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CHAPTER V. 



THE JAKDIN DES PLANTES AND THE GARDENS OF THE 

 LUXEMBOURG. 



We have nothing in the British Isles like the Jardin des 

 Plantes. It is half zoological, half botanical, and nearly 

 surrounded by museums containing vast zoological, bo- 

 tanical, and mineralogical collections. The portion entirely 

 devoted to botany is laid out in the straight, regular style, 



while the part 

 ^ IG - 26 - in which are 



the numerous 

 buildings for 

 the wild ani- 

 mals, has wind- 

 ing walks, and 

 some trifling 

 diversity here 

 and there. The 

 place is really 

 an important 

 school of sci- 

 ence, and as 

 such it is great 

 and useful. In 

 addition to able lecturers on botany, culture, and allied 

 matters, there are, I believe, a dozen on various other scien- 

 tific subjects, some of these gentlemen being among the 

 ablest and most famous naturalists in Europe. Here Buffon, 

 Cuvier, Jussieu, and other great men have worked ; and 

 here at the present day, even in minor departments, are 

 many men of well known ability. 



Although the Jardin des Plantes is quite inferior in point 



Conservatories and Museums in the Jardin des Plantes. 



