238 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 20, 1858. 
from it by Laurels, &c; You expect nothing of the 
kind, and you are doubly gratified ; first, on finding 
another fernery"; and secondly, finding it has an ap¬ 
propriate home, and neither interfered with, nor in¬ 
terfering with other scenery. A rockwork in a dell, 
or anywhere apart by itself, would command its due 
attention. Place it in the middle, or at the side of a 
fine lawn, as a prominent feature, where mansion, con¬ 
servatory, and flower-beds,—all that is elegant and 
lovely,—come at one sweep before the eye ; and then I 
should like to be informed how, in such circumstances, 
such heaps of stones, roots, and clinkers, can add either 
interest, beauty, harmony, or fitness to the scene. 
R. Fish. 
NOTES FROM THE CONTINENT.—No. 27. 
GHENT. 
A yew minutes walk along one of the avenue-planted roads, 
outside the old city of Ghent, brings us to the nursery of 
I M. Louis Van Houtte,— the most complete and extensive 
: horticultural establishment on the Continent. It forms quite 
a colony in itself, with its villa, its rows of residences, its 
schools, its seed-shops, its suit of sheds for drying and 
: cleaning, storing and packing bulbs and plants, its machinery 
for pumping water, and its gas-works. Moreover, a botanical 
periodical, called Flore des Sevres et des Jardins de VEurope, 
is printed and published upon the premises ; and, looking in 
at the windows of a long substantial building, I saw many 
draughtsmen employed in preparing the plates with which it 
is illustrated; and in another I saw the printing machines at 
work. This garden is deservedly the Government Institut 
Horticole; and many are the students who gain their knowledge 
of gardening from this establishment. They pay a certain 
premium, live upon the grounds, learn the business practically 
by taking their part in the operations of the garden, and 
theoretically by hearing lectures, and taking lessons, from 
proficient teachers, in botany, geography, drawing, mensura¬ 
tion, and all other branches of education with which it is 
necessary a first-class gardener should be acquainted. The 
advantages of this garden are not reserved for the natives of 
Belgium; foreigners are liberally admitted to participate in 
them, and we accordingly find men from many countries 
among the students. The greater part of the foreigners are 
Germans ; but not unfrequently the son of an English nursery¬ 
man or gardener may be found among them. 
There are very many glass structures of all sizes in this 
; garden, a large proportion of them being span-roofed pits, well 
adapted for cultivation, and standing parallel with each other; 
indeed, all the houses are grouped together in a very conve¬ 
nient and business-like way. The largest house is devoted to 
Camellias, and is nearly 300 feet long. The tank in the 
centre of the V ictoria-house was planted over at the time of 
my visit, and the place filled with a promising lot of young 
Palms. 
( Hyacinths, and bulbs generally, Roses, herbaceous plants, 
Conifers, hardy trees and shrubs, and fruit trees, are all grown 
hero, upon a scale unknown in any other place I have Ausited; 
and in-doors the same system prevails. The collections of 
stove and greenhouse plants, Ferns, and Orchids, are most 
extensive. A hurried visit to such a vast establishment, con¬ 
taining such an infinity of plants, leaves the mind almost in 
a bewildered state. In fact, it is one of those places of which 
it is impossible to bring away a definite idea. I shall not, tliere- 
ioie, attempt the difficult task of describing this garden, but 
content myself with noting a few of the principal things with 
which I was struck. 
By nothing is the rapid progress made by the gardening of 
the day so well exemplified as by the family of the Gesnera- 
ceous plants. It was only a few years ago that we were 
charmed by the appearance of Achimencs (or, as we now call it, 
Tydaa) gigantea : it is now to be found in gardens of the 
humblest class. Two years ago it was followed by Tudcea 
amabilis one of the most delicate and beautiful things in the 
worktbut now the number of their allies arc without limit. 
JLIic v\ uole side ol one house here was occupied with hybrid 
lgdceas ; and, as the greater part of them were in bloom, they 
formed the most brilliant floral exhibition I ever had the good 
fortune to behold. There were flowers of every hue—pure 
creamy white, without spot or fleck, delicate pink, rosy pink 
with darker markings, bright scarlet with reddish-brown spots, 
and crimson with clottings almost black; indeed, they varied 
as much as Calceolarias, and no two were to be found just 
alike. The parents from which these lovely things were 
raised were Tydcea gigantea, Warscewiczii, amabilis , and 
Locheria magnifica. This is a new line in which the hybridiser 
has been employing his skill, and who can tell what novelties 
are yet to be produced from this source ? Only the most 
distinct among those I saw were to be named, and sent out; 
among the rejected ones are many far superior to anything we 
could obtain for love or money a few years ago. All who 
have time and opportunity should obtain the best sorts, which 
are now on sale, and try what they can themselves raise in 
this beautiful class of plants, the cultivation of which is so 
simple and inexpensive. The best sorts, in addition to those 
named above, are Ortgiesii, Baron de Bret, Comte Theod , 
Dr. Bicouline , and BecJchoulei. They are very cheap, the 
price here being from 50 centimes to 2 francs each plant (that 
is, 4fci to Is. 7 d. English money). Neigelia amabilis is a 
very pretty thing, with the habit of Gesnera zebrina, but the 
flowers creamy white. 
1 saw here two Aralias, which are new, A. Brownii , with 
tri-partate leaves, and A. farinifera , with digitate leaves of 
immense size. Aristolochia cornuta, with small reddish- 
brown flowers. Tacca pinnatijida. a curious, three-parted 
leaved, Arum-like plant, the root of which forms an article of 
food for the South Sea Islanders. Cossignia Borbonica , a beau¬ 
tiful stove plant, with pinnate leaves, the principal veins of 
which are orange-coloured. Tradescantia argentea , which is 
only a rather more silvery variety of T. zebrina. A variegated 
variety of Kennedy a monopJiylla, and the same of Weigela 
amabilis , the latter dull. A copper-coloured Maple. Some 
beautiful hybrid Lantanas. Oxalis tropoeoloides , with very 1 
small purple leaves : it creeps over the ground like a Lycopod, 
and is quite hardy. j 
Conifers are very extensively grown here; for instance, I 
saw lourteen hundred plants of Binus palustr is, and an equal 
number of many others. The Wellingtonia is hardy here. 1 
There was one nearly six feet high, which had stood the last 
three or four winters unprotected.—I varl. 
RESULTS OF TEN YEARS’ BEE-KEEPING. ! 
In reply to some inquiries, relative to what is stated at 
P- 208, I give you the dates when the empty boxes were sub- ' 
stituted. 
1847, 13th of August. 1848, 17th of August. 1849, 
13th of August. 1850, 19th of August. 1851, 19th of 
August. 1853, 8th of October—there was but little, and it 
had been left, but none was made after the early part of 
August. 1855,14th of August. 1856, 29th of July—but too 
early by a fortnight, as the bees continued to make honey in 
the fresh box until after the middle of August. 1857, 3rd of 
August. 
. E ie size of the hive is twelve inches in height, and sixteen 
inches in diameter. The box sixteen niches square, but is un¬ 
necessarily large. 
No brood comb ever occurs in the box, but some pollen 
very variable in quantity. The locality is not very favour¬ 
able, and a considerable number of bees are kept in the 
neighbourhood. The ventilation is carefully attended to. 
This is, in truth, the only trouble the bees give. 
I have given you the results of the last ten years, as in 
those years only the accounts have been kept; but the stock 
is thirteen years old. 
I omitted to say, that in two years, when there seemed some 
disposition to swarm, an extra box was placed in front of the 
ordinary one ; that nearest the hive being removed in August, 
and the other put in its place. The bees have, in all eases 
but one, within my knowledge, taken kindly to this place. 
In this one case they refused to use the box, although it con¬ 
tained a portion of comb made by another set the previous 
year, and swarmed out. 
The plan is so simple, and appears to me so successful, 
that I hope others will try it. 
