350 Garden of the London Horticultural Society. 



ought to contain variety as well as beauty ; and, to produce variety, one kind 

 of tree or shrub should always prevail in one place, and another in another 

 place, so as to create a difference in the different parts which compose the 

 whole. Where this lias not been done, the general appearance of the shrub- 

 bery or belt is the same throughout, or in other words monotony is produced ; 

 and this we contend is now the case with that in the garden. 



To combine an immediate ornamental effect with scientific arrangement and 

 instruction the number of each species and variety of tree and shrub should 

 have been increased, to such an extent as to clothe the ground, that is, five or 

 six plants of each species or variety ought to have been planted together, 

 instead of one; the intention being to thin them out gradually to one, as the 

 plants advanced in growth. Here would have been created a degree of 

 beauty and variety the very highest that a belt or shrubbery is capable of pro- 

 ducing ; and one, we will venture to assert, that every one that has the slightest 

 knowledge of, or taste for, plants, would have been delighted to look on, and 

 which would have left a lasting impression on all who have any taste for trees 

 and shrubs. It will be objected to this mode of planting, perhaps, that some 

 of the species could not be procured at all, and that others would have been 

 too expensive. We admit that a few rare species of pines and firs could not 

 at present be obtained in this country, but we assert with confidence that 

 more than nine tenths of all the species and varieties of hardy trees and shrubs 

 in the Horticultural Society's garden could be had from the London nurseries; 

 and we are of opinion that money would be much better spent in purchasing 

 these than in building the new range of conservatories ; the money indeed 

 that they would require would be, when compared to the cost of these con- 

 servatories, but a mere trifle. 



The Horticultural Society, however, disapproves of this mode of planting, 

 and has adopted the commonplace mode of indiscriminate mixture; but even 

 in this they appear to us to have been unfortunate ; for, by distributing certain 

 conspicuous kinds of shrubs and herbaceous plants equally throughout the 

 whole plantation, they have given it a sameness of appearance, that at the 

 time we saw it, when the Ribes sanguineum was in flower, and the Z/iipinus 

 polyphyllus in full leaf, appeared quite ridiculous. We are sure that, if such 

 an effect had been produced in the shrubbery of a private gentleman, the 

 gardener who planted it would have been reprimanded for it, and that most 

 properly. To us it seems like a mockery or a defiance of the public taste. 

 We have mentioned that the length of belt is in all 45§ chains (a thousand 

 yards.) Will our distant readers, who have no opportunity of visiting the 

 gardens, and who have paid some attention to ornamental effect, believe that, 

 on one side of the walk through the plantation of this length, there are nearly 

 equally distributed throughout 65 plants of Ribes sanguineum and an equal 

 number on the other side; that of Lupinus polyphjllus there are about 250 

 plants on each side ; and that the total number of plants of the genus Ribes 

 in the plantation exceeds 460 ? The evergreens are chiefly common laurels, of 

 which the number planted is 282 ; but, though we took the trouble to count 

 the total number of' trees and shrubs, we will not go further into detail. We 

 only ask such of our readers as are in the habit of visiting the Horticultural 

 Society's garden to look at this plantation, and reflect on what we have said 

 respecting it. 



It happens, unfortunately, that the portion of this belt on the west is so 

 placed as to shade, and render in a great measure useless the east aspect of the 

 fruit wall which formed the western boundary of the kitchen-garden ; and it 

 also interposes between the sun and a range of glazed pits which have been 

 recently formed against the south wall of the forcing department. All this 

 shows the result of planless proceedings on the part of the garden committee. 

 Two other objections to this belt, and we have done for the present. The first 

 is, that the specimen trees have been planted on the flat surface, and not on 

 slightly raised hillocks, as recommended in Vol. XIII. p. 156 ,and the excellent 

 effect of which may already be seen both in Hyde Park and Kensington 

 Gardens; our suggestion having been immediately adopted by the Office of 



