692 Foreign Notices : — Holland. 



air being made at the tops of the side walls. The palms might be planted, each 

 in a square of soil, separated by thin brick walls ; so that the roots of one sort 

 might not interfere in the slightest degree with those of another. The side 

 ■walls might require to be raised 1 ft. every three years ; and as, by the time 

 these got to be as high as 30 ft. or 40 ft. they might be considered unsightly, 

 they could, when first built, be planted with ivy, or Magnolia grandiflora, or the 

 common holly, outside, the growth of which would keep pace with the rising 

 of the walls ; or the palm-house might be placed in a grove of slow-growing 

 evergreens, such as hollies, which would completely conceal the blank walls on 

 every side. In short, there is much yet to be done in Britain in the way of 

 palm culture : and when it is borne in mind that these plants, in common with 

 all the Monocotyledoneas, only require perpendicular light ; that they require 

 no shifting or pruning; no nicety in regard to either air or water; that they are 

 little subject to the attacks of insects of any kind ; that they only require an 

 abundant supply of heat ; that this heat can hardly escape any where but from 

 the roof, and that even this might be covered, during nights in winter, with 

 canvass, matting, or boards ; — I say, when we consider all these things, a 

 palm-house will appear to be one of the most simple and easily managed de- 

 scription of tropical gardens. But you shall hear more from me on this sub- 

 ject by and by. In the mean time, I have sent you the new catalogue of the 

 garden, and a lithographic view of the hot-houses, &c. — J. C. D. 



M. Soulange-Bodin was some time ago appointed Vice-Secretary to La 

 Sodete Royale et Centrale d" Agriculture ; and, on the 10th of April last, I had 

 the pleasure of hearing him read a very elegant discourse, which was highly 

 applauded by the members present, and has since been published in a cheap 

 monthly agricultural journal, called UAgronome. In taking a general review 

 of the present state of agriculture in France, M. Soulange-Bodin notices the 

 great increase of the culture of the potato ; and he considers the beet as a 

 source of incalculable riches, not only for France, but for Europe in general. 

 Of course, the value of the beet depends mainly on the sugar which can be pro- 

 cured from it, but not altogether ; for the beet is much better adapted as a 

 green crop for feeding cattle in a warm climate, than either the turnip or the 

 potato. The culture of the silkworm, and that of the Saxon merinos, occupy a 

 good deal, also, of public attention ; and, lastly, the culture of the forests. 

 MM. Vilmorin, Michaux, Jaume St. Hilaire, Mirbel and Loiseleur Deslong- 

 champs, are represented as continually urging the great importance of in- 

 troducing all kinds of foreign trees among the indigenous ones in the native 

 forests. Great attention, it appears, is being paid to the study of the insects 

 which attack trees ; and Michaux is stated to have made some valuable dis- 

 coveries on the subject : but I refer you to U Agroiiome. — Id, 



HOLLAND. 



Lieyden, October 12. 1836. — In answer to your letter of September 29., 

 I have the pleasure to give you the requested information concerning the 

 ornus; to which I add the portraits of that and three other trees in the gar- 

 den of our university, in the hope that thej' will be acceptable to you. 



The Fraxmz« 0^'w?w (O'rnus europse^a), called "the tree of Boerhaave," 

 because it was grafted, in the time of that celebrated professor, on F. excelsior, 

 still exists, but is in a state of great decay. The trunk is almost hollow, and 

 rotten on one side, where it is nearly covered with fungous productions. 

 Being afraid that the stem might be blown down and broken by a strong 

 wind, we have been obliged to cut off many large branches of the head, and 

 support the trunk by props. Perhaps the decayed state of the tree is 

 partly caused by its having been transplanted about twenty years ago, when 

 a new arrangement of the garden took place. About the mid-height of the 

 stem, and on its healthy side, there is a large spherical wen, or solid ex- 

 crescence, the circumference of which is IS? metres=4ift. The following 

 dimensions are taken in French metrical measures, which can easily be reduced 

 into English :— 



