102 



ROYAL nOltTTCULTTTlUL SOCIETY. 



in a physiological, chemical, industrial, historic, or, indeed, any 

 other important point of view. 



Our efforts have been crowned with success, insomuch that out 

 of 900 officinal plants which are actually prescribed by doctors 

 we have 780, and no European garden possesses the 120 which 

 are deficient. 



"We cultivate, besides, 1S00 species of the second category, so 

 that there are in the Breslau garden 2500 plants of interest under 

 one or the other of the different divisions mentioned above. As 

 we have already said, all are fully marked with the name of the 

 family, genus, species, locality, and country, with the indication 

 of their use, and of the officinal and technical terms under which 

 they are generally known, as for example — 



" Discanthea). Araliacea?. Aralia papyrifera, Lindl. 

 Pith. Velvet Paper. China." 



Though no botanic garden contains a similar collection, it ap- 

 pears to me insufficient for practical purposes, if the nature of the 

 produce is not added to the general appearance of the plant. For 

 this end, we have placed in the open air by the side of the plants, 

 their produce in well-chosen specimens, enclosed in glass cases 

 and ticketed, either on wire stages, or on pedestals. We have 

 extended this method of arrangement to the artificial products, 

 such as matters for dyeing, tissues, &c, and also to the flowers 

 and fruit of rare tropical plants (as Myristica, Caryopliyllus, Tlico- 

 Iroma, Cinchona, &c), and, finally, to the rej:)resentatives of fa- 

 milies and genera, all enclosed in glass vessels. "We have also 

 established a Botanical Museum of nearly a thousand specimens, 

 in the immediate neighbourhood of the corresponding plants. 

 Amongst these are objects of such rarity that they would be the 

 ornament of any museum. At present the mode of preservation 

 has been so perfect that we have not lost a single specimen. The 

 people of Breslau appreciate the abundant materials for instruction 

 which are thus offered, and in fine weather the garden is con- 

 stantly crowded. 



Botanic gardens with more ample funds might offer something 

 more perfect ; but we shall be gratified if our example is followed 

 and if this mode of arrangement, which is attended with so much 

 practical good, should be generally adopted. 



[A list of some of the rarer officinal plants is added, for which we 

 must refer to Goeppert's ' Die offizinellen und technisch-wichtigen 

 Pllanzen unserer Garten, insbesondere des botanischen Gartens 

 der Universitiit Breslau/ &c. — Tn.] 



