Garden curiosities

2273. Rarities and curiosities, lake antiquities, possess a sort of absolute value; but the sentiments to which they give rise are more allied to wonder than veneration. They are occasionally introduced in gardening, such as the jawbones of the whale, basaltic columns, lava blocks, pillars of earthy rock-salt. The tuffa, corals, and madrepores brought from Otaheite by Captain Cook, as ballast, now form part of the rockwork in the Chelsea garden. Chinese rocks, idols, and other Chinese garden-ornaments, are sometimes admitted, not as imitations of rocks or sculptures, but as curiosities.