July 11, 1832

On 11 July we undertook a walk to Hoboken on the other side of the North River, to which a steamboat regularly departs from New York every twenty minutes all day long. This ship is maintained by the owner of a garden or park in Hoboken, where people from the city go for amusement. He established the grounds and opened them to the public completely free of charge, merely to have the profit of the ferry transportation on his own steamboat, something that made him a wealthy man. Here the North, or Hudson, River is probably twice as wide as the Rhine and has magnificent green, wooded, partially rocky banks. Steamships and other ships in large number are seen on its beautiful surface. We immediately catch sight of a large steamship with four engines or boilers, and thus with four smokestacks as well, which is said to make the journey from Albany in a very short time. Having arrived on the opposite side, one immediately enters the garden enclosure, where there are several restaurants, and, in the shade of various kinds of trees, one can follow the promenades constructed up along the river. Near the taverns there is a circular path for small carriages on which several persons drive in order to take a quick turn. The promenade is narrow but has pleasant and very shady paths from which one continually has the most beautiful view of the majestic Hudson.

[Page 1:36]Here I found for the first time the beautiful local varieties of trees with luxuriant growth: hickory and several other varieties of wild walnut trees with fruits about half-grown; Liquidambar styraciflua, which is tall and beautiful, has leaves like maple;M8Called sweet gum in many regions. tall Gleditsia triacanthos and inermis; the fox grape, which here and there forms tangled clusters; and various other plants. We took many [specimens] of these nice trees and herbs home with us in order to dry them. Several songbirds twittered in this dark shady area, where various kinds of European trees had also been planted. Here there was a tall hedge of hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha), which, however, was too overgrown. At the end of the garden, there are several additional buildings, in which one can have refreshments, and a tall forest of dark, extremely shady trees below which high grass has grown up. This garden is long but very narrow, yet very pleasant; as a place of amusement adjacent to the city, it is much frequented. In the evening we returned with Mr. Schuchart, who had suggested this outing to us.

Date: 
Wednesday, July 11, 1832
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Roz Parr
Nina Crabtree