principal medium of introducing whatever is new aud valuable from the latter country
into Gcmuiuy and Denmark.
406. T/ie artists or architects o f gardens, in Germany, arc generally the land-baumeisterey,
or those architects who have directed their attention chiefly to country buildings. Where
only a kitchen or flower gai-dcn is to be formed, an apjirovcd practical gardener is commonly
reckoned sufBcicnt. I t occasionally happens, that a nobleman avIio wishes to
lay out an extensive garden, al’ter fixing on what he considers a good gardener of some
education, and capable of taking plans, sends him for a year or two to visit tho best
gardens of England, Holland, and France. On his return, he is deemed qualified to lay
out the garden recpiired ; wliich ho does, and afterwards attends to its culture, and acts
ns a garden ai-chitcct (garten-baumeistcr') to the minor gentry of Ins neighbourhood.
The oiicrativc gardeners in Germany are generally very well inibrmed.
SiJBSECT 6. German Gardening, as a Science, and as to the Authors it has produced.
407. The Germans are. a scientifc people: they are a reading people; and, in consequence,
the science of every art' in so far as dcA'clopcd in books, is more generally
knoAvn there than in any othcv countiy. Some may Avish to exccjft S cotland; but,
though the Scotch artisan reads a great deal, his local situation and limited intercourse
Avith otlicr nations subject him to tlic influence of the particular opinions in which lie
has been educated : he takes up prejudices at an early period, and Avith difiiculty admits
ncAv ideas irom books. On the other lumd, the Germans of every rank arc remarkable
for liberality of opinion : all of them tra v e l; and, in the course of seeing other states,
they fiml a vai-iety of practices and opinions, different from tliose to which they have
been accustomed : prejudice gives w a y ; tho man is neutralised ; becomes moderate in
estimating what belongs to liimself, and Avilling to Iicar and to learn irom others.
408. There are horticultural societies and professorships o f rural economy in many of the
universities ; one or tAvo gardeners’ magazines and almanaclcs of gardening ; and some
eminent vegetable physiologists are Germans. The Prussian Gardening Society, for
the number and rank of its members, and the value of its published Ti-ansactions, ranks
Avith tlic Iloiticultural Society of Lo n d o n ; and as a scicntiflc body, having an institution
for instructing young gardeners in the sciences on Avhich their art is founded, it
ranks before it and every other society. The Pomological Society at Altenburg is also
an institution Avhich has rendered important services to tlie culture of fruits. Tlicrc
are, besides, in Germany many societies, independently of those Avliicli combine agriculture
Avith gardening, to all of wliicb the a rt is much indebted. E atii in Hungary, it
appears (Brig h fs Travels'), a Gcorgicon, or college of rural economy, has been established
by Count Fcstctiz at Kcszthcly, in Avhicli gardening, including the cnlturo and management
of woods aud copses, forms a distinct professorship. The science of France may
be, and wc believe is, greater than that of Germany in this art, but it is accumulated iu
tlic c ap ital; whereas licrc it emanates from a great mimbcr of points distributed over tho
country, and is consequently rendered more available by practical men. The minds of
the gardeners of France arc, from general ignorance, less fitted to receive instruction
than those of Germany; their personal habits admit of less time for read in g ; and tlicir
climate and soil require less artificial agency. The German gardener is generally a
thinking, steady perso n ; tlic climate, in most places, requires his vigilant attention to
culture, and his travels have enlarged his views. Hence he becomes a more scientific
artisan tlian the Frenchman, and is in more general demand in otlicr countries. All
the best gardens in Poland, Russia, and Italy arc under the care of Germans.
409. The Gannans have produced few original authoi's on gardening, and none that can
be compared to Quintinye or Miller; but tlicy have translations of all the best Enropcan
books. Hirschfeld has compiled a number of Avorks, chieily on landscapc-gai-dening;
J . V- Sickler and Counsellor D id have wi-ittcn extensively on most departments of
horticulture, especially on the hardy iriiits. In regard to apples and pears, thctAvo most
scientific writers on their classification arc Manger (Anlcit. zum einer Systemat. Pomol)
and Diel. The first takes form as the foundation of his arrangement; the second takes
jointly the quality of the fruit and the peculiarities of the tree. Dicl’s system is, in our
opinion, decidedly the b e s t; in sliort, it is in pomology Avliat the natural system is iu
botany. (Gard. Mag., vol. ii. p. 445.) Truchscss is the standard author on cherries, and
Sickler on grapes and on the genus Citrus.
Sect. V. O fth e Rise, Progress, and present State o f Gardening in Switzerland,
410. Extcnmvc gardens are not to be expected in a country o f comparative equalisation
o f property, like SAvitzcrland; but noAvIierc are gardens more profitably managed, or
rnore neatly kept, than in that country. “ Nature,” Hirschfeld observes, “ has been
liberal to the inhabitants of Switzerland, and they have Aviscly profited from it. Almost
all the gardens are theatres of tme beauty, Avitliout vain ornaments or artificial dc-
eoratioiis. Convenience, not magnificence, reigns in the country-houses ; and the villas
av(! distinguished more by their romantic aud picturesque situations, than by their
architecture.” He mentions several gardens near Geneva and Lausanne ; Délices is
chieily remarkable because it was inhabited by Voltaire before he purchased Ferncy,
and L a Grange and L a Boissior are to this day Avell-knoAvu places. Ferncy is still
eagerly visited by cvciy stranger ; but neither it, nor the château of the Neckar family,
121
nor those of the Empress Josephine, Beauharnois, and
others, eulogised in the local guides, pre.sent any thing in
the Avay of our art particularly deserving of notice ; though
their situations, looking doAvn on so magnificent a lake, the
simplicity of their architecture, and the romantic scenery by
Avliich they are sun-ounded, render them delightful retirements,
and such as but fcAV countries can lioast. The
villa-gardcns excel in rustic buildings ( fg . 12 1.) and
arbours ; and avc, for the most part, a mixture of orchards
ou hilly surfaces, cultiA'ated spots, and rocks. IIoAvever
insignificant such grounds may look on paper ( fg . 122.), in the reality they are
j^22 i>lcasing and romantic.
Tho public
promenades at Berne
arc most beautiful,
and kept witli all the
care of an English
flower-garden. In
the capitals of the
other cantons, public
gardens arc cither
of much smaller extent,
or altogether
AA-anting. Indeed, in
a country abounding
ill picturesque
sccnciy, and common
pastures, and
parochial forests,
limited spaces for
recreation arc altogether uncalled for. Who that is free to climb the rocks, or the
gras,sy steeps, or oven to Avalk along thé liigliAvays, in such a country, Avonld desire to
bo confined to enclosures iu or about tOAvns ? Switzerland has the ¡leculiar advantage
of producing a close turf, Avliich, in most places, and particularly at Lausanne and
Berne, is as verdant as in England. Harte says that great part of the Bays dc Vaud
is like the best part of Berkshire ; and, indeed, CA'Ciy one feels that this is tlie countiy
most congenial to au Englishman’s taste and feelings.
411. Ferney. The grounds arc laid out in varied walks, like an English pleasure-
ground, very ample, and well planted. From the terrace, in front of the house ( fg . 123.),
123
the lake of Geneva is seen at a distance of three or four miles; mid beyond, Mount
Blanc, with otlicr hills, making a very grand termination to the vicAv. The situation,
which is delightful, has, nevertheless, one great abatement, the total Avaiit of Avnter, Avhicb,
for every domestic purpose, is brought three miles. Snmmcr-seats and boAvcrs, Avlierc