400 Horticultural Tour in the Netherlands. 



Having exhausted my horticultural curiosity at Ghent, I 

 took my departure for Brussels. The fine avenue of planes, 

 sycamores, elms, &c, made travelling delightful ; but nothing 

 remarkable in the crops occurred till we reached Alost, near 

 which place are grown large quantities of hops and onions. 

 It is said that so many of the latter are grown, that the air is 

 imbued with the smell ; however, this season (July, 1830) they 

 have totally failed : a small worm had attacked both the young 

 onions and those for seed, and totally destroyed most of the 

 crops. At Brussels my first visit was to the botanic garden, 

 though quite by chance ; for, as I was walking in the Boule- 

 vards, I was delighted with the view of a most magnificent 

 garden ; thinking it must belong to royalty, I enquired how 

 I could gain admittance, and was soon informed it was the 

 Jardin des Plantes, and open to all. I was surprised and de- 

 lighted ; for never had I seen so beautiful a public garden, 

 the situation so commanding, the prospect of the distant 

 country so fine, and its noble plant-houses so well arranged. 



[A view of the Brussels Botanic Garden is given Vol. V. 

 p. 327.; and our correspondent, C. Rauch of Vienna, now in 

 the Chiswick Garden, has obligingly lent us plans {Jigs. 69, 

 70.) of the garden and hot-houses.] 



They had here fine healthy specimens of most of the rare 

 stove plants, in excellent condition : — Crinum pedunculatum 

 and C. amabile were superb plants ; Yucca conspicua was 1 2 ft. 

 to 15 ft. high. The hardy department seemed rather in its 

 infancy ; the herbaceous plants were arranged after the Lin- 

 naean system, in beds diverging from a circle, each radiating 

 bed being devoted to a class, and being subdivided trans- 

 versely into smaller beds for the orders.* 



Some of the Linnaean classes were very meagre, particularly 

 Monadelphia and Polyadelphia. I did not observe any thing at 

 all rare in this department, and in hardy shrubs the garden was 

 still more deficient : but, considered generally, it is a most de- 

 lightful spot, and, as a healthy promenade for the citizens, must 

 be invaluable. A powerful steam-engine is at the lower part 

 of the garden, near a piece of water, to raise it for a magnifi- 

 cent fountain. In the area in front of the range of houses, 

 all was preparation for a grand musical festival, and exhibi- 

 tion of plants, to be held shortly ; and a large circular room, 

 behind the largest plant-house, was prepared with seats as an 

 amphitheatre, in the centre of which prize plants were to be 

 arranged, all in such fine taste and magnificence, that our 



* This seems a very bad plan ; for some classes have only two orders, 

 and a dozen or two of hardy plants ; while others have a dozen of orders, 

 and several thousand plants. — Cond. 



