CHAP. III. 



CONTINElJT OF EUROPE. 



155 



europEe'a, -(E^'sculus Hippocastanum, some species of Pdpulus, and J'cer 

 Pseudo-Platanus, thrive here as well, and are almost as common, as the 

 indigenous trees. Of fruit trees, all that are cultivated north of the European 

 alps grow in Scania ; such as peaches, apricots, grapes, almonds, chestnuts, 

 wahiuts, and mulberries ( Jforus alba and nigra), and they appear to suffer very 

 little from the cold : even figs (jPicus Carica) have lived through some winters. 

 The Japanese shrubs endure the climate of Lund tolerably well, as Kerria 

 japonica, and Broussonet/a, which last had grown to the size of a large tree, 

 one third of a foot in diameter, in the botanic garden at Lund, till accidentally 

 (and not, as it seemed, by the severity of the winter) it died off. But very 

 few evergreens endure our winters ; not even the Auaiba japonica, or the 

 Portugal or the common laurel ; and the holly with great difficulty. The few 

 exotic evergreens that we do possess are, JSuxus sempervirens and var., 

 Cratae'gus Pyracantha, Finca sp., and the Coniferse. 



" Many of the Swedish noblemen have contributed much to the spreading of 

 foreign trees throughout Scandinavia, by planting them on their estates ; as, for 

 example, His Excellency Count Trolle Wachtraeister, His Excellency the 

 Count de la Gardie, Baron Gyllenkrook, and several more, in Scania; also, 

 the late M. Thouse, in West Gotha ; His Excellency Count Trolle Bronde, in 

 Upland ; M. Wares, in Warmeland ; &c. The Morus alba thrives well, even 

 as far as Upsal ; and, vmder the protection of our adored Crown Princess 

 JosepUine, there is a large plantation of it at Stockholm, for the purpose 

 of breeding and feeding silkworms ; and the silk obtained from them is not 

 only abundant in quantity, but the quality of it is excellent. At Stockholm 

 there are several patrons of arboriculture, as regards the cultivation of 

 foreign trees. Some of the most distinguished are, the Counsellor de Pontin, 

 M. Siefwerstrale, and M. Rofenblad ; the latter of whom has the richest col- 

 lection of plants that can be found in any private garden in Scandinavia. 

 There are two public plantations of foreign trees at Stockholm ; viz. that of 

 the Forest Listitute, directed by M. Strom, and that of the Agricultural 

 Academy ; both of which possess a great number of foreign trees. 



" As to the height of the trees, I can find no difference between those in 

 Scandinavia and those in Germany, or in any other country north of the 

 European alps. The beeches and "oaks are as well grown trees with us as 

 they are in Germany, The sweet chestnut tree and the Robinia Pseud- 

 ^cacia are somewhat smaller, as they have hitherto never attained a greater 

 height here than 50 ft. 5 but others, as the tesculus, the foreign tilias, 

 populus, the foreign pines, juglans, &c., may be compared with those of 

 Germany. The Platanus occidentalis attains a height of 30 ft. The Platanus 

 orientalis does not stand in the free ground in our garden. The tulip tree 

 is perfectly hardy. We have not yet tried the cedar of Lebanon in the open 

 air ; but we hope to be able to do this at some future time. — C. Agardh. 

 Lund, Sept. 23. 1835." 



Sect. V. Of the Indigenous and Foreign Trees and Shrubs of the 

 Russian Empire, 



This immense country, extending in latitude from the Crimea to the Gulf 

 of Bothnia, and in longitude stretching far into Asia, exhibits less variety of 

 surface than might be expected from its great extent. With the exception of 

 its southern and Asiatic provinces, its ligneous flora differs little from that of 

 Germany and of the north of France; but the Crimea, the mountains of Cau- 

 casus, the Circassian alps, and the shores of the Caspian and Black Sea, are 

 rich in the productions of warmer climates, and include as indigenous many of 

 the more important trees and shrubs of Switzerland, Italy, and Greece, besides 

 a great number peculiar to themselves. On this account, though the Asiatic 

 portion of the Kussian flora has been very imperfectly explored, the number 

 of species that Russia possesses that are not indigenous in Britain is con- 



