The

Gardens. I had been told that these gardens contained the largest collection of any; but I would give the preference to those of Messrs. Loddiges and Mr. Lee, and every practical gardener will be of the same opinion. The collection is, however, pretty large, and I saw many beautiful and new plants there; amongst others, the Araucaria imbricata in the open air attracted my attention. What a picturesque and majestic tree it must be in its native country! I saw the Hòvea lanceolata against the wall of a green-house, but it did not seem to thrive in the open air; however the plants are yet small, and will perhaps do better in future. The hot-house plants looked well, with the exception of some New Holland ones. pine-plants and forcing-departments are pretty well managed. With respect to the pleasure-ground, I have no high opinion of it. The trees are in a miserable state, and badly distributed. I met with a little piece of water, which I think would have been better omitted. What good effect can be produced by a mass which is composed of a whole collection of trees? Besides that, there is a temple on an elevation, surrounded with trees all of round forms; every landscape-gardener will admit that the effect would be much better, if one or two sorts of pointed-headed trees were mixed with them. I do not apply this remark to a temple confined amidst a mass, but only when it stands free, with a view from the garden. It is true, however, that in Kew pleasure-grounds many trees cannot be employed on account of their not growing well; but many American trees and shrubs will do very well, and produce a good effect,

English Parks. -I was not much pleased with most of the English parks which I saw. I think the taste in landscapegardening, now prevalent in Germany, superior to that of England.

Hampton Court. - From Kew I went to Hampton Court. The most remarkable objects here are the forcing-houses, the orangery, the large vine, and the fig-house. The forcing of peaches, nectarines, cherries, vines, figs, cucumbers, and strawberries, is carried on with much spirit, and the houses were all in a very good state, as was also the culinary garden.

Claremont. In Claremont, the seat of Prince Leopold, I was very much delighted with all the arrangements. The culinary garden, and the forcing and other houses, were in such a good state as to equal any thing I ever saw. The pine-plants and hot-house plants looked pretty well, and the whole shows the superior taste of Mr. M'Intosh.

Walton (Lord Tankerville's). — This is a very remarkable place. The houses are somewhat old, and too small for some

large and fine palms; but the whole is pretty well kept. Some large and beautiful American plants are standing in the open air, and also a fine specimen of Illícium floridanum, some Thea viridis, and a Baptísia nepalénsis (Thermópsis), without any protection. This garden or pleasure-ground has some fine parts along the banks of the Thames.

St. Anne's Hill (the Hon. Mrs. Fox). — Here are some good parts; there is a beautiful and splendid grotto, and some fine American plants, which are kept in good order.

The Goldworth Nursery. In Mr. Donald's nursery at Woking, I saw a very large and pretty well kept collection of fruit and forest trees, and also of American plants. The trees are in excellent health, and the immense quantities of some kinds of forest trees cultivated here is surprising.

Waterer's Nursery, Knap Hill. - About two miles from Mr. Donald's nursery is that of Messrs. Waterer, which contains the largest and finest collection of American plants I ever saw. Much as I was delighted with Messrs. Loddiges' palm-house, I was equally so here in the midst of the finest rhododendrons and azaleas, which grow in abundance from self-sown seeds. As a proof of their perfection, I may mention that I observed an Azalea aurantia, which is generally a slow grower, with some branches of last year, each of which was at least 5 ft. long. I much regret not to have seen them in flower; it must be such a delightful show, and one perhaps no where else to be met with in Europe. Every amateur should visit this place in the months of May and June.

In Bagshot Park I was much pleased. In particular I was struck with the extraordinary neatness and cleanliness in which it is kept. The American plants are in a beautiful state, and many rhododendrons are very well distributed in the masses of large trees. The pleasure-ground is embellished with some well executed seats; and the whole laying out would show a perfect good taste, had the flower masses been united with the shrubbery, as in the little plan I send you of the Johanisberg pleasure-ground.* Mr. Toward is an enthusiastic gardener and naturalist, and has a fine herbarium.

The Grange. I was curious to see the famous conservatory at the Grange, and it completely fulfilled my expectations. I do not think that any conservatory is executed with more splendour, and it is a striking proof of the great wealth of the English. Although the house is of a considerable height, the plants had filled the whole space so thickly that Mr. M'Arthur was

*This plan will appear in a future Number.

obliged to cut them down, and to remove some New Holland plants, several of which had stems of from 4 to 5 in. in diameter. Some very good plants are to be found here, but some fine and new ones are wanting, such as correas, hoveas, azaleas, &c., which will never grow too high, and will afford a finer show. The forcing-houses and kitchen-garden are very extensive, and in good condition.

White Knights. What a pity it is that this place is neglected! How it must grieve a gardener to look at the ruins of so much splendour! Many green-houses, hot-houses, and aquariums, &c., are standing empty; and some remaining plants show the rich collection which has been here in former times. The pleasure-ground, with its immense quantity of American plants, is the only part yet in any order; but still this place is well worth the greatest attention. There are some fine spots in the park.

Dropmore. Of all the parks which I saw in England that of Dropmore pleased me the most. Some very good ideas are displayed in its laying out, which are also very well executed. The flower-garden is not, as I like it, united with the shrubbery; but still it is laid out with good taste, and wherever one might think it necessary to divide the flower-garden from the shrubbery, it should be done in that style. There is a pretty large collection of pines, and some araucarias are standing in the open air with protection. Mr. Bailey has a great quantity of Lobelia fúlgens and cardinalis, which will be planted in masses, and will produce a good effect. The houses looked beautiful, and were embellished with a great many forced flowers. The orangery is large and well kept, and will be still further enlarged this season. Should this place remain for a time under the present style of management, it will soon become one of the most interesting gardens in Britain.

In Frogmore are some well kept forcing-houses and greenhouses, but the pleasure-ground is planted too thickly.

The Liverpool Botanic Garden. The collection in this garden is not quite so large as that of Kew, but it is much better kept. The plants looked as well and fresh as it is possible they can do, and, considering that the Scotch system begins here [?], I was sorry that I could not see Scotland; but I have still hopes of seeing it.

In Eaton Hall I was admiring the splendid mansion when it grew dark, and I was obliged to leave for Chester.

I am sorry to be obliged to leave England at present without visiting Scotland; but I have to make a long tour in different parts of the Continent before I return to Frankfort, where I shall

be happy to see you and all my English friends, and to return the kindnesses I have experienced while in England.

I am, Sir, &c.

Ball's Pond, London, May 14. 1829.

JACOB RINZ.

ART. III. Historical Notices of the Rise and Progress of Gardening in Bavaria; with a Description of the Royal Nurseries at Munich and Weyhenstephan. By WILLIAM HINKERT, Royal Bavarian Court-Gardener, and Director of the Royal Central Fruit Tree Nursery at Weyhenstephan, Member of the Agricultural Society of Bavaria and of the Deputation for the Culture of the Silkworm there.

Sir,

AGREEABLY to your desire, I send you a short account of the Royal Nursery at Munich, and also of the great Royal Central Fruit Tree Nursery at Weyhenstephan, near Freysing.

You will, however, allow me to prefix to my account, a short historical sketch of the culture of fruit trees in Bavaria, as you, in your Encyclopædia of Gardening, make little mention of this province.

Culinary vegetables were known in Bavaria in the earliest times; and beans, peas, lentils, and turnips were cultivated chiefly in enclosed places (hortis), which were denominated fabària, pisària, lenticulària, and napina, according to the things cultivated. Whoever committed theft in these places, or in any other garden, was punished with a fine of 15 schillings, which was, however, diminished to 3 under Charles the Great. Garlic, the cucumber, and the chick pea were also known.

The rearing of fruit trees was no less encouraged, and laws enacted against damaging trees. Whoever is so malicious, says the Bavarian law, as to injure another person's garden, is fined the sum of 40 schillings, 20 of which go to the possessor of the garden, the other 20 are taken as a public forfeiture to the violated law; the offender shall, moreover, replant there the same number of trees, of the same varieties, and shall every year pay down a schilling for each tree, until they bear fruit. (T. xx.)

Of fruit trees there were the apple, the pear, and the cherry (chirsiboum, Cérasus); these were improved by grafting, and whoever maliciously broke off a scion was fined the sum of 3 schillings, which, if the tree stood in a garden, was increased to 15 schillings. The preparation of cider seems also not to

have been unknown at that time, for Tacian says, c. 2. “inti uvin noh cidiri trinkit.”

That Bavaria was indebted to the Romans for the cherry, plum, and pear, may be considered probable, from the circumstance of these trees bearing the Roman names. The apple, on the contrary, is from our native woods.

Charlemagne [anno 800] considerably advanced gardening and the rearing of fruit trees.

In every century of the history of the country are found notices respecting horticulture and the cultivation of fruit. Two sorts of leeks (poree) were known in the beginning of the fourteenth century, Pórrus pórritus and Pórrus major. Sage, rue, yffen, penny-royal, kaps, cappus, the poppy, and the horseradish, were called óleres, as distinguished from the legumes.

In 1209, culinary plants and tree fruits were not subject to tithing; and in Augsburg thieving in gardens was severely punished.

From this time forward the whole practice of gardening was raised from its degraded state, and so much so, that not a village or parish could be found that did not possess fruit trees, sometimes even of the rarest kind. Wurtzburg, Bamberg, and Nurnberg were long since famous for the high degree of cultivation they presented. Munich and Nymphenburg possess good forcing establishments, and excellent fruit and leguminous plants.

In the advancement of gardening, and the rearing of fruit trees, considerable merit is due to Maximilian III., and his successor, Charles Theodore. King Maximilian I. was the founder of a new and splendid epoch in theoretical horticulture and landscape-gardening. Lewis I., who afterwards succeeded to the crown, carefully supports the works of his father, and anxiously endeavours to turn his kingdom into one blooming and prosperous fruit-garden. We are thus at present in the expectation of a favourable issue, and we feel a conviction that his persevering zeal will accomplish this great desideratum, to which the two royal nurseries at Munich and Weyhenstephan not only powerfully contribute by their ample supplies of trees, but also by producing well-instructed gardeners to introduce into the country the science of pomology, at present but too little understood.

The Royal Nursery at Munich is divided into two equal portions, and extends from the south-west to the north-east, in length 2835 yards of Bavarian measure, towards the village of Schwabing; it contains a surface of 11 Bavarian acres or day's VOL. V. No. 21.

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