Part 8

I proceeded in the afternoon to the Botanic Garden; but as it was wet I was unable to find any one to accompany me through the grounds, owing to the absence of the gardener; I therefore deferred going through them until a better opportunity, when I paid them another visit.

Sept. 28th. Started at six o'clock in the morning by diligence for Waterloo, where we arrived at half-past eight; and having procured a guide, I was conducted over this celebrated field of action, which is now all under a fine system of agriculture. I proceeded to the noted chateau at Hougoumont, which is enclosed by a brick wall, and still exhibits the marks of bullets. About the centre of the field of battle is a large mount, raised in commemoration of that eventful day; it measures 1680 feet in circumference at the base, and is about 200 feet high. On the top is placed the Belgic Lion, said to weigh 48,000 lbs.

On my return through the little village of Waterloo, I visited the church, which contains a large number of tombs, in memory of the British officers who fell in the field of battle.

I got back to Brussells about one o'clock, when I proceeded to the palace of Lacken, and having a letter of introduction to the gardener, from Mr. M'Intosh at Claremont, ready access was obtained to the gardens and grounds attached to this royal residence.

The palace stands on an eminence, commanding a fine view of Brussells and the adjoining country, particularly towards the south. The Antwerp road leading to Brussells is very conspicuous from several points of view from the grounds. From the palace towards the south the pleasure ground falls very considerably, and is much varied in surface, with several very pretty vistas, intersected by numerous walks, leading to different objects of interest. A large sheet of water, which appears in view from the palace windows, as well as from several other points in the grounds, forms a very pretty feature: over a part of this lake a fine wooden bridge crosses to a small island, and at the other extremity is a large grotto, formed by very large rough stones. Various improvements are in constant progress in the pleasure-ground, the whole of which is kept in very good order, a circumstance of rare occurrence in Belgium. Two fine hothouses for plants have been erected during the last two years, from plans furnished by Mr. M'Intosh, the gardener at Claremont, who has also superintended the erection of several pine-pits, and contemplates the addition of an extensive range of forcing-houses at the King's palace of Lacken. From Mr. M'Intosh's well known abilities as a scientific and practical gardener, the superintendance could not be entrusted to a more suitable person.

The houses lately erected there are very neatly finished, and well adapted to their purpose, as well as the pine pits; the pine-apples grown here by M. Forkhall, the gardener at Lacken, were superior to any that I had previously met with on the continent. The young plants were also clean and healthy, and the exotic plants were in a very flourishing state, many of them in fine flower. There is likewise an extensive orangery, with a fine collection of healthy trees, which are much cultivated in Belgium, as well as in Germany. Near the orange-house were several clumps of flowering plants, amongst them some fine varieties of the dahlia. His Majesty's taste for plants and horticultural pursuits has not abated since he came to the throne; consequently numerous good plants are daily added to his collection. I observed a fine specimen of the _K[oe]lreuteria paniculata_, in fine flower, the _Catalpa syringifolia_ in great beauty, and several other fine growing hardy species.

Sept. 29th. Left Brussells, for baron de Hoogarts's, which is about nine English miles from the town, and whose garden contains several hothouses, in which are forced pines, grapes, and peaches. There are likewise several low pits for the cultivation of the pine, vine and peach. The pit used here for accelerating the peach, is nine feet wide, and the back wall five feet above the ground level; the front wall is only twenty one inches high, above the level of the ground, and consists of brick piers, with wood boards betwixt them, which are taken out, when the trees are removed or introduced into these pits, which operation is generally performed annually. Towards the back, is a flue for giving heat, which is applied as well as that from dung, for the forwarding of the fruit. There is also here a good kitchen garden, with a high circular wall, well stocked with good peach, apricot and pear-trees; amongst the latter I observed the _Beurre dore_ very fine, _Glout Morceau_, _Cuisse Madame_, also fine showy fruits and prolific bearers, the _poire de melon_, _cale basse_ were likewise fine fruit, and producing great crops. A fine collection of the standard pears, was also growing in this garden. Adjoining to it is situated the orangery, which stands on an eminence, and commands a pretty view of the grounds, and sheet of water. There is likewise a good collection of Cape and other plants from Botany Bay, and several clumps of rhododendrons throughout the grounds in a flourishing state. The park is but of limited extent, considerably varied.

Adjoining to baron de Hoogart's, is the seat of count de Beaufforts, to which Miss Hoogart had the goodness to send their gardener to accompany me. At this place is an old castle, situated by the side of a lake which was undergoing great alterations and additions.

The grounds attached to this ancient castle, although of limited extent, are much varied, and prettily planted, with different clumps of trees and shrubs dispersed through them. In the kitchen garden is a very handsome range of hothouses, about 120 feet in length, chiefly occupied with plants; one of the divisions is allotted for the pine apple, and in front of the range are also several pits, for pines, vines, and peaches. The pits used for the forcing of the vine and peach have each a flue that runs parallel to the back wall, and about eighteen inches from it. The front of those for the vine and peach has no front wall, only piers and boards fixed betwixt them, for the facility of removing and taking in the trees, which are planted betwixt the piers, when the boards are again placed in their former position over the stem of the trees, the roots running in a border on the outside of the pit.

On my return in the afternoon to Brussels, I visited the Museum, the collection in which is well deserving of notice; there is a numerous variety of insects, a large collection of birds and animals, as well as minerals.

The picture gallery is a fine apartment, situated in the same building, and contains a large number of splendid paintings; a very magnificent painting of the Belgic revolution, which nearly covered the entire end of the gallery, was exhibiting, and seemed to attract a vast number of visitors. In another wing of the building is a repository of the various articles of Belgic manufacture, which was much crowded by spectators. I should imagine from the appearance of the numerous articles of commerce exhibited in these apartments that there can scarcely be a single article of manufacture that is not to be met with in this repository of commerce.

Having a letter of introduction from Mr. M'Intosh to Mr. Bigwood, a partner of Mr. Salter, the banker, in Brussells, I called on him in the evening, when he very kindly accompanied me to several of the diligence offices, and pointed out to me the best routes to take in order to save time; I then engaged a place for Paris for the following Saturday--a precaution found necessary, owing to the number of strangers then in Brussells; some of whom it was understood had been detained for several days in consequence of the diligences being so crowded. I also took a place for Ghent, the next town I intended visiting, which is situated about twenty-four miles from Brussells.

Sept. 30th. Immediately on my arrival at Ghent I proceeded to the nursery garden of M. Vangeert, which contains several hothouses, and a good collection of plants; there are also in this nursery several pits for the dwarf growing species; a good collection of _Camellias_ appeared to be grown here, and also some _Cacteæ_ and orchideous plants, with some _Magnolias_ new to our English collections. The Ghent _Azaleas_ have now become celebrated for the profusion of their flowers and various colours; they were in great abundance in the nurseries here, beset with flower buds. The _Magnolia conspicua_ and _Magnolia norbertiana_ are fine specimens. The soil in the vicinity of Ghent appears peculiarly adapted for the _Magnolia_, _Azalea_, and other American plants.

I next visited the nursery of M. Verleeuwen, which contains about two English acres of ground, and from eight to ten different small hothouses, with a fine collection of plants, that were all very well grown. A choice collection of _Camellias_ is also cultivated here, as well as _Azaleas_, _Rhododendrons_, and other hardy plants well worthy of notice.

I then proceeded to the Ghent Botanic Garden, but was unfortunate in not finding M. Donkelar (the gardener) at home; this garden appeared to contain only from two to three English acres of ground: it is too much crowded with large trees and shrubs for so confined a space. There are two hothouses devoted to the growth of tropical plants which were in a very flourishing state, but deficient of the more showy and new species of late introduction. The orangery is a large building, with Ionic columns and dark roofs; the trees appeared very healthy. There are also some low houses, or rather pits, in front of the principal range, which were well stocked with pines and low growing plants.

I next visited the nursery grounds of M. A. Verschaffelt, which are more extensive than any of the other nurseries I had yet seen, and contain about the best collection of plants in Ghent; he has some fine _Magnolias_, amongst which I observed the _Magnolia triumphans_, _Glauca_, _Arborea_, and _Gigantea_. His collection of _Camellias_ is also very choice and deserving of notice, amongst which were the _Camellia compacta-rubra_, _Alexandria_, and _Magnificum_; a plant of this species he values at one hundred francs. There are also many other choice sorts; and his collection of Cape and New-Holland plants is likewise extensive: he is forming a collection of _Orchideæ_, and has erected a small house for their growth; he has likewise a good collection of _Cacteæ_, a choice assortment of the Ghent _Azaleas_, and other hardy plants, that appear to flourish well in Belgium.

The nursery I next visited was that of M. Verschaffelt, sen., which appeared to be about an acre of ground, but it contained a good assortment of _Rhododendrons_, also a large green-house with span-roof, as well as several other small houses; a great stock of myrtles was likewise cultivated in this establishment. I next proceeded to the nursery of F. J. Spæ-fils, which contains about two acres and a half, with a range of hothouses one hundred and fifty feet long. I here observed a large stock of seedling _Azaleas_ and _Kalmias_, also a well-stocked wall of trained peach trees. The standard fruit trees are also extensively cultivated, the situation being evidently well calculated for the growth of the different plants in demand in that country. After leaving this nursery I went to that of M. P. Byls, whose ground contains several small hothouses, but little of novelty in them; a few good hardy shrubs were, however, in the grounds. Attached to this nursery is a piece of ground under vegetable cultivation, which is extensively pursued in the neighbourhood of Ghent. I visited one or two other nurseries of small extent, but met with nothing of much importance in them, as they were more limited than either of those mentioned.

The cathedral of Ghent is considered one of the most handsome Gothic buildings in Belgium. The pulpit is a most beautiful specimen of workmanship, and is composed of white marble and richly-carved oak; near the great altar are magnificent antique candelabras, said formerly to have belonged to Charles the First of England, and were suspended in the old church of St. Paul's in London. Amongst the splendid paintings that ornament this cathedral are Lazarus rising from the dead, by Otto Vennius, St. John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, and the Paschal Lamb. Our Saviour is also represented on a throne holding a crystal sceptre. There are likewise two marble statues that represent the Apostles St. Paul and St. Peter, and numerous other beautiful paintings.

I took my departure at ten o'clock for Antwerp, where we arrived at six the following morning.

Oct. 1. Immediately on my arrival I proceeded to the top of the Antwerp steeple, or tower, which consists of six hundred and twenty two steps, and is four hundred and sixty-six feet in height, from the top of which a beautiful view of the town is seen, and a vast extent of fertile country. The Island of Walcheren and some of the Dutch steeples were pointed out to me in the distance. The citadel, which now appears to be all covered with grass, is very plainly seen from the top of this steeple, and the number of vessels in the Scheldt add life to the scene. The cathedral is reckoned one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe; the interior is superb, and richly ornamented by the magnificent paintings of Rubens. I observed numerous very splendid marble columns. The altar is executed with marble, and ornamented with a representation of the Assumption. There is also a splendid painting of the Disciples at Emmaus, by Herreyns, portraits of Luther and Calvin, and numerous other celebrated objects, which to attempt to particularize would require one more intimately acquainted with the subject than I can pretend to be. The painted windows are equally elegant.

I next visited St. James's Church, which is a very splendid building, and richly decorated with fine paintings and superb marble columns; the altar is inlaid with black and white marble, and supported by handsome twisted columns, and various groups of sculpture. The pulpit is most elegantly sculptured, and the beautiful specimens of carved oak are deserving of notice, as likewise is the splendour of the painted windows. There is also a fine picture of the Last Supper, by Otto Vennius, one of the Last Judgment, by Willemsen, the Tomb of Rubens, and a painting by him, of our Saviour on his mother's knees, surrounded by a number of figures, all of which are said to be portraits of the painter's wives and family. After seeing these two magnificent churches, I proceeded to the nursery garden of M. Vangeert, which is situated about two English miles from the city; it contains a very good collection of hardy perennial plants, as well as _Azaleas_ and other American shrubs. The hothouses here are about one hundred and fifty feet long, in several divisions, and a good-sized pit for the half-hardy sorts. I here observed the best crop and finest bunches of hothouse grapes that I had previously met with on the continent. I was much indebted to M. Vangeert, jun., for his attention in accompanying me to the various gardens that he considered to be most deserving of notice in the neighbourhood of Antwerp.

We proceeded to the Antwerp Botanic Garden, which is but of limited extent, I think not above an acre of ground in it. There is a green-house placed about the centre of the garden, but its occupants appeared to be of rather distant introduction, and little amongst them of novelty except a very fine specimen of the _Araucaria Braziliensis_, which was growing in a tub, and then standing out of doors.

There were likewise two or three other small houses for tropical plants, which were in a very flourishing state, particularly those cultivated in the stove.

They have in this garden a tolerably good collection of the _Genus Pinus_, amongst which is a dwarf sort, named there the _Pinus monstrosa_, but it appears to be only a variety of the _Pinus cembra_. It formed a very close bush, not exceeding two feet in height.

The next garden we visited was that of the late M. Jean Veanhal, which, during his time, was much celebrated for rare and good plants. Although there was but a small piece of ground in this garden, yet it contained a good collection, and several very good hothouses, in which were cultivated pine-apples and other tropical plants, which were in a very flourishing state, and the whole neatly kept.

We next proceeded to M. Moen's nursery ground, which is also but of limited extent, but contains a number of good _Magnolias_, _Azaleas_, and other hardy plants, as well as many good greenhouse species. In this nursery there is a fine collection of _Camellias_. M. Moen informed me he had about two hundred seedling varieties and species. I saw here a fine specimen of the _Camellia reticulata_, about five feet high; M. Moen valued this plant at sixty guineas. There are some pretty good greenhouses in this nursery, also a good collection of pears that were in full bearing, and producing fine crops.

We proceeded next to the seat of M. Caters De-wolfe, which is several miles from Antwerp; the grounds attached to this residence are prettily laid out, particularly a sheet of water, which is amongst the best I have seen; it is formed so as to produce a picturesque effect from several points of view. At a contracted part of it a wooden bridge is constructed across, springing on both sides on elevated well-formed artificial pieces of rockwork. In the pleasure ground are three very pretty curvilinear iron-bar hothouses, erected by Baily, of London, and devoted to the growth of exotic plants and pine-apples, which evidently fully answered in that climate their intended purpose. Here is also a good kitchen garden, with numerous low houses and pits for the growth of the pine, vine and peach, as well as one devoted to orchideous plants, a collection of which was just then forming. The pines and exotic plants in this establishment were all in a very flourishing state, and the gardens in pretty fair keeping.

We next proceeded to the seat of Le Chevalier Parthon Divan, whom I found devotedly attached to horticultural pursuits. The grounds attached to his château are very prettily formed, and are situated about four English miles from Antwerp. This gentleman pointed out to me the _Rhododendron ferrugineum_, with white flowers, which I believe is hardly to be met with in any other collection. He has many good and rare species of greenhouse plants. I saw from five to seven species of _Scotia_, also a fine specimen of the _Scotia angustata_; a collection of _Orchideæ_ is also cultivated here; and he has lately introduced many new and curious species of this tribe of plants, as well as some new _Cacteæ_. The variety of dahlias cultivated here was particularly fine; a very complete arrangement of herbaceous plants growing along the face of a bank in their natural arrangement forms also an interesting feature in these grounds, the exterior of which is bounded by a plantation, in which are formed various beech avenues. This gentleman disposes of his duplicate plants to any one who will purchase them, but did not seem inclined to make any exchanges.

We next visited the gardens of Madame Smetz, which are situated about four miles from the last place. These grounds are celebrated for their extent of hot houses and other garden ornaments, which may justly entitle them to be considered as presenting a greater variety of picturesque objects than any garden in Belgium. There is a very good greenhouse, with a pretty fair collection of plants in very neat order, and a corresponding house for the growth of stove plants. I here observed the _Pandanus odoratissimus_, fifteen feet high, with four large branches diverging from it. A large orangery, that runs parallel to the north ends of the stove and greenhouse, forms a centre betwixt the two latter buildings, that appear like two projecting wings to the orange-house; there are also several low houses and pits for pines, vines, and peaches. The pines in these gardens were amongst the best grown that I had previously met with on the continent. I observed a plant with seven fruits on it all branching from the top of a single stem. There were also some very fine dwarf cockscombs growing in a pit.

The superb Chinese tower is more deserving of notice than anything of the kind that I have yet seen, being of a considerable height, from sixty to eighty feet I should imagine from its appearance, with a handsome staircase leading to the top, from whence there is a fine prospect of these extensive grounds, which are curiously laid out; in this Chinese building a couple of handsomely fitted up rooms are occasionally used for taking tea or coffee.

There are numerous walks leading through various parts of the grounds to secluded spots, where we come unexpectedly on groups of figures in stone, such, for instance, as a group of boys at play, figures of old men, and groups of sheep grazing in the grounds, which are very naturally executed, and at a short distance formed a very good deception; there are also numerous marble busts and pieces of sculpture. A sheet of water, with rock-work and a wooden bridge, appear prominent objects from the Chinese temple. Opposite to the south and north sides of the mansion are curiously clipped box hedges, with pyramidal formed bushes on their top; the intervening spaces being clipped into irregular figures, presenting a curious appearance. A rock bridge, over the narrow part of a sheet of water, is deserving of notice; but the wooden bridges here and elsewhere in Belgium are made more for the intention of permitting ships to pass under them, than for the ease of the visitors in walking over them. I also observed several painted arbours and recesses in different parts of the grounds, and one of the finest specimens of the purple beech that I have ever seen, which is a truly magnificent tree. The kitchen cropping, such as cabbages, asparagus, &c., being carried close up to the house, is in very bad taste; these vegetables all appearing in view from the principal windows do not harmonize with the ornamented ground, which, in such an extensive piece, might easily be cultivated in a much more appropriate spot.

Oct. 2nd. Left Antwerp at six o'clock a.m., passing through a beautiful fertile country, which abounds in vegetable and other green crops; we arrived at Malines about eight o'clock; it contains about twenty thousand inhabitants, and has some pretty churches, and an ancient cathedral. The rail-road from Brussels to Malines had been completed for some time, and was expected to be finished as far as Antwerp by the end of another month, and to proceed from hence to Paris. At Malines I quitted my tedious mode of conveyance for the rail road--a much more pleasant and expeditious mode of travelling. We were about forty minutes going by it the distance of twelve English miles; a heavy train of carriages and a strong wind right ahead, prevented our accomplishing the distance in the usual time, which was said in general to occupy the space of from twenty to thirty minutes.

On my arrival at Brussells I proceeded to the establishment of M. J. F. Vandermaelen, which consists of an extensive collection of geographical books, minerals, birds, insects, and plants, from various climates, which this gentleman offers for mutual exchanges, with the view of furthering the interests of science and natural history.