and ofTtural Imjorovement, during 1835, 629 



the direction of a new curator. The various collectors of plants 

 in Belgium almost all sell or exchange their productions among 

 themselves or with foreigners ; a very laudable practice, in our 

 opinion, since it spreads a taste for plants, and is also the means 

 of disseminating many fine species among those who, probably, 

 would not otherwise have either become imbued with the one, 

 or possessed of the other. The Ghent gardeners are always 

 happy to make exchanges with the nurserymen of this country; 

 some of whom, and more especially Mr. Knight of the Exotic 

 Nursery, and Mr. Low of Clapton, make annual journeys 

 through the country, and bring back various novelties. An ex- 

 cellent account of the present state of botany, gardening, and 

 rural economy generally, in Belgium, has been given in the pre- 

 sent volume (p. 217. and 273.), by Mr. Maddison. 



Germany. — Throughout this extensive country there may be 

 said to be a general movement in favour of gardening; but we 

 have given such a copious account of what has recently been 

 done in our Encyclopcedia of Gar-detiing, that we can add but 

 little here. The late Emperor of Austria was not only a great 

 lover of gardening as an amateur, but actually spent a portion 

 of his time, almost every fine day, in a gardening dress, digging, 

 hoeing, and pruning, planting and transplanting, potting and 

 shifting, and watering and syringing, like any garden labourer. 

 The present emperor is said to possess the same taste, though 

 not in such a decided manner. The garden of the university, 

 at Vienna, was greatly enlarged some years ago ; and its col- 

 lections are annually increased, under the assiduous directorship 

 of Baron Jacquin. All the best fruits of Britain have been in- 

 troduced into the imperial gardens about Vienna by M. Karl 

 Rauch, who spent several years in England, chiefly in the gar- 

 den of the Horticultural Society, and at Kew ; so that very few 

 German gardeners knew better what the gardens about London 

 possessed, that was not to be found in the gardens of Vienna. 

 The Hungarian magnates are adding to their collections; and 

 there are now several gardeners and Scotch bailiffs settled in 

 different parts of Hungary. The most splendid and prosperous 

 botanic garden in Germany is that of Berlin, a plan and de- 

 scription of which is given in our E^icyclopcedia ; and a recent 

 account of its collection of trees and shrubs, by its director, M. 

 Otto, will be found in a preceding page. (p. 541.) M. Otto, 

 jun., after having been some time at Kew, and in some of the 

 London nurseries, put himself under the tuition of Mr. M'Nab 

 of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden ; subsequently he went to 

 the Jardin des Plantes, and to some of the Parisian nurseries ; 

 and he is now travelling in different parts of France, Belgium, 

 Holland, Germany, and Italy, previously to his return home. It 

 is only by travelling extensively in this manner that a gardener 



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