422 Notes made during a Professional Tour 



prietor is very rich, and does not spare either trouble or expense 

 to procure every thing that is choice and new in plants of this 

 kind. He does not cultivate any house plants. The new 

 botanic garden of Brussels has a very prepossessing external 

 appearance. It stands on a gentle eminence at the top of the 

 Boulevard de Lacken, from which it is seen to great advantage. 

 Within it, there are, in the large stove, some fine specimens of 

 palms ; but many of them suffered severely in the late revo- 

 lution ; and some were entirely destroyed by the Dutch, who 

 were in possession of the gardens and houses during the greater 

 part of the contest. I was informed that a plant, supposed to 

 be the finest in Europe, of the Strelitz/a augusta was cut to 

 pieces by the soldiers from mischief. Among the New Hoi- 

 land plants, there are none of the newly introduced species : 

 they are all of kinds long known in Europe ; and, although 

 the specimens of some of them are large, they are not at all in 

 a good condition : they are, indeed, tall, and naked a great way 

 up the stems, which gives them an unsightly appearance. There 

 is an extensive collection of succulent plants, and these appear 

 to advantage. The pine-apple is also cultivated to some extent, 

 but not skilfully. Kidneybeans and strawberries are forced; 

 which seems quite out of character in a botanic garden : but as 

 these are sold, and other plants from the collection, it is pos- 

 sible the former produce as much profit as anything else. The 

 grounds are extensive; and, in front of the houses, they are 

 curiously laid out, though in a style which appeared to me 

 much out of character, and I cannot say well executed. I was 

 informed that the conductors of the garden have received a 

 grant from government of a yearly sum for the improvement of 

 the garden, and for the purchasing of new plants ; and it is to 

 be hoped that this aid, by being judiciously applied, will be 

 made to supersede, at least in some degree, the selling of plants, 

 especially the selling of them at such low prices as at present, to 

 the great injury of nurserymen, who have a living to make 

 by the profits of their business, while the botanic garden has 

 support from other quarters. 



There are several interesting private gardens in and about 

 Brussels. That of M. Reynders, beyond the Porte de Louvain, 

 is the most so. His collection is not extensive, but very select ; 

 as it is restricted to those species only which recommend them- 

 selves by the beauty of their flowers. I observed here the finest 

 plant of Kennedy a dilatata that I have ever seen : it covered 

 the whole end of one of the houses, and was bearing, I may say, 

 thousands of flowers. Many of the plants, as hoveas, oxylo- 

 biums, pimeleas, epacrises, pultenaeas, platylobiums, some of the 

 choicer camellias, and many others of equal merit, were growing 

 planted out, and showed to much advantage. A fine plant of 



