In the afternoon I was accompanied by Mr. Parker to the Botanic garden, which is situated close to the town, having a very handsome entrance with Ionic columns, and neat iron railing, which encloses a large part of this garden. The Arboretum of trees and shrubs is confined to the two ends of the garden, it being an oblong square, but the south side is much the longest. The space of ground is very confined for the growth of large trees; the entire space devoted for this purpose is not an acre of ground, consequently the different sorts are much crowded together.
The interior of the garden, in front of the range of hot-houses, is laid out in numerous oblong squares, with gravel walks intervening; in the centre walk are three round basins of water. These squares are again divided into beds for the herbaceous plants, wherein a good collection are cultivated. In one of the divisions there is an aquarium for aquatic plants, which consists of oblong square troughs, lined with brickwork for retaining the water; these are about two feet wide by two deep, and an intervening space of ground, of from six to eight feet, in which are grown such species as do not require the water: but a damp situation, notwithstanding, is requisite: In the apartments where the hardy perennial plants are cultivated, are numerous apple trees, all in full bearing; these ought to be eradicated and their places supplied with ornamental trees or shrubs. Apple-trees, however useful, are not in character with a botanical collection; more especially as the apple is so common by the road sides through Germany; a collection of this fruit should find a place elsewhere than in the botanic garden, where the space of ground is already much too limited for the collection of plants. A lofty range of hothouses about five hundred feet in length, has a very good effect; they are only furnished with upright sashes in the front, the back and roof opaque, the latter finished in the semi-cove form, and neatly plastered. I was surprised to find the Palms looking remarkably healthy, notwithstanding these dark houses, many of the species had really grown from twenty to twenty five feet in height.
The collection of the Brazilian species is very numerous, but many of them appeared drawn and too much crowded for want of light and room in the pits. The Cape and New Holland kinds were then out of doors, very healthy and well grown. I was much pleased also with some very fine specimens of Cacteæ, the variety of which is reckoned but little inferior to that of Berlin. In short, there is an extensive assortment of the various species of Succulentæ in this establishment. The director, M. Seitz, having been long a collector, has succeeded in forming a great variety of this curious tribe; he was extremely liberal in parting with any of his duplicates.
Sept. 6th. M. Seitz having the kindness to accompany us to the Royal gardens at Nymphenburg, which are situated about four English miles from Munich; we proceeded thither immediately after breakfast, and found that these grounds required no little time to make even a hasty inspection.
The French garden in front of the palace consists of straight and broad gravel walks, with long stripes of grass lawn, and borders about twelve feet wide of shrubs running parallel to the avenues of horse-chesnut trees. Along the edges of the walks various vases and other ornamental sculpture are arranged; leading from these walks, a straight piece of water, more in the form of a canal, than an ornamental lake, runs parallel in two different directions; the one parallel to the palace, is crossed by two wooden bridges, which are prominent features from several points of view. The centre, or main canal, leads in a straight direction for a considerable distance, and is broken by several very pretty cascades, and handsome marble basins, as well as different groups or figures of sculpture. The water comes rushing over the marble ledges with great force, and was certainly the brightest and purest that I had ever previously seen. There are also some very fine jets in which the water is propelled to a great height by machinery. A well formed lake nearly adjoins the bathing house, said to occupy about fifty Bavarian acres of ground, the outline of which is much varied with different projections of land, islands, and the banks of turf tastefully planted with trees and shrubs, forms a very pleasing contrast. A curious bark is placed on this sheet of water, consisting of two small boats, with a platform, on which is placed a chair, so that a person may sit and read, or fish, and at the same time guide this boat by his feet, that are resting generally on the paddles.
Close by the margin of this lake, is a very pretty circular temple, with a figure of Apollo, that forms a prominent object from several points of view. A small cascade passing under a ledge of rockwork, on the top of which is placed a marble figure of Pan, and a goat at his feet, forms another object of interest in this part.
The grounds from the south west of the bathing house, (or Pavilion, which is ornamented by paintings and statues) have been lately much improved, and are now considerably varied with different clumps of trees and shrubs, undulations and rockwork. The surface is naturally a flat, but art has, during the last three years, created great inequalities and alterations in this part of the grounds; the banks and undulations are very judiciously formed, the trees and shrubs tastefully grouped together; the walks and rides are of great extent, and very neatly kept and gravelled.
The range of plant houses at Nymphenburg is the most extensive and substantially built of any that I had previously seen in Germany, about one thousand feet in length, and varying from twenty to twenty four feet in width, the height not exceeding twenty-eight feet. I was here surprised to find that the hothouse in which a fine collection of Palmæ, and other Brazilian plants were grown, was heated by very small hot water pipes, which I imagined were far too small to sustain the temperature of such a house, although the back and roof are opaque, and of course require considerably less artificial heat than if constructed with glass on all sides. The boiler that heats this house is about seven feet long, three deep, and three feet six inches wide, and consequently contains a large body of water, when once heated it gives out a great portion of caloric from its sides and surface, being placed at the back of the house, but in the interior, and concealed by the plants. The pipes branch right and left from the boiler and appeared to be only two inches in diameter, yet, I was informed, they were found quite sufficient for the heating of this conservatory. Undoubtedly the boiler being so very large rendered pipes of greater dimensions unnecessary. The frost is, however, much more intense in Germany than in England; the Lauristinus, Arbutus, Rhododendrons, Portugal and Common Laurel, were cultivated at Nymphenburg as green-house plants; they are too tender to endure the winters there.
In front of this botanical range, or more directly opposite to the palm house, is an arboretum of hardy trees and shrubs, but the site, for that purpose, is badly chosen, and by far too contracted, and should have been selected in the pleasure ground, at some distance from these houses, where there is ample space, and would have formed an interesting feature. As at present the more common kinds of trees and underwood are the only hardy species of decoration in many parts of the ground. Opposite to the east end of the range of plant houses is an oblong piece of ground, laid out in narrow beds by the edge of the walks, which are occupied with a collection of dahlias, and other herbaceous flowering plants.
On our return from this botanical range we visited a small private garden, close by the palace, which has also a very pretty cascade at its extremity, and ornamented by sculpture.