INTRODUCTION. 



5 



house building in Europe was certainly 

 that of Francis the First of Austria, in 

 the erection of the botanic hothouses at 

 Schoenbrunn in 1753, in five ranges, and 

 extending altogether to the length of 1290 

 feet, many of them being thirty feet high. 

 These hothouses have been described by 

 travellers as the most magnificent in their 

 day of any in the world. Hot walls were 

 introduced into Saxony by the Earl of 

 Findlater, a Scottish nobleman, who long 

 resided near Dresden ; and this, we pre- 

 sume, was the first instance of their being 

 used out of Britain. Magnitude in erec- 

 tion — the consequence of wealth and cheap 

 material — was attained on the Continent 

 long ere it was attempted in Britain. 

 The extensive conservatories of the Due 

 d'Aremberg at Enghien, and those in the 

 botanic gardens at Brussels, are familiar 

 instances ; but, both in design and execu- 

 tion, these bear no comparison with simi- 

 lar structures more recently erected in 

 our own country. 



In regard to priority, we ought to re- 

 mark that, so early as 1645, a greenhouse 

 was erected at the solicitation of Junger- 

 man, a celebrated botanist, in the botanic 

 garden of Altorf, in Saxony, considered 

 at the time the finest garden in Germany. 



It may here be remarked, however, that 

 Solomon Caus, the most eminent garden 

 architect of his day, contemplated not 

 only to build an extensive orangery in 

 the celebrated gardens of Heidelberg, but 

 also to heat it with steam, prior to 1620, 

 — as in that year he published " Hortus 

 Palatinus Heidelbergse," in which are 

 given plans of these gardens as originally 

 designed by him. 



Landscape gardening, and the adoption 

 of the English or natural style, were, soon 

 after their establishment with us, intro- 

 duced into Germany ; and whether from 

 a greater amount of baronial wealth, the 

 spirit of enterprise, or the love of imita- 

 tion, it is certain that greater progress has 

 been made in the art in that country than 

 in any other on the Continent. Germany 

 has also produced some eminent land- 

 scape gardeners and garden architects, the 

 most popular of whom was F. L. Von 

 Sckell of Munich, the author of a merito- 

 rious work " On Gardening as an Art of 

 Design and Taste." 



In Russia, although the climate is ad- 

 verse, many of the nobles are rich, and 



they, as well as the Emperor, have most 

 extensive hothouses and gardens. The 

 introduction of a taste for either cannot 

 be carried back beyond the time of Peter 

 the Great. Within that period all the 

 styles of garden already noticed have 

 been in vogue : at present, the English 

 style, introduced by the celebrated Em- 

 press Catherine about 1768, is the most 

 popular. 



The celebrated winter garden belong- 

 ing to the Taurida Palace at St Peters- 

 burg is described by Storch in very 

 glowing terms. As gardens of this de- 

 scription may ere long be erected in this 

 country, the following account of this 

 one, by the authority above mentioned, 

 may not be out of place here : — " Along 

 one side of the vestibule is the winter 

 garden, an enormous structure, only sepa- 

 rated from the grand hall by a colonnade. 

 As, from the size of the roof, it could not 

 be supported without pillars, they are 

 disguised under the form of palm trees. 

 The heat is maintained by concealed 

 flues placed in the walls and pillars ; and 

 even under the earth leaden pipes are 

 arranged and filled with boiling water. 

 The walks of this garden meander amidst 

 flowering hedges and fruit-bearing shrubs, 

 winding over little hills, and producing 

 at every step fresh occasion for surprise. 

 The eye of the beholder, when weary of 

 the luxuriant variety of the vegetable 

 world, finds recreation in contemplating 

 some exquisite production of art. Here 

 a head from the chisel of a Grecian sculp- 

 tor invites to admiration ; there, a motley 

 collection of curious fish in crystal vases 

 suddenly fixes our attention. We pre- 

 sently quit these objects to get into a 

 grotto of looking-glass, which gives a 

 multiplied reflection of all these wonders, 

 or to indulge our astonishment at the 

 most extraordinary mixture of colours in 

 the face of an obelisk of mirrors. The 

 genial warmth, the fragrance and brilliant 

 colours of the noble plants, the volup- 

 tuous stillness that prevails in this en- 

 chanting spot, lull the fancy into sweet 

 romantic dreams, — we imagine ourselves 

 in the blooming groves of Italy ; while 

 nature, sunk into a death-like torpor, 

 announces the severity of a northern 

 winter through the windows of the pavi- 

 lion." This immense house, however, was 

 defective in some of its most important 



