May 23, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
603 
quality during December and January is far better than 
many Grape growers are aware. Another old and but 
seldom seen variety is to be found in "West’s St. 
Peter’s, this being rightly considered the most refreshing 
late black Grape in cultivation, and is much liked by 
invalids. Nor ought Mrs. Prince’s Black Muscat to 
be discarded simply because it sometimes fails to set 
well, and in other cases owing to its colouring badly. 
It keeps better than any of tho varieties yet named, 
and is superior to all, with the exception of the Muscat 
of Alexandria, in point of quality. 
At the present time of year, this being when Grapes 
are scarcest, a good supply of Lady Downe’s is simply 
invaluable, yet owing to the craze for more showy 
varieties, not half enough of it is grown. It promises 
to keep sound this year to the end of May, and very 
plump, crisp and refreshing it proves, no early forced 
Grapes being at all equal to it. It is not yet too late 
to change and improve the character of the least 
valuable varieties by grafting and inarching others on 
to them ; and young Yines can be planted up to the 
end of May with every prospect of their doing well.— 
The Field. 
-- 
THE HANGING GARDENS OP 
BABYLON. 
(Concluded from p. 589 J. 
You need feel no surprise at our finding so man 
foreign trees and flowers in these Babylonian gardens. 
It was a custom in early ages for eastern potentates to 
exact of tributary nations that they should pay a por¬ 
tion of their imposts in the grain and plants of their 
country ; as a consequence, therefore, an abundance of 
rare flowers—rare everywhere else even in the favour¬ 
able season—found their way into the groves of Nimrod, 
arid were cultivated with such care that during the 
entire year round the apartments of the Babylonian 
monarchs were graced with the richest floral tributes 
(interspersed with wreaths of Papyrus), which only the 
most experienced amongst these old-world horticultur¬ 
ists could possibly produce. I am convinced, after 
many careful inspections in the British Museum of the 
monuments and tablets of the ancients, that a Nimrod 
or a Pharaoh would countenance nothing short of per¬ 
fection either in the arts of horticulture or architecture, 
and I may mention in passing that only a fortnight ago 
as I strolled through the Assyrian Room in our great 
national repository, I was struck by the delicacy of 
outline and the marvellous mastership which seems to 
have characterised the lapidaries of ancient Babylon. 
After admiring several exquisite wall carvings of the 
great king Assur-Nasir-Pal, B.c. 880, my attention was 
drawn to a tablet of the same epoch, upon which was 
depicted certain fugitives swimming for refuge to a 
certain castle when sorely pressed by Assyrian archers. 
In the background of the scene before us we are struck 
by the beautiful outline of Date Palms, and what 
appears to me a Palm intended to represent the Doum, 
of which I have already spoken (of the identity of this, 
however, I am in doubt) ; but passing on to tablets 27 
and 32 we find elaborate outlines of priests offering 
flowers (no doubt this would take place in the great 
Temple of Bel). I counted the petals of these flowers, 
and in tablet 27 found there were eight, and in that 
of 32 twelve ; and again in tablet 31 a winged figure 
was represented making a similar presentation. In 
this instance, too, there were eight petals to each of 
the three flowers which formed the offering ; in form 
the flowers are somewhat like the single Dahlia. 
But to return. "VVe had entered the vineyards, when 
for a moment we deviated to glance at the monuments. 
.Well, after winding our way through these vineyards 
and labyrinthine groves, where silvery fountains played, 
surrounded by Myrtle and Olives, under the shadow 
of which colonies of plaintive bul-buls dwelt and 
thrilled your very heart by their deep pathos, we found 
ourselves approaching one of those stupendous artificial 
works which, whilst being characteristic of the 
ancients for its magnitude, has been ranked amongst 
the seven wonders of the world because of its unique 
character. I refer to the hanging gardens of the 
Babylonian Palace, of which we have already spoken. 
Nothing could be more wonderful than these so-called 
hanging gardens, which Nebuchadnezzar caused to be 
constructed in order to gratify the wish of his Queen 
Amytis to possess elevated groves, such as in her 
earlier days she had enjoyed on the hills around her 
native place of Ecbatana in Media. For this purpose 
an artificial mountain was reared in the form of a 
square of 400 ft. on each side, with terraces rising one 
above another to a height overtopping the walls of the 
city, and when we remember that the city walls were 
some 350 ft. in height, we must feel amazed in con¬ 
templating the gigantic proportion of this artificial 
garden roaring its head to a height far above that of 
the cross of St. Paul’s. The ascent from terrace to 
terrace was by steps 10 ft. wide ; the terraces were 
reared to their several stages on ranges of regular 
piers over 75 ft. high, which, forming a kind of 
vaulting, rose in succession one over the other to the 
required height of each terrace, tho whole being bound 
together by a wall 22 ft. thick. These measurements 
were arrived at during excavation amongst the ruins 
of this ancient Babylonian city. 
The floor of each terrace or garden was formed in the 
following manner :—On the tops of the piers was first 
laid a pavement of flat stones, 16 ft. in length and 4 ft. 
in breadth, over which was a layer of reeds mixed with 
a great quantity of bitumen or mineral pitch, the most 
perfectly inflammable mineral known. It burns with 
a bituminous smell, and was doubtless what we now 
designate petroleum; its principal source was the 
fountains of Is, the modern Hit, on the banks of the 
Euphrates. The layer of reeds was in turn covered 
with two courses of bricks closely cemented together 
with plaster, while over all these were placed thick 
sheets of lead, on which was laid the earth or mould of 
the garden. This floor was designed to retain the 
moisture of the mould, and in order to provide a suffi¬ 
cient depth for the largest trees to take firm root, 
hollow piers were built and filled with'earth, and water 
was forced into these piers from beneath, thus securing 
to timber trees the necessary degrees of moisture. 
Upon the uppermost of the terraces of which we have 
spoken, reservoirs were constructed and supplied with 
water from the Euphrates by means of an engine, and 
from these reservoirs the several terraces or gardens 
were irrigated as occasion required, the work being 
performed by legions of Ethiopian slaves, whose labours 
were regulated by experienced men, and who, like the 
ancient Greek philosophers, appreciated not less the 
efficacy of the Vine than the mystic charm which 
attached to the Myrtle ; men with whom, I doubt not, 
our friends would by no means have thought it dero¬ 
gatory to shake hands and hob-a-nob awhile, the better 
to settle some vexed question concerning the growth 
and culture of Ambrosia, an odorous plant which 
yielded the fabled food of the gods, and according to 
the mythology of the ancients, produced immortality to 
whomsoever partook of it. 
"We have now taken a hasty glance at Babylon, its 
antiquity, its magnitude, palaces, princely benefactors, 
and lastly, its hanging gardens. Of course the name 
applied to the latter arises from the dense hanging 
foliage each terrace garden presented as they rose one 
above another, until an altitude was reached at which 
the luxuriant tropical vegetation appeared almost 
ethereal as each Palm frond stood or hung out against 
an opal sky on the one hand, or vanished altogether in 
the deep gloom of shadow on the other. It remains 
for us now to take just a passing glance at the trees 
and shrubs which in all probability graced these 
garden terraces, but here, on the very threshold of our 
investigation, we are met by an almost insuperable 
difficulty ; so little is known concerning the horticulture 
of the period of which we are speaking, that at best our 
decisions can be but speculative. 1 have already 
remarked that it was a custom of the Nimrods, no less 
than of other Eastern rulers, to exact of their conquered 
neighbours certain imposts in the form of grain and 
plants. I do not mean to convey by this, that ancient 
Babylon and its environs were absolutely destitute of 
indigenous botanical features. On the contrary, its 
situation upon the Euphrates must naturally dispel 
such a notion, but at the same time its propinquity to 
the Syrian desert, and consequent exposure to the hot 
winds which periodically sweep over the land, parching 
as with the breath of a furnace everything living, are 
reasons, I venture to think, aptly calculated to effec¬ 
tually dispel any leanings we may have entertained in 
favour of a luxuriant indigenous vegetation. At any 
rate, we have very little reliable data upon which to 
build up an hypothesis favourable to such an opinion, 
and at best the monuments are but fragmentary. Our 
only alternative, therefore, is to turn to those countries 
where the power and influence of Babylon were felt as 
the best interpretation of the sources whence its 
botanical wealth was drawn. From Egypt, Palestine, 
India, Ethiopia and Arabia the majority of the 
beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers which graced the 
hanging gardens of Nebuchadnezzar doubtless came, 
and though it were idle to speculate upon the particular 
nature and character of its botanical features, we shall 
not err very considerably when we sum up in the few 
concluding words the general appearance of the various 
terraces of these'gardens as they presented themselves 
in all the varied beauty of tropical luxuriance. 
The uppermost terraces were planted with the Date 
Palm, and from it were made bread, honey, wine and 
vinegar, and even articles of clothing; on the next 
series of terraces the Theban or Doum Palm flourished, 
standing out in marked contrast to the Date. On the 
next stago we find the Benzoin, a tall tree (Styrax 
Benzoui), a native of Siam and the East Indies ; it was 
cultivated on account of its gutn, which was doubtless 
used in the manufacture of incense for use in the 
Temple of Bel. The Weeping Willow (Salix baby- 
lonica) is said to have been found there, yet, despite 
its name, is not only not a native of Babylon, but in 
these days'is not even known there. The Oleander in all 
probability flourished amongst the shrub3. The Olive, 
too, was common, particularly the Olea fragrans, with 
white flowers of exquisite fragrance ; and in all 
probability the common Olea europrea, found all over 
Palestine. On another of these terrace gardens may 
have been seen the Boswellia serrata or thurifera of 
India, which produced the frankincense, used in 
conjunction with Benzoin in tomple worship. The 
Myrtle (Myrtus tomentosa) of India, with dark purple 
berries of aromatic sweetness, and several kinds of 
Mimosa and Acacia, doubtless flourished, but amongst 
so many hundreds it would be idle to speculate upon 
their species, though doubtless they would be natives 
of India or Ethiopia. 
The remaining terraces were planted with Mulberry 
trees, Pomegranates, the Tamarisk, and Egyptian 
Privet, said to have been a flower of Paradise. Of the 
flowers which added beauty to these gardens we are in 
doubt; Violets, however, and a species of Lily 
flourished, and probably a kind of Rose, and by the 
watercourses the Lotus was trained, but beyond this it 
would be idle to speculate. We may, however, flatter 
ourselves that in spite of the stupendous character of 
these gardens they can lay no claim to comparison 
with modern horticulture, which is one of the noblest 
arts, and those to whom its perfection is indebted are 
the most enviable amongst men. 
-- 
flattings Jjntra lip (XTorlii 
dj JkisjttJb 
-4.- 
What Part of a Potato to Plant.—It is 
commonly thought that the seed end of a Potato gives 
more small Potatos than the middle or the stem end. 
Professor Taft arrives at this conclusion : “ The test 
has now been conducted for two years, with five 
different varieties and under various conditions, but 
with results that seem to us conclusive that a given 
weight of the seed end is as valuable as an equal weight 
from the middle of the tuber. The average yield from 
the stem end, however, is considerably less than from 
either of the other portions, the difference being greater 
than the amount required for seed. This indicates 
that when cutting to small pieces it is well not to use 
the stem end, as the eyes being weak and poorly 
developed, the crop will be lessened. Never use the 
stem end of a Potato for seed unless the piece is large 
enough to include one or more strong eyes from the 
middle of the tuber. By cutting seed lengthwise this 
is secured.”— Bulletin of the Michigan Experiment 
Station. 
Early Treatment of Tomato Plants.—Perhaps 
the most frequent and noteworthy observation made 
upon the culture of the Tomato during several years of 
experimentation with the plant, is the great increase in 
vigour and productiveness which comes from careful 
handling and good tillage. It often appears as if this 
vigour is not only characteristic of the immediate 
generation, but that it is hereditary for a time to a 
profitable degree. Handling or transplanting of young 
plants, when frequently and properly done, is invaluable 
and so far as the plant is concerned three or four 
transplantings are better than one. . . . Transplanting 
serves the purpose of maintaining a steady and 
symmetrical growth, and it should occur before'the 
plant becomes checked from neglect. A good Tomato 
plant, at the time of setting in the field, is one which 
is stocky enough to hold the weight of the earth and 
pot when a number of plants are grasped in the hand 
by their tops and are carried along the rows. They 
require no staking when set. A tall and weak plant 
with a blossom on the top we do not consider worth 
planting. —Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment 
Station, Cornell University, 
