H i ?
r
M .
^ li*
broken up, anil D r. Fisdior, formerly its director, is now (1849) in the same capacity at St. P etersburgh.
D r. Fischer is a well-known botanist, and corresponds with most botanical cultivators in Europe. A
catalogue of this garden was published in Moscow, by Dr. Redowsky, in 1804. r
There arc other private botanic gardens near St. Petersburgh and Moscow; and ^ o d collections of
ornamental plants a t Paulowsky and Gatscliina, both imperial residences. Fhe Baron Rahl has an
extensive range of hothouses, devoted chiefly to fruits and flowers; and many of the Dutch and German
merchants cultivate flowers in the gardens of th e ir summer residences, on the Strelna road, a t St.
Petersburgh. Excepting, however, among th e first of th e nobility, and the wealthy foreign merchants,
ornamental culture of every description is quite unknown in Russia. The taste of th e ordinary
noblemen is too gro ss; the peasant is out of the question; and th ere is no middle class m th e empire
of tho czars.
472. 77« climate o f Russia is adverse to floriculture. Dr. Howison remarks (Caled.
Mem., iii.), “ that there is scarcely any plant, or flowering shrnh, which can resist the
intense frost and cold of the winter in Britain, to be found out of doors in Russia ; and,
at times, even the hardy whin ( tf 'le x ) is destroyed.” He says, the gardener in the
Taurida palace. Gall, showed him “ Persian lilacs, laburnums, ditterent varieties of tlioni,
whin-bushes, &c., growing in large wooden tubs filled with earth, and which were preserved
there all winter, with the intention of being .sunk in the borders of the garden, as
soon as the weather should grow warm enough to admit of it. In tlie gardens of the
villus and country-houses of tho higher classes of Russians and foreigners settled in the
country, in the short period of a week from the disappearance of the winter, a beautiful
and rich display of stonbs and flowers in full blow, consisting of hydrangeas, various
species of pelargoniums and myrtles, wallflowers, carnations, &c. become visible. All
these are, in like manner, reared in hothouses. As their bloom fades, fresh pl.ants are
brought from the conservatory to replace them, thus keeping up an artificial garden, as
it may he callod, during the whole wai-m season; and when the cold weather hogms
again, tho whole are removed, and replaced in tho greenhouse.”
SoBSECT. 3 . Russian Gardening in respect to its horticultural Productions.
473. Dutch and Ger,nan fru its were mtrodnccd into Russia with tlie Dutch and Froncli
taste in gardening, hy Peter the Great. With tho English style, Cathcrmc introduced
English gardeners and English fruits. Before this period, the wild pear, the wild chcny,
tho black cun-ant, the cranben-y, and tho strawberry must have been ahnost the only
fruits seen in aboriginal Russia : all these may be gathered in the woods. The apple is
abundant in tho Uki-aiuc; and a centuiy ago, as .at present, may have boon sent to
Moscow for tho use of the higher classes. At present, tlie imperial family, and a few,
perhaps six or eight, of the first nobility, enjoy almost all the European fi-uits in tolerable
perfection, chiefly by the influoiice of glass and fire heat. Tlic quantity of pines and
grapes grown in the ncighboui-hood of St. Petersburgh is indeed an astonishing feature in
its horticulture. Pines, gi-apcs, and peaches, being grown so as to ripen in August and
September, enjoy, in these months, abniidanoc of sun, and nearly equal in flavour those
grown in England or H o llan d ; but tlie apple, pear, cherry, and plum, being in tliat
part of tho empire considered as only half-hardy fraits, rarely ripen in the open ah- so as
to be fit for tho dessert; and arc generally planted in houses, or against walls, and brought
forward by glass. About St. Petersburgh the branches of the cherry tree arc protected hy
huryhig them in the soil, as the French do thoso of tho fig tree, in the frnlt-gardens of
Argcnteuil. Tho climate being less severe about Moscow, the hardier fruits ripen somewhat
better in the open air, but still in a far inferior manner to what they do at Bdin-
biirgh, which is in tho same parallel of latitude. We have seen apples, pears, chorncs,
&c. fit to eat in the hothouses of the imperial gardens at Tzaritzina, in April, bnt without
flavour. Peaches grown or forced to ripen in August and September, says an experienced
English gardener, long resident in St. Petersburgh, ¡u-o not so good flavom-od as
those ripened in May, June, and J u ly ; as frequently in August and Scptcmhcr wc have
cold n ig h ts; and it is observed, that if the thermometer remain below 6° of heat (say
45« Fahr.) for any time, the peaches and apricots become insipid, and -without flavour.
Apple trees about St, Petersburgh generally remain unprotected in the open air, but sometimes
iu very severe winters they are injured by extreme frosts. Plums rarely ripen
unassisted by glass, the season being too short. Chen-ios of the best sorts arc all protected
hy being planted in largo sheds, and covered with shutters during the winter.
Early iu the spring these are removed, and the trees entirely exposed to the open air, in
which manner the fruit ripens to perfection. Apricots force equally well as pcaclios :
there is a house in the Taurida garden contaming nine trees planted in tlic ground, which
frequently produce 6000 apricots.
474. Almost all the horticulture o f Russia is contained in Moscow and around S t. Pctcrs-
hurgh; elsewhere scarcely any sort of fmit tree is to be found but the wild pear. Kitchen-
gardens are rare, even in Podolia, a very fine Polish province in the Ukraine, with a
deep rich soil, level surface, and favourable climate. The only fraits a Russian peasant
or minor Russian nobleman can taste arc the wild pear (groutchky), dried or green, the
strawberry, and the cranberry. Of tbe last, a cooling acid beverage is made by infusion
in water.
I f am, caiman/ veeetaMcs were known in Hussiii before the beginning of th e last century, they conlii
oniv have been the dwarf, ragged-leaved brown kale and th e mushroom; th e potato is but
h t rW / e d and in 18^^^ only grown in a few places round the principal towns. Many of the
n risan ts refuse to eat or cultivate this root, from mere prejudice, and from an idea very natura l to a
neonle in a state of slavery, th a t any thing proposed by th e ir lords must be for th e lord s advantaiige,
fo! theirs • t h Z th e first handful of food thrown to untamed animals operates as a scare.. .
r / ^ of i/ e / c i r t and th e number of foreigners employed in the llussian ser.vicc civil and
m i l& r t fo their literary institutions, and established as medical or commercial men in the towns,
will ^o doSbt S /d u a llv introduce a variety of culinary plants. T h e late war may also have had some
influence bv civine th e untravelled Russian noble a taste for the comforts ol Germany and F ran c e ; but,
u n f S u n / t ^ f t lm ^ averse to a country life and will continue to be so f
i-Tcto fnr <lnrne«tic eniovments and ru ra l recreations. D r . Howison (Mem. of Caled. Ho it. Soc., vol. in.
n 77 A has ffl/en “ S S i m t o fth e most important culinary vegetables cultivated in the interior of the
Ibiss'iln i S r a ” Of these the cucumber melon, yellow turnip, radish, and bulbous ce ery were
irnm d l/c d T om GeVmanv! /n d are known b u t to a few. The remaining sorts mentioned are, the
varieeated cabbage introcfuced from th e South Sea Islands; mustard, irom Sarepta, near the Chinese
w a T 2 i d /n onfon from Chinese T artary. These were introduced by Hasenkampf, of th e late Russian
Tm tn rh in a T h e EngUsli and German court-gardeners grow abundance of all our best vegetables
Ld contrive to prolong the season of some of them, as cauliflowers celery, cabbage. &c., by
car hing t e e S S l / ^ ^ ^ A succession of salading is kept up in hothouses, during winter, and even
«u7a, !d“ T c d ’cabbagls arc cultivated, aud they attain a great size : oumns, pomp.ons,
“PI»« »?» «““ to '» " f t r u r o “
^ ‘^7»; %ima n 'i m the district 0/ St. Fetcrsbargh are, cahhages o t different kinds savoys
( r to S g f f iL r e™ ™¥i’i S i!dm ¥ to t S d S ¥ t a “jme?Tak¥i!^^^ tho°cnd'o“f ^September, and F u n f t m
L /m ff/h ite s the e^^^ where they keep remarkably well, and eat exceedingly sweet and firm.
th e middle of June. Asparagus: I abundant in th e * len ground, being protected during winter t
h o p is L d i /L T s in th eS t.T e te is b u rg h d is t^ ^ its tops might be used as asparagus, b u t they
arc not.
tho black, white, o ^ T E t o S é a f l lm s l ', tacs”S ? a p p S
XilG Iiareici k/to , q ..W,) xs«..wc fl.vvii- ell <r<iriort»llv t
„s well
on th e Altaian mountains
a p r i c o t s , i s
P T i r “ , ; - a , r o m t o S substituted ter b re ad; fturkish, French,^ and common beans peas
„ •»! “ ' ”’P i ° " S i r r o r e e t e I»«................. onions, f t , are raised in large quantities, with little care. Some of tho latter
S h S 1 k 7 p o u r d ¥ Ojihe I J ^ i a n Empire, f t o . 1815.)
The culture ' " -
Moldav L J ioft bank of the Truth, a white grape containing a great deal of carbonic acid, is
i S Y t 'e t r t o e ' ’L i ,„ e a , esp ^ ia lly a t SoudA,
the press? The vines of Spain and Languedoc
near Balaklava. A white wine is produced <
lUUlUUVl.l, u u i.u>-
are suecesstully cn k v a te d hy a M ^ ^
the banks of th e ..„a s t Tetersburgh, under the name of this river are very y e ll known in Mos^ Don wines. Th■ere is
a vineyard near Astrachan p ¿ S é u c e s a higher price than th e wines,of France. . T he north
ii wine of inidLing quality, b u t in sufficient quantity for th e inhabitants
side of Caucasus Russia m ight produce wines to rival those oi Hungary
o fth cse co u n tries. InG eo g a L a n t i ty of excellent wine and in less than
and 1-rance. YvT m o b /X b e made th ere as will supply th e whole of Russia. (OEkonom.
twenty years, as much ^lU probably be ^ osneciallv towards the east, is said to be one of
.wra ty y e a rz . aB muc . will probably
Neuigk. und ! ,d Armeiia.'^Siben)!, Italy, and Caucasus are said t
th e most the charms and celebrity of th e valley is the success whu
nothing more dehghtfur. supposed th a t Russia may, a t no distant period, get wme
there her own consumption. T h e first vineyards were planted there m the
enough from th e Liimuy tor nc , natura list Tallas ; the situation is named Gadjakol, in tho
year 1804, a t th e suggesUon of /ra n e e Zante, Tenedos, the Rhine. Astraehan,
territory of Kosi. a vine-dresser und the other a farmer, were appointed to
an dK itz l a r ; ° Anhan pupils from th e military school a t Cherson, were put under
plant and to manage supplied the necessary capital for every part of the uiiderth
c c a r c o f these c u ltiv a to rs, S®vermnc 1 1 1 produced IJiOO vedros of wine of
tak in g ; and 28 ,0 00 vines were planted, , ^^d Kabour, of tlie
lliingary, mnuvuuA,
best quality. (Bull. [/«., Oct. 1827.)
to oflcr
which has