Ratisbon Botanic Gardefi. 405 



to be mixed with a good deal of surface mould or turf. 

 There is black bog earth near the town, but it is found 

 injurious to heath and other hair-rooted plants; and sandy 

 peat is brought from a great distance. The range of hot- 

 houses (7%-. 112.) is handsome of its kind: it contains a 

 numerous collection of palms and succulents, but not many 

 heaths or Australian plants. A new catalogue of this garden 

 is in course of publication by Dr. Martins. Fig. 112. a is the 

 ground plan of the three hot-houses and three green-houses ; 

 B, the elevation ; c, a section through the central green-house, 

 which has the attendant's room behind ; and d is a section 

 through the palm-house, which has the curator's house behind. 



In the green-house of the botanic garden at Nymphenburg 

 (see Jig. 103.) was an Araucdria excelsa raised from a lateral 

 frond. After this plant had been rooted for several years, 

 the gardener cut it down to the ground, when it sent up 

 three upright shoots, one of which he reserved as a leader. 

 The plant, now a handsome tree, was presented by the king 

 to the botanic garden of Erlangen. In the palm house 

 {a. Jig. 103.) is a large specimen of Cycas circinalis, which 

 was brought by the French from Vienna to Malmaison, 

 bought at the sale which took place there in 1827, for 600 

 francs, and carried to Munich. Euphoria Litchi has also 

 ripened fruit ; and Phce^nix paludosa and farinifera, Chamae^- 

 rops arborescens, and Latdnia borbonica, have attained a 

 large size. Mimosa aquatica, from Senegal, the leaves of 

 which are as sensitive as those of M. pudica, thrives in the 

 green-house, {b. Jig. 103.) Jacquinz'a arborea is propagated 

 at Nymphenburg from leaves, which must be slipped off, 

 planted in sandy leaf-mould round the edge of a pot, and 

 made very firm ; in six or eight months they send up a 

 shoot from the base of the footstalk. Pbthos acaulis is raised 

 from seed; which must be sown immediately when it drops 

 from the plant, otherwise it will not come up. Desmodium 

 adscendens flowers freely all the winter. All the plants in 

 the green-house here are distinctly named on wooden tallies, 

 stamped by printers' types, set into a small case, screwed up 

 tight, and supplied with printers' ink in the usual manner. 

 The rhododendrons and laurustinuses are kept in the green- 

 house. The latter are trained with stems six feet high, with 

 thick bushy heads five feet in diameter, which are covered 

 with flowers all the winter. 



The botanic garden of Ratisbon contains about an acre, 

 and has a moderate collection of plants, chiefly herbaceous, 

 and natives of the north of Europe, arranged according to 

 the Linnsean system. There is a green-house, with an opaque 



D D 3 



