BRUSSELS. £81 



bage, appeared as if cultivated in large fields. The red 

 cabbage, though comparatively coarse, is the prevailing 

 kind here ; the sweet early cabbages seeming to be much 

 neglected. The quarters occupied with asparagus and 

 with red-beet were extensive, being scarcely inferior in size 

 to those to be seen near Deptford. After passing the little 

 village of Fleugat, grain-crops succeeded to those of kitch- 

 en greens. Harvest was here finished ; or at least, only 

 some patches of oats remained to be cut down. The se- 

 cond crops of the year were far advanced ; turnips now al- 

 most covering the ground, and spurrey concealing the 

 wheat and rye stubble. The soil is a rich free loam, of a 

 light colour. 



Forest of Soigne. 

 The road from Brussels to Waterloo, as is well known, 

 passes for a great way through the Forest of Soigne. On 

 entering the forest, our observations were necessarily con- 

 fined to remarking the species and quality of the trees, and 

 the kinds of native plants which grew near the roadside. 

 The tree which chiefly prevails in the forest, is the com- 

 mon beech ; but elm, oak, and abele, are not unfrequent, 

 and they seemed to abound according to the order of pri- 

 ority in which they are here mentioned. Some ash-trees 

 also appeared, but they were all small or young. The 

 light-coloured foliage of tall willows was here and there 

 distinguishable. A few small hornbeam-trees also occa- 

 sionally presented themselves; and, in the moist parts, al- 

 der was extremely abundant as underwood. In many 

 places, along the sides of the road, were piles of billets, 

 prepared for being sent to Brussels as fire-wood. Each 

 billet is about three feet long, and perhaps a foot in cir- 

 cumference. We could not help feeling some regret to see 

 the fine and clean stems of hundreds of large beeches thuf> 



