the grand subdivisions than of an order, and every 

 man who knows any thing of the Natural System can tell at 

 sight whether a plant belongs to Monocotyledoneae, Dicotyle- 

 doneae, or Acotyledoneae. This is what cannot be said of the 

 Linnean classification, and hence the importance of assembling, 

 in private flower-gardens, types of all the natural orders and 

 tribes of hardy plants. This (see Vol. II. p. 309.) ought to 

 be done by every gentleman who can aiford to have a pleasure- 

 ground or a flower-garden. 



The arboretum in this garden forms a narrow circum- 

 ferential belt, but does not contain many fine specimens. The 

 interior of the garden is laid out in beds, and planted with 

 herbaceous plants and trees, with vacancies for house-plants ; 

 so that in summer, when these last are set out in their places, 

 almost every order of the Jussieuean system is exemplified. 

 The names of the classes, orders, genera, and species are 

 painted black, on iron plates painted white ; to these plates 

 iron rods are riveted, of four different lengths according to 

 the four divisions of class, order, genus, and species. The 

 most remarkable specimen that we saw among the trees was 

 a standard silk tree (Acacia Julibrissin) 20 ft. high, and finely 

 in flower. The hybrid lilac, Syringa chinensis var. rotho- 

 magensis, was raised in this garden by M. Varin, M. Dubreuil's 

 predecessor. M. Marquis, the professor of botany, gives 

 lectures in the green-house here from May till August, three 

 times a week, at six o'clock in the evenings, and herbori- 

 sations in the surrounding country every Thursday. 



The principal Public Garden of B,ouen adjoins the church of 

 St. Ouen and the Hotel de Ville. It only contains an acre 

 or two ; but it has been laid out with care, and, as far as there 

 is room, is planted with the rarest trees, shrubs, and flowers 

 to be purchased in Rouen. We observed Magnolm grandi- 

 fl6ra, conspicua, glauca, tripetala, and acuminata ; rhodo- 

 dendrons, azaleas, kalmias, &c. There is a small green- 

 house placed against the church, in which are kept geraniums, 

 georginas, and other green-house or half-hardy plants, which 

 are turned out in the borders and in the groups, during sum- 

 mer, along with balsams and other articles raised in hot dung. 

 The whole of this garden, and all these fine plants and 

 flowers, at this time in the greatest luxuriance, are open the 

 whole day to every part of the public. On the seats we ob- 

 served well-dressed people, servants and children, boys and 

 girls, old men and women, and beggars and their children. 

 No one touched any thing. In front of the Hotel de Ville, 



