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to require them ; and, in other parts, where tlie snoAV lies six months on the surface, or
where the vine is generally cultivated, they arc of little use.
298. The culture o f flowers and plants o f ornament is vciy general in Germany among
the wealthy ; and the ibrciiig of floAvers, during the winter season, is perhaps as far as,
or fiu'ther advanced than hi Britain. In the propagation of rare greciihousc and hothouse
plants the German gardeners are not equal to those of Britain.
299. In horticulture, when the difficulties tliat Gennan gardeners have to contend
with are taken into consideration, the Gennan gardener is at least upon a par Avitli
those of Britain ; and he may confidently he pronounced superior to them in forced
productions, and in the preservation of vegetables and fruits throughout the winter.
This and the preceding liranchcs of horticulture have received a great stimulus, since
the peace of 1814, by the establishment of the Prussian Horticultural Society; and liy
the coiTespondcnce of this society, and of the gai'dcncrs of German princes, Avith the
iIorticultm*al Society of London.
300. In science the Gennan gardener is decidedly in advance of every other in
Europe ; and in the routine of practice he is surpassed by none in steadiness, or, Avhcrc
he has leisure, and is properly encouraged, in order and neatness.
301. The school o f gardeners established by the Pmissian Horticultural Society consists
of several classes, according to the time Avhich they may have been in the institution.
In an examination of this society, in 1827, it appeared that the pupils had made great
progress in botany and draAving ; their knoAvledge of geography, including the physical
description of the earth, wliicli they receive from Professor Dittman, proved very
respectable. Not less had they profited by Dr. Bcrgmann’s lectures on clieinistiy an<l
mineralogy. They also produced themes on the subjects of. their instmction, and tlic
diaries, Avhich they arc taught to keep, Avcre mostly executed in a satisfactory manner.
Their answers to all the questions as to the practical cultivation of ¡liants, vegetables,
and floAvcrs, Avere good, and their general conduct had been sucli, that there had been
no punishment inflicted in the establishment for the whole yoai*. Under these considerations,
all the pu])ils were forAvarded to the next class at Potsdam, with the
exception of one, who Avas returned on account of his youth and bodily weakness. The
examination of sixteen pnpils, Avho had been transferred to this school, during the two
preceding years, from the establishment of the Sclionberg, Avas equally satisfactory. AVith
the exception of one, the pupils had invariably displayed steadiness of conduct and industiy
in their studies. The seven pupils of the second class are practically trained by tlie
royal gardeners of the palace ; besides wliich they are theoretically instructed in the
cultivation of vegetables and trees, in arithmetic, algebra, and d iw in g in its different
branches. The nine pupils of tho third class are taught as follows :— 1. A continuation
of instruction on the culture of fruit and other trees. 2. On forcing gardening (trcih-
giirtnerey). 3. Geometry, Avith practical surveying and measuring. 4. Continuation of
instruction in botany. 5. DruAving plans and laying out kitchen-gardens, orchards,
and pleasure-grounds, with a calculation of the expenses. 6. Themes ou the most important
subjects connected with gardening. In all these branches the progress of the
pupils, in 1827, had been satisfactory ; and three of the number Averc discharged, as
competent gardeners, Avith permission to seek employment in the royal gardens, for
their further improvement. The remaining six were admitted into the foiu'th class, as
garden artists (garten kiinstlercr).
Subsect. 1. German Gardening, as an A r t o f Design and Taste.
302. The French style o f landscape-gardening has prevailed in Gertnany ivom the earliest
period of history or tradition. “ The German architects,” observes Ilirschfclil, in 1777,
“ in making themselves masters of the gardens, as Avell as of the liouscs, tended to spread
and perpetuate the prejudice. A singular and deplorable Gallomania peiwadcd Germany,
fi*om the prince to the peasant, which neither irony, patriotism, nor productions
which shoAv the force of our natural genius, could destroy. ‘ Ainsi font les Français ;
voilà CO que j ’ai vu civFi-ance these words Averc sufficient to reduce the German to a
mere copyist ; and, in consequence, we had French gardens as avc had Parisian fashions.
Our nobles gave the first example of imitation, and executed on their estates miniatures
of Versailles, Marly, and Trianon. But noAV 0 7 7 7 ),” he adds, “ the daAvii of judgment
and good taste begins to break in our country, and the accounts of tho happy changes
made in England in the gardens there, have prepared the Avay for the same revolution
in Germany. However, wc cannot complain of the suddenness of that revolution, and
that the imitation of the English taste spreads too rapidly ; it appears, on the contrary,
that wc begin to think for ourselves ; and reflection proceeds much sloAver than mere
imitation. We may meet, perhaps, here and there, Avith several copies of the British
manner, and perhaps even of the Cliincse style ; but we expect to see the Germans
inA’cnting and combining for themsch’cs, and producing gardens stamped Avith the
impression of national genius.” (Théorie des Jardins, tom. i. p. 83.)
303. The climate and circumstances o f Germany are less favourable to landscape-gardening
than those o f Britain. Mayer, a scientific practical gardener and author, who
studied his art in the royal gardens at Paris, and afterAvards spent some time in England,
viewing the principal country-seats, is of this opinion. (Pom. Franc., 1776.) He considers
grounds laid out in the ancient style as “ insipid and monotonous, from tlicir
regularity, and only calculated to produce sadness and ennui. I f their aspect strikes at
the first glance, it fatigues and tires at the second, and certainly is revolting and disgusting
at tho third.” He admires English gardens in England, but states tliree
objections to their introduction in G en n an y : the inferiority of the pasturage, tho
expense and AA-ant of space, and the necessity and advantage of attending to the culture
of legumes and fi-uits. A mixed style is what he prefers, and what he adopted in the
episcopal gardens Avhich he laid out and managed at Wiirtzburg.
304. T h e fr s t example o f an English garden in Germany, according to Reichard (Reise
durch Deutschland, &c.), Avas the Garten der SchAvobber, in Westphalia, in the neighbourhood
of Pyi-mont. I t was laid out about the year 1750, Avith Avinding AvaJks and
clumps, and a rich collection of rare trees and plants. Hinubcr’s English garden, at
Hanover, and that of Marienwerder in its neighbourhood, were begun about the same
tim e ; and soon after was commenced the splendid example exliibited by Field-marshal
Lacy, at Dornbach, near Vienna, which, it is said, originated in the family connections
of that Avairior with England. It was finished in part by an English gardener, in 1770,
at an expense of half a million of florins. Its picturesque views and distant prospects
arc much and deservedly admired; but, on the Avhole, as an English garden, it owes
much more to nature than to art. After this, the new taste, as Hii-schfcld remarks,
became general in the empire.
DiA-ision i. Gardening, as an A r t o f Design and Taste, in Austria.
305. The taste fo r gardening in Austria is not so great as in some of the other states;
probably fr-om the Avant of wealth, and the general stagnation of ideas in a city so far
inland as to be totally without foreign commerce. There are, however, a few large
p a rk s ; and the public promenades at Vienna ai-e among the finest in Germany.
306. The gardens o f Schönbrunn were laid out in the French style in 1696, from the
design of the celebrated ai-chitcct Fischer, of E rla ch ; and they were enlarged and
embellished during the reign of Francis I , from 1775 to 1780, after the plans of Steck-
hovcn, a Dutch artist. The palace is an immense building, with Avails full of windoAvs,
but without much grandeur of style. The gai-den embraces it on three sides; to the
right and left are private flower-gai-dens and hothouses, for the exclusive enjoyment of
the imperial family. The principal gai-den, Avhich is open to evei-y one, at all times
throughout the yeai-, covers a level space, which extends 500 feet fi-om the front of the
palace to the base of a hill, on the summit of which, directly opposite the palace, is an
ornamental building called the Gloriette (fig. 72.), which forms a conspicuous feature
from most parts of the garden and of the sun-ounding countiy. The IcA^el part of the
garden is composed of intersecting clipped avenues and alleys, and foi-rns a whole,
grand though formal. The most conspicuous ornaments of these gardens are the
Gloriette; the artificial niins of a Roman b u ü d in g ; an obelisk; a fountain richly ornamented,
in compliment to the name of Schonhrunn (beautiful fountain); and a monu-
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