II:
the eyes of man. The beantiful river Ilu tt incloses one part of it, and the other is
belted by a range of monntains, which are crowned hy the most splendid trees from
,50 to 150 feet high ; and out of respect to yon, my dear sir, I havo called it ‘ Loudon’s
Vale.’ We havo had two horticultural shows since I have been here, at which I was
one of the judges both times ; and it would surprise you to see ivliat the place produces,
although it is, as it were, only four year's old. There is a beautiful native Ribes here,
which grows forty or fifty feet high, on which I have budded both the goosebcny and the
cun-ant, both of which have taken well and are growing amazingly. I have also budded
the pcar upon the white-thorn, which is doing well. In fact, budding and graftmg may
be carried on here all the year round.” In another letter from Mi*. Trotter, dated the
2d of January, 1846, he says, “ I suppose you saw in my former letter about my succeeding
so well in gi'afting and budding fruit trees, especially pears on white-thorns,
whicb I assm-e you make most handsome trees. I have a row of apple trees before my
own door about fifteen months old, fully four feet high, and branching out into splendid
heads. Thcro are also trees of my working, which bore apples this year*. We have had
a splendid crop of fruit this season, considering the age of the trees, over at Messrs.
Molcsworth and Ludlam’s garden, which has been under my care ever shico I came to
the Hutt. I was obliged yesterday to thin out the apples on two or throe of the trees,
as they were liangmg a great deal too thick ; they are now about the size of hens’ eggs.
Wo have also a nice little vinei-y. I planted the vines fifteen months ago, and I never
saw any thing go on so rapidly and make such fine wood in ail my life ; and there are a
few bunches on them this year, tvhioh wiU bo exhibited at tho horticultural show— the
first grapes that have ever been grown in the colony. I have a few bunches also showing
out of doors, ivhich I have every reason to believe will come to perfection, tve have such
a fine autumn and winter here. I took six first prizes at the fruit-show last year, and I
expect to take a few more this year, I have some splendid melons and cucumbers
coming on. In fact, evei'ythiug looks well, for we have a beautiful soil and a beautiful
climate.” {Gard. Chron. fo r 1846, p. 659.)
943. The timber trees o f New Zealand present abundance of materials for the purposes
of tho builder, tho shipwright, and the cahinet-maker. Upwards of sixty kinds of more
or less valuable timber have been sent to England as specimens; and doubtless in the
impenetrable recesses of the forests, there arc many trees that have not yet been examined
by Europeans. As a proof of this, a piece of wood was found in one of tho
rivers which was evidently mahogany, though no mahogany tree has, as yet, been foimd
gi'owing in the colony. The following ar-e the most important and interesting of the
trees that have been found.
The k a u r i, erroneously pronounced cowrie, is th e B dm m a r a austrdlis of botanists. It is a gregarious
tre e generally inhabiting the sides and declivities of clayey mountains, where it attains the enormous
height of from fifty to ninety feet without a branch, the circumference of th e stem being from fifteen to
th irty feet near th e base. The bark being of a silver-grey colour, th e stem resembles an enormous antique
column. Round its base accumulate large masses of th e gum-resin which it exudes, and which is a very
clear and transparent substance, and which makes an excellent varnish. The tree, being very light in
proportion to its strength and its noble dimensions, is used by the Admiralty for the masts of men-of-war.
T h e timber is easily cut and wrought, and well adapted for ship-building, as it is more buoyant than the
British oak or th e Indian teak wood. , ,a .
The. ka ika tca (Dacrfyium excelsum) inhabits low wet soils, and is found extending in belts along the
margins of rivers, as the Thames, th e Hutt, th e Piako, &c. Its great height and straightness would
render this a valuable tree, but for th e softness of its wood. T h e timber of the kaikatea, being subject
to decay when exposed to wet and dry weather, is only suited for inside work, and will doubtless be
cheaper than the other kinds of timber, being found on th e banks of rivers, and, therefore, very accessible.
T h e kaikatea becomes less spongy in tex tu re towards th e south, and a t Stewart’s island it is
said to be nearly as durable as the kauri. . „ , „ . ,
The to to rd is a kind of yew, but it frequently attains a height of from fifty to sixty feet before it shows
any branches. The wood is reddish, splits well, and is very hard.
R im u (Dacrjidium cnpressiimm) is a very elegant tree with graceful bright foliage, which has been
compared to th a t of th e weeping-willow, but it is more like plumes of feathers. I h e wood is hard,
dark, rather brittle, and emits a resinous odour. T h e diameter of the trunk, even when full grown,
seldom exceeds four feet. . i • •
Kaw a h a (Dacrydium plumbsum) has a very fine hard grain, well adapted for cabinet work, and it is
said to resemble th e tulip-wood of Moreton Bay. „ , , ,
P u r id i ( Pitex littonilis), called, from the hardness and durability of its timber, the New Zealand oak,
furnishes strong and durable timber for ships, and ground-plates for houses. It is dark, close-grained, and
takes a good polish, but is unfit to be sawn into boards, owing to its being much perforated by a large
grub. Us stem is from twelve to twenty feet in circumference, and it grows to a height of thirty feet
before beginning to branch.
R ew a -r ew a (Knlghtm excelsa), a slender tree, growing to the height of fifty or sixty feet, furnishes a
brown wood, beautifully mottled with red. It is durable, and splits easily, and is, therefore, well
adapted for fencing.
T h ere are several kinds of Podocarpus, which produce a dark durable wood.
R a ta (Metrosideros robusta) is a tree which attains a large size, with very peculiar habits. It is at
first a parasite, winding round large trees of th e forest, till it encircles and destroys them, when its
numerous coils join together in one hollow trunk, which elongates downwards. In fact, the ra ta is an
epiphyte growing towards, not from, the ground, which will explain the saying of the natives, that this
tree is never young. Its timber is robust and durable, and its branches are well adapted for ship timber.
At the base of this tree, and no where else, as the natives declare, is found the vegetable grub or wooden
caterpillar. From its head there issues a long process terminating in a point, closely resembling the
fibrous root of a plant.
The tr e e -fe rn is also abundant in the woods of New Zealand ; and a curious plant called by the natives
“ the mother of the ferns,” th e stem of which is eatable towards the root, and which appears to be a
kind of Cycas. {N ew Z ea la n d , &c., p. 332.)
J
B O O K I I .
GAKDESING CONSIDERED AS TO ITS PROGRESS AND PRESENT STATE DNDER D IE P E R E N I
POLITICAL AND GBOGRAPniOAL CIRCraiSTANCES.
944. Every art must be affected by the government under which it is exercised, dtlier
directly by its laws and institutions, or indii'cctly by tho state of society as modified bv
t t o r influonco. Gardening and agricultnre differ from other arts in being stiU more
affeoted by climates than by governments ; the influence of the latter is temporary or
accidental, wlule that of the former is absolute and unchangeable.
! .1
■'! ;!i.
Chap. I.
Gardening, as affected h j different Forms o f Government, Religions, and States o f Society.
945. All governments may be reduced io two classes,~t\-iQ primitive, or those where the
people are governed hy the will or laws of one cliief independently of the people • and
the representative, or those where people arc governed principally by laws fonncd by a
congregated assemblage of their own body. The former are calculated for those early
ages, when man, m a stage of infancy, is governed by a king, as cliiklren are ruled by
their parents ; the hitter, for more enlightened times, when a people, like children
ai-nved at manhood, are capable of thinking for themselves and acting in concert.
946. Society is either fix ed or free. In a fixed state, property is hereditary, and one
part of the people are independent, and tho other dependent ; in a ft-co state, men may
belong to cither class, according to their talents and the chances of life. In tlic former
case, a man’s condition iu society depends on chance ; in the latter, on chance and skill
combined.
Sect. I. Gardening, as affected by different Forms o f Government and Religion.
947. Gardening, as an art furnishing a part ofth e necessaries o f life, may bo practised
under any form of government ; and wherever there is some liberty and sccm-ity of
property, its productions of necessity and comfort will ensure its use. Wlierever
civilised man has a house, he will always have an accompanying spot for roots and
legumes ; and wherever he enjoys a farm, ho will desire orchards or vincyai-ds for
fruits or wine, and copscwoods and forest trees for fuel and timber : shelter, shade
and ornament will foUow in due time. Under a despotic form of government, the tasté
of the monarch will generally be indisci-iminatcly followed by such of his subjects as
can indulge in it ; and thus fashion will assume the province of reason Such a
government must be favourable or unfavourable to the arts, according to the tcastc of it.s
chief Monarchs generally love splendour more than usefulness, and in gardcnino- ai-c
less hkely to render its useful productions common among their subjects than to increase
^ e luxurious enjoyments of a few wealthy courtiers. This was exemplified in Louis
XIV., who set the fashion of splendid parterres and watcr-v'orks not only in France
but ni Europe ; but never, in all probability, added a foot of ground to the o-ardcn of a
single cottager, or phaced an additional cabbage or potato on his table. Under
republican governments, the first tendency of public feeling is to economy ; and con-
æquently, to discourage those arts, or branches of arts, which minister to Iilx u it
Gardening, under such circumstances, will be practised principally as a useftil ai-t and
seldom either as an art of elegance and taste, or one of splendour and magnificence :
and I t will be encouraged more for its substantial benefits and scientific objects than
for Its cxtraordinaiy productions and peculiar gTatifications. In tlie beginning of the
first French revolution, wc find the compilers of tlio Encyclopædia (see the vol si/r
I Aratoire et Jardinage) holding light the productions of forcing-houses and the taste
for double flowers ; and on the first settlement of America, the same simpHcity of taste
prevailed, as it does still in Switzerland.
948. Gardening, in all its branches, will be most advantageously displayed wliere the
people enjoy a degree of freedom. The final tendency of eveiy liberal government or
society is to conglomerate property in in-egular masses, as nature has distributed ail
licr wealth ; and this irregulai-ity is the most favourable for gardening as a necessaiy,
convenient, and elegant art. A mixed or pai-tiy representative govcnmiciit and a commercial
people may be reckoned a case highly favourable to the aits ; of which Holland
Genoa, and Venice,formerly, and this country at present, maybe adduced as examples.
Under mixed govcnimcnts, wlicre there is a representative body, and a first or executive
magistrate, his taste will naturally have considerable influence on that of the people ; as
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