234         BOTANY  IN  ITS  BEARINGS  ON  PHARMACY,  ETC. 
for  law  ami  property,  that  they  are  seldom  disturbed  by  the  numerous 
companies  of  children  who  frequent  the  gardens, — a  feature  that  seems  to 
prevail  in  continental  Europe,  and  which  renders  the  ornamenting  of  public 
grounds  easy.  The  art  of  gardening  is  carried  to  much  greater  perfection  in 
Europe  than  with  us,  and  this  is  shown  in  no  way  more  forcibly  than  in 
the  perfect  mastery  the  gardener  possesses  in  shaping  trees  and  shrubs 
by  pruning.  Trees  are  shortened-in  in  various  ways,  and  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  observe  in  the  public  walks  trees,  the  trunks  of  which  are  more 
than  a  foot  in  diameter,  forced  to  extend  their  branches  horizontally,  so 
as  to  make  a  continuous  shade,  at  the  expense  of  their  height.  The  oriental 
plane  tree,  closely  analagous  in  its  habits  to  our  sycamore,  and  the  same 
genus  (Platanus),  is  thus  compelled  to  abandon  its  ascending  habit,  and 
make  a  lateral  growth  in  the  public  promenade,  so  as  to  get  shade  with- 
out offering  much  impediment  to  the  wind.  The  locust  (Robinia),  both 
the  European  and  American  species,  and  the  white  mulberry,  are  pol- 
larded to  great  advantage  for  ornament  and  shade. 
In  no  instance  have  we  noticed  more  important  results  than  in  the  ad- 
mirable use  to  which  our  Virginia  Creeper  (Ampelopsis  virg. )  is  put,  as 
a  cover  for  screens.  It  grows  luxuriantly,  and  covers  an  open  upright 
trellis-work  so  perfectly  as  to  render  it  impervious  to  sight.  Screens  of 
this  kind  are  very  common  in  Bavaria  and  other  portions  of  southern 
Germany,  at  utilroad  stations,  near  the  detached  offices.  There  is  also 
great  attention  given  by  railroad  officials  to  the  banks,  both  of  cuttings 
and  artificial  embankments,  to  get  them  in  sod  ;  and  where  the  soil  is 
treacherous,  and  tends  to  cave,  trees  with  strong  running  roots,  like  the 
yeliow  locust,  are  encouraged  to  grow  in  some  districts.  Flower  gardens 
are  often  made  on  the  banks  at  the  less  important  stations,  and  on  several 
occasions  the  name  of  the  station,  in  well-formed  letters  composed  wholly 
of  flowers  of  some  bright  color,  was  observed  in  the  well-shorn  sod  of  the 
banks. 
Of  course  this  artificial  training  is  not  advocated  for  parks  and  other 
public  grounds  where  space  for  expansion  exists  ;  but  where  trees  must 
be  headed  in,  it  is  vastly  better  to  do  it  systematically,  so  as  to  dwarf 
their  tops,  than  by  the  unreasonable  and  unsightly  amputations  and  de- 
capitations which  our  professed  (!)  tree-trimmers  resort  to  annually,  to 
disfigure  our  streets  with  monuments  to  their  ignorance  and  stupidity. 
The  garden  at  Amsterdam,  on  the  southern  side  of  that  city,  is  of 
moderate  extent,  and  adjacent  to  the  Zoological  Gardens.  The  existence 
of  such  places  of  scientific  culture  in  so  confined  a  city  as  Amsterdam, 
and  among  so  utilitarian  a  people,  shows  the  general  habit  of  European 
authorities  to  encourage  such  means  of  attaining  knowledge  and  amuse- 
ment. 
The  garden  at  Brussels  is  a  pentagonal  space,  completely  surrounded 
by  the  built-up  portions  of  the  city,  the  longest  side  of  which  is  on  Boule- 
vard de  Jardin  Botanique.  A  range  of  green-houses  occupy  the  highest, 
or  northern  side,  and  the  open  garden  and  shrubbery  is  tastefully  laid  out 
