THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, August 4, 1857. 283 
kept during -winter in a cold pit. Phlox repens, or, as it is 
called in the Botanic Garden, P. verna, not quite so good a 
' colour as the last, nor does it remain quite so long in bloom, 
( hut this may he owing to our dry climate. It may do better 
i in England; at any rate it is worth the trial, for it will, under 
the worst circumstances, make a gay bed for a month or five 
weeks. Myosotis alpestris, pale blue, flowers profusely, and 
lasts a long time; it grows from nine inches to a foot high ; 
raised from seed every year in the open ground. Alyssum 
saxatile, bright, clear yellow, a foot high ; makes a very dis¬ 
tinct and good bed. Nemophila insignis, raised from seed in 
the autumn, and kept in a cool house. Tberis sempervirens, 
struck from cuttings every year, makes a good white bed, 
but has a purple tinge as it is going out of flower, which 
causes it to look “ smudgy.” These are plants which I have 
seen very useful for the two months previous to the planting 
of the summer bedders. Then we have, as less useful plants, 
many sorts of bulbs; the purplish Aubrietia deltoidea; the 
yellow Duronicum Austriacum; the deep purplish blue Gcn- 
tiana acaulis as an edging for beds of Rhododendrons ; and 
other plants well known and commonly used in England. 
Westward from Berlin lies a piece of ground of great ex¬ 
tent, but whose beauty is in no way commensurate with its 
j size. It is known as the “ Thier Garten a name which 
implies that it is a park for deer or other animals, though 
“there are none there. It is true the Zoological Garden is 
situated in it, but the name was in use long before the 
establishment of the garden. Some travellers have de¬ 
scribed this park as being little better than a huge coppice, 
but that is too severe an epithet to apply. There are parts 
which, though they cannot be called either grand or very beau¬ 
tiful, yet at least deserve the title pretty. There are in it many 
long, straight roads and drives, with narrower avenues on 
each side for pedestrians, with seats set up at convenient 
distances. The most important of these roads is that lead¬ 
ing from the Brandenburg gate of Berlin to the Palace of 
Charlottenburg. For nearly three English miles it is quite 
straight and perfectly level. Then there are vistas leading 
up to statues or groups of figures ; here and there we come 
upon glimpses of water scenery, with rustic bridges and 
willow-covered islands. There are also flower gardens in 
one or two places; the best is that around the foot of a 
statue erected to the late king. A hedge of Oydonia Ja- 
ponica, three feet high and two feet thick, surrounds this 
garden, and in April was one mass of scarlet flowers. Fes¬ 
toons of Virginian Creepers are in some places carried from 
tree to tree with good effect. The great desiderata of the 
Thier Garten are more open spaces and a more diversified 
surface—it is too dead a level; but open lawns require such 
an amount of labour to keep them in good order, or even to 
keep them green at all, that we cannot expect to see it 
carried out upon such a scale; we must here be satisfied if we 
can get shady walks and pleasant drives. The only good 
lawns I have seen here owe their greenness to a continual 
supply of water; those which have not been so treated are 
completely dried up. 
Within the last few days we have had some heavy thunder 
showers, which will soon produce a good effect upon all 
crops, as well of the field as of the garden. We had at 
Berlin a few cool days about the middle of the month, with 
a few good showers, and on the night of the 14th of June 
there was sufficient frost to kill the young tops of the Pota¬ 
toes in exposed situations. It is now as hot as ever again. 
—Karl. 
FANCY RABBITS. 
THE HALF-LOP. 
1 This, the last sub-variety of the Lop-eared Rabbit, is, like 
the other varieties of this breed, named more after the 
carriage of its ears than the peculiarity or purity of its 
strain. The Half-lopped variety may be separated into two 
classes, and with some benefit, at least to the young fancier, 
inasmuch as one variety almost invariably bespeaks im¬ 
purity of blood, although I have known exceptions to this 
rule; while in the other variety we may find numbers of 
the highest-bred animals descended from parents of the 
most unimpeachable beauty both in the carriage, length, and 
breadth of the ear. It is, in fact, very difficult to breed a 
litter of young Rabbits from the most perfect specimens 
] with out one or two of them being of the last-mentioned 
ivariety of the Half-lop, at any rate for a considerable time, 
W until the offending ear be brought to its more proper 
^position by drawing it through the hand for some time each 
day. In the first class the Rabbit holds one ear directly 
iupwards like the common Rabbit, while in the other both 
ffall over on one side. In the former case the ear will 
^generally be found deficient in length, while in the latter 
they will often turn out the longest eared and best lopped in 
the litter. Like all other varieties of the Lop-eared Rabbit, 
they may be found of all colours, marked as well as self- 
coloured, [i.e., of one uniform shade.— Percy Boulton. 
