HORTICULTURE IN FRANCE. 
21 
not be a rat about the diggins. I can say this by 
experience, for we were nearly devoured by rats un¬ 
til we got coons. I can now say there is not a rat on 
the place. If Mr. A. should want any of the tribe, 
T could spare a pair, as I have a dozen on hand. 
R. H. Hendrickson. 
Middletown, Ohio, 18i lh Nov,, 1844. 
fjortitulturc tit irrmttc. 
A voyage to Europe, and a few months passed 
there very pleasantly, forms an epoch in any man’s 
life, sufficiently important to be remembered, if only 
from the fact of crossing and re-crossing the Atlantic. 
How much more agreeable then will be the reminis¬ 
cences, if, in addition to this, our tour has been un¬ 
dertaken for the double purpose of gaining informa¬ 
tion, and ascertaining from personal observation what 
our neighbors are doing in that branch of science 
most interesting ?to ourselves, and very generally so 
to our fellow men ! With us, the pleasures of gar¬ 
dening, and of everything else connected therewith, 
are regarded as first principles, influencing our 
thoughts, and giving a direction to all our acts. 
Three years ago, we scarcely knew the name of a 
dozen plants either ornamental or useful, and had 
not in our possession a single specimen of vegetable 
life. A beautiful rose-bush caught our eye one day 
while passing through Fulton market, admiration 
induced us to purchase it, and from this simple cir¬ 
cumstance has • Originated the large and magnificent 
collection of exotics mow under our care, with the 
huge conservatory and other accompanying plant- 
houses around the gardens at Carolina Hall. After 
visiting several of the most important public and 
private establishments in and near New York and 
Philadelphia, and obtaining from the former every¬ 
thing worthy of notice, we found there was still 
wanting a multitude bf rare and elegant plants, only 
to be had by making the importation from foreign 
countries, or, by a personal visit to kill two birds 
with one stone, by seeing for ourselves, and then 
selecting whatever merited attention for its beauty 
add scarcity combined. We were not long in decid¬ 
ing on the latter course, and sailed for Liverpool in 
April last, with hopes and expectations which have 
been more than fulfilled. 
With a partial promise made at the moment of 
starting, that we would communicate our views on 
horticultural subjects, formed from our own observa¬ 
tion on thexondition of things abroad, we have at no 
previous time been able to comply. Constant change 
of place and scene, with the necessarily attendant 
excitement thereby Occasioned, has operated as a 
preventive; but now that we have a little more lei¬ 
sure, something may be said as to the state of horti¬ 
culture in'England, France and Belgium, and the 
contrast made apparent, between our operations and 
those of our friends across the water. 
An American ^scarcely sets his foot in France, be¬ 
fore he is struck with the different appearance of 
almost everything he has been accustomed to see at 
home. The novelty of his position, particularly if it 
be the first time that he has gone abroad, makes him 
feel somewhat singular; and except when, he is 
asleep, his faculties are roused to their utmost limit 
of comprehensiveness;by the panorama around him, 
of the, busy scenes of human life. The language, 
the manners, the dress, and the very looks of his 
fellow men, all remind him strongly that he is a 
stranger in a strange land. If he is going to Paris, (and 
who goes to France without going there ?) he : s off' 
at once, satisfied that in and about that magnificent 
city, he can avail himself of sight-seeing to his 
heart’s content. For our own part, though we saw 
and wondered as much as any one, yet our chief 
interest was directed to the numerous horticultural 
establishments, their size, arrangement, extent of 
collection, and general keeping. 
One of the first visited was that of the Messieurs 
Cels Freres, pepinieristes a Montrouge, chaussee 
du Maine, 77. These gentlemen have a very ex¬ 
tensive nursery, tolerably well laid out, and stock¬ 
ed with a good assortment of hardy plants. They 
cultivate the rOse largely, and have raised some 
very beautiful varieties of this lovely flower. Their 
chief attention is, however, bestowed upon their 
collection of stove and greenhouse exotics, than 
which there is not a better that we know of in the 
kingdom. For the growth of these, they have nu¬ 
merous houses, each one filled with its appropriate 
inhabitants, all looking remarkably healthy, and 
very neatly arranged. It is to the brothers Cels, that 
the Horticultural Society of Paris are chiefly indebted 
for a large portion of the display made at their exhi¬ 
bitions, it being not at all an uncommon occurrence 
for them to furnish from 600 to 700 specimens ol 
very rare and splendid plants. It is their pride to 
be among the most distinguished horticulturists of 
the country; nor have they spared any expense in 
enriching their collection by constant additions of 
everything choice and remarkable, either for beauty 
or singularity. No one can enter their houses with¬ 
out being immediately struck with the large number 
of palms, rhododendrons, azaleas, ericas, orchidacese, 
coniferae, and cacti. Of these last, they probably 
have the richest collection to be found in France, and 
many of their specimens are very rare and costly. 
Of these we noticed Echinocactus electracanthus, 
acuatus, macrodiscus, cornigerus, piliferus, and aula- 
cogonus; Echinopsis multiplex and zuccarini, and 
several new species of melocactus from Brazil. It is 
here we saw the beautiful MammiJlaria eliphanti- 
deus, rarely seen, and well worthy a place in every 
select collection of cacti. Among the immense num¬ 
ber of greenhouse and stove plants, we noticed seve¬ 
ral of great beauty and rarity; these were Azalea 
crassifolia, Boronia anemonoefolia, Chowzema oppo- 
sitifolium, Franciscea hydrangaaformis, a new yellow 
Rondeletia, Bilberghia zonata, with marbled leaves, 
the Ilex excelsa, singular foliage, Dacridium elatum 
and cupressinum, and the Phyllocladus trachymenoi- 
des. Their specimens of Araucaria imbricata are 
magnificent, also Altingia excelsa, and Cedrus deo- 
dara, all of them being over 12 feet in height. Of 
the remarkable orchideae tribe, they possess a fine 
assortment. To us these singular plants always 
afford much gratification, not alone because they are 
so, but from their splendid flowers, many of which 
are exceedingly fragrant. Of those in bloom we ob¬ 
served the curious Bressia cawanii, Phaius bicolor, 
Cyrtochilum maculatum, Oncidium earth aginense and 
ampliatum, Trichopilia tortilis, and Zygopetalon max- 
iliare, of which last we have a specimen now in 
bloom, besides many others not yet in flower, being 
probably the most extensive collection to be found in 
