GARDENS PUBLIC AND BOTANICAL 
cultivating the many tropical trees and shrubs of eco¬ 
nomic value, the spices, teas, coffees, and chocolates, the 
various valuable palms, the giant bamboos, the gam¬ 
boge, and indigo, and the hardwood trees. The gar¬ 
dens vary considerably in soil and temperature, lying 
partly on the hills and partly in low, marshy ground, 
and are capable of producing an amazing variety of 
plants. The philosopher Haeckel, who spent four days 
in them, asserted that four months of hard work at 
home would not have given him the same results. 
On the decorative side, tropical gardens are chiefly 
confined to blossoming trees, for though there are 
some splendid lilies and creepers, there are practically 
few bedding flowers. But the trees are marvelous! 
There is the flame-tree, the different mimosas, an 
Indian tree that in its season is a solid mass of orange- 
colored flowers, and all the genus of Brownea, whose 
new terminal leaves are scarlet or rose, and hang 
pendant at the ends of every twig, presenting the least 
possible surface to the heat of the sun while too young 
to stand his full fervor. Then the hundreds of varieties 
of palms and palmettos and the so-called pines, the 
oranges and lemons wrapped in fragrance, the poin- 
cianas. A real glory of color and rank growth. 
An unexpected and altogether delightful garden 
is the public one at Venice, which was made by 
Napoleon, who pulled down a number of ancient 
palaces and churches to get the necessary space. His 
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