Chap. I. 
COLLECTION OF PLANTS. 
met with in these gardens, in addition to those 
I have named as being favourites with the lower 
orders. 
One old gentleman to whom I was introduced 
by my friend Mr. Mackenzie — Mr. Matotski — has 
a nice collection of pot-plants arranged on stages, 
much in the same way as we arrange them in our 
greenhouses in England. Amongst them I noted 
small plants of the beautiful Sciadopitys verticillata, 
several Retinosporas , some with variegated leaves ; 
Thujopsis dolabrata, and variegated examples of 
laurel, bamboo, orontium, and Hoya Matotskii — a 
name given by some Dutch botanist in honour of 
the old gentleman, and of which he was not a 
little proud. Mr. Matotski is a fine mild-looking 
Japanese, rather beyond the middle age. He has 
a collection of birds, such as gold and silver phea- 
sants ; and in his library are some illustrated 
botanical books, which he shows with great pride 
to his visitors. He presented me with a few rare 
plants from his collection, and offered to procure 
me some others, of which he had no duplicates in 
his own garden. 
In the course of my rambles I came upon some 
tubs containing living salamanders for sale, and in 
the same quarter I observed some striking and 
beautiful kinds of fowls. These were rather above 
the ordinary size, but were remarkable for their 
fine plumage. The tail-feathers were long and 
gracefully curved, and fine silky ones hung down on 
each side of the hinder . part of the back. Bantams 
