These grounds, which belong to the Imperial Educational Department, are partially devoted to the cultivation of exotic plants and trees, and are called the Shokubutsu-En, or Botanical Gardens, of Tokio. In consequence of their miscellaneous character, certain portions exhibit the stiff formality of European gardens, but other parts still preserve the purely Japanese style of the original design, as executed a century and a half ago for the Daimio of Sagara,�the original owner of the site. The full page illustration of Plate XVIII. shows a portion of the lake and surrounding hills of the garden, the former covered with water-weed and fringed with rocks and bushes, and the latter clad with coniferous evergreens and rounded bushes. Occasional ornamental rocks, a lantern, and a group of dwarf palms constitute other interesting features of the surrounding areas. Set back amid the shadow of some pine-trees may be seen the vertical rocks marking the head of the lake, which near this point is crossed by a granite bridge. Plate XIX. presents another view of the lake, and the grassy mounds surrounding it which carry quite a number of neat rounded bushes. Below, on the same Plate, may be seen a group of lotuses, and other detail in the form of bushes, a stone lantern, and a leaning pine-tree. The illustrations of this garden are produced from photographs taken by Mr. K. Ogawa, and are remarkable as showing with great clearness the delicate detail of the different kinds of foliage in which Japanese gardens abound.
