and its Rural and. Domestic Economy. 275 



be gained by such as have large fortunes. By the present regu- 

 lations, the small gardeners are almost excluded from gaining a 

 prize : in fact, those only who can afford to get plants over from 

 England are sure of getting one. However, the Horticultural 

 Society is about to erect a new building for the exhibition ; and 

 I am in hopes, from the increased number of members, that the 

 Society will not only be more liberal in the distribution of prizes, 

 but that it will arrange the exhibition in such a manner as to 

 enable persons of small incomes to have a chance of obtaining 

 prizes, as well as those whose fortunes are large. The judging 

 of the prizes ought, also, to be arranged in a different manner, 

 &c. See my letter, addressed to the secretary of the Ghent 

 Horticultural Society, in the Horticulteiir Beige. 



The three first-rate commercial gardeners in Ghent are Mes- 

 sieurs Verleeuwen, Van Geert, and Verschaffelt : the first of whom 

 (Verleeuwen) is celebrated for his choice collection of plants, ob- 

 tained chiefly from England ; for his obliging manners ; and for 

 a liberality in his dealings which ought to recommend him to all 

 amateurs. Every one here, as I before said, is a gardener or 

 amateur; so that it would be impossible to enumerate all the 

 Ghent gardeners by name : but those English gardeners who are 

 desirous of purchasing plants here ought themselves to come 

 over. Messrs. Knight, Garvie, and Tate have already paid this 

 country a visit. The latter sold a quantity of his Azalea Da- 

 nielszV ; which, when once it begins to grow, will thrive surpris- 

 ingly in the fine kind of vegetable mould we have in this country ; 

 though, I think, it will be too delicate to stand our winters in 

 the open air. The summers in Belgium are, for the most part, 

 fine and dry ; and the autumns beautifully serene, till Novem- 

 ber. The winters are, however, sharp, dry, clear, and cutting ; 

 but healthy for those not subject to pulmonary complaints. The 

 springs are disagreeable, having cold winds with hot sun. In the 

 winter but very little snow falls. This winter (1834-) snow fell 

 twice ; but never remained more than three hours at a time on 

 the ground. On the other hand, on Dec. 29. 1829, at ten o'clock 

 at night, Fahrenheit's thermometer, in a northern aspect, fell to 

 24° below the freezing point. 



Ague is the complaint which the peasants suffer most from in 

 the autumn months ; and it is here of a particularly acute kind : 

 towards the sea coast there is another kind, still more severe. 

 Smoking and chewing tobacco are recommended as preventives. 



The Horticulteur Beige (a work commenced by M. van Houtte, 

 who is now engaged as a collector of rare plants in South America 

 for M. Parthon de Von) deserves a better fate than what it is likely 

 to experience. Had the present proprietors been possessed with 

 the same enthusiasm for horticulture as M. van Houtte was, there 

 could be no doubt that it would have succeeded admirably. As 



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