474 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Jut6  3,  189?. 
the  world  and  his  wife  had  flocked  on  to  that  vessel  and  packed 
it  to  the  tip  of  the  funnel. 
The  old  castle  of  Sans  Souci  is  about  two  miles  from  Potsdam 
railway  station.  It  can  be  reached  by  a  tram,  but  I  preferred  to 
walk.  A  gentleman  awaited  me  at  the  gates.  He  might  have 
been  taken  for  a  delegate  from  the  authorities,  but  the  air  of 
rapacity  lurking  beneath  the  mask  of  smiles  upon  his  face,  not  less 
than  his  wild  flow  of  conversation,  proclaimed  him  for  what  he 
was.  He  begged  to  offer  his  services  to  the  noble  Herr  as  a  guide. 
The  noble  Herr  vanquished  him  by  a  slight  variation  of  Curran’s 
method  with  the  fish  wife,  informing  him  (in  English)  that  if  he 
could  promply  lead  the  way  to  the  beds  of  Rhododendron  pbnticum 
he  should  be  engaged  regardless  of  expense.  I  may  remark  that  I 
exercised  a  certain  amount  of  caution  in  entering  all  gateways. 
The  military  element  is  all-powerful  in  Germany,  and  Potsdam 
itself  is  a  town  of  soldiers.  My  care  arose  from  the  fact  that  I 
have  understood  the  plan  adopted  is  to  shoot  first  and  argue  after¬ 
wards — a  system  which  did  not  commend  itself  to  me.  However, 
there  was  hardly  a  sentry  to  be  seen,  and  all  was  peace. 
The  grounds  are  very  extensive,  and  are  attractive  in  the 
height  of  their  spring  beauty.  I  entered  them  by  what  I  believe 
is  known  as  the  Obelisk  Gate  ;  anyway,  there  is  a  hieroglyphic 
erection  near  which  bears  so  striking  a  resemblance  to  Cleopatra’s 
Needle,  that  one  might  imagine  it  had  been  transported  there 
from  tbe  Thames  Embankment  and  spring  cleaned.  A  long  walk 
leads  from  this  point  along  the  front  of  the  castle,  past  the  circular 
basin  which  contains  the  famous  Sans  Souci  goldfish.  I  am  not  a 
pisciculturist,  but  I  could  not  refrain  from  pausing  and  admiring 
the  fish.  They  are  veritable  monsters,  nearly  as  big  as  trout,  and 
coloured  like  a  Poinsettia.  The  veterans  looked  extremely  sprightly 
and  cheerful.  They  have  lived  out  great  events,  some  of  them, 
and  have  whisked  lively  tails  while  world-moving  events,  big  with 
the  fate  of  nations,  have  been  talked  of  near  by,  but  they  are 
youthful  and  vigorous  still.  I  tempted  them  with  a  fragment  of 
antiquated  English  cake,  extracted  in  a  mummy-like  state  from 
the  coiner  of  a  pocket,  and  national  pride  did  not  prevent  their 
making  a  rush  for  it.  I  fancy  the  winner  was  a  little  sobered, 
though,  by  the  time  he  had  disposed  of  it.  He  was  a  hale  old 
fellow,  but  short,  perhaps,  of  teeth. 
One  of  the  greatest  horticultural  sights  of  Sans  Souci  is  the 
*erie*  of  terrace  houses  flanking  the  sides  of  the  long  flights  of 
steps  leading  up  to  the  centre  of  the  Castle.  The  latter,  it  must  he 
explained,  is  built  on  a  hill,  the  face  of  which  has  been  cut  out  into 
a  series  of  six  terraces,  each  about  90  feet  wide.  They  are  terraces, 
be  it  understood,  and  not  banks.  Each  has  a  perpendicular  face 
about  12  feet  high,  and  the  whole  has  been  covered  with  glass,  so 
as  to  form  long  ranges  of  Peach  houses  and  the  like.  They  are 
wide  enough  not  only  for  the  trained  trees  on  the  walls,  which 
must  give  an  enormous  quantity  of  fruit,  but  also  for  one  line  of 
orchard-house  trees,  such  as  Pears,  in  large  pots.  The  latter  were 
smothered  in  bloom,  and  the  whole  presented  a  very  striking 
spectacle.  In  front  of  tbe  houses,  or  rather  cases,  on  the  bottom 
terrace  were  planted,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  feet,  Vines  so  trained 
as  to  stretch  across  from  their  uprights  to  the  front  of  the  Peach 
range.  Above  there  were  miles  of  espaliers,  and  even  such  things 
as  trained  Currants  and  beds  of  Strawberries,  so  that  there  is  a 
complete  fruit  garden.  _ 
The  remaining  space  on  the  terraces  is  planted  with  flowers. 
There  are  extensive  beds  of  Roses,  both  standards  and  dwarfs, 
pruned,  it  was  noticeable,  on  lines  approved  in  England.  They 
alone  must  present  a  magnificent  spectacle  when  they  are  at  their 
best.  The  spring  flowers  were  mostly  bulbs  and  Pansies.  In  the 
way  of  shrubs  Forsythias  and  Magnolias  held  sway.  The  former 
reminded  me  of  modest  Sittingboarne,  the  latter  of  stately  Belvoir. 
But  the  beautiful  plants  which  Mr.  Divers  has  to  show  his  visitors 
are  on  the  Castle  walls,  whereas  those  at  Sans  Souci  grow  in  the 
open.  They  are  objects  of  great  beauty,  being  full  of  noble  flowers, 
and  the  varieties  are  not  limited  to  one.  There  is  no  thick  planting. 
We  have  a  monopoly  of  that  sort  of  thing.  Many  people  would 
think  the  continentals  go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  plant  as  much 
too  thinly  as  we  do  too  thickly,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  simply 
a  case  of  fundamental  differences  in  peoples  showing  themselves. 
We  are  secretive,  and  like  to  shut  ourselves  in,  aiming  at  total 
privacy.  The  Dutchman  and  the  German  are  open,  expansive, 
and  perhaps  a  little  vain,  liking  for  everything  tney  have  to  be 
seen. 
A  serious  disadvantage  presented  itself  when  I  wanted  to  get 
fttnong  the  houses  in  the  parts  closed  to  the  general  public.  I  was 
alone,  and  unable  to  make  my  wants  understood.  I  thought  it 
possible  that  if  I  were  able  to  explain  that  I  was  not  a  casual  but 
a  horticulturist  (in  however  humble  a  way),  and  that  I  represented 
an  English  horticultural  journal,  an  exception  might  have  been 
made  in  my  favour.  Unfortunately  I  did  not  drop  across  anybody 
who  understood  my  pure  and  academic  German,  as  culled  from 
Otto  and  other  authorities,  and  my  stock  of  colloquialisms  was  too 
short.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  great  and  gifted  Kaiser  possesses 
ranges  of  vineries  and  Peach  houses  ;  I  have  likewise  no  doubt 
that  they  are  worthy  of  a  few  remarks,  but  I  did  not  see  them,  and 
I  therefore  contented  myself  with  a  gaze  at  the  large  orangery, 
then  went  my  way.  _ 
I  have  spoken  about  the  great  tree-lined  roads  of  Berlin.  I 
found  another  of  them  when  I  returned  from  Potsdam  and  set  out 
to  visit  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens.  Its  Dame  is  the  Potsdamer- 
strasse.  This  magnificent  thoroughfare  almost  equals  the  pride 
of  Berlin — the  marvellous  Unter  den  Linden.  It  is  not  so  wide, 
and  it  lacks  the  beautiful  electric  avenue  in  the  centre,  but  it  is 
of  great  length  and  is  full  of  splendid  buildings.  The  Botanic 
Gardens  are  open  from  ten  o’clock,  I  believe  ;  aDyway  the  gates 
were  open  when  we  arrived  a  few  minutes  past.  No  doubt  if 
M^.  John  Burns  sees  this  he  will  utilise  it  the  next  time  he  agitates 
in  the  House  for  the  earlier  opening  of  Kew.  But  fairness 
demands  that  the  differences  between  the  two  places  should  be 
pointed  out.  I  would  by  no  means  disparage  the  German  Garden, 
for  it  is  well  managed,  and  does  useful  work.  Moreover,  1  hold  it 
a  very  cheap  form  of  amusement  to  glorify  one’s  own  country  at  the 
expense  of  others.  Still  Berlin  is  not  Kew,  and  the  Germans 
themselvei  would  be  the  first  to  acknowledge  it.  There  is,  in  fact, 
a  project  now  afoot  for  shifting  the  whole  establishment  a  little 
further  towards  the  country,  greatly  enlarging  it  and  improving 
it  in  the  process.  The  matter  is  at  present  before  Parliament,  and 
an  early  settlement  is  expected. 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  short  interview  with  the 
Director,  Professor  Eugler,  and  also  with  the  Curator,  Herr 
Perring.  The  accomplished  Director  is  now  busy  on  the  conclusion 
of  his  great  work,  Naturliche  Pflanzenf/irnilie.  He  speaks 
English,  and  was  kind  and  cordial  to  a  degree.  It  would  be  easy 
to  fill  a  page  with  a  description  of  the  specimens  in  the  museum, 
but  I  will  content  myself  with  a  word  or  two  about  the  gardens 
themselves.  They  comprise  many  departments.  For  instance, 
there  is  the  purely  scientific  section,  which,  with  its  maximum  of 
huge  labels  and  minimum  of  growth,  is  known  to  the  irreverent  as 
the  cemetery,  from  which  it  would  appear  that  feeble  wit  is  not 
limited  to  one  island.  There  is,  too,  the  geographical  department, 
in  which  the  plants  are  grouped  according  to  their  habitats,  such  as 
those  of  the  German  mountains,  the  Central  Alps,  the  Caucasians, 
and  others.  One  feature  of  much  interest  is  the  series  of  frame 
enclosures,  containing  (chiefly)  bulbous  plants.  Amongst  these 
were  noticeable  several  Irises,  such  as  furcata,  notha,  Lorteti,  and 
Marise  ;  a  charming  Alpine  form  of  Tulip,  T.  pulchella,  very  dwarf 
and  with  flowers  of  a  vivid  carmine  ;  many  Fritillarias  ;  Anemone 
fulgens  var.  purpurea  violacea ;  Leontice  altaica ;  Ranunculus 
pupestris,  and  a  few  Crocus  species.  Here  and  there  were  groups 
of  shrub.*,  the  brightest  of  which  were  the  quartette  of  Prunus — 
triloba,  persica,  amygdalus,  and  nana.  The  last  named  was  not 
the  least  attractive.  It  is  a  true  dwarf,  wreathed  in  charming 
bright  pink  flowers,  and  is  so  useful  and  beautiful  that  it  is  worthy 
of  extensive  planting. _ ' 
The  glass  department  is  fairly  extensive,  but  more  room  and  a 
newer  type  of  house  are  wanted.  The  large  Palm  house  contains 
a  number  of  specimens  ;  indeed,  the  first  to  meet  the  eye  on  enter¬ 
ing  is  a  Livistona  oliviformis  30  to  40  feet  high.  There  are,  too, 
giant  Musas,  a  fine  Carolinia  insignia,  Sabal  Blackburneana  in  a  tub 
5  feet  across,  and  many  other  notable  plants.  Orchids  are  few.  I 
observed  Odontoglossum  Uro-Skinneri,  Phajus  Wallichi,  Epiden- 
drum  ellipticum,  and  Cattleya  intermedia  flowering  in  one  house. 
The  collection  of  Nepenthes  is  excellent,  and  Ferns  are  very  well 
represented  ;  but  the  most  notable  plant  in  tbe  fernery  was  the 
graceful  Asparagus  Sprengeri.  It  is  a  most  free  and  graceful  plant, 
well  adapted  for  table  decoration.  Hardwooded  plants  are  excel¬ 
lently  grown,  and  the  collection  is  representafive.  The  general 
impression  of  my  visit  was  that  the  German  botanists  make  very 
good  use  of  very  limited  conveniences.  When  they  get  their  new 
establishment  they  will  be  treading  our  economic  heels  off  more 
determinedly  than  ever.  Alert,  energetic,  neither  too  proud  to 
imitate  nor  too  independent  to  display  pliability  when  their 
customers’  wishes  call  for  it,  they  are,  as  traders,  a  people  to 
reckon  with.  England  must  not  sleep  on  her  mighty  past.— 
W.  Pea. 
