310 
CONTINENTAL GARDENS. 
and also many large and fine squares. The 
river Spree runs through the town and emp- 
ties itself in the Haval at some distance from 
the faubourgs. The king has a great taste 
for horticultural pursuits, and most of the 
squares have, therefore, been transformed 
into public gardens, that are kept with the 
greatest care. They are laid out, for the 
most part, in grass compartments divided by 
narrow gravel walks, well kept up and con- 
taining various sorts of plants, often very 
common, but always arranged in a manner to 
produce a fine effect. The taste for gardens 
here is displayed in the most modest parterre 
as well as in the most extensive lawns. On 
the smooth green sward, which might be taken 
for a carpet of velvet, may be seen the beau- 
tiful panicles of the Gypsophilas ; the iso- 
lated tufts of the noble Arundo indica; and 
masses of the spotted Eucomis half hidden 
under lilacs and jasmines. Here and there 
are planted on the lawns Kerrias surrounded 
with Statice Livionium, vervains bordered 
with hepaticas in spring, and variegated box 
during the rest of the year ; while the pansy 
with its thousand varieties decorates all the 
places of public resort in Berlin. The prac- 
tice of dwarfing plants is much followed here, 
so that they may occupy the smallest possible 
space, and Lobelia Erinus covered with its 
blue flowers is frequently used as a border for 
the small flower plots. The public parterres 
are sometimes formed after very intricate de- 
signs ; such, for instance, is that of La Place 
Guillaume, where in the midst of the other 
clumps there is a perfect circle divided in 
twenty-four rays, which are themselves so 
many distinct parterres, arranged together in 
a manner so as to produce the finest effect. 
The centre was occupied with scarlet dahlias, 
enclosed within a ring of Symphoricarpos 
with white fruit. Next was a broad stripe 
covered with Lobelia Erinus; all the com- 
partments were edged with box which is kept 
very short, and in the midst of each of them 
were small groups of Lantanas and Bengal 
roses. To these little formations is given an 
appearance of liveliness, while several climbers, 
such as Ipomceas, Coboeas, 8fc. are trained in 
a wavy garland manner from plot to plot, 
showing at the same time an impassable bar- 
rier, which is always respected by the people. 
Leaving Berlin by the Brandebourg gate, 
we enter an extensive place which is called 
the Thiergarterif in which the collections of 
trees and flowers is very extensive. The 
lawns have a fine fresh appearance, and* nu- 
merous swans are seen floating on the seve- 
ral pieces of water. Certainly a finer place 
for recreation does not exist anywhere ; con- 
taining also, as it does, broad shady avenues 
for carriage and horse exercise ; although one 
must walk on foot in order to examine all its 
details. Here especially may be seen that 
most agreeable harmony of arrangement pro- 
duced with the very commonest plants. An 
admirable effect is also produced by contrast 
of foliage, differences in the colours of the 
fruit, and the disposition of the supple- 
mentai-y tints. In this department the high- 
est skill of the artist has evidently been 
brought into requisition. As in all the 
north of Europe, the chief feature in a pro- 
menade or pleasure garden is a fine grassy 
carpet ; red, which is the complementary co- 
lour of green, generally prevails in all its 
various shades throughout the clumps, plots, 
garlands, crowns, edgings, and ornaments. 
The holly with its green leaves and coral 
berries is freely distributed among the shrub- 
bery, where here and there it bears up the 
long straggling branches of the nasturtium with 
their beautiful flowers. The large glandular 
balsam, though insignificant compared with 
other flowers, holds a distinguishing rank in 
the middle of a clump, from its fine habit. 
The maize, with its glaucous foliage, high 
panicles, and reflexed leaves, brings to mind 
the bamboos of the tropics, and serves as a 
centre to numerous crowns of amaranths, alter- 
nately red and green, under the load of which 
the spikes seem to bend. The flowers o^ Poly- 
gonum orientale, on their long pendant pedun- 
cles, hang over a plot of daisies bordered with 
red Bengal roses. Fresh objects of attrac- 
tion are arranged on other plots ; concealed 
supports, or poles, are raised, to which are 
trained alternately Nasturtiums and Ipomceas, 
and the prolonged repetition of the same 
plants and the same colours, produces an, effect 
that can only be understood by a personal 
visit to the scene of this brilliant assemblage. 
The rhubarb, whose shoots in the spring time 
have so fine a rose and violet colour, is dis- 
persed over all the plots, in order to produce 
a contrast with the green. Subsequently, its 
undulated foliage, its spikes of flower, and its 
brown coloured fruit, present different colours 
according to the season. 
At certain points of the Thiergarten are 
clumps in which the effects of the natural 
colour of the foliage, or the tint it would 
probably take in autumn, have been studied. 
Thus the white poplar contrasts with the 
beech-trees, the leaves of which now begin 
to get yellow, with the cherry-trees and the 
sumach [Rhus typhina], which become of a 
bright red colour, and the laburnum, which 
turns brown and variegated. Then at their 
feet, as it were, might be seen the long glau- 
cous leaves of the artichoke, and the red- 
veined leaves of the varieties of the common 
beet. Some of the clumps are planted with 
trees whose fruit is persistent, serving as 
