Foreign Notices. — Holland and the Netherlands. 87 



of the Arabs there were cultivated in Spain a great number of useful 

 vegetables, of which some are at present unknown, and others very rare; 

 second, that the Arabs bestowed a great deal of attention on the different 

 kinds of manures ; third, that they bestowed a great deal of labour on the 

 ground; and, fourth, that they took great care to profit by the experience 

 of other nations. Mr. Correa concludes, therefore, that the superiority of 

 agriculture in Spain in the time of the Arabs ought to be attributed to 

 their numerous population, to their laborious industry, and to their 

 practical knowledge. (Bull. Univ.) 



HOLLAND AND THE NETHERLANDS 



Boulevards of Brussels. Amongst the most considerable of the recent 

 improvements in Brussels are the Boulevards, or lines of elm and lime 

 trees, inclosing three distinct and parallel roads for foot passengers, carriages, 

 and horses, and occupying the place of the old ramparts, which have been 

 removed and levelled. By the judicious plan of concealing the new wall, 

 built to prevent the smuggling of articles that pay town dues, in a sunk 

 ditch, an uninterrupted view of the beautiful surrounding country is afforded 

 on that side of the boulevards ; while the side next the city is faced with 

 handsome new houses or gardens, mostly fenced in that direction with uni- 

 form iron palisades. This improvement has been completed some years 

 on the east, south, and south-west sides of the city, supplying a delightful 

 walk, ride, or drive under trees which already begin to afford shade for two 

 or three miles, and is still in progress on the lower or north side. {A Brus- 

 sels Reader of the Gard. Mag.) 



New Botanic Garden at Brussels. The very limited extent of the old 

 garden, and its unfavourable situation in the midst of houses, having long 

 pointed out the necessity of measures for remedying these defects, a society 

 has been formed under the patronage of the king, to be entitled " The 

 Royal Society of Horticulture of the Netherlands," for the purpose of 

 establishing a new botanic garden. The capital of the Society is to be 

 200,000 florins, (17,500/.) raised by 400 shares of 500 florins each, each 

 share bearing an interest of 4| per cent, (to arise from annual sums granted 

 by the Regency or Corporation of Brussels, &c.) 5 and being entitled to a 

 proportion of any sum remaining after the annual expences have been paid. 

 Many of the shares are already taken. 



The site chosen for the garden is a tract of ground of considerable ex- 

 tent just beyond the Boulevards to the north of the city, between the gates 

 of Schaerebeekand Guillaume, and workmen have been some time busily em- 

 ployed in levelling and preparing the ground. As the surface has a good 

 deal of irregularity, being partly on the side, and partly at the bottom of a 

 hill, and the garden will be fully commanded by the adjoining boulevard, it 

 will, if laid out with taste, be a great addition to the beauty of this 

 part of. the city. — The subscribers are to be admitted every day : the 

 public, as in the present Botanic Garden, thrice a week, from ten o'clock 

 to three. — (Journal de la Belgique.) 



Park at Brussels. It is said to be in contemplation to remove the exterior 

 row of clipped lime trees, and the hornbeam hedge at the south end of 

 the park, fronting the king's palace, (lately enlarged, and in part rebuilt,) 

 and to replace the latter by iron palisades, which at some future time will 

 probably be substituted for the present hedge all round the park. {Ibid.) 



Vines. A late Belgian journal states, that the experiment made within 

 these few years to cultivate the vine in South Brabant promises every suc- 

 cess. The vintage at Wesemael, which finished on the 25th October, will 

 produce 130 casks (pieces) of wine from about eight bonniers (hectares) of 

 land, which last year vielded but 55 casks. The land thus cultivated is 



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