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'l‘lll‘.

IN

1-‘Ul'.\' l‘.‘\I‘\

 

THE \l‘l‘l,ll TRAINS!) AS A CORDON.

PARKS, PROMENADES & GARDENS

PARIS

DESCRIBED AND CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE
WANTS OF OUR OWN CITIES

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE GARDENS.

’ \V ROBIVSOV 1‘ I S
)Y . l l , I . J. .
roman-05w“ of mu; “TIMES" yon Tun xmmxcruumn DEPARTMENT or nu. (.umr
runs Luuuluox.

 

ML'aHKUUX CULTURE IN SL'BTBRRANL'AS QI‘ARIHE".

WITH UPWARDS OF FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1869.

   
  

LANDSCAPE ,
L ' ' ARCHITECTURE ' ‘ ’

 

Adm , _
Errand Girt‘ ‘ - ~‘ -

 

         

LANDSCAPE
ARCH.
LIBRARY
0 O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
THE CHAHPS ELYSEES AND THE GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE
TUILERIES..................1
CHAPTER II.
THE BOIS DE BOULCGNE AND THE BOIS DE VINCENNES. . . . . 18
GARDEN or ACCLIMATIZATICN IN THE 3018 DE BOULOGNE . . . . 32
WATERINGTHEPARRS................37
CHAPTER III.
THEPARCMONCEAU ..48
CHAPTER IV.
THE PARC DES EUTTES CHAUMONT. . . . . . . . . . . . 59

CHAPTER V.
THE JARDIN DES PLANTES AND THE GARDENS OF THE LUXEMBOURG 68

CHAPTER VI.

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. . . . . . . . 82
THE SQUARE DES BATIGNCLLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
THE SQUARE DE MONTRCUGE . . . . ' . . . . . . . . 95
THE SQUARE DU TEMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . 96
THE SQUARE DES ARTS ET METIERS . . . . . . . . . . . 98
THE PLACE ROYALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
THE SQUARE DES INNCCENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
THE SQUARE DE LA CHAPELLE EXPIA'IOIRE DE LOUIS XVI. . . . . 100
THE SQUARE DE BELLEVILLE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
THE SQUARE MONTHOLCN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
THE SQUARE LOUVOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
THE SQUARE VINTIHILLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES . . . . . . . . . . . 104

CHAPTER VII.

THEBOULEVARDS.................112
DATHING....................136

v1 ‘ CONTENTS.

CHAPTER. VIII.

THE JARDIN FLEURISTB AND OTHER PUBLIC NURSERIES OF TIIE CITY
0FPARIS...................

PAGE

139

THE PUBLIC NURSERIES FOB. TREES, SIIRUES, AND IIARDY FLOWERS . 155

CHAPTER IX.

TREES FOR CITY PARKS, AVENUES, GARDENS, STREETS, ETC. . . . 159
A SELECTION OF TIIE BEST TREES AND SIIRL'BS FOR CITIES . . . 163
CHAPTER X.

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS POR TIIE PLOWER GARDEN . . . . . . . 182

A SELECT LIST CE 100 CE THE SL’BTROPICAL PLANTS BEST SUITED
TOR USE IN OUR CLIMATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
LIST OF TIIE BEST TWENTY-FOUR SURTROPICAL PLANTS . . . . . 208
SL'ETROPICAL PLANTS THAT MAY DE RAISED FROM SEED. . . . . 209
CHAPTER XI.
HARDY PLANTS POR TIIE SUBTROPICAL GARDEN . . . . I . . 210
LIST OF IIARDY IIERBACEOUS AND ANNUAL PLANTS, ETC, OP PINE
HABIT, WORTRY OE EMPLOYMENT IN TIIE FLOWER GARDEN OR
PLEASURE GROUND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
LIST OF HARDY PLANTS OF FINE EARIT, THAT MAY RE RAISED PROM
SEED....................23S
CHAPTER XII.
VERSAILLES...................239
PONTAINEBLEAU, AND TIIE GLADIOLL‘S GROUNDS OP M. SOL'CRET . . 251
THE GARDENS OP ST. CLOUD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
MEUDON....................‘260
CHAPTER XIII.
THE PLANT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS . . . . . . . . . . 262
REFORM IN TIIE CONSERVATORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
PALMS.....................296
TIIE IVY AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS . . . . . . . . 305
CHAPTER XIV.
PRUIT CULTURE: IIOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? . . . . . . . . 312
CHAPTER XV.
TIIE CORDON SYSTEM OF PRUIT GROWING . . . . . . . . . 33A
TIIE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS . . . . . . . . . 355
THE PEAR AS A CORDON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
TIIE PEACII AS A GORDON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .366
TIIE SIIORT PINCIIING SYSTEM APPLIED TO TIIE I‘F..\(II . . . . . 369

CONTENTS. V11

CHAPTER XVI.

PAGE
TRAINING....................373
THE PALMETTE VERRIER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE . . . . . . . . . 378

CHAPTER XVII.

FIG CULTURE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 0F PARIS . . . . . . . 395

PRESERVING GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER WITHOUT LETTING THEM
HANG ON THE VINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

THE CULTURE OP THE VINE AT TIIOMERY . . . . . . . . . 412

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE IMPERIAL PRUIT AND FORCING GARDENS AT VERSAILLES . . . 424:
THE NEW FRUIT GARDEN OF THE CITY OF PARIS IN THE EOIS DE
YINCENNES..................4:33

CHAPTER XIX.
THE PEACH GARDENS 0P MONTREUIL . . . . . . . . . . . 440

CHAPTER XX.

THE MARKET GARDENS 01‘ PARIS . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
CHAPTER XXI.

MUSHROOM CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

,, ,, IN CELLARS AND IN THE OPEN AIR . . . . 484
CHAPTER XXII.

THE CULTURE 0F SALADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

CHAPTER XXIII.
AsPARAGUS CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
PREPARATION OF THE GROUND . . . , 500

CHAPTER XXIV.
OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE VEGETABLES OP THE PARIS MARKET . 51-”

CULTURE OF THE SMALL CARROT . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
THE CARDOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
PORCING THE CAULIPLOWER . . . . . . . . . . 524:
THE SWEET POTATO . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
EARLY POTATOES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
OLEANDER CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
CULTURE OP THE ORANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
SHOWING ROSES IN FRANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
PORCING THE WHITE LILAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

vui CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXV.

FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS . . . . . . .

o

LIST OF PLACES IN WIIICII TIIE MORE INSTRUCTIVE FEATURES OF

PRACTICAL IIOR'I‘ICULTURE MAY BE SEEN . . . .
THE CLIMATES OF PARIS AND LONDON COMPARED .

CHAPTER XXVI.

IIORTICULTURAL MACHINES, IMI’LEMENTS, APPLIANCES, ETC. .
TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES . . . . .

CARRIAGE FOR 'I‘RANSI’ORTING ORANGE TREES . .
TRUCK FOR TUBS OR VERY LARGE POTS . . . . . . .
TUBS FOR ORANGE TREES, ETC. . .

GARDEN CIIAIRS AND SEATS . .

GRAFTING MASTIC . . .
IMPROVED FRUIT SIIELV’I‘ZS .

DRYING FRUIT ROOMS . . .

THE PANIER . . . . . . . .

PLOUGH-HOE . . . . . . . . . . .
THE BINETTE . . . . . . . . . .
FRAMES FOR FORCING . . . .

MATS FOR COVERING I’ITS AND FRAMES .
THE NUMEROTEUR . . . . . .

THE SECATEUR . . . . . . . . . . .

THE RAIDISSEUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MATERIAL FOR TYING PLANTS . . . . . .
PROTECTION FOR WALL AND ESPALII‘ZR TREES . . .
SIIADING FOR CONSERVATORIES . . .

o o o - o . . -

ATTACIIING WIRE TO GARDEN-WALLS, TREI.I.ISING, ETC. .

EDGINGS FOR PARKS, I’L'RLIC GARDENS, SQUARES, DRIVES, ETC.

TIIE CLOCIIE

a o . a

CHAPTER XXVII.
NOTES OF A IIORTICUI.TURI\L TOUR THROUGH nuns OF FRANCE
LYONS . . . . . . . . .
L'ECOLE REGIONAL}: DE LA SAULSAIIC
DIJON . . . . . . . . .
ANGERS . . . . . . . . .

-

NANTES . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ROUEN . . .

moms . . . . _
BOUNG-LA-NEINE . . . . . ,
SCEAUX . . . . . . .

CHATILLON, FONTENAY AUX ROSES .
SUISNES . . . . . . . .
BRL‘NOY . . . . . . . .

,

PAGE

539

551
551
561
562
563
563
565
566
566

. 567

568

. 568
. 568

569

. 572

574:

. 576

579
582

. 586

587

. 593
. 596

. 600

600

. 604
. 609
. 610

613

. 614

619

. 623
. 628
. 6:28
. 628

633

:5
n

”I"

c: O! Ifi C0

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

EVENING CONCERT in the
Champs El) sees

Circus 1n the gardens of the
Champs Elysées

Avenues radiating from the
Place de l Etoile . .

. L’Arc de Triomphe du Car-

rousel

. Plan of small gardens 1n the

Place Napoleon 111.. .

. Statue of W inter in the

'1uileries gardens . .
The Rhone and the Saone 1n
the Tuileries gardens .

. Group in the 'l‘uileries gar-

dens .
One of the small lakes in
the Bois de Boulogne .

. Grand Cascade in the Bois

de Boulogne .

. \V inter scene on the lake 1n

the Bois de Boulogne.

.. Cisterns for receiving heavy

rains from the drives of the
Bois de Boulogne .

. Ostriches 1n the Jardin d'-Ac-

climatation

. Streamlet 1n the J ardm (1 Ac-

climatation . .

. Conservatory 1n the Jardin

d’Acclimatation

. Restaurant in the Bois de

V incennes

. Section of perforated self-

acting hose on wheels. .

. Hose on wheels with double

row of perforations .

. Hose on wheels for watering

roads, e c.

. Details of the preceding

figure .

.. . Hose allowed to play on the

grass, etc. . .

' . Plants isolated on the grass

PAGE

‘3

 

no. men
23. Plants isolated on the grass 53
24. ,, 54
25. Plan of garden . . 64
26. Conservatories and Mu-
seums in the Jardin des
Plantes . . 68
27. Aquatic birds in the Jai‘din
des Plantes . 69
28. Animals in the Jardin des
Plantes . . 69
29. Cedar planted by J useleu in
the J ardln des Plantes 70
30. Plan of the Jardin des
Plantes . 71
31. The Amphitheatre in the
J ardin des Plantes. . . 76
32. Plan of the Luxembourg
garden as recently altered 78
33. Portion of the plan of a
Pa1isian square. . . 82
34. Portion of the plan of a
Parisian square. . 91
35. 'lhe Square des Batignolles 93
36. The Square du Temple . 97
37. Children at play in the
Square des Arts et Métiers 98
3 . The Place Royale . 99
39. Square and Fountain Lou-
vois . .101
40. View 1n the garden of the
Palais des Thermes . 102
41. The Square and Church of
St. Clothil. e. . . 105
42. The Cemetery Montmartre . 109
43. The Catacombs . . . . 110
44. Paris seven hundred years
ago. . . 118
45. View on the old exterior
Boulevards . . . . 119
46. Avenue Victoria, near the
Hotel de Ville . . . . 121
47. End view of the Boulevard
Richard Lenoir . . . 122
48. Place du TrOne . . 1'23

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

X
no. man
49. Avenue de Breteuil: the
artesian well of Grenelle,
and the Invalides . . . 125
50. Interior of a. floating bath
on the Seine. . . . 136
51. Glass- covered co1ridor be-
tween the plant-houses in
the Jardin Fleuriste . 143
52. Plan of glass-houses in the
Jardin Fleuriste . . .1 144
53. Propagating house in the
Jardin Fleuriste . . . 145
54. Propagating pot used in the
Jardin Fleuriste . . . 146
55. Small cutting-pots under
bell- -glass in the J ardin
Fleuriste. . 146
56. Shelves for storing bedding
plants in the Jardin
Fleuriste . . 147
57. End view of bedding- plant
houses 1n the J ardm Fleu-
riste . 149
58. Plan of the bedding- plant
houses in the J ardm F-leu
riste . . 150
59. Caves under the Jardin
Fleuriste . . . .152
60. Sophora japouica. var. pen-
dula . . . . . 163
61. Variegated Agave . . 186
62. Aralia papylifera . 187
63. Aspltniuin iiidus-avis 189
64. Caladium esculentum 190
65. Colocasia odorata 191
66. Carma. nigricans . . 192
67. Canna atro-nigricans 193
68. Ficus elastica . 1915
69. Monsters. deliciosa 197
70. Nicotiana wigamlioides . 199
71. Polymnia. grandis 200
72. Solanum \Varscewiczii . 203
73. Solanum robustum . 204
74. Uhdea bipinnatifidu . 21.15
75. Wigandia macrophylla . 207
76. Acanthus latifolius . 211
77. Aralia. Sieboldi 213
78. Bambusa aurea . 216
79. Centaurea. habylonica 218
80. Chamzerops excelsa. . 219
81. Ferula communis . 222
82. Gyne11u1n argenteum 224
83. Heracleum flavescens "26
84. Melianthus major . "07
85. Nicotmna macrophylla . 228
86. Rheum Emodi . 231)
87. Anemone japonica alba . . 2:53
88. Yucca pendula . 235
89. Yucca. filamentosavariegata 236

 

no. men
90. Statice latifolia. . . . 236
91. The Tnpis Vert. Versailles. 246

92. One of the statues on the
upper terrace . . . . 248

93. Temple de I’Amour in the

gardens of the l’etit Tria-
non . .249

94. View in the garden of the
Petit Trianon . . 250

95. Canal in the gardens of
Fontainebleau . . . . 251

96, View in the Forest of Fon-
tainebleau . . . . . 252
97. The (,‘nurteliéle . . . . 254
98. The Ver blanc . . . 255

99. A Fiench ideal of tree-
beauty . . . . . . 259
100. Meudon . . . . . . 260
101. Maranta fasciata . . . . 263
102. Dracaena terminalis . . . 264

103. (1‘1yn1nostachyum Verschaf-
i'elti . . . . 265

104. Diefl'enbachiaseguinamacu-
lata . . . . . 266
105. Alncasia metallica. . . . 267
106. chhmea. fulgens. . . . 268
107 Caladium argyrites . . . 269
108. Cnladium mirubile . . . 270
109. Pteris cretica 11lho-lineata . 271
110. Begonia. daednlia. . . . . 272
111. Marantn rosea~p1cta . . . 273
112. Diefi'enhachia Baraquiniana 274
113. Gesnern cinnabarina. . . 275
114. Smxifrn ;_11. Fortuneivariegata. 276
115. Maranta. vittata . . . . 277
116 "11111ndsia. splendens . . . 278
117. Muranla zebrina. . . .279

118. Pandanus javanieus varie-
gatus . . . . . . 279
119. Cordyline indivisa. . . .281
120. Tree Fern for conse1vato1y 282

. I’olypodium inorbillosum . 283
.. Bleehnum hrasiliense . . 284
-‘. 'l‘heophrasta macrophylla. . 285
. Cycns circinalis . . . . 287
. A sophila . . . . . . 289
._'.Goniopl1lehiu1n . . . 290

"1'l1st111lina1111 elephantipes . 291

. Maranta 1nie11ns . . . . 292
.. L‘111l1diu111 . . . . 293
. An'massa satn'1 \a11egat1. . 295
. (.hnn'udorea l'1t1l11l1a . . 297
.. 3011101111111 elegans . . . 299
'. (‘111'10t11 sobolifera . . . 302
. Railings Covered with Ivy . 306
’. lvy edgings in geometrical

garden . . . 307

. 81111011 of circular bower of

l1ishI1y . . . . . .308

149.
150.
151.

152.
153.

154.

155.
156.
157.
158.

160.
161.
162.

164.

165.
166.

. The Bilateral Cordon
“. Reinette du Canada trained

7. Edging of simple Cordons .
. Grafting by approach to

. Pear tree trained

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

no:
.Variegated Ivy in suspen-
sion basket . . . 309
Ivy screen for the drawing-
room . 3.10
Young line .of self-support-
ing Pear Trees. . .333

. The Apple trained as a

Simple Horizontal Cordon 334
.Tree with horizontal branches 335
.The Simple Honzontal Cor-

don .

336
.33 7

. . .338
.339

. The Cordon on wall of plant-

house

. Young Cordon of the Lady

Appel ..

. 340
341

as a Cordon

unite the points of horizon-
tal Cordons .

Another mode of grafting to
unite the Cordons . . . 343

The horizontal Cordon train-
ed as an edging. . .344

Border in front of fruit wall
with two lines of horizontal
Cordons .

Peach wall and border with
five lines of Cordons . 353

Double espalier of Pears
with three lines of Cordon
Apples on each side . 353

Simple wooden support for
Cordon . . . .

Iron support for Cordon
with ratchet wheel at top.

Iron support for Cordon
let into stone. . . 354

Pear Tree trained as a ver-
tical Cordon . .

The Pear as a simple oblique
Cordon, lst year . .

Oblique Cordon Pear, 2nd

year . .

Oblique Cordon Pear, 3rd
year. .

Oblique Cordon Pear, 4th

ear. . .

The Pear as an oblique

Cordon.

.342

.353

354
354

.360
360
.361
362

363
in U
form . . 364
The spiral Cordon against
walls . . .365
The spiral Cordon . 366
Yeah tree trained as an ob-
lique Cordon, lst year . . 367

 

X1

no. nor.
167. Peach tree trained as an ob-
lique Cordon, 2nd year . 367
168. Peach tree with three
branches, a. different va-
riety grafted on each . . 369
169. Peach shoot of the current
year bearing a number of
secondary shoots . . . 370
170. Portion of shoot of Peach
tree . . 371
171. Result of pinching the sti-
pulary leaves. .
172. The Palmetto Ve1rier, 2nd
pruning . . .375
173. The Palmetto Verrier, 3rd
pruning . .375
174. The Palmetto Verrier, 4th
pruning . 375
175. The Palmetto Verrier, 5th
pruning . .376
176. Palmetto Verrier with
weakly outer branch com-
pleted by grafting . . 377
177. Pyramidal Pear tree. 79
178. Pyramidal Pea1 tree, first
pruning . .380
179. Top of young Pear tree. . 380
180. Pyramidal Pear tree, second
pruning . . 381
181. Leading shoot of Pear tree. 381
182. Old leading shoot barked
and used as a stake . . 382
183. Pruning to obtain properly
placed leading shoot . . 382
184. Incisions made to regulate
shoots . 382
185. Pyramidal Pear tree, third
pruning . .383
186. Grafting by approach, to
cover bare spaces on pyra-
midal trees . 384
187. Graftmg by approach as ap-
plied to wall and Espalier
trees . .384
188. Pyramidal Pear tree, fourth
pruning . .385
189. Pyramidal Pear tree, fifth
pruning . . 386
190. Figure theoretically indi-
cating the mode 01 foun-
ing a pyramidal l’ear tree 387
191. Young pyramidal Pear tree 387
192. Pyramidal Pear tree with
bent branches . 388
193. Pyramidal Pear tree, re-
grafted. . 389
194. Vi all Pear tree regrafted . 390
195. Pear t1ee trained in the

columnar form .

. 391

X11

"9.

196. Pendulous etraining of wall
Peartr . -
197. Grafting 6of fruit buds and
shoots . . 393
198. Grafting of fruit buds and
shoots. . .393
199. Grafting of fruit buds and
shoots . . 393
200. Grafting of frtiit buds and
. shoots . . .393
201. Grafting of f1uit buds and
shoots . . 393
202. Proper modeof cutting shoot 394
203. Shoot cut too long . 394
204. Shoot out too low . 394
205. Pear shoot properly pinched 394
206. Pear shoot pinched too short 394
207. Result of over- pinching. . 394
208. Another result of over-
pinching . .394
209. Pinching of the bourgeon
anticipé . .394
210. Stipulary buds forced to
start . . . .394
211. Branch of Fig tree . 396
212. Fig tree growing on level
ground. .397
213. Section showing Fig tree
growing 011 le1"D el ground. 398
214. Mode of burying Fig trees
cultivated on level ground 399
215. Fig t1ee planted on sloping
ground. 4.00
216. Section showing Fig tree
planted on inclined ground 401
214. Fig tree planted on sloping
ground, buried for the
winter months . . . 401
218. Stem of Fig the sixth year
after plantingr . 402
219. Fig branch “ith young fruit 402
220. Branch of 111.; tree alter the
gatherinoot the crop . _ 403 ‘
221. Branch of F 11; tree alter the
gathering of the crop . . 404
222. Thome1y mode of thing
bottles tot preserving
Grapes through 11inter . 407
223. Ferritres mode of fixing
bottles for pieserving
Grapes throuwh “inter . 407
224. Portion of upii; ht used in
Grape-room at Ferrieres . 407
225. Interior of Grape- loom. . 409
2 .26. W allolChasselasat Thomery 413
27. Rose-Charmeux 3 system of
vertical training. 414
228. Vines t1 ained serticallywith
alternated spurs. . . 414

 

no.
229.
230.

231.
232.
233.
234.

. Small pit used for forcing

LIST 01’ ILLUSTRATIONS.

Low double Espalier
Sections of top of wall at

Thomery . .415
Sulphur distributor em-
ployed at Thomery. . 416

Pruning to obtain the two

arms of the Cordon . . 416
Low Espalier of Vines
trained vertically . 417

Layer of Vine raised and
planted in basket . . . 417

Moveable scaffold used for
thinning the Grapes . 418

. Shade to protect Grape-

thinners from strong sun . 419

. Frame for carrying baskets

of Grapes to store~rooms . 419

. Mode of Grafting the Vine

at 'l‘homery . 420
.Mode of Grafting the Vine

by approach at Thomery.

. Gouge used in grafting the

Vine . 420

the Vine . 421

. Small span- -roofed house for

forcing the Vine . 422

. o

. Trellis for Pear trees . . 427
.Double trellis for Pear
trees . . 429

. Section of protection used

for Espalier trees at Ver-
sailles. . . .

431

. Side view of protection to

double line of Espaliers . 431

247. Border of superimposed

Cordons at Versailles . . 432
248. Section of preceding. . 433
249. Plan of fruit garden . . 434
250. Galvanized ilon bracket

for supp 1rt1ng temporary

coping . . .436
251. Fruit tree in the vase

form . . 437
252. Pear trained In 11. 1se lorm . 438
253. Early spring aspect of Peach

wall in the garden of M.

1‘ 11e\all1er 441
254. Le 111‘ of Peach tree attacked

by the Cloque 442
255. Peach shoot attacked by

the Cloque .442
256. Small wooden copin ' to pro-

tect \oung Peach trees in

spring. 443
257. Second prunmg of 1ruiting

Peach branch 444
258. Mode of shading the stems

of fruit trees. . 445

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

2103
. Fruiting branch of Peach

submitted to the third
years pruning . .446
. Pruning to replace old fruit-
spur . . . 447
. Result of preceding opera
tion . . 447
.The Napoleon Peach tree . 448
.Peach trees trained to 101111
their owner’s name . 449
. Spring aspect of fruit garden
formed by M. Lepére . . 451
. Mode of pruning to cover
bare spaces on the branches
of Peach trees, 1st vear . 452
. Result of pieceding opera-
tion, 2nd year .452
. Summer man agement of the
Peach. . . 453 .
. ShootofPeach . 453 ‘
. Peach tree trained horizon-
tally . . 454
. Disbudding of the Peach,
second yeal . . .455
. Disbudding of the Peach,
second year . 455

. Graftin" by approach to
furnish bare sp mes on
branches of the Peach tree 456
. Multiple grafting by ap—
proach to furnish bare
spaces on the stems of

Peach trees . . 4.57
. Details of Figs. 272 and 1

273 . . . 458
. Nail basket 458
. Peach trained 1n the double

U form 459
. Peach trained 1n the double

Uform . . 460
. Pump used in the market

gardens of Paris 463
. \Vater pot used by the

market gardeners of Paris 464

. Mouth of Mushroom Cave
at \Iontrouge . . .
. 1 1e1v in Mushroom Cave .

-. Entrance to subterranean

quarry

. Plan of large subterranean
quarry . 479
. Section following the line

C D 1n preceding figure . 480
. Extracting the stone in sub-
terranean quarries . . 482
. View in old subterranean
quarries devoted to Blush-
room culture . . . 483
. Newlymade Mushroombeds 484

 

P10.

288.
289.
290.
291.

292

293.

. Figure

. Tree- lifting machine.

Mushroom
against wall of cellar .

Pyramidal Mushroom bed
on floor of cellar .

Mushrooms grown in bottom
of old cask . .

Fou1 plants of the Lettuce
Petite Noire under the
Cloche.

Sloping bed for three rows
of Cloches

Di1gram showing the dif-
fe1ent stages of Lettuce
culture under the Cloche .

showing annual

earthings given to Aspa-

1agus . . .

. Figure showing mode of

planting Asparagus

. Common mode of forming

an Asparagus plantation.
Preparation for forcing As-
paragus .

. Blade of tying-11p the Car-

doon for blanching. .

. Early Potatoes arraonged for

“ sprouting" indoors .

. The flower market at the

Madeleine .

side
elevation. .

.Plan of tree- lifting machine

.-Tree lifting machine: back

view .

. Tree-liftingmachine: front

view .

. Trunk of large tree recently

planted enveloped 1n moss
and canvas .

. Small maclnne forl1l‘t1ng spe-

cimen. shrubs and Conifeis

. Screw used in preparing

specimens for removal as
shown in preceding figme

. Bar of carriage for trans-

porting Oiange trees .

. Carriage for transporting

Orange trees . .
.Truck for moving plants
.Tub for Orange trees
.Garden chair . .

Seat with box for climbing

plants . .
.Seat with tent- like shade .
.Portion of Pear stand at

Ferrie1es . . .
.Upriuht for Pear stands
.Position of fruit on Pear

stand >. . . .

X111

mos
bed on shelf

. 485

485
486

490
491

498

503

xiv

116.

318.

319.
320.
321.
322.

323.
324.

325.
326.
327.
328.
329.
330.
331.
332.
333.

334.

335.
336.
337.
338.
339.

340.
341.
342.
343.
344.

345.
346.

347.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

2103
Arrangement for using chlo-
ride of calcium . . . . 567
Panier . . . . . . . 567
The plough hoe . . . . 568
The Binette . . . . 568
Narrow frames used by the
market gardeners of Paris 569
Frame for making straw
mats .570
Frame covered with neat
straw mat . . . . . 571
The Numéroteur. . . . 573
The Sécateur Vauthier . . 575
The Sécateur Lecointe . 576
The common Sécateur . 576
The Baidisseur . . 577
Key of Raidisseur . . . 577
Collignon’s Raidisseur . 577
Side view of preceding . 578
Raidisseur used in the gar-
den of the Exhibition . 578
The simplest and best form
of Raidisseur . 579
Sparganium ramosum . 581
iMode of protecting walls 582
583
Double Espalier . . 584
\Vall plotected with wide
temporary coping and can‘
vas curtains . .585
Mode of fixing iron support 586
Lath shade for Conservatory 586
,9 ’1'587
,_, . 588
Mode of arranging wires on
walls . . .588
\V all \\ ith galvanized wires. 5S9
Galvanized wire on walls for
training Cordous . 590
\Vall wired for Cordon
training . . . . . . 591

 

rm.
348.
349.
350.
351.

352.
353.
354.
355.

356.
357.
358.

359.

360.
361.

362.
363.
364.
365.
366.
367.

368.
369.

370.

374.
375.
376.

PLO!

Trellis {or young trees in
nurseries . 592
Edgings for parks and public

gardens . .594
Edgings for parks and public
gardens . .95 5

Edgings for parks and public

gardens . . . . . . 595
The Cloche . . . . . 596
,, . . . . 597

. 597

ThenCloche iii the .propa-

gating house . . . . . 598
\Vinged Pear tree . . . 617
Plan of preceding figure . 618

Name formed by Pear trees 621
Pear induced to emit its
own roots . . .

Result of preceding operation

.622
622

Plan of fruit garden. 626
Pear tree shown at the
Exhibition . 627
“’11”: arched over {.1111
fruit trees .628
Simple mode of supporting
Espalier tree. . .629
Details of the preceding. 629
. . 629
View in fruit garden . . 630
Plan of Espalier . 630
Monogram formed by fruit
trees . . .631
Self- supporting Espaliers . 632
,, ,, . 633
,. ,, . 633
Fear tree from Espalier
trained to form the name
Nallet . 634
Pear tree in crinoline form 635

., 636
Plan ofpreceding . . . 636

FIG.
1. The Place de la Concorde . .
2. The Avenue des Champs Elysées .
3. Scene 111 the Champs Elysées
4. The Champs Elysées near the Palais de l’IndIistrie.
5. ThePlaceduCarrousel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. The Gardens of the Tuileries . . . . . . . . . .
7. Island and Restaurant 1n the Bois de Boulogne .
8. Cascades 1n the Bois de Boulogne. . . . .
9. Lake and islands in the Bois de Boulogne .
10. Stream and rocks near Longchamps .
11. View in the Bois de Vincennes . . . . . . .
12. Mode of watering the grass in the parks . . . . .
13. ,, roads, drives, &c.
14. The Parc Monceau . . . . .
15. Fine-leaved plants in the Pare Monceau .
16. Lake and cliffs 1n the Parc des Buttes Chaumont
17. Bird' s~ eye View in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont . .
18. The Gardens and Palace of the Luxembourg.
19. \Voodwardias 1n the Conservatories of the Luxembourg Garden
20. View of the Square and Tour St. Jacques . . . . . .
21. The Square and Tour St. Jacques. . . . .
22. ,, ,, Fountain des Innocents .
23. V" 1ew of the Palais des Thermes from the garden. .
24. Church of the Trinity, with garden and fountain 1n front .
25. The Gardens ofthe Palais Royal . . . . . . . .
26. The Cemetery of Piere La Chaise . . . . . . . . . . .
-7. The Place du Chatelet . . . . . .
28. V iew on the Boulevards near the Chateau d’Eau
29. The Boulevard du Temple .
30. ,, ,, Montmartre . . . . . . . . .
31. ,, St. Michel. . . . . . . . . .
32. The Louvre, Institut, and Quais . . . . . . . . . . . .
33. Bambusa falcata . . . . . . . . . . . .
34. The Palace and Gardens of Versailles
35. View from the Tapis Vert . . . .
36. Fountains of the basin of Neptune . . . . . . . . . . .
37. La Toilette d'Apollon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LIST OF PLATES.

PAGE

10
14
26
22
18
24
35
4O
44
50
56

62
76
81
82

86

. 103
. 106

. 108
. 116
. 114
. 120

124

. 126
. 137

215
239

. 240

242

. 244

xviii INTRODUCTION. .

which the active brain and heart of the country are con-
tinually being concentrated. That London is no longer
a. city, but a nation gathered together in one spot, is a
truism: our other great cities are almost keeping pace
with it in growth; but in none of them can we see a
trace of any attempt to open up their closely peopled
quarters in a way that is calculated to produce a really
beneficial effect on the lives and health of their workers.
Parks we have, it is true ; yet they but partially supply the
necessities of large cities. They would serve all our wants
if the population breathed only as often as they put on
holiday attire or have time to walk, it may be several miles,
to a park; but, as we are constituted, room for locomotion,
room for the ever-cleansing breeze to search out impurities,
room for a few trees to steal away the dark and unlovely
aspect of our streets—in a word, room for breathing—is a
more pressing necessity than parks. The French have their
parks and public gardens, and very extensive and well-
managcd ones, though, like some of our own, embellished
in a wasteful and unnecessary manner with costly and tender
plants; but their noble tree-planted roads, small public
squares and places, are doing more for them than parks
and pelargoniuins——saving them from pestilcntial over-
crowding, and making their city something besides a place
for all to live out of who can afford it.

A great many of us Britons are apt to connect real city
improvement with autocratic government. One has only
to speak of our bacluvardness, when he is instantly re-
minded that it is all in consequence of not being blessed
With a Napoleon, and that there is for us no chance of
amelioration except we can secure a ruler who, after puri-
fying and putting our cities into decent nineteenth century
order, will good-humourcdly take a month’s notice to
quit. If the logic of such r ‘asoners were at all in pro-
portion to their abundance, we should move onward but
little more progressively than the man-like apes. There is
no natural human want or wrong that cannot be remedied
by human wisdom and energy; and the most crying evil of
this period of change, when the mass of workers are steadily

INTRODUCTION. xix

deserting the country for the city, is that our towns are
still built upon a plan worthy of the dark ages, and
barely justifiable where the breath of the meadow sweeps
through the high street. Another notion is that the expense
of such improvements must always prevent them from being
carried out. “ No labour,” says Emerson—“ no labour,
pains, temperance, poverty, not exercise, that can gain
health must be grudged ; for sickness is a cannibal which
eats up all the life and youth it can lay hold of, and absorbs
its own sons and daughters.” And shall we spare even less
in the attempt to provide for the bodily health and happi-
ness of three millions of men closely packed in a city grow-
ing faster than the giant bamboo?

The real want is a want of plan ; and that it is to be hoped
Parliament will soon give us power to obtain. At present this
want is glaringly apparent not only in the central and more
crowded parts, but all round London, where admirable pre-
parations may be seen for the formation of a mighty cordon
of suburban St. Gileses twenty years hence. Next comes
the question of expense, and from that neither autocrats
nor parliaments can so readily relieve us. Is it too much
to hope that a portion of our vast expenditure for arsenals,
armies, fleets, and fortifications may some day be diverted
to making such alterations in our cities as will render
possible in them the rearing of worthy representatives of
the English race? Let us hope not; but supposing that
we should never see even the dawn of so desirable an era,
and that money should still be profusely spent in every way
but that of rendering our cities worthy of our time, our
knowledge, our civilization, and our race, there yet remains
a course by which we may effect some good without in-
creasing the expenditure we bestow on parks and public
gardens generally, and that is by a complete alteration in the
direction of the outlay.

Our public gardening differs chiefly from that of Paris
and other continental cities by keeping itself away from
the very parts where its presence is most wanted. We
have parks almost prairiedike in their roominess, yet
locomotion is scarcely possible in those parts of the city

c2

XX INTRODUCTION.

where the chief commerce of this great empire is carried on,
and square miles of densely packed regions are no more
benefited by them than if they never existed. I believe
that, by the diversion of all needless expenditure from the
parks, and by converting this and all the future money that
can be spared, to the improvement of the densely crowded
parts, we may effect an admirable change for the better.
The parks are now managed on a scale which is quite un-
justifiable, if we take into c0nsideration the many miserable
quarters of London which are utterly neglected. It must
be understood, however, that no imputation is here made
against their practical management; but the system of
richly embellishing them whilst paying no attention to im-
provements better calculated to humanize our existence in
towns, is unwise in every way.

Everybody conversant with the London parks must have
noticed the great display of tender flowers and costly garden-
ing which has been presented in them for some years back.
This decoration is of such a nature that it has to be renewed
every year; andincvery ease a set of glass-houses,with all their
consequent expense for fuel and labour, must be maintained
for each park. On this principle a spot of ground not larger
than a table may annually cost several pounds for its embel-
lishment. There is nothing about the system more notice-
able and objectionable than its growth. Each park is ap-
proaehing more and more the character of a costly garden,
while for the want of a few hardy trees, a patch of green
sward, and a spread of gravel to act as a playground for
children instead of the gutter, many close districts of London
are so foul and eheerless as to he a bycword all over the
world. It is perfectly natural that the superintendents of
our parks should each wish to make the one under his charge
as attractive as the others, from a mere gardening point of
View ; and it is even more natural that the authorities should
accept the opinions of those officials as the m0st trustworthy
on such matters; but it should he the duty of both to consult
the public interest above all things, and that interest points
to a complete alteration. it is always unpleasant to reduce
an establishment, and doubtless it would be hard for the gar-

INTRODUCTION. xxi

deners to part with their hundreds of thousands of tender
flowers or to endure a check in their career of converting
our parks into sumptuous gardens ; but if they saw that this
reduction of expenditure would lead to a more wholesome
outlay elsewhere, they would willingly help out its adoption.

No objection could be urged against the costly system
alluded to were it not for its expense, which, as anybody
may see, is growing under our eyes every day. It is a
very good and worthy thing to display much of the beauty
of exotic vegetation in our parks and public gardens, pro-
vided we can afford it without doing injustice to those who
cannot snatch as much time from toil as suffices for an
airing in the parks. Span a piece of ornamental park water
with a crystal palace, if you will; convert it into a home
for the Great Amazonian \Vater Lily, and fringe it with
Palms and the richest tropical vegetation ; but first be assured
that you are able to afford it, and ask yourself whether the
amount required would not do twenty times the good if
expended in green grass, and trees, and flowers that endure
the open air of Britain. Make, if you will, another ridi-
culous parterre of stone and water squirts like that at the
head of the Serpentine; but first consider whether it would
not be wiser to establish a little verdure and freshness in some
of the more tumid parts of what Cobbett used to call the
“great wen.” The new avenue gardens in the Regent’s
Park, with their griffins and artificial stonework, have cer-
tainly cost as much as would have created an oasis in some
pestilential part of the East-end. Even the annual expense
of keeping up one of these park gardens is equivalent to
what would suffice to form and plant a little square like
those so freely dotted about Paris during the past dozen
years ; while the mere conversion of a strip of breezy park
into an elaborate garden effects no good whatever from a
sanitary point of view.

Let us illustrate the matter in a less general way. Last
year a number of Bay—trees in tubs were placed in Trafalgar
Square ; and it need hardly be added that these require fre-
quent attention both in summer and winter—a storehouse
during the latter season—while the wooden tubs in which

xxii INTRODUCTION.

they are placed insure by rotting a perpetual, if trifling,
expense. These proved that any kind of tree may be
placed in the streets of London as safely as in any other
city; but they also showed the very short-sighted, dis-
heartening nature of the whole scheme of our public gar-
dening. Not one single thing could these costly green
toys do for our streets or Open spaces that could not be
effected infinitely better by hardy trees, requiring no atten-
tion after planting; and when one thinks of the vast areas
of this world of London, that are almost impenetrable, mise-
rable is the only term that can be applied to such remedies
as this! It is simply doctoring a wart while a horrid
abscess is sapping away the life of the patient. And ascend-
ing from contemptible things of this tree-in-tub sort, the
same reasoning holds good with much of our higher public
gardening.

Who would not forego the trifling gratification of seeing
large portions of our parks so elaborately decorated as to
require almost as much attention as a drawing-room, if
the small sacrifice were accompanied by the knowledge
that tenfold greater good was being carried out where the
want of it was the blackest spot on our social condition?
Are not the materials of nature in our own latitudes
good enough for us? See what is done by a few materials
in her own gardens; reflect what privileges we have in
being able to cull her varied riches from the plains and
mountains all over the temperate and cold and alpine
regions of both hemispheres; and then consider whether
it is wise to spend the public money for glass-houses and the
annual propagation and preservation of multitudes of costly
exotics. A better and a nobler system than that which is
at present the rule in our parks I have endeavoured to point
out at pages 22 to 29.

The purposes to which the greater portion of our future
expenditure in city gardening ought chiefly to be devoted are
the making of wide tree-bordered roads and small simple
squares, open to the public at all reasonable hours. The
squares should not be embellished in a eostly way; but if
the persons to whose eare their design may be entrusted

INTRODUCTION. xxiii

could not make them beautiful and grateful to the eye of
taste by the use of hardy materials which require no costly
annual attention after planting, they should be considered
unworthy of their posts. Where space could not be afforded
for a little expanse of the ever-welcome turf, even a spot of
gravelled earth with trees overhead, and a few seats around,
would be a real improvement. The Parisian system of
managing squares, described in Chapter VI., is infinitely
superior to ours, and must sooner or later be adopted with us.
Of course its adoption need not necessarily interfere with
the private squares, but it should be tried on a small scale at
the earliest opportunity.

In connexion with small squares, we may consider the
city graveyards; and nothing can be more ill-considered
than the mntilations that have in several cases been con-
sidered necessary before making gardens of them. Every
churchyard can be embellished, without uprooting bones,
removing headstones, or anything of the kind.

In the creation of tree-planted streets in the more
crowded parts both of London proper and the suburbs,
they should not as a rule be formed on the site of old
and much frequented streets, but, so far as possible, pierced
between them,leaving the largest and most populous thorough-
fares of the present day to become the secondary ones of the
future. As is pointed out in the chapter on trees suitable
for cities, properly selected kinds grow perfectly well in all
parts of London. Indeed I know of no city where I could
find finer examples of old trees, chiefly in ancient private
gardens and half-hidden squares, where they never received
any attention after planting. The excellent system of plant-
ing trees on every available spot practised to such a great
extent in Paris, should be commenced and carried out as far
as possible in our cities. It must be long before we can
attempt anything like the magnificent boulevards of our neigh-
bours, but let us insert the thin end of the wedge here and
there, and perhaps some day we shall have streets to be proud
of. In beginning, it is of the highest importance that we
avoid as far as possiule the meanness and narrowness charac-
teristic of our style of making street, road, and footway,

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

even in places where want of room is not a drawback. If
I am not misinformed, the footway on the ‘land side of the
road that is to run alongside the Thames Embankment, near
the Houses of Parliament, is to be sixteen feet wide, and
probably some of that will be taken up with the proposed
line of trees. In this magnificent position, to which any
in Paris is insignificant, we are to have a footway that
would be considered half a dozen feet too narrow for a
second-class boulevard or avenue in Paris !

Whether our general scheme of city gardening be
changed or not, we may carry it on with greater economy
and much improvement by the adoption of a system re-
sembling that of the public nurseries of Paris—as pointed
out in the chapter on these. It is impossible to have
greater need for economy than exists in this matter of public
gardening; yet the public, in supplying its great London
parks, does what hundreds of landed proprietors would be
foolish to do, in buying its own evergreens and common
nursery stufi'l Our parks are already so vast that the
sums required for planting must alone form a heavy item,
nearly all of which could be saved by a judicious system of
public nurseries. At present, too, there is growing up in
each park a nursery of glass, an expensive affair—certain
to annually increase in cost if a Check be not applied.
All this is really unnecessary. “'ith a sensible reduction
of our expensive system of bedding out, or even as matters
are at present arranged, great saving might be effected by
having all the tender plants for the park gardens raised in
one establishment. If the true and great principle of
variety—the advantages of which as applicable to public
gardening are treated of at p. 28—wcre adopted in earnest,
this concentration of the expensive glass-house work would
be all the more convenient and advantageous.

Another great improvement might be effected by a rigid
exclusion from the plantings of every subject that is not
likely to thrive liealthfully under the influences of London
smut. Many specimens of fine evergreen trees and shrubs
have been planted in our parks during the last few years,
though the only fate that awaits them therein is a lingering

INTRODUCTION. XXV

death. When it is stated that each of these costs many times
more than would suffice for the purchase of a score of de-
eiduous trees which succeed perfectly in London, the neces-
sity for watchfulness in this respect will be apparent. I am
satisfied that by adopting these reforms we could annually
save as much as would suffice for the creation of a small
suburban park or fresh and charming public square or
garden in some overpacked region of London, into which
the children could venture without rendering themselves
guilty of trespassing, or making a hazardous climb over a
sharp-spiked railing, as they frequently do in our amusing
if unlovely Leicester Square.

IVe now come to practical matters relating to fruit cul-
ture, market gardening, etc., in Paris and its environs. On
these matters there have recently been prolonged discus-
sions, but many readers and disputants have been misled by
confounding the comparative state of horticulture in France
and England with the real point at issue—La, the supe-
riority of the French in certain special and most important
branches of garden culture. I have never asserted, as has
been assumed, that the French are our superiors in
general horticulture, for I know right well that we are as
far before them in horticulture, agriculture, and rural
afl'airs generally, as we are in journalistic and magazine
literature; but I do assert that in certain points of fruit and
vegetable culture they are equally as far in advance of us.
I am convinced, too, that more than one of their modes of
culture will prove of far greater value to ourselves than ever
they have been to the French. To avoid these points, and
utter commonplaces about our general superiority, is com-
pletely to beg the question. Are we to ignore their good
practices because we happen to be more luxurious in our
gardening establishments than they are? If I were to find
in use in the backwoods of America some handy tool or
implement effective in saving human labour, should I be
wise in refusing to adopt it because the rude inventor had
not attained to the simplest luxuries of existence? If we
affirm that the honey of the bee is sweet, the statement that
bees are not so beautiful as butterflies is no reply. I do

XXVI INTRODUCTION .

not write to praise the French, but to point out in what
way we may learn from them. That they, too, may learn
from us will be apparent when I state that intelligent
Frenchmen have pointed doubtfully at plants of Rhubarb
and Seakale—two of our most excellent vegetable products—
and asked if it were true that we eat them in England!
The general introduction into France of these two vegetables,
with constitutions as vigorous as the most rampant weeds,
and never failing to furnish abundant yields, would not
merely be a gain to the gardens and markets of a great
vegetable and fruit-eating people like the French, but a
material addition to the true riches and food supplies of the
country.

Of the practices which we may with advantage, and
which indeed we must adopt from the French—for the
fittest win the day, no matter how long the struggle—those
of fruit culture command our first attention, because good
fruit culture combines the beautiful and the useful ina very
high degree.

There are at least six important ways in which we may
highly improve and enrich our fruit gardens and fruit stores.

First, by plantiinr against walls, with a warm southern
exposure and a white surface, the very finest kinds of
winter Pears—the Pears that keep, the Pears that bring
a return, the Pears that cost the consumer a shilling or
more each in the London markets after Christmas—the
Pears of which the French now send us thousands of pounds
worth annually. By doing this we shall in less than
ten years have a magnificent stock of these noble fruits
all over the country, and be able to export the fruit we now
import so largely. Varieties of winter Pears are frequently
planted in the open, in all parts of these islands, that an
experienced fruit grower in the neighbourhood of Paris or
even further south would never plant away from a warm
sunny wall, knowing well that it would be wasteful ignorance
to do so.

Secondly, by the general adoption of the cordon system
of apple growing in gardens. This will enable us to produce
a finer class of fruit than that grown in orchards. It may

INTRODUCTION. xxvii

be carried out in spots hitherto useless or unemployed, and
will enable us to do away with the ugly Apple trees that
now shade and occupy the surface of our gardens. The
system will be found the greatest improvement our garden
Apple culture has ever witnessed. It should be thoroughly
understood, however, that I do not recommend this system
for orchard culture, or for the production of the kinds and
qualities of fruits that may be gathered profusely from
naturally developed standard trees.

Thirdly, by the general introduction of the true French
Paradise stock into the gardens of the British Isles. Its
merits are that it is dwarfer in growth than any other, and
that in wet, cold soils it keeps its roots in a wig-like tuft
near the surface—a most valuable quality on many of our
cold, heavy soils. When well known it will be found an
inestimable boon in every class of garden except those on
very dry and poor soils, being wonderfully efficacious in
inducing early fertility, and afl‘ording a better result without
root pruning than either the Crab or English Paradise do
with that attention. The knowledge that the Doucin of the
French is an admirable stock for all forms of tree between
the standard of the orchard and the very dwarf cordon or
bush, will also be very useful. The Apple should not be
worked on the Crab unless where it is desired to form
large standard trees in orchards—by far the best method, if
properly carried out, for market and general supplies.

Fourthly, by the practice of the French method of close
pruning and training the Peach tree, as described in Chapter
XIX. The system adopted in this country is an entirely diffe-
rent one—a loose, irregular style, the shoots not being suffi-
ciently cut back. The Peach tree is quite as amenable to exact
training as any other; and when the regular system of the
French is understood among us, it will be adopted as the
best for wall culture. Preference should also be given
to some of the smaller forms of tree adopted by the
French, as they will enable us to cover our walls with fruit-
ful handsome trees in a few seasons instead of waiting many
years, as has hitherto been the case, and then perhaps never
seeing them well covered. These forms are particularly

xxviii INTRODUCTION.

desirable where the soil is too light and poor for the health
and full development of large wide-spreading trees. In the
last edition of the book of our most popular English teacher of
fruit culture are these words 2—“ A Wall covered with healthy
Peach or Nectarine trees of a good ripe age is rarely to be
seen; failing creps and blighted trees are the rule, healthy
and fertile trees the exception I” We can alter this by the
adoption of the compact cordon, U or double U forms
figured in this book, by a better system of pruning, and by
thoroughly protecting the trees in spring.

Fifthly, by adopting for every kind of fruit tree grown
against walls a more efficient and simple mode of protection
than we now use. In speaking of fruit culture, nothing is
more common than to hear our climate spoken of as the
cause of all our deficiencies—the fine climate of northern
France being supposed to do everything for the cultivator.
The value of this view of the case is well illustrated by the
fact that all good practical fruit growers about Paris take
care to protect their fruit walls in spring by means of wide
temporary copings. In this country I have never anywhere
seen a really efficient temporary coping, though endless time is
wasted in placing on boughs, nets, &e., none of which are in
the least effective in protecting the trees from the cold
slecty rains, which, if they do not destroy or enfeeble the
fertilizing power of the blossoms, prepare them to become
an easy prey to the frost.

Sixthly, by the acquirement and diffusion among every
class of gardeners and even garden—labourers of a know-
ledge ol' budding, grafting, pruning, and training equal
to that now possessed by the French. Many of the illu-
strations in this book show the mastery they possess over
each detail of training—the branches of every kind of
tree being conducted in any way the trainer may desire,
and with the greatest case. This knowledge is quite com-
mon amongst small amateurs and workmen whose fellows
in this country would not know where to put a knife in
a tree. There are numerous professors who teach it in
France; it is not taught at all or in the most imperfect
manner in this country, where it is really of far greater

INTRODUCTION. xxix

importance. We require walls for our fruit trees more
than the French do, and there is no way in which we need
improvement more than in the matter of the proper covering
and development of wall trees. Vith standard trees, pruning
may be dispensed with to a great extent; but so long as we
are obliged to devote walls to the production of our finer
fruits, such knowledge as is now possessed by good French
fruit growers must prove a great aid. “'ith this knowledge,
and the adoption of one of the two economical modes of wall-
making described, aided by the general introduction of the
mechanical aids to successful garden fruit culture now
becoming so general in France, and which I have described
and figured at length, we might look forward to a vast
improvement in our fruit gardens both as regards their
beauty and utility.

In the vegetable departmentwe have also several important
things to learn from the French,and not the least among these
is the winter and spring culture of Salads—inasmuch as
enormous quantities of these are sent from Paris to our
markets during the spring months. During the last days
of April, 1868, I saw fine specimens of the green Cos Lettuce
of the Paris market gardeners selling at a high price in
Nottingham, and doubtless it is the same in many of our
great cities and towns far removed from London. As I
write this (April 19th) the market gardens near London are
faintly traced with light green lines of weak young Lettuce
plants, that have been for weeks barely existing under the
influences of our harsh spring. Around Paris at the same
season, in consequence of the adoption of the clochc and a
careful system of culture, it is a pleasure to see the size and
perfect health of the crops of Lettuces—the difference
in culture, and not the imaginary difference in climate,
solely producing the result. Some have remarked that
we are not a Salad-eating race; but the fact that large
quantities of Parisian Lettuces are imported every week and
every day for many weeks in spring, proves that we are
so in so far as we can afford it. If the restaurants
and houses of all classes in Paris had to be supplied
from another country, and at about four times the price

XXX INTRODUCTION.

they now pay, the Parisians would use even less than
we do.

For many years the London market gardeners, who have
long seen these beautiful Lettuees selling at high prices in the
markets—at as much as 98. per dozen wholesale—have quietly
concluded that they came from some Eden-like spot in the
south of France, and have apparently never taken the
trouble to see how they are produced. The truth is, that
by the adoption of the French system they may be grown
to fully as great perfection near London and in the home
counties as near Paris. The fact that we have to be sup-
plied by our neighbours with articles that could be so easily
produced in this country is almost ridiculous. It is im-
possible to exaggerate the importance of this culture for a
nation of gardeners like the British; and if it were the
only hint that we could take from the French eultivators
with advantage, it would be well worth consideration.
“ Enormous” was the term which was made use of by a
Paris market gardener in describing to me the quantities
of Lettuces sent from his garden, and the numbers of
the traders who came in search of them. The French system
will have the first difficulty to get over—that of people
becoming used to it, and slightly changing their habits of
culture to accommodate it; but it must ere long be uni-
versally adopted with us, and nothing can prevent a great
benefit being reaped from it by the horticulturists of the
United Kingdom.

The French are also far before us in the culture and
appreciation of Asparagus, pursuing a system quite 0p-
poscd to ours, and growing it so abundantly that for
many weeks in spring it is an article of popular use
with all classes. Sonic among us afl‘ect to ridicule French
Asparagus in consequence. of its being blanched nearly to
the top of the shoot; but they forget, or ignore the fact,
that to remove this inipertection, if it be one, the grower
has merely to save himself the trouble of causing it, and that
he may adopt the superior mode of culture and root-
trcatmcnt pursued by the French without blanching the
stem if he desires it in a green state. Apart from this, their

INTRODUCTION. xxxi

experience of French Asparagus is frequently limited to
samples that may have been cut in France a fortnight
before they reach the table in England, having passed the
intermediate time in travelling and losing quality in market
or shop.

Having treated of Parisian market gardening generally
in a special chapter, little need be said of it here except
that the ground is often more than twice as dear as round
London; that in consequence of close rotation and deep
and rich culture a great deal more is got off the ground in
the small market gardens of Paris than is ever the case in
our larger ones; and that by reason of the general prac-
tice of a thorough system of watering the markets are
as well supplied during the hottest summer and autumn
as if the climate were a perpetual moist and genial June,
whereas when we have an exceptionally warm summer
supplies become scarce and dear almost immediately, as
was the case during the past year. The whole system
of culture of the Paris market gardens is interesting and
suggestive in a high degree—especially to a people who
take so much pleasure and spend so much money in their
gardens as we do. There can be no doubt that the intro-
duction of the same system of very close cropping and good
culture would be a great public advantage near all our large
cities, where ground is always scarce and dear. It would
enable us to get at least double the quantity of vegetables
off the same space of ground, and better still, tend to
furnish dwellers in cities with something like the propor-
tion of fresh vegetables that is necessary for health. Our
working people do not at present use in a sufficient degree
any vegetable except the universal Potato. I think I am
well within the mark in stating that the poorer classes in
Paris use three times as much of fresh vegetable food as
the same classes in London. But improvements of our vege-
table and fruit markets must precede all amelioration in this
direction.

Parisian Mushroom culture is interesting and curious in
a degree of which till lately we have had no conception,
as will be seen by a perusal of the chapter devoted to it.

xxxii INTRODUCTION.

The sketches and plan that illustrate it—obtained with
some difficulty—are the first that have been published on
the subject, so far as I am aware, and will help the reader
to obtain a fair idea of places that have been seen by very
few English people, and of which most Frenchmen have
only a mysterious notion. The perusal of this chapter will
doubtless suggest trials of the culture to owners of mines
and cavernous burrowings of any kind ; and perhaps in time
to come Mushrooms may be a readily obtainable commodity
in our markets, even in winter and spring, when they are
usually very high priced and dear with us.

In conclusion, I may allude to a subject that is familiar
to those bf my readers who peruse the horticultural pub-
lications of the day—viz, the fierce attacks that have been
made upon me for my advocacy of some of the practices
herein described. These attacks have chiefly come from
certain horticulturists who boast of having traversed France
many times during the past thirty years, and who, naturally
perhaps, hold that a “ tyro,” a “ young traveller,” Ste. &c.,
who first visited France in 1867, cannot possibly have seen
anything good or instructive that has escaped their expe-
rienced and sagacious eyes. The only reply I shall now or
in future make to these gentlemen is in the form of a request
to the horticultural public. Test such matters as interest
you; surrender not your judgment either to young or old—
to the self-sufficient sage or the presumptuous student—but
ascertain for yourselves who is right.

THE

PARKS, PROMENADE S,

AND

GARDENS 0F PARI S.

._‘——.

The city swims in verdure, beautiful

As Venice on the waters, the sea-swan.

\Vhat bosky gardens dropped in close-walled courts
Like plums in ladies’ laps, who start and laugh !

“‘hat miles of streets that run on after trees,

Still carrying all the necessary shops,

Those open caskets with the jewels seen !

And trade is art, and art’s philosophy,

In Paris. AURORA LEIGH.

 

CHAPTER I.

I
THE CHAMPS ELYSEES AND THE GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE
AND THE TUILERIES.

IF not already the brightest, airiest, and most beautiful of
all cities, Paris is in a fair way to become so; and the
greatest part of her beauty is due to her gardens and her
trees. A city of palaces indeed; but which is the most
attractive—the view up that splendid avenue and garden
stretching from the heart of the city to the Arc de Triomphe,
or that of the finest architectural features of Paris? Vt'hat
would the new boulevards of white stone be without the
softening and refreshing aid of those long lines of well-
cared—for trees that everywhere rise around the buildings,
helping them somewhat as the grass does the buttercups?
The makers of new Paris—who deserve the thanks 0f the
inhabitants of all the filthy cities of the world for setting
such an example—answer these questions for us by pulling
down close and filthy quarters, where the influences of sweet
air and green trees were never felt, and the sun could
B

2' THE CHAMPS ELYsfiEs.

scarcely penetrate, and turning them into gems of bosky
verdure and sweetness ; by piercing them with long wide
streets, flanked with lines of green trees; and, in a word, by
relieving in every possible direction man’s work in stone
with the changeful and therefore everpleasing beauty of
vegetable life.

In Paris, public gardening assumes an importance which
it does not possess with us ; it is not confined to parks in one
end of the town, and absent from the places where it is most
wanted. It follows the street builders with trees, turns the
little squares into gardens unsurpassed for good taste and
beauty, drops down graceful fountains here and there, and
margins them with flowers ; it presents to the eye of the
poorest workman every charm of vegetation; it brings him
pure air, and aims directly and efl'cctively at the recrea-
tion and benefit of the people. The result is so good, that
it is well worthy our attention. To understand and discuss
it with advantage we cannot do better than commence in
the Place dc la Concorde, and afterwards walk up the Avenue
des Champs Elysées, and into the gardens of the Louvre and
the Tuilcries—the chain of gardens about here forming a
vast open space in the very heart of Paris.

The Place dc la Concorde is not a garden, but a noble
open space, admirable from its breadth and boldness, a
worthy centre to the fine streets and avenue that diverge
from it, embellished by fine fountains and some statues,
and with a terrible history. By looking to the east the
Palace of the Tuileries may be seen through the opening
made in the wood of chestnuts by the central walk, and
to the west is the Avenue des Champs Elysées. If the reader
who has not visited Paris will suppose a wide pleasure
ground flanking the lower part of Regent-street, and
having a grand tree-bordered avenue passing throu h its
centre straight away to the highest point of the broad walk
in the Regent’s Park, and there erestcd by an immense
triumphal areh-——the largest in the world, 161 feet high and
1-15 wide—he may be able to form some idea of what the
scene is, immediately after passing from the Place de la
Concorde.

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THE CHAMPS ELYsfiEs. 3

The Avenue des Champs Elysées leads from it straight
to the Arc; and what it is and how it is laid out we have
next to see. First there is the road, well macadamized,
slightly convex, so level and easy for horses that those of
London could never again find courage to grind down
angular lumps of broken rock if they passed a few weeks
in rolling over it, and nearly 100 feet wide. There is a line
of horse-chestnuts and other trees immediately within the
footway that borders this on each side, and then more
than fifty feet clear—for the greater part. a gravelled
walk, but with a well-laid footway of asphalte about
seven feet wide in the centre, which is most agreeable
to walk upon at all times, and particularly in wet
weather. Then come four rows of elm and chestnut
trees, under them about fifty feet more of gravel walks—
the other side of the central avenue being laid out in a
similar manner.

Then commences the garden, which is truly worthy of its
position. “'alking up the avenue on the left side we are
in a wide and noble pleasure-ground, of which the farther-
most parts that can be seen are backed by belts of shrubs
and specimen trees. But what are these little structures one
sees quite in front? \Yell, simply neat little sheds for
gingerbread, cigars, and such commodities. To the British
eye this kind of thing does not seem in what is called
“ keeping ;” but if people will have their cigars and ginger-
bread they may as well be sold to them where they are
strolling or playing. Besides, you have in this case got
the gingerbread-keepers under control, and they look as
thoroughly subdued and dutiful as the sergent dc ville,
who is a model of gravity and dutifulness. Talk about the
gaiety of the French! ‘Vhy, you never see one of these
men smile, and yet they look thoroughly French. I once
saw a London policeman, in sheer overflow of spirits, and
probably slightly influenced by beer, throw his hat across
the street after a cat, on a bright moonlight night, and
then laugh at the fun of it; but who ever saw so much
hilarity or want of dignity as that in a Parisian policeman ?
They, however, are a thoroughly efficient set of men—'

B 2

4 THE CHAMPS ELYsr’JEs.

earnest and alert in duty, and apparently with many shades
more of self-respect than their London brethren. They keel:
the strictest order in these public gardens, the whole of
which are as open and unprotected by fencing as the beds
on the lawn of a country seat. There are no railings
higher than six inches,- and yet no flowers at Kew or the
Crystal Palace are more valuable than these suffice to
protect day and night. No doubt this results to some
extent from the prompt measures of the grave policemen
when occasions for their interference do occur. It is in-
structive and amusing to reflect that some years ago,
when it was first proposed to green the heart of Paris
with such beautiful open gardens as this, most wise French
people considered it a foolish idea, saying: “ Squares, &e.,
are possible in London, but not in the midst of our rough
excitable people!”

Most of the stems of the trees are covered with ivy ; the
wide belts of varied shrubs are encircled with the choicest
flowers; the grass, cver-welcomcst of carpets, spreads out
widely here and there ; great clumps of Rhododendrons and
trees shroud buildings, not completely to hide them, but to
prevent them from staring forth nakedly in the midst of
the quiet sweetness of the garden. These buildings are
chiefly for concerts, cafes, &c., and presently we come to a
restaurant very agreeably situated. The plan of having
restaurants in like places might be extended to London
with great advantage—in such places as Kew or any of our
great parks or gardens. Some captions individuals may
object to such places being turned into tea-gardens;
but tea-gardens must exist somewhere, and why not have
them rcspcctably conducted under control, and well
arranged to meet the public wants? By so doing you
might prevent the people from resorting to musty, and
perhaps not very elevating, eating and drinking-places, and
perhaps take from the charms of the low'er type of music-
hall entertainments now not considered so cdifying as
popular. On first consideration, the introduction of com-
fortable restaurants in a place like Kew might seem to
interfere with the quietness, which is one of the best features

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THE CHAMPS ELYsfiEs. 5

of like places; but it need not be so. There is no need for
placing them in competition with the glass-houses, or along
a main walk, or in any position where they may in the
least interfere with the beauty and peace of the scene.
They might be placed in isolated yet easily accessible spots,
shrouded with trees and shrubs from the garden or park,
yet commanding peeps of it here and there; they might
have naturally disposed groups of low spreading trees near
them, under which people could sit to dine, or take tea in
the summer months; they might have open-sided bowers
with zinc roofs, the pillars supporting them being draped
with Virginian creepers, flowering roses, and the like, and
the roofs also densely covered with them. They would have
all the attractiveness of open trellis-work creeper-clad
bowers, and be at the same time quite impervious to
showers.

As we proceed, fountains, weeping willows, and not less
beautiful weeping Sophoras are seen, and so many isolated
specimens of the noblest trees and plants, such as “Telling-
tonia, pampas grass, tinc-foliaged plants, &c., that we must
not mention them all 3 but arriving at the Palace of Industry,
we make a considerable (létour to the left to see a garden
devoted to music—the Concert of the Champs Elysées, con-
ducted by Musard. I draw attention to this to show that
it is possible to introduce amusements into our public
gardens without originating anything like the J ardin Bullier
or Cremorne. I know of no place more creditably con-
ducted than this, and any of the many English who have
spent a summer evening in it will be of the same opinion.
It is as quiet and free from objectionable features as a
flower-show in the Regent’s Park, and very tastefully ar-
ranged. In the centre a band-stand, around it a bed of
flowers, then about ninety feet of gravel planted with circles
of trees. Between each two of the outer line of horse-
chestnuts there is a lamp-post with seven lights, standing in
a mass of flowers. Between this and the enclosing fence
there are belts of grass, trees, and of the choicest shrubs;
in one part a little lawn with its cedars and maiden-hair
trees, bamboos, Irish yews, ivy-clad stems, and flower-beds;

6 THE CHAMPS ELYsEEs. .

in another spot a noble group of Indian-shot plants, with
bronzy, finely-formed leaves ; an equally telling one of the
great edible Caladium springing from among mignonette ;
here a pampas grass, there a ln‘oad-lcaved Acanthus, with a.
mass of the handsome Chinese rice‘paper plant in the distance.
In its design and management it is as different from the
Cremorne type as could he desired. To compare it with
the places where the stupid and ugly cancan is performed,
and of which there are specimens near at hand, is quite out
of the question. How the young men of France, so ready

FIG. 1.

 

    

liveniiqr Veneer: in the (‘hamps lilysx'es.

to deteet the hete in others, can go night after night to see
this performed, is beyond comprehension. I see no reason
why we should not have plaees managed as is this evening
concert-garden, even if it were only to counteract the evil
intluenees of the numerous places which cater simply
for the lowest tastes. In any "asc this garden will repay
a Visit to those who take, interest in these matters.

It was only in 1800 that the garden of the Champs
Elysées was laid out, and yet it looks an aneient atl'air, has
many respectable specimens of conifers, Magnolias, &e.,

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THE CHAMPS nLrsfiEs. 7

numerous large and well~made banks and beds of Rhodo-
dendrons, Azaleas, hollies, and the best shrubs and trees
generally, with abundant room for planting sunnner flowers,
chiefly, however, as margins to the clumps of shrubs. The
gardens end at the Bend Point, a circular open space,
in which there are large beds for flowers, fountains,
&e., disfigured, however, by the undulations which some
poor little bits of grass are made to assume. Useless and
unnatural diversification of the ground in some small spaces,
and the lumping together of too many things in one mass,
are the weak points in the gardening of Paris. Above this
Bend Point, 3. very wide footway of about sixty feet, shaded
by two rows of trees, divides the avenue from the houses
which here approach its sides. Instead of following the
avenue up towards the Arc side we stop at the Bend Point,
glance at the masses of Hibiscus, Caladium, and Papyrus 0f
the Nile which embellish it, and then descend the garden
by the side of the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré.

Here we presently meet with a circus, a neat little

FIG. ‘2.

      

 

Circus in the Gardens of the Champs Elysécs.

theatre, concert halls, 820., all dropped down in the quietest
way amidst the choicest trees ,and flowers, and many veri-

8 THE CHAMPS ELrsr’zrs.

table permanently established Punch and Judy shows ! I
hope this will shock no well regulated mind. They are
not like fugitive exhibitions tolerated at the end of obscure
streets branching off from the Strand or Oxford-street, but
have rights as well-established as those of the Opera. If
we consider what a perennial source of amusement this
Punch and Judy fun has been for children, perhaps it
deserves a place as well as other more fashionable amuse-
ments. And then we have revolving circuses, on which
the children of the period take their choice to ride on
elephant or steed, various kinds of juvenile amusements,
cafés, summer music halls, dahlia beds, fountains, Abys-
sinian musas, and too many similar objects to enumerate.
On fine days the wide tree-shaded walks are crowded with
pedestrians; all the little games are in full swing, and
though it may seem a queer jumble to many, the whole
thing is as orderly as could be wished.

At the t0p of the 1011;; avenue, the great arch is sur-
rounded by an immense circular Place, from which straight
boulevards and avenues radiate in all directions. The
guide-books advise the visitor to Paris to see the lamps lit
at night in the Champs Elysées, but if he should want to
see the finest effect of that kind, he must go to this arch
on a dark night, and standing in the centre look at their
effect in the long wide avenues, which fall from where he
stands, and afterwards walk around
its base to see them better still. The
whole scene here is magnificent, and
if Paris had nothing worth seeing but
_ what may be seen from hence, it
7; would well repay a visit to all persons
.3 interested in the improvements of
,. towns and cities.

. The Place dc l’Etoile, with its sur-
roundings, is precisely the reverse of
our own efforts in like positions—its

‘ ‘ breadth, dignity, and airiness con-
Avenues and lmnlevards i'a- . . . ' .

diating {mm the mace de trasting strikingly with the narrow-
I‘Etouc' ness, meanness, and closeness of the

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GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES. 9

best attempts in our so very much larger and busier
London.

The Gardens of the Louvre and the Tuileries.

The Place du Carrousel, stretching between the Palaces of
the Louvre and the Tuilcries, is a large open paved square
by no means attractive, but at its eastern end it merges into
the narrower Place Napoléon III., to which I wish more par-
ticularly to direct attention. The Place is ineloscd on three
sides by the splendid buildings of the new Louvre, and is
embellished with two little gardens surrounded by railings
with gilt spears. The Place du Carrousel, surrounded by
Palaces, is perfectly bare and without ornament, except the
triumphal arch that stands at
the main entrance of the court
of the Tuilerics, but looking to-
wards the Louvre the eye is in-
stantly refreshed by these little
gardens, veritable oases in a wil-
derness of paving stone. I know
of no spot more capable of teach-
ing some of the most valuable les-
sons in city-gardening than this.
Viewed externally from their
immediate surroundings, or from I
the more distant Tuileries square,
the gardens have a very pretty
effect, and show at Once the
utility of such, not only for their own sakes, but also as an
aid to architecture. On the one hand you have a space
as devoid of vegetation as the desert—on the other, by
the creation of the simplest types of garden, you relieve
the sculptor’s work in stone and the changelcss lines of the
great buildings by the living grace of vegetation, so as to
make the scene of the most refreshing kind, and all by
merely encroaching a little on the space that would other-
wise be monopolized by paving stones. The gardens are
very small and most simple in plan, a circle of grass, a
walk, and a belt of hardy trees and shrubs around the

 

L’Arc de Triomphe du (Jarrousel.

10 GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES.

Whole, and an edging of ivy. No gaudy colouring of
the ground—no expensive temporary
decoration with tender costly flowers,
but everything as green and quiet as
could be desired. There are four
outlets always open, so that visitors
can go in and view the little gardens
and the rich pavilions rising behind
their small but sufficient foregrounds
of verdure.

Ground plan of the emu It is quite common amongst land-
ardcns in the Place scape gardeners and others to lay down
aPOIéon 111' as a sort of law, that when we make

a garden very near to any kind of ornamental building it is

above all things necessary to make it “ associate” with them

—to carry the lines of the building as much as possible into

the garden, to make it as angular, and it may be, as brick-

dusty as possible, like some recent examples with us; but
these gardens prove the fallacy of this reasoning as regards
city gardens and open spaces. There are numbers of men
professing taste in designing gardens who would never think
of putting anything in this position, surrounded as it is, but
some miserable prettincsses, expensive gewgaws in the way of
trees in tubs, squirting water, vases, coloured broken gravels,

Ste. 8:0,, things which in their opinion would harmonize

with the work of the architect. But from the simplest

materials the most satisfactory results may be obtained, as we
see here ; and economical reasons also demand simplicity and
permanence in all similar attempts. Ten times the amount

might be spent on the space occupied, and perhaps with a

far less satisfactory result, while there would of course be

so much less force to expend on the ventilation and
improvement of the many close and sunless quarters that
still remain. The small patches of grass in these gardens
are like that everywhere in Paris, deep and vividly green,
and fresh at all seasons. They usually give it a top dressing
of fine and thoroughly decomposed manure in April, but the
secret is, dense and repeated waterings at all seasons when the
natural rainfall does not serve to keep it as fresh as J 11110 leaves.

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GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES. 1].

Passing through the great court of the Louvre, and out
on the eastern side, we see the garden of the Louvre, which
is simply a rail-surrounded space, laid out with the usual
very green and well-kept grass, round-headed bushes of
lilac, ivy edgings, evergreen shrubs here and there, flowers
at all seasons, and the best, cheapest, prettiest, and most
lasting edgings in use in any garden, made of cast-iron in
imitation of bent sticks. Much of this garden was once
covered with old buildings and streets—even the great
square just spoken of was once packed with alleys; but the
recent improvements of Paris have swept all those things
away, and on every side the buildings stand as free as could
be desired—unlike our London ones, some of which can
hardly be discovered, and which when they have an enclosed
space around them, it is merely a receptacle for dead cats,
Ste. Against the walls of the palace numerous seats are
placed, and the gardens, though not large, offer a very
agreeable retreat at all seasons ; for even during the colder
months the old men and invalids improve the shining hours
by gathering on the seats close under the great walls when
the sun is out.

The main feature of the flower gardening here is a modi-
fication of the mixed border system, pretty, and also capable
of infinite change. It is a combination of circle, and mix-
ture, and ribbon, quite unpractised with us. Along the
middle of the borders we have a line of permanent and
rather large-growing things—roses, dahlias, neat bushes of
Althaea frutex, and small Persian lilacs. The lilacs might
be thought to grow too gross for such a position, but by
cutting them in to the heart as soon as they have done
flowering the bedding plants start with them on equal
terms, and the lilacs do not hurt them by pushing out again,
and make neat round heads prepared to bloom Well again
the following spring. Thus they have along the centre of
each border a line of green and pointed subjects, which
always save it from over-colouring, and then underneath
they lay on the tones as thick as need be. Around each bush
or tall plant in these borders are placed rings of bedding
plants—Fuchsia, Veronica, Heliotropum, Chrysanthemum

12 GARDENS or THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES.

grandiflorum, and foenieulaceum, the outer spaces be-
tween the rings being filled with plants of other sorts.
Then follows a straight line of Pelargoniums—scarlet, White,
and rose mixed plant for plant, and forming a very pretty
- line. Outside of that a band of Irish ivy, pegged close to
the earth, and pinched two or three times a year; and
finally, on the walk side, an edging of the rustic irons else-
where described.

As soon as they get beyond the very primitive idea, that
because one border is of a certain pattern the others ought
to follow it, this will be found a really good plan, and it is
worth attention with us; by its means we may enjoy great
variety in a border without any of the raggedness of the
old mixed border system. Around most of the rose trees
they place a small ring of gladioli—a good plan where the
plant grows well. Any person with a knowledge of bedding
plants may vary this plan ad iufinitum, and produce a most
happy result with it wherever borders have to be dealt with.

Let us next go to the west end of the palaces to see the
gardens of the Tuileries, which stretch from the western
face of that palace to the
Place dc la Concorde, bounded
on one side by the Rue de
Rivoli, on the other by the
river. Being nearly in the
centre of Paris these gardens
are as frequented as any. The
garden is very large, and laid
out in the plain geometrical
style by Le Notre, with wide
straight walks, borders round
grass plots dotted with little
lilac bushes, and flowers below
them. About one-fourth of it
near the palace is cut off for the
Emperor’s private use, but this
part is merely divided from the
Statue. of Winter in the Tuileries Public 0110 by {1 sunk fence and

Gardens. low railing, so that the view

 

GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES. 13

of the private garden is enjoyed by all. In it they
simply plant good evergreens and plenty of deciduous
flowering shrubs, while the grass plots are belted by borders,
one of which runs right along under the palace windows with
the usual round bushes of lilac ; but these borders are kept
pretty gay all the year round. The private garden of the
Emperor is quite open to the public when he is not at the
Tuileries. It is well worth visiting should an opportunity
occur, if only to see the way the ivy edgings are used.
There are no beds, only borders—these touching the gravel
walk, and being edged with box. Then on the bright gravel
itself, or apparently so, they lay down a beautiful dark
green band of ivy, of course allowing in the laying down of
the walk for the space thus occupied. The effect of the
rich green band adds much to the beauty of the borders.
The mode of making them is elsewhere described. The
flowers are kept a good deal subdued, and some trouble is
taken to develope the shrubs and stronger vegetation dis-
tinctly and well. The effect is very good from the windows
and the interior. Cannas are used to produce a very
charming effect in mixed borders, and altogether this por-
tion is tastefully and inexpensively planted. It is noticeable
that hardy shrubs and trees predominate—I believe, by the
Emperor’s wish—and that, instead of the usual crowding,
care is taken to give even the commonest kinds room to
grow and become respectable specimens.

A very wide walk crosses the garden just outside the
private division ; at about its centre are a large basin and
fountain, from which another wide walk goes straight to-
wards the Place de la Concorde, and by looking in that
direction we see the whole length of the magnificent Avenue
des Champs Elysées, terminated on the crest of the hill by
the Arc de Triomphe. This walk cuts the garden into two
portions chiefly planted with chestnuts and other forest
trees, which have not been sufficiently thinned, but are
allowed to run up very tall, and thus afford a high arched
shade in summer, the ground being gravellcd underneath,
so that it is comfortable to walk or play upon. There is a
slight narrow terrace on both sides, an orangery, the con-

14 GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES.

tents of which are placed out in summer, an alley arched
over with lime trees by the side of the Rue de Rivoli, and
at the western end there are terraces which afford a capital
view of the bright and busy seene around and the noble
avenue towards the west. There is a great deal of sculp-
ture, both copies of celebrated works and original ones,
but as for fresh horticultural interest there is little or none
to be seen,- and a passing glance is all the visitor need be-
stow on the public part of the garden of the Tuileries,
though it is only fair to add that its general effect is very

I’m. 7.

 

The Rhone and the Saone, by (l. t‘ouston, in the Tuileries Gardens.

good, and that it in all respects answers its purpose as a play
and promenading ground and a “ lung ” to the city.

A few words must he devoted to those long lines of large
orange trees in tubs—they are so very conspicuous that
they force themselves upon our attention. There are many
ignorant and hopeless ways of spending money in gardens,
but few more so than tl1is,—indee<l it is one of the most fami-
liar instanees of unworthy outlay that is known. Consider
fora moment the enormous expense incurred by those lines
of finely-grown old orange trees in the gardens of the
Tuileries, at Versailles, the Luxembourg, and in other gar-

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GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES. 15

dens, public and private! Every one of them has cost
more to rear to a condition that is presentable than the
education of a surgeon or barrister, and all in order to pro-
duce a deep round tuft of not very healthy green leaves at
the end of a black stem seven feet high or thereabouts.
Costly tubs that rot periodically; costly storing in large
conservatories in winter; costly
carriage from the house to FIG- 8-
open garden, and from open gar-
den to house, and all to no good
purpose whatever. The foliage
differs not at all, or in but a
trifling degree, from evergreens
common in our shrubberies;
the clipped head of green is far
inferior to that afforded by the
hardy and elegant spineless Ro-
binia, the flowers are few or
none, the whole thing is a relic
of barbarism, and as such should
be excluded from the tasteful
and well-arranged garden. The
kind of effect they produce is
afforded in a far higher degree
by perfectly hardy subjects.
But an orange is an orange: and suppose we wish to
have a little grove of them? Then make the grove at once,
and, by planting them in an elegant conservatory, grow
them ten times as well and ten times as cheaply as you can
by this absurd process of carrying in and out, and never
withal seeing them in good condition. “That a potato is
without tubers, an orange is minus flowers and fruit. By
planting them in a conservatory you may enjoy all the
beauty of leaves, flowers, and fruit—by carrying out of
doors, hoping thereby to embellish what you only disfigure,
you enjoy nothing but imperfectly healthy leaves. The
conservatory must exist to hold them in any case, and one
only big enough to contain, say half those in this garden,
would, if planted with orange trees, afford the Parisians

 

Group in the Tuileries Gardens.

16 GARDENS OF THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES.

more gratification by showing them what orange trees really
are, than all they have ever enjoyed through the vast sums
that have been spent upon orange trees for several hundred
years past. They were all very well in an age when exotics,
and above all such attractive exotics as the orange, were
rare, and when good glass-houses were unknown, and bad
ones impossibly dear; but now, when we have thousands of
choice exotics grown in perfection everywhere around us, the
present condition of these fine old trees should not be tole-
rated. They should be planted out in a conservatory
worthy of the city, or be done away with.

There are, however, some circumstances in which the
culture of plants in tubs for placing in the open air in
summer may not only be tolerable, but desirable. At
Geneva I once saw, opposite a restaurant, the finest specimen
of the fragrant Pittosporum Tobira that I ever met with,
and was informed it had been in a cellar all the winter.
Such as the orange trees are, however, they have admirers,
most of whom believe that they cannot be grown to such per—
fection by the same method in England. This is not the
case : the method pursued in northern France (which is
described in another chapter) will succeed almost equally
well in the south of England and Ireland.

Let us wait a moment to look at these people feeding the
birds, so much to their own amusement and also that of the
lookers-on. It is a pretty sight, and seems to afford great
pleasure to many people, and doubtless much more to the
successful feeders. It is quite a little scene in the gardens
every day, and on fine days it attracts numbers of people,
though it is an every-day occurrence there. The J ardin dcs
Tuileries is inhabited by a great number of the common
ringdove, or “ quest”—those wild pigeons which in
Britain and elsewhere, when in a wild state, flash away from
man like an arrow from the bow. In these and other
gardens in Paris they seem perfectly at home, and perch at
ease in the trees over the heads of the multitudes of children
who play, and of people who walk on fine days. Their in-
timacy does not extend further, except with their friends
Who come to feed them now and then. Here is an instance.

GARDENS or TIIE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES. 17

A man, evidently a respectable mechanic, comes to a
certain spot, near the private garden of the Emperor.
Presently some of the pigeons fly to their friend. He is
an old acquaintance, and a bird alighting on his left arm gets
a morscl of bread to begin with; others follow. He has
previously put a few crumbs of bread into his mouth, of
which the birds are well aware, and, arching their exqui-
sitely graceful necks, they put their bills between his lips
and take out a bit turn about. Perhaps one alights on his
head, and he may accommodate two or three on his right
arm. There are others perched on the railings near at
hand, and they come in for their turn by-and-by. A dense
ring of people stand a few yards off, looking on, especially
if it be a fine day, but they must not frighten the birds,
and this persistent feeder looks daggers at a small boy who
allows an audible yell of delight to escape. Presently the
sparrows gather round the feeder’s feet, and pick up any
crumbs that may fall while he is transferring the bread
from his pocket to his mouth. The sparrows, sagacious
creatures, do not as a rule light upon the arm, and never
even think of putting their heads in the mouth of the man,
but flutter gently so as to poise themselves in one spot
about fifteen inches or so from the hand of the feeder.
He throws up bits among them, and they invariably catch
them with slight deviation from their fluttering position, or
at most with a little curl. Sometimes the sparrows pluckily
alight on the hand, and root out crumbs held between
the finger and thumb, but this only in the case of very
old friends.

18

CHAPTER II.
THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE AND THE 1501s DE VINCENNES.

The Bois de Boulogne.

THIS park illustrates how we improve by friction, so to
speak. Till 1852 the Bois was a forest; but Napoleon III.,
in his admiration for English parks, determined to add their
charms to Paris, or rather to improve upon them, and the
Bois is one result. In concert with the municipality, the
Emperor dug out the lakes, and made the waterfalls. As
a combination of wild wood and noble pleasure garden, it is
magnificent. The deer are placed in an enclosed space.
The Bois is splendid too as regards size—containing more
than 2000 acres, of which nearly half is wood, a quarter
grass, one-eighth roads, and more than seventy acres
water. Though with large expectations in other directions,
the reader will hardly be prepared for the statement that
the French beat us in parks. “'hen first entered this may
not be much liked, the numerous Scotch pines around one
part of the water giving it a somewhat barren look, but a
few miles’ walk through it soon dispels this idea. It has
more than the beauty and finish of any London park in
some spots, but, on the other hand, vast spreads of it are
covered with a thick, small, and somewhat scrub-like wood,
in which wild flowers grow abundantly, unlike the prim
London parks. There are plenty of wild eowslips dotted
over even the best kept parts of it in spring, while the
planting on and near the islands is far superior to anything
to be witnessed in our own parks. To see what the Bois de
Boulogne really is, the visitor should keep to the left when
he enters from Passy or the Arc de Triomphe, and go right
to the end of the two pieces of ornamental water. Then,
standing with his back to the water, he will notice an

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THE 1301s DE BOULOGNE. 19

elevated spot, and by going to that spot he will enjoy one
of the finest views he has ever seen in a public park—the
water in one direction looking like an interminable inlet,
beautifully fringed with green and trees, while in the other
several charming views are opened up, showing the hilly
suburban country towards Boulogne, St. Cloud, and that
neighbourhood. Then, by turning to the right and returning
to Paris by the west side of the water, he will have a pretty

Fla. 9.

 

One of the small lakes in the Bois de Boulogne.

good idea of what a noble promenade, drive, and garden
this is.

It is in all respects worthy of its grand approaches, of
the width and boldness of which those who have not seen
Paris can have no conception. There is some bold rock-
work attempted and well done about the artificial water;
and very creditable pains are taken to make the vegetation
along it diversified in character, so that at one place you
meet conifers, at another rock shrubs, in another Magnolias,
and so on 3 without the eternal repetition of common things

. which one too often sees at home. At Longehamps, near
the racecourse, which attracts half Paris to this'part of the
wood on fine Sundays, there is a large and ambitious cas-

c 2

20 THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE.

eade. Above the spring or shoot of the cascade is an
arch of rustic rocks, over which fall ivy and rock shrubs,
the Whole being backed with a healthy rising plantation.
Although made at great expense, this cascade cannot be
pronounced a happy one; to me it is less pleasing than the
less pretentious ones at the head of the large lakes.

The fault of the most frequented part of the Bois de
Boulognc is that the banks which fall to the water are in
some parts a little too suggestive of a railway embankment,
and display but little of that indefiniteucss of gradation and

Fm. 10.

 

Grand cascade in the Bois de Boulogne.

outline which we find in the true examples of the real
“English style” of layin“r out grounds. But you do not
notice this from the position above described, from whence
indeed the scene is charming. The fault just hinted at is
common to almost every example of this style to be seen
about Paris ; and in most of their walks, mounds, and the
turnings of their streams, you can detect a family likeness and
a style of curvature which is certainly never exhibited by
nature, so far as we are acquainted with her in these latitudes.
But it is only justice to say that, taking the park as a whole,
it is far before our London ones in point of design.

THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE. 21

Apart from the perfect keeping of the whole, the chief
lesson to be learnt here by the English planter is the
value of paying far greater attention than we at present do
to artistic planting of choice hardy trees and shrubs. The
islands seen from the margin of the lakes are at all times
beautiful, in consequence of the presence of a varied collec-
tion of the finest shrubs and trees tastefully disposed. They
show at a glance the immense superiority of permanent
embellishment over fleeting annual display. The planting of
these islands was expensive at first, and required a good

FIG. 11.

 

“'inter scene on the lake in the Bois de Boulogne.

knowledge of trees and shrubs, besides a large amount 01
taste in the designer; but it is so done that were the hand
of man to be removed from them for half a century they
would not suffer in the least. Nothing could be easier
than to find examples of gardens quite as costly in the first
instance, which, while involving a yearly expenditure, would
be ruined by a year’s neglect. It is summer, and along the
margins of these islands you see the fresh pyramids of
the deciduous cypress starting from graceful surroundings of
hardy bamboos and pampas grass, and far beyond a group
of bright silvery Negundo in the midst of dark-green vegeta-

22 THE 1301s DE BOULOGNE.

tion, with scores of tints and types of tree-form around. It
is spring, and the whole scene is animated by the cheerful
flush of bloom of the many shrubs that burst into blossom
with the strengthening sun, and while the oaks are yet leaf-
less the large swollen flower-buds of the splendid deciduous
Magnolias may be seen censpicuous at long distances through
the other trees. In autumn the variety and richness of the
tints of the foliage offer a varied picture from week to week ;
and in winter the many picturesque and graceful forms of
the deciduous trees among the evergreen shrubs and pines
offer the observant eye as much interest as at any other
season.

Looking deeper than the immediate results, we may see
how the adoption of the system of careful permanent plant-
ing enables us to secure what I consider the most important
point in the whole art of gardening—variety, and that of
the noblest kind. Mr. Ruskin tells us that “change or
variety is as much a necessity to the human heart in build-
ings as in books ; that there is no merit, though there is
some occasional use, in monotony; and that we must no
more expect to derive either pleasure or profit from an
architecture whose ornaments are of one pattern, and whose
pillars are of one proportion, than we should out of a uni-
verse in which the clouds were all of one shape and the
trees all of one size.” These words apply to public gardens
with even greater force. In them we need not be tied by
the formalism which comfort, convenience, and economy
require the architect to bear in mind, no matter how widely
he diverges from the commonplace in general design. In
garden or in park there is practically no noticeable tie ; in
buildings there are many. Vegetation varies every day in
the year. 111 buildings more than on any other things
unchangeableness is stamped. In the tree and plant world
we deal with things by no means remotely allied to our-
selves—their lives, from the unfolding bud to the tottering
trunk, are as the lives of men. In the building we deal
with things mueh less mutable, which have a beginning
and ending like all others, but their Changes are much less
apparent to our narrow vision. Therefore the opportunity

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THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE. 23

for variety is beyond comparison greater in public or private
gardening than in the building art, or indeed in any other
art whatever.

Without the garden, Lord Bacon tells us, “Buildings
and pallaces are but grosse handy works: and a man shall
ever see that when ages grow to civility and eleganeie, men
come to build stately sooner than to garden finely: as if
gardening were the greater perfection.” As yet we are far
from perfection as builders, and the garden holds still the
relationship to the building art which is described by Bacon.
Indeed, it is more backward; for in a day when building
has eloquent champions to put in some such pleas as that
quoted, and, moreover, give us practical illustrations of
their meaning, we can find no proof that any knowledge of
the all-important necessity for variety exists in the minds
of those who arrange or manage our gardens, public or
private. And yet this unrecognised variety is the life and
soul of high gardening. If people generally could see this
clearly, it would lead to the greatest improvement our
gardening has ever witnessed. Considering the variety of
vegetation, soil, climate, and position which we can com-
mand, it is impossible to doubt that our power to produce
variety is unlimited.

The necessity for it is great. What is the broadly
marked bane of the public as well as private gardening of
the present day? The want of variety. What is it that
causes us to take little more interest in the ordinary
display of “bedding out,” fostered with so much care,
than we do in the bricks that go to make up the face of a
house? Simply the want of that variety of beauty which
a walk along a flowery lane or over a wild heath shows us
may be afforded by even the indigenous vegetation of one
spot in a northern and unfavourable clime. But in our
parks we can, if we will, have an endless variety of form,
from the fern to the grisly oak and Gothic pine—inex-
haustible charms of colour and fragrance, from that of the
little Alpine plant near the snows on the great chains of
mountains, to the lilies of Japan and Siberia. And yet
out of all these riches the fashion for a long time has been

24 THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE.

to select a few kinds which have the property of producing
dense masses of their particular colours on the ground, to
the almost entire neglect of the nobler and hardier vegeta-
tion. The expense of the present system is great, and
must be renewed annually, while the gratification is of the
poorest kind. To a person with no perception of the higher
Charms of vegetation the thing may prove interesting, and
to the professional gardener it is often so ; but to anybody
of taste and intelligence, busy in this world of beauty and
interest, the result attained by the above method is almost
a. blank. There can be little doubt that numbers are, un-
known to themselves, deterred from taking any interest in
the garden; in fact, it is a blank to them. They in conse-
quence may talk or boast of having a “ good display,” &e.,
but the satisfaction from that is very poor indeed, compared
With the real enjoyment of a garden.

The one thing we want to do to alter this is to break the
chains of monotony with which we are at present bound,
and show the world that the “ purest of humane pleasures”
is for humanity, and not for a class, and a narrow one.
Eyes everywhere among us are hungering after novelty and
beauty ; but in our public gardens they look for it in vain as
arule, for the presence of a few things that they are already
as familiar with as with the texture of a gravel walk, must
tend to impress them with an opinion that our art is the most
inane of all. In books they everywhere find variety, and
some interest, if high merit is rare ; the same is the case in
painting, in sculpture, in music, and indeed in all the arts;
but in that which should possess it more than any other,
and is more capable of it than any other, there is as a rule
none to be found. This is not merely the case with the
flower-garden and its adjuncts; it prevails in wood, grove,
shrubbcry, and in everything connected with the garden.
“’hat attempt is made in our parks and pleasure grounds to
give an idea of the rich beauty of which our hardy trees are
capable, although these places afford the fullest opportunity
to do so? How rare it is to see one-tenth of the floral
beauty afl‘orded by deciduous shrubs even suggested!
Hitherto our gardening has been marked by two schools—

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THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE. 25

one in which afew, or comparatively few, “ good things” are
grown; the other, the botanic garden school, in which
every obtainable thing is grown, be it ugly or handsome.
“'hat we want for the ornamental public garden is the mean
between these two; we want the variety of the botanic
garden without its scientific but very unnatural and ugly
arrangement; we want its interest without its weedincss
and monotony.

There is no way in which the deadening formalism of
our gardens may be more effectually destroyed than by the
system of naturally grouping hardy plants. It may afford the
most pleasing results, and impress on others the amount of
variety and loveliness to be obtained from many families now
almost unused. To suggest in how many directions we may
produce the most satisfactory effects, I have merely to give
a few instances. Suppose that in a case where the chief
labour and expense now go for an annual display, or what
some might call an annual muddle, the system is given up
for one in which all the taste and skill and expense go to
the making of features that do not perish with the first
frosts. Let us begin, then, with a carefully selected collec-
tion of trees and shrubs distinguished for their fine foliage—
by noble leaf beauty, selecting a quiet glade in which to
develope it. I should by no means confine the scene to this
type alone, as it would be desirable to show what the leaves
were by contrast, and to vary it in other ways—with bright
beds of flowers if you like. It would make a feature in
itself attractive, and show many that it is not quite neces-
sary to resort to things that require the climate of Rio
before you find marked leaf beauty and character. It
would teach, too, how valuable such things would prove for
the mixed collection. Many kinds of leaf might be therein
developed, from the great simple-leavcd species of the
rhubarb type to the divided ones of Lindley’s spirzea, and
the taller Ailantus, Kolreuteria, Gymnocladus, &c. The
fringes of such a group might well be lit up with beds of
lilies, irises, or any showy flowers; or better still, by hardy
flowering shrubs. An irregularly but artistically planted
group of this kind would prove an everlasting source of

26 THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE.

interest; it might be improved and added to from time to
time, but the original expense would be nearly all.

Pass by this rather sheltered nook, and come to a gentle
knoll in an open spot. Here we will make a group from
that wonderful rosaceous family which does so much to
beautify all northern and temperate elimes. And what a
glorious bouquet it might be made, with American and
European hawthorns, double cherries, plums, almonds, pears,
double peaches, &c., need hardly be suggested. You would
here have a marked family likeness prevailing in the groups,
quite unlike the monotony resulting from planting, say, five
or six thousand plants of Rhododendron in one spot, as is
the fashion with some; for each tree would differ conside-
rably from its neighbour in flower and fruit. Then, having
arranged the groups in a picturesque and natural way, we
might finish off with a new feature. It is the custom to
margin our shrubbcries and ornamental plantings with a
rather well-marked line. Strong-growing things come near
the edge as a rule, and many of the dwarfcst and prettiest
spring-flowering shrubs are lost in the shade or crowding
of more robust subjects. They are often overshadowed,
often deprived of food, often injured by the rough digging
which people usually think wholesome for the shrubbcry.
Now I should take the very best of these, and extend them
as neat low groups, or isolated well-grown specimens, not
far from, and quite clear of the shade of, the medium-sized
or low trees of the central groupings. The result would
be that choice dwarf shrubs like Ononis fruticosus, Prunus
triloba, the dwarf peach and almond, Spirzea prunifolia fl. pl.,
the double Chinese plum, and any others of the numerous
fine dwarf shrubs that taste might select, would display a
perfection to which they are usually strangers. It would
be putting them as far in advance of their ordinary appear-
ance, as the stove and greenhouse plants at our great flower
shows are to the ordinary stock in a nursery or neglected
private garden. It would teach people that there are many
unnoticed little hardy plants which merely want growing in
some open spot to appear as beautiful as any admired New
Holland plant. The system might be varied as much as

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the plants themselves, while one garden or pleasure ground
need no more resemble another than the clouds of to-morrow
do those of to-day.

In the rich alluvial soil in level spots, near water or in
some open break in a wood, we might have numbers of the
fine herbaceous families of Northern Asia, America, and
Europe. These, if well selected, would furnish a type of
vegetation now very rarely seen in this country, and flourish
without the slightest attention after once being planted.
In rocky mounds quite free from shade we might well
display true Alpine vegetation, selecting dwarf shrubs and
the many free-growing, hardy Alpines which flourish every-
where. To turn from the somewhat natural arrangements,
as the years rolled on, occasional plantings might be made to
show in greatest abundance the subjects of greatest novelty
or interest at the time of planting. In one select spot, for
example, we might enjoy our plantation of Japanese ever-
greens, many of them valuable in the ornamental garden; in
another the Californian pines; in another a picturesque
group of wild roses; and so on without end. Were this the
place to do any more than suggest what may be done in
this way in the splendid positions offered by our public
gardens and parks, I could mention scores of arrangements
of equal interest and value to the above. If the principle
of annually planting a portion of a great park or garden of
this kind were adopted instead of giving all the same routine
attention after the first laying out, I am certain it would
prove the greatest improvement ever introduced into our
system of gardening. The embellishment of the islands in
the Bois de Boulogne is very successful, but it is merely
one of many fine results that artistic planting would secure.
Plantations as full of interest and beauty might be made in
other portions, and the fact is the vegetable kingdom is so
wide that, although the combination of plant knowledge and
taste necessary to success might not often be found in the
designer, the materials for any number of varied pictures
in vegetation could never fail.

The principle here advocated should not only be applied
to the details of one garden, but on a greater scale, and

28 THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE.

with even more satisfactory results, to all the gardens of any
great city.

Take a city with half a dozen parks, a score of squares,
and perhaps numerous avenues and open places where
trees or flowers might be grown—take, in fact, the public
gardening of Paris or London at the present day. Now, in
the ordinary course of things, several kinds of trees and
plants, or several dozen kinds, will be found to do best in
all these places, and under the usual management the same
subjects will predominate in each. To the people who
live in the neighbourhood of each the effect will be perhaps
agreeable; but it must become monotonous. To prevent
people endeavouring to see any life or interest in vegeta-
tion, the true way is to make a few things predominate
everywhere. It is also a simple and easy way for the
superintendents; there is no “ bother with it,” but there is
also little pleasure, and little of that enthusiastic effort which
is the highest of pleasures, and one only enjoyed by those
who work at things for their own sakes. Innumerable beds
of Cannas and Pclargoniums are better than nothing, no
doubt, but are bad where the opportunity for a higher kind of
embellishment exists. For the credit and encouragement of
our city gardening, it is necessary that we confine ourselves
to the better kind of trees, as many good kinds do not grow
well in streets; but when it comes to the parks and open
gardens, it is a very different matter. If each park and
square in a city were arranged entirely different from every
other, the enjoyment of those in the immediate neighbour-
hood of each would be none the less, while the gardening
treasures of the town would be greater in proportion to the
number of parks or squares. A walk in any direction
would reveal new charms to those having the slightest
sympathy with nature, and help to sow the seed of love for
it, were the ground ever so barren. A walk to distant
parks 01‘ squares would furnish an object to the many, who
might be expected to take an interest in gardens under
such management; and objects for walks in towns and
cities cannot be too numerous.

One park might display minute floral interest in all its

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variations, with the larger subjects only used as the neces-
sary setting, shelter, and greenery. Another, with a good
soil and favourable exposition, might be made to show the
dignity and variety of the forest trees of northern and
temperate Europe, Asia, and America. One square might,
like Berkeley-square in London, or the little squares in the
Place Napoleon III. in Paris, be made very tasteful and
effective from simple inexpensive materials—such as green
grass, hardy shrubs, and trees. Another might display leaf-
beauty so as to remind one of the vegetation of the South
Sea Islands; another, chiefly the dwarf prairie and hill
flora of cold and temperate countries; and so on—
each class of vegetation to be consideratcly adapted to soil,
conditions, and surroundings of the place as regards shelter,
liability to foul vapours, position in relation to other gardens
and avenues, and so on. In fact, this great principle of
variety is capable of doing so much for public gardens, that it
should be made compulsory on the heads of these establish-
ments to make each as different from its brother as it
possibly could be made. Carried out, then, as I have
slightly indicated, both in the private and public place,
gardening would be nearer to proving the “ greatest re-
freshment to the spirits of man” than it has ever been in
any age.

There is one feature in the Bois de Boulogne which
cannot be too strongly condemned—the practice of laying
down here and there on some of its freshest sweeps of
sloping grass enormous beds containing one kind of flower
only. In several instances, near the very creditable planta-
tions on the islands and margins of the lake, may be seen
hundreds of one kind of tender plant in a great unmeaning
mass, just in the positions where the turf ought to have been
left free for a little repose between the very successful per-
manent plantations. This is done to secure a paltry un-
natural and sensational effect, which spoils some of the
prettiest spots. Let us hope that some Winter’s day, when
the great beds are empty, they may be neatly covered with
green turf.

The Bois being rather level, heavy rains used to lie 8.

THE 3018 DE BOULOGNE.

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THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE. 31

long time on the surface of the roads, &c., before being
absorbed; to have remedied this by means of sewers would
have cost about 160,0001., so the plan was adopted of con-
structing a number of tanks at intervals, on an average, of
200 metres, and capable of containing from ten to twenty
cubic metres of water each. These tanks are generally
circular in form and crowned by a truncated cone—a form
which of course requires less mason’s work than the rec-
tangular, the latter being adopted only when large trees in-
terfere with the plan. These tanks are shown in fig. 12. The
rectangular cisterns measure from four to six metres in
length, one to two metres in width, and two to three metres
in depth; they are arched at the top, and, like the circular ones,
provided with a trapped hole, which serves, first, to with-
draw the eentrings, and afterwards to clean out the cisterns
if they become choked with refuse carried down by the
water; the floor is uncovered, and barbicans are left in the
footwalls to aid the escape of the water. These cisterns
are placed either under the footpaths or in side alleys, so as
not to interfere with the grass or the flower beds. The
water is conveyed to the cisterns by means of drain pipes
4in. exterior diameter, the first joint being embedded in a
mouthpiece of Portland cement, shown in the engraving.
These mouthpieees are nearly 20in. in length ,' they are cast
in wooden moulds, and cost 2f. 90c. per metre.

Not far from the lower lake, and at about the centre of
the Bois, occurs the Pré Catalan—an enclosed space, occa-
sionally the scene of fétes, having several refreshment rooms,
an open-air theatre, and a peculiar feature in the form of
a cow-house, containing about eighty mileh cows. The
milk is sold to those who frequent the place, especially to
horsemen who ride out from Paris for exercise in the early
morning, and call here on their way to have a draught of
new milk. These features, however, are kept well in the
background, and the place generally bears the appearance
of an ornamental garden, well worthy of a few minutes’
inspection from any horticultural visitor who is traversing
the Bois or on the fashionable drive, which is near at hand.

Gardeners may be interested to learn that every year,

32 THE- GARDEN or ACCLIMATIZA'I‘ION.

on the 30th day of August, the féte of their order is
held here, the patron saints being St. Fiacre and St. Rose.
>Hcre the gardeners of Paris and their friends assemble
to the number of three or four thousand, and amuse them-
selves with dancing, games, and the usual accompaniments
of a Parisian fete, including fireworks, of course. As a
garden, the Pré Catalan is distinguished by good specimens
of standard Magnolias, both the evergreen grandiflora and
the deciduous kinds, and large masses of flowers and fine-
leavcd plants.

Apart from these, which are well known and extensively
employed elsewhere about Paris, I noticed that fine aquatic,
Thalia dealbata—usually grown in stoves in England—in
robust condition in the midst of a shallow running stream,
the eanna-like leaves large, handsome, and 22 inches long
by 12 broad, and the flower stems 7 and 8 feet high (17th
September). It is one of the handsomcst and most distinct
of all aquatic plants, quite different from the normal type,
and should be much used with’us. Erianthus Ravennae,
an ornamental grass, was in flower at the same date, and
10 or 11 feet high. Lantana delicatissima was used as
margining carpeting to some beds hcre. Simple and
inconspicuous thing as it is, it is multiplied to the extent
of from 12,000 to 20,000 every year, which may serve to
give another idea of the way in which ornamental garden-
ing is carried on by the mu-
nicipality of Paris.

Garden of Acclimati:a-
tion in the Bois de Bou-
logne. -— This is a pretty
garden and a most interest-
ing place. In it you may
study many things, from the
culture of the oyster to the
numerous breeds of demcs-
tic fowls, from ostriches to
the different plants used for
bee feeding. There is here
Ostrichcs in the Jardin d’Acclimatation. an interesting hybrid ass—a.

FIG. 13.

 

THE GARDEN 0F ACCLIMATIZATION. 33

neat cross between the domestic and wild varieties, which
proved useless for the carriage, and kicked it and the harness
into “ smithereens” when yoked, in consequence of the virus,
or what an Irishman would call the “ divilment” of the exotic
parent predominatinv. I was not insensible to the claims of a.
Russian dog, with a coat like a superannuatcd door-mat; I
laughed at a duck which had a velvet-looking head remark-
ably like a hunting-cap, and nearly as big, but with a body
no larger than a debilitated blackbird ; and was amazed to see
a Chinese dog having no hair except on the top of his head;
but we must let all such curiosities pass, and confine our-
selves exclusively to vegetable life, now as always of great
importance, since Man first regaled himself upon fruits and
green-meat.

Doubtlcss one of the first things that sagacious creature
pitched upon was the grape—at least, the best varieties of
grapes and the best varieties of men are supposed to have
originated in much the same
place. To-day the vineis more
important than ever, and the
garden here has a magnifi-
cent collcction of 2000 varic-
tics! This collection is the
famous one formed in the
gardens of the Luxembourg,
and fortunately saved from
destruction by M. Drouyn
dc Lhuys, acting upon the
urgent request of a friend of
horticulture. The vines were
actually about to be thrown
away when the recent muti-
lation of the Luxembourg
garden took place. So by
authority they were ordered
to the gardens in the Bois de
Boulogne, where, let us hope, they will be well looked after,
as it would be a great pity if a collection embracing, as far
as could be gathered, nearly all the varieties cultivated in

D

FIG. 14.

 

Streamlet in the Jardin d'Acclimatation.

34 THE GARDEN or ACCLIMATIZATION.

the world, should be lost to horticulture and to science. I
saw a man carrying manure on his hack to the vines, and
sat down and contemplated him going through the inte-
resting task; the basket (panier) was placed on a slightly ele-
vated hoard supported by three sticks, from which he could
readily hook on to it when it was filled. I looked at him with
respect and some sympathy, just as we should at a living
specimen of the Dodo or any other animal supposed to be
extinct. It occurred to me at the time that the acclimati-
zation of a handy useful species of wheelbarrow would not

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Conservatory in the .lai'vlin il'-\eeliniatatiui.

l)e unworthy of the Society. llowever, it is only fair to add
that this kind of basket would prove useful in town garden-
ing, where soil has often to he taken through the house,
also for earrying vegetables, and for conveyance of manure
hetweeu elose rows of vines, and like uses.

Although the glass-houses in the garden afl'ord but little
interest, roekwork and the planting out of line foliage plants
tend to make the eonservatory very pleasant and refreshing.

 

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THE 1301s DE VINCENNES. 35

The Lycopodium is used with charming effect to form a
turf in the conservatory, and nothing can look better than
the New anland flax, and several palms and tree ferns,
planted near the margin of a winding piece of water in that
structure. Musa Ensete too looked nobly in the same
position. Those who visit it during the winter, cannot fail
to be much struck with the effect produced by beds cut in
the rich green of Lycopodium dcnticulatum, and filled with
Primulas, Cinerarias, and spring flowers generally. The
whole floor of the house, walks excepted, was effectually
covered by the Lycopodium.

FIG. 16.

 

 

lestaurant in the Bois de Vincennes.

The Bois de Vincennes.

The west end of Paris has its Bois de Boulogne for drives,
promenades, quiet walks, fétes, races, &c.; it has, in fact,
its Kensington-gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, and St.
J ames’s Park, and more than all these in one ; but the east
end is equally well off in having the extensive and noble
Bois de Vincennes, which in some respects is quite equal
to the Bois de Boulogne, and in one or two even superior.

D 2

36 THE BOIS DE VINCENNES.

It contains well designed sheets of water about forty
acres in extent; a wide, open plain, about 755 acres,
and of which about 284 are devoted to a drill-ground;
between 700 and 800 acres of forest; 110 of shrub-
bery and select plantation; 110 of roads ,—in all nearly
1800 acres. The same care in keeping, the fine roads
and walks, and the breadth of design, which are seen in the
Bois de Boulogne, are also seen here, though this is entirely
distinct from that as regards plan. But as there is no
feature in it that we have not discussed or shall not discuss
with more profit elsewhere, a detailed description of it is
not given. Opening up the city by means of airy, open
roads, little squares, &c., is of far greater importance than
the creation of 'vast domains outside a city, where people
may enjoy a little fresh air once a week or so.

It has quite a novel feature, in the fruit-garden of the city
of Paris, recently formed. This is described at length in
another chapter.

The lake nearest to the fruit-garden and the Avenue
Daumcsnil entrance is beautifully disposed, and its margins
and islands are well planted. To walk completely round it,
starting from the neighbourhood of the fruit'garden and re-
turning to the same position, will well repay the visitor;
few public parks offering anything so refreshing and agree-
able of a warm summer evening.

A restaurant near one of the lakes illustrates admirably
how like conveniences may be introduced into public parks
without in the least rendering them objectionable. It com-
mands excellent views of the park and water from the groups
of trees by which it is hidden, and which perfectly prevent it
from obtruding upon the quietness of the park. It would' be
well if like care were always taken to veil such structures.
The restaurant figured on the preceding page is not quite so
happily placed, but nevertheless forms a not objectionable
feature in the park.

The Bois de Vincennes contains also the city nursery
for herbaceous plants, S:c., alluded to in the chapter on
the Public Nurseries.

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WATERING THE PARKS. 37

as boulevard trees in and near the Bois de Vincennes, and
promise well. The Planera, it is hoped, will replace the
elm in places where that is destroyed by the Seolytus; and
the Cercis looked very fresh and well about the middle of
September, and at the end of the very trying season of 1868.

A plantation of about seven acres of W'ellingtonias was
made here about three years ago, and the plants are strong
and good. “'ere it not for the ver blane this would even
now be a fine feature ; but unfortunately very few speci-
mens remain uninjured by this most terrible of pests. Some
of the trees had formed good specimens, and showed what a
noble wood of Wellingtonias would have been seen here
were it not for this grub. Hares are rather plentiful here,
and may be seen scampering over the open parts—quite an
uncommon occurrence in a public park.

To connect the Bois with the promenades in the neigh-
bourhood, the plains of Bercy and St. Mandé, lying between
the old boundaries of the wood and the walls of the fortifica-
tions of Paris, were bought up, so that the new promenade,
like the Bois de Boulogne, now begins at the very gates of
the city. The pieces of water in the Bois de Vincennes, as
well as the pipes by which the gardens are watered, are sup-
plied from the river Marne. Here, as in other parks and
gardens, the hottest and most arid weather merely makes
the grass and plants greener and healthier, in consequence
of the admirable arrangements for watering both turf, trees,
and flowers.

Watering the Parks.

The climate of Paris being dryer than that of London,
and the soil less conducive to the growth of grasses, the
verdure maintained in the more ornamental parts of the
Paris parks is naturally a source of some surprise to visi-
tors. It is difficult to give the reader, who has not seen it
himself, an idea of how perfectly the watering is done.
The contrast between the parks and gardens of London
and Paris is in this way by no means flattering to our way of
managing them. It will be better to quote one of our jour-
nals to represent our own side of the question. “ \Ve have re-

38 ‘ WATERING run PARKS.
peatedly called the attention of the authorities during the
summer to the melancholy state into which the parks were
falling. The mischief we desired to guard against is now
done. The grass is of the colour of hay, and the little of
it that remains is being so rapidly trodden down that in
many parts what used to bc greensward is now nothing
better than hard road.” So wrote the Pall Mall Gazette, one
(lay last summer; and really, about the end of July and
the beginning of August, nothing could look more unat-
tractive than the London parks. These parks are supported
at heavy public cost; and it is a great mistake to let
them be rendered as brown and uninviting as the desert
by an exceptional drought, which of course will happen
at the very season when the grounds ought to be in per-
fect beauty and attractiveness. The French system of
watering gardens, &c., is excellent, or at least the generally
adopted system; for at the Jardin des Plantcs there are
yet watering-pots made of thick copper, which are worthy
of the days of Tubal Cain, but a disgrace to any more
recent manufacturer, and a curse to the poor men who
have to water with them. (lenerally Parisian lawns and
gardens are watered every evening with the hose, and most
effectively. It is so perfectly and thoroughly done, that
they move trees in the middle of summer with impunity;
keep the grass in the driest and dustiest parts of Paris as
green as an emerald, the softest and thirstiest of bedding
plants in the healthiest state; and as for the roads, the
way they are watered cannot be surpassed. They are kept
agreeably moist without being muddy, while firm and crisp
as could be desired. Of course all this is effected in the
first instance by having abundance of water laid on; but
that is not all. \Vith us, even where we have the water
laid on, we too often spend an immense amount of labour
in distributing it. In Paris generally it is applied with vari-
ous modifications of the hose, which pours a vigorous stream,
divided and made coarse or fine either by turning a cock,
by the finger, or even by the force of the water.

This is the way they apply it to roads, the smaller bits of
grass about the Louvre, and other places; but when water-

WATERING THE PARKS. 39

ing large spreads of grass in the parks the system is dif-
ferent. One day in passing by the racecourse at Long-
ehamps I saw it carried out in perfection. The space had
become very much out up by reviews and races; but in any
case it is watered to keep it as green as possible in summer.
At first sight it would appear a difficult thing to water a
racecourse, but two men were employed in doing it effec-
tually. Right across the whole open space from east to
west stretched an enormous hose of metal, but in joints of
say about six feet each. The whole was rendered flexible
by these portions being joined to each other by short strong
bits of leathcrn hose, each metal joint or pipe being sup-
ported upon two pairs of little wheels. Fig. 17 shows a
section of the appa-

ratus at work. By F‘G' 17'

means of these the
whole may be readily
moved about without
the slightest injury to “\W¥NN\\\T;QL<ILNA an
the hose in any part.
At about a yard or so
apart along this pipe jets of water came forth all in one
direction, and at an angle of about 45 deg., and spread
out so as to fully sprinkle the ground on one side,- and
thus four feet or so of the breadth of the whole plain of
Longehamps was being watered from one hose. There were
two of these hoses at work, one man attending to each of
them; the only at-

tention required be- F‘G- 18-

ing to pass from one ‘
end of the line to the 1
other, and push for-
ward the hose as each ? , ;-.;..'»_._ _: __ ,_
Portion became SUffi' Hose on wheels with double row of perforations.
ciently watered. The

simplest thing of all is the way they make the perforations for
the jets along the pipe. They are simply little longitudinal
holes driven in the pipe with a bit of steel. They must be
made across the pipe, or the water will not spread, in the

   

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Section of perforated self-acting hose on wheels.

    

40 WATERING THE PARKS.

desired direction. The wind causes the water to fall in
the most divided form possible. With an apparatus thirty
metres long a man can easily water 1500 square metres
per hour, moving the hose three times. Of course the
quantity of water depends on the force in the conduits and
the length of the tubes. \Vith a pressure of 22 metres and
hose 320 metres long the quantity of water per metre and
per minute is nearly two litres. The hydrants in the grass
are placed about fifty metres apart, and the wheels of the
trucks are of wood, in order not to cut the grass. There
are many modes of spreading water in use about Paris,
but none of them half as good as this simple method.
More than a mile of this kind of hose may be seen at work
at one time and with hundreds of jets playing.

The hose for watering the roads is arranged on wheels
also, but, as it must be at all times under command when
carriages pass by, it has only one rose or jet, which is di-
rected by a man who moves about among the carriages with
the greatest ease, and keeps his portion of the road in capital
condition. Of course it is a much cheaper way than carry-
ing the water about as we do, as then we must have horse
and cart, wear and tear, and man also ; whereas, by having
the water laid on, all the men have to do in watering is to
attach the hose and commence immediately. In the same
way as much work can be done in a garden in a day as with
ten men by the ordinary mode; so that in the end it is
much cheaper to have the water laid on. There can be no
doubt that to the efficient watering much of the success of
the fine foliaged plants in Paris gardens is to be attributed.

As a good system of watering is of the highest importance
to cities and towns in every region of the earth a more-de-
tailed and technical account of the watering of Paris gardens
may prove useful to some. The article first appeared in the
Engineer, and refers chiefly to the arrangements for the Bois
dc Bonlogne, but the system is the same for all other places.

The watering is performed chiefly by means of long hose
with a copper'braneh, the latter being provided with a stop-
cock, so that the delivery of the water may be arrested
instantly, without having to turn 011' at the plug. The hose

642:2.5 ZO EMS: 2m:.<x0n_2m7_ SE75 .w2x<l ESP 7: Twanxc 2:? OZZKaP/S, :3 £32:

 

.ZK ”Fr/57..

 

WATERING THE PARKS. 41

is generally twelve metres long and 2m. in diameter; it is
constructed either of leather, vulcanized india-rubbcr or
canvas; the first and second costing
from 68. to 68. 8d. per yard, and the
last only 10d. or 11d. The screw V
connecting pieces, which are made of
gun metal, cost about 63. The leather
hose, losing the oily matters from its
pores, through the pressure of the
water, soon becomes brittle, but it
lasts on an average two years; the
rubber is light and has no other fault
but that of wearing out in twelve
months, while the canvas hose soon
cuts to pieces on the gravel. A sys-
tem of mounting such tubes on small
trucks so as to keep them from trail-
ing on the ground, and consequently
making them lighter to handle and
more durable, was tried for a long
time, but this has been superseded by
a very simple and inexpensive inven-
tion, that of tubes made of sheet iron,
lined with lead and bitumen, and con-
nected together by means of leather
joint pieces, the whole being mounted
on small wooden trucks. The cost of
this apparatus complete, with the sin-
gle exception of the branch, is only
70f., or 5f. 200. per metre, and it
will last on the average four years,
while the old hose on trucks costs
127f., or nearly double.

The cost of that now in use is
made up as follows :—Eleven metres
of iron tubes, 19f. 25c. ; leather junction pieces, 25f. 600. ;
ten trucks 20f. ; ligatures, 5f. 15c. ; total, 70f. The appa-
ratus in use at the present moment in Paris consists of five
tubes, each about 6ft. long, and a shorter one to which the

FIG. 19.
Hose on wheels for watering roads, &c.

 

42 WATERING THE PARKS.

branch is attached, so that only five trucks are required;
the trucks also in practice consist of a piece of plain wood,
a little more than. a foot in length, the tube being bolted
on to the upper
side and the run-
ners fixed to the
lower. As regards
the connexion of
the joints, this is
made sometimes
with brass flanges,
but a joint which
answers equally
well, and is much
cheaper and lighter,
is that made with
copper wire; for
the branch joint,
however, brass
flanges are always
used, as the branch
itself is removed
and carried away
when not in use,
while the tubes are
simply folded toge-
ther, fastened with
a piece of cord, and
left in any conve.
nicnt corner.

It is found in
practice that a man
cannot manage an
apparatus of this
kind, which is more
than about 40ft.
long; but for watering grass, in which case the hose is left
stationary in one place for some time and then moved to
another, several apparatus are, if necessary, screwed onto

 

 

 

 

Details of the preceding figure.

 

WATERING THE PARKS. 43

each other. The effects of these tubes or hose have been
carefully studied. The following is a table of results with
a twelve metre apparatus, the inner diameter of the nozzle
of the branch being 001.? metres, or rather less than half
an inch, and the branch itself being held at an angle of
45 deg. :—

 

Quantity ofwator 1

 

 

Pressure at the l uantit of water Extent of the 1‘ . ,

! surface. { Qgiven pyer second. jet. ] bgrb‘iighliiliiiittbin I

' Metres. ' Litres. Metres. 3, Litres. l
0‘90 10 f 1'80 ‘

l 12 T 1'25 12 2 '40

. 15 ; 1-40 14 ‘ 2-75 1

g 20 1 ~60 15 | 310 |

g 25 j' 1'80 15 3'40 ‘

l 30 ' 1 '9') 15 , 3 60 ;

l 35 2-00 16 3 3-80 l

1 46 ‘2 10 1 6 4' 00 7

 

These results, it is stated, are averages, for some appa-
ratus give superior or different results, although all the
conditions appear the same. Experience shows that with
the same amount of pressure in the pipes the extent of the
jet is enormously reduced by the lengthening of the hose.
Of course the diameter of the nozzle of the branch depends
on the pressure within the tubes, but it was thought neces-
sary to have a uniform model, and 0012 metres was adopted
as distributing the water most advantageously with a pres-
sure of eight to fifteen metres. An apparatus twelve metres
long, with a branch one metre in length, and giving an
average jet of twelve metres, is effective over a radius of
twenty-five metres. The plugs or hydrants are placed at
intervals of thirty metres on roads twenty metres wide, and
forty metres apart in narrower roads, when they are all on
one side of the road.

Formerly all the roads in and about Paris were watered by
means of carts which held one ton of water. It required
twenty-four tons to water the Avenue de l’Impératrice properly,
the road round the lakes, and some few others. The whole of
the roads in the Bois de Boulogne, as they now stand, would
require ninety tons of water, which would cost, men, horses,
and carts included, 13f. per ton, or 200,000f. (8000l.) for the

44 WATERING THE PARKS.

six summer months. The new system of watering by hose
costs for the whole of the Bois but 55,000f., or little more
than a quarter of the expense under the old system. In
this estimate, however, no account is taken either of the cost
of the water itself or of the capital expended for its con-
veyance. Finally, it is remarked, as regards the Bois de
Boulogne, that the cost is, in fact, little more than that of
the maintenance of the apparatus in repair, or about 250].
a year, the work being done by the body of men called
cantonniers, who have little else to do during the summer
months. -

A water cart drawn by one horse, in cases where the
hydrants are 400 metres apart, will water 1300 metres an
hour over a width of four and a half metres—that is to say,
a cart will water about 6000 square metres, using in the
operation three tons of water. But in the parks it was
found that the cart should pass over every spot once in the
hour, and this gives, with an average of seven hours’ effec-
tive work, an expenditure of three and a half litres, or more
than seven pints per day per square metre. The cost of
labour, cart, and horse is given at about 10f. per day, so that
the actual expense per ton and per square metre stands thus,
601m=0'00165f. In calculating the cost of watering by
means of hose and branch, the hydrants or plugs must
necessarily be much more numerous, the intervals between
them being in the ease of watering by cart 400 metres,
while in the case of the hose the intervals are on an
average only thirty-five metres. The total length of the
roads to be watered in thc Bois dc Bonlogne is 53,000
metres, and the number of hydrants 1500, whereas under
the old system 132 would have sufliccd, a difference of
1380 hydrants, ecsting 4-]. each, or 4s. a year for interest,
and, in addition, ls. for repairs, &c. The latter is con-
tracted for at the following rate—namely, eight centimes
per metre, or about three farthings a yard run of conduit,
and «1s. per hydrant.

A hundred and twenty men are required for watering
the 540,000 square metres of road in the Bois; in five
hours a man waters 4500 metres of road three times over,

XIII.

PLATE

 

MODE OF \VA’I‘ERING ROADS, DRIVES, FOOTWAYS, AND THEIR MARGLVS.

 

WATERING THE PARKS. 45

besides watering the side paths once, which the carts of
course did not touch. The cost is given as follows :—

Francs.
Interest and Maintenance of hydrants . . . 13,800
Cost and repair of hose, 8:0. . . . . 6,200

\Vages of 120 men at half a day for six months . . 35,000

 

Total . . . . . 55,000

The surface watered being, in round numbers, 600,000
square metres, and the average number of days 180, the cost
per square metre and per day is

550,000 g
180 x 600,000

showing a great economy as compared with the expense of
watering by cart. The hose and branch dispense (making
allowance for interruptions caused by traffic and by moving
the apparatus) a litre of water per second, or 18,000 litres in
five hours; the quantity is therefore about the same as that
dispensed by cart, only it is effected in five instead of seven
hours. Previous to the general adoption of the hose and
branch, experiments were tried with small handcarts con-
taining a quarter of a ton, and drawn by two men, but
these were found to cost more than the old carts.

Another method of keeping roads and pathways in order,
namely, by the application of deliquescent salts, is inte-
resting from its novelty. The salts used are chloride of
magnesium or of calcium. The former salt does not exist
in commerce, but large quantities have been obtained from
the residue of the manufacture of carbonate of soda, at
a cost of 15f. the 100 kilogrammes ; it may, however, be
produced for less than a third of that rate. The salt is
well calcined (in order to make it lose as much of its water
as possible), and then coarsely pulverized,- it is sprinkled
over the road by hand. The effects of this deliquescent
salt, as compared with those of water, are not uniform ; in
the case of roads with much traffic the salt is twice as dear
as water, because of the necessity of constant renewal, but
in side paths and roads with little traffic the salt was found
far more economical. The use of deliquescent salts has this

=0-00051,

46 WATERING THE PARKS.

great advantage, namely, that it does not interfere in any
way with the circulation, and maintains the pathways clear
of dust or mud, while of course in places where there is no
grass to be watered the whole of the cost of water-pipes and
hydrants would be saved.

The surface of grass which has to be watered with Seine
water in the Bois de Boulogne is about 250 acres, and the
quantity of water required to keep it in good condition
averages ten litres, or more than two gallons, per square
metre, every third day. To water this surface in the same
manner as the roads would require more than a hundred

 

 

llose allowed to play on the grass and shifted from time to time.

hose working ten hours a day, and this would entail a very
heavy cost. But as the grass does not require to be treated
with the same regularity as the roads one system adopted is
to place a branch on a stand at an angle of 45 deg., and
allow it to play over the grass for a certain time, when it is
removed to another spot: in this way one man can manage
ten apparatus.

The total amount of water taken from the Seine for the
purposes of the Bois never exceeds 240 litres, or about
fifty-four gallons, per second. The natural meadows by the
side of the Seine form about 400 acres, but the soil here is

WATERING THE PARKS. 47

alluvial, and therefore irrigation is only necessary in very
hot weather, Whereas the soil upon which the artificial
grass is planted is nearly all sand, and the greatest care is
required to keep the turf in order. The total cost of the
arrangements of conduits and pipes for the supply of water
to the Bois and the avenues leading to it is given at
1,520,000f., or 60,8001. ; the number of stop-cocks is 385,
and of hydrants 1600; and the length of the conduit is
66,200 metres. It results from these figures that the cost
of the whole has amounted to 22f. 970., or about 18s. 5d.
per metre. .

45

CHAPTER III.

THE PARC MONCEAU.

ans is on the whole the most beautiful garden in Paris, and
well shows the characteristics of the system of horticultural
decoration so energetically adopted in that city. It is not
large, but exceedingly well stored, and usually displays a vast
wealth of handsome exotic plants in summer. In spring it
is radiant with the sweet bloom of early-flowering shrubs
and trees, every bed and bank being covered with pansies,
Alyssum, Aubrictia, and all the best known of the spring
flowers, while thrushes and blackbirds are whistling in the
adjacent bushes, as if they were miles in the country,
instead of only a few minutes’ walk from the Rue du Fau-
bourg St. Honoré. This park was laid out so long ago as
1778 for Philip Egalité as an “ English garden,” and passed
through various changes, till it at last fell into the hands of
the Municipality of Paris, a very astute corporation, who
have converted it into a charming garden, and are not likely
to part with it in a hurry.

The system of planting adopted here as well as in the
other gardens of the city is often striking, often beautiful,
and not unfrcquently had. It is striking when you see a
number of that fine showy tree, Aeer Negundo varicgata,
arranged in one great oval mass, silvery and bright; it is
beautiful when you see some spots with single specimens
and tasteful beds, every one differing from its neighbour;
and bad when you meet with about a thousand plants of
one variety stretched around a collection of shrubs, or
flopped down in one large mass, or when a number of plants
too tender for the climate are put out for the summer
months amidst those that grow with the greatest luxuriance.
“ The subtropical system will never do for England!” say

THE PARC MON CEAU. 49

some practical men. The truth is, that it requires to be
done very carefully in Paris,and there is a great mistake made
by putting out a host of tender plants merely because they are
exotics, unless indeed you wish to contrast healthy beauty
with ragged ugliness. In the Pare Monceau there is usually
a group of Musa Ensete worth making a journey to see, and
masses of “’igandia, Canna, and such Solanums as Waree-
wiczii, that are worthy of association with it; but I have
also seen there beds of Begonias without a good leaf or a
particle of beauty—seraggy stove plants, with long crooked
legs, and a few tattered leaves at the top, and poor standard
plants of the sweet-verbena at the same time. If it were
an experimental ground, one would not mind, of course;
but this, in a garden where its omission would leave almost
nothing to be desired, is too bad. In some respects this
park is really unequalled, and therefore one regrets the more
to see these blemishes, which let us hope will not be repeated.

\l'hat first excites the admiration of the visitor used to
the monotonous and highly-toned type of garden now seen
so much with us is the variety, beauty of form, and refresh-
ing verdure which characterize this garden—good qualities
that are so often absent in too many of our own. The true
garden is a scene which should be so delightfully varied in
all its parts—so bright, so green, so freely adorned with the
majesty of the tree, the beauty of the shrub, the noble lines
of the fine—leaved plant, the minute beauty of the dwarfer
plants of this world; so perpetually interesting, with vegeta-
tion that changes with the days and seasons, rather than
puts the stamp of monotony on the scene for months; and
so stored with new or rare, neglected or forgotten, curious
or interesting plants—that the simplest observer may feel
that indefinable joy which lovers of nature derive from her
charms amidst such scenes, but which few, xcept those
of a high degree of sensitiveness and power of expres-
sion, like Shelley, can give utterance to. It would be
teaching him to use the words of Goethe-—

“ To recognise and love

His brothers in still grove,
()r air or stream.”

50 THE PARC MONCEAU.

If any good at all is to be done by means of flowers and gar-
dens, you must give men a living interest, a lasting curiosity
in them, and some other objects than those which can be
taken in by the eye in a moment. Numbers are occupied
and delighted with gardening as it stands at present, but it
can hardly be doubted that a system with something like an
aim at true art would be sure to attract many more; and it
is patent that there are numbers even among the educated
classes who take no interest whatever in the garden, simply
because they can in few places find any real beauty or
interest in it. To confine ourselves to a single phase of
the subject, it is certain that if all interested in flower gar-
dening had an opportunity of seeing the charming effects
produced by judiciously intermingling fine-leaved plants
with brilliant flowers, and of which there are such handsome
examples in this park, there would be an immediate revolu-
tion in our flower-gardening, and verdant grace and beauty of
form would be introduced, and all the brilliancy of colour that
could be desired might be seen at the same time. The beauty
and finish of many of the finer beds here, are of the
highest order, in consequence of the adoption of the prin-
ciple of variety. Here is a bed of Erythrinas not yet in
flower : but what affords that brilliant and singular mass of
colour beneath them, a display which makes the visitor
pause when he comes near the bed? Simply a mixture of
the lighter varieties of Lobelia speciosa with variously
coloured and brilliant Portulaccas. The beautiful surfacings
that may thus be made with annual, biennial, or ordinary
bedding plants, from mignoncttc to Alternanthera, are
infinite. At the risk of driving off the general reader we
must now begin to use hard names, and go deeper into purely
technical and horticultural matters, for we shall not else-
where meet an opportunity of doing so with so much
advantage. It is only fair to warn the reader that this is a
purely horticultural chapter.

The following are a few examples of these graceful mixtures
seen in this garden during the past year :—A bed of Arundo
Donax versicolor, springing from Lobelia speciosa; a bed
of Ficus elastica, the ground beneath perfectly hidden by

iffy“: EIP 7.3x..— .5.,.:> n D<EUZQE Uvjuz 2:5

 

   

   
 

A. . ¢-_

‘ 3' x V,‘ ‘
\ , . .3 ‘ ‘ -
“ , {to m. V Rmii'LwoWKJQ

.. V a.
‘ty‘ '

V

_ 4

  

 

THE PARC MONCEAU. 51

luxuriant mignonette ; Wigandia, springing from the little
silvery sea produced by the mixture of the blue and white
varieties of Brachycome iberidifolia; Caladium esculentum,
from a rich surface of flowering Petunias ; glowing Hibiscus,
from Gnaphalium; graceful dwarf Dracaenas, from very
dwarf Alternantheras ; Aralias, from Cuphea ; taller Dra-
caenas, from a deep and richly-toned mass of Coleus Ver-
schaffeltii ; Erythrina, from a sweet low carpet of soft purple
Lantana ; tall Solanums, on mats of that most finished little
plant Nierembergia; sea-green Bocconias, from the dwarf
dark-toned Oxalis corniculata var., and so on. Reflect for
a moment how consistent is all this with the best garden-
ing, and the purest taste. Your bare earth is covered
quickly with these free-growing dwarfs; there is an imme-
diate and a charming contrast between the dwarf-flowering
and the finc-foliaged plants; and should the last at any
time put their heads too high for the more valuable things
above, they can be cut in for a second bloom, as was the
ease with some Petunias here which had got a little too
high for their slow-growing superiors. In the case of using
foliage plants that are eventually to cover the bed com-
pletely, annual plants may be sown, and they in many cases
will pass out of bloom and may be cleared away just as the
large leaves begin to cover the ground. Where this is not
the case, but the larger plants are placed thin enough to
always allow of the lower ones being seen, two or even
more kinds of dwarf plants may be employed, so that the
one may succeed the other, and that there may be a
mingling of bloom.

It may be thought that this kind of mixture would in-
terfere with what is called the unity of effect that we
attempt to attain in our flower-gardens. This need not be
so by any means; the system could be grandly used in the
most formal of gardens laid out on the massing system pure
and simple; besides, are there not positions in every place
where such arrangements could be made without inter-
fering with what is sometimes called the “flower garden
proper”? Some may say we cannot grow the fine-leaved
plants in England. But this is not so. The most beautiful

12 2

52 THE PARC MONCEAU.

bed of those above enumerated was that composed of varie-
gated Arundo and Lobelia—the former a plant that may be
readily grown on good soils in Britain, and merely requiring
the protection of a little ashes, refuse, or an old mat over
the crown in winter, even in soils that are not particularly
favourable, while the Lobelia is one of the many fragile and
delicately pretty little plants that do perhaps best of all in
England. The fact is, we can find numbers of plants
among the hardy and free-growing kinds, which will enable
us to enjoy all the desired variety and diversity, even if we
cannot wisely venture to plant out “'igandias and coloured
Dracaenas except in the more favoured districts of southern
England and Ireland.

One of the most useful and natural ways of diversifying
and dignifying a garden, and one that we rarely or never
take advantage of, is abundantly illustrated here, and as it
is perhaps the most important lesson to be learnt in the
garden, we will discuss it at some length. It simply con-
sists in placing really distinct and handsome plants alone
upon the grass, to break the monotony of clump margins
and of everything else. They may be placed singly or in
open groups, near the margins of a bold clump of shrubs
or in the open grass; and the system is applicable to all
kinds of hardy, ornamental subjects, from trees downwards,
though in our case the want is for the finc-lcavcd plants
and the more distinct hardy subjects. Nothing, for in-
stance, can look better than a well-developed tuft of the
broad-leavcd Aeanthus latifolius, springing from the turf
not far from the margin of the walk through a. pleasure
ground ; and the same is true of the Yuceas, Tritomas, and
other things of like character and
hardiness. \Ve may make attractive
groups of one family, as the hardiest
Yuccas; or splendid groups of one
species like the Pampas grass—not
by any means repeating the indivi-
dual, for there are about twenty va-
GI'OIIPSMHIsinglvsw‘cinlons ricties of this plant known on the

of )llllliS isolut *d on the .
gm; L Continent, and from these half a

    

as, '7: «I .

THE PARC MONCEAU. 53

dozen really distinct and charming kinds might be selected to
form a group. The same applies to the Tritomas, which we
usually manage to drill into straight lines: in an isolated
group in a verdant glade, they are seen for the first time to
best advantage ; and what might not be done with these and
their like by making mixed groups, or letting each plant stand
distinct upon the grass, perfectly isolated in its beauty!

Let us again try to simply illustrate the idea. Take an
important spot in a pleasure ground—a sweep of grass in
face of a shrubbery, and see what can be done with it by
means of these isolated plants. If, instead of leaving it
in the bald state in which it is often found, we try to place
distinct things in an isolated way upon the grass, the
margin of shrubbery will be quite softened, and a new and
charming feature added to the garden.

FIG. 23.

it-

Yucca flaccida. \
Aruxrlo Donax variegata. '\

. \ #7
ex- \ '7’.
{etinospora, sps. \ 575,0
* ‘,\/:SZ’.
Ac mthus Lusitauivus. * \ X '10,.
Pampas grass. \ (’3'.

at a \
Cullllfl. nigricans. Group of Tritoma grandis-\\_
at; 5!: at

Statice latifolia. Rheum Emodi. Forula glauca.

Fine herbaceous and other plants isolated on the grass.

If one who knew many plants were arranging them on
the ground, and had a large stock to select from, he might
make no end of striking effects. In the ease of the smaller
things, as the Yucca and variegated Arundo, groups of
four or five good plants should be used to form one mass,
and everything should be perfectly distinct and isolated, so
that a person could freely move about amongst the plants
without touching them. In addition to such arrangements,
two or three individuals of a species might be placed here

54 - THE PARC MONCEAU.

and there upon the grass with the best effect. For example,
there is at present in our nurseries (I once saw quantities
of it preparing for game covert at
Mr. Standish’s, of Bagshot) a great
Japanese Polygonum, which has never
as yet been used with much effect in
the garden. If anybody will select
some open grassy spot in a pleasure
ground, or grassy glade near a wood
—some spot considered unworthy of
attention as regards ornamenting it—
and plant a group of three plants of
it, leaving fifteen feet or so between
. . , , ‘ i, the stools, a distinct aspect of vege-
Portion of ppm showing tation will be the result. The plant is
gifiiias’&§rfcifiigfiliili herbaceous, and Will spring up ev ery
15013th on the grass, year to a height of from 31x feet to
eight feet if planted well; it has a
graceful arching habit in the upper branches, and is covered
with a profusion of small pale bunches of flowers in
autumn. It is needless to multiply examples—the plan is
capable of infinite variation, and on that account alone
should be welcome to all true gardeners. The diagram with
the names is far too formal, and merely given to more
fully explain the system. The little plans show better the
irregular way in which the plants ought to be disposed.

The preceding part of this chapter was written in 1867;
but as this park is so full of interest and instruction for all
practically interested in the decoration of the flower-garden,
the following description, written on the spot during the
early part of last September, may be of some interest to the
horticultural reader :—

Entering the park from the Boulevard Malesherbes we
pass along an avenue of plane trees that leads from the high
and ornamental gates. The walk on each side is bordered
with roses in lines of different colours—the front row well
pegged down. They form long borders on each side, and
are very ornamental in early summer. A carriage road
leads through the park, so that it may be seen by those

 

THE PARC MONCEAU. 5-5

who drive through—but imperfectly, as the more interesting
objects are along the shady side and boundary walks. On
each side of the central drives glimpses are caught of very
diversified and graceful foliage and flowers, but conspicuous
on the margin is a great mass of Caladium, with leaves three
feet long and two and a half feet wide, springing from a
groundwork of blue Lobelia.

You can have no real beauty in an ornamental garden
without the aid of full grown trees, their majesty producing
an effect which cannot be dispensed with. Here they
approach the drive in groups, sometimes overshading plan-
tations of dense shrubs, at others springing clean from
the grass. In some places they are so crowded as to make
one wish for a little breath, in others they disappear, and
spreads of grass and dwarfer plants permit the eye to range.
On one side of the route may be noticed a hardy bamboo
with black polished stems, and rods ten, twelve, and fourteen
feet high; on the other, one with yellow stems of about the
same height. An old Specimen of the Abyssinian Musa is
vigorously pushing up a massive flower shoot scarcely yet
seen through the leaves, and in consequence they are by no
means so ornamental as those of younger plants which
devote all their energy to foliage. Tree ferns, and the
curious and graceful Beaucarnea with the great swollen
base, are seen here and there, the Beauearnea apparently
not a first-rate subject for placing in the open air. Next
to the great Musa Ensete, the best Banana is the well-known
edible Musa Cavendishii: it is in perfect health, emerging
from a mass of Tradescantia zebrina ; the leaves twenty-fourto
thirty inches long, and not often laceratcd. A great mass of
the variegated Acer—several hundred trees—is margined
with rose—coloured geraniums, and all the space between filled
with Dahlias, Salvias, and the like : a good plan, inasmuch
as it prevents a naked base. Groups of palms, single
specimens of birch (as graceful as any exotic), and fine
out-arching specimens of the hardy Polygonum Sieboldi
form the most notable features of the central drive. Palms
from regions comparatively temperate, like the dwarf fan
palm of the south of Europe, the Palmetto of the Southern

56 THE PARC MONCEAU.

United States, the Seaforthia, and some others, bear the
open air of summer without injury, and add a very
striking and valuable aid to the scene. From the cross-
drive groups of Yuccas, rather thinly placed in masses of
dwarf flowers and plants, a large specimen of the Angelica
tree in flower, a mass of the Papyrus of the Nile, and
tall specimens of Colocasia odorata, are the most conspicuous
of the objects that approach the margin.

Again, commencing at the Boulevard Malesherbes en-
trance, and this time turning to the left, we meet with
masses of Musa rosacea, Bleehnum, Lomaria magellanica,
the older Specimens with stems two feet high; Nieotiana
wigandioides ; a telling, dark bronzy mass of Canna atro-
nigrieans, with some of the larger leaves two feet long, and
the stems nearly seven feet high ; groups of Latania plunged
in the grass ; and large leaved Begonias dotted amongst dense
masses of Tradescantia zehrina. These Begonias do not grow
well enough to warrant their being put out in our latitudes
except under the most favourable conditions. Next come
masses of Hibiscus, rather sparing of their great red flowers;
numerous specimens of handsome plants isolated on the
grass, from double scarlet Pomegranates to Thuja aurea
and Clianthus Dampieri; masses of india-rubber plants
with groundwork of mignonette, of ‘Vigandia macrophylla
with groundwork of Coleus, of silvery Solanum marginatum
with groundwork of dwarf herbaceous Aster, of Tupidanthus
in carpet of Cuphea, and of variegated Arundo in one of
(lerman Aster. A mass of Caladium batavicnse, with
leaves three and a half feet long and dark stems, is very
imposing. As a foliage plant, it is second to no other
employed in Parisian gardens, though hitherto C. 08011-
lentum has generally been considered to be the best. Here
there are large masses of both it and bataviensc. Usually
C. bataviense makes leaves larger than C. eseulcntum, and
as a rule its leaves are the largest this year, but the
biggest specimens of the year were of eseulentum, of which
the largest measured four feet seven inehes long, bataviense
reaching four feet one inch. C. eseulentum best withstands
the winds, the leaves of C. bataviense often getting broken

PLATE XV.

 

 

kINx'rxLluA‘n'LI) PLAX'I'J IN THE PARC MUNCEAU.

Caladium. Amlia. I’er,-ni:<. Mmal-Lnscre. Yucca.

 

THE PARC MONCEAU. 57

by them, so that many of the finer leaves made during the
season were lost before September, their great stumps
showing how vigorous they had been. It is usually and
from the same cause denuded of leaves about the base ; C.
eseulentum retaining them. The leaf-stalks of bataviense
are of a dark hue, by which it is easily distinguished from
eseulentum with its pale green leaf-stalks. The stems of
bataviense are also much larger than those of the cseu-
lentum, a few of those growing here being ten inches in
diameter.

Of the Ficuses grown here, the best is yet the old
F. elastiea ; but Chauvieri is also good, and Portcana has
done well this season, though the Parisian summers are
usually too cold for it; its leaves were fifteen inches long.
Yucca aloifolia is hardy here. A fine old plant of it, ten
feet high, and with a considerable portion of the stem
naked, was in perfect health. Every winter the stem is
protected as far as the leaves, and the snow prevented
from remaining on these. Melia Azederach is also hardy
here—at least, it has stood out during the past winter;
and as its large compound leaves would prove so useful in
the flower-garden, it should be tried out in favourable
parts of England. Andropogon formosum does well here,
and a group of Dasylirions are plunged in the grass. The
lirythrinas are a fine feature, the old E. crista-galli being
considered the best on the whole ; but E. ruberrima is
very fine from its hue of scarlet and crimson. Bocconia
frutescens is five and a half feet high, with leaves two and
a half feet long; and an Encephalartos is fine as an isolated
specimen. Agave amerieana is left in the garden during
winter and protected, but with more trouble and cost than
would be incurred by taking it indoors. A mode of train-
ing various flowering climbers up the stems of trees is
worthy of special notice. Clematises, honeysuckles, various
kinds of ivy, everlasting peas, and many other kinds of
climbing plants may be used in this way with good ef-
fect. There is one plant grown here in quantity, which is
rarely seen in England, but which should be in every
Eng’lish garden—Funkia subcordata, a dwarf, hardy

58 THE PARC MONCEAU.

plant with snowy white flowers sweeter than orange-
blossom.

Two large carriage drives, laid out so as to interfere
as little as possible with the old plantations, run through
the park from one end to the other, and form a continua-
tion of the boulevards leading to it. These drives are
closed by iron gates of a highly ornamental character.
The areaof the park is about twenty-two English acres,
of which thirteen are in turf, and five planted with flowers,
shrubs, and trees, the remainder being devoted to walks and
the small and unhappy piece of water. The total cost of
alteration was over 48,000]. The work was begun in the
month of January, 1861, and finished in August of the
same year.

59

CHAPTER IV.

THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT.

THIS is the boldest attempt at what is called the picturesque
style that has been attempted either in Paris or London.
It is hardly wise to attempt expensive and extraordinary
works in places of this sort, at least till all the densely
populous parts of a city are provided with open, well-planted
spaces. Thus in London it is a mistake to devote great
expense to a few parks, and leave so many square miles of
population without a green spot. But in this instance an
unusual attempt was to some extent invited by the peculiar
nature of the ground. The whole park may be described
as a sort of diversified Primrose Hill with two or three
“peaks and valleys,” and an immense pile of rock seen
here and there. At its hollow or lower end there was a
quarry, and this has been taken advantage of to produce a
grand feature. They have cut all round three sides of this
quarry, smoothed it down, leaving intact the great side of
stone, and adding to it here and there masses of artificial
rock.

This forms a very wide and imposing elifl', 164 feet high,
or thereabouts, in its highest parts, and from these you
may gradually descend to its base by a rough stair, exceed-
ingly well constructed, and winding in and out of the huge
rocky face. At the base of the cliff, and widely spreading
round it, there is a lake. This ponderous clifi‘ has several
wings, so to speak, and in one bay has been constructed a
large stalactite cave, about sixty feet high from its floor to
the ceiling, and wide and imposing in proportion. At its
back part the light is let in through a wide opening, show-
ing a gorge reminding one of some of those in the very tops
of the Cumberland mountains, and down this trickles the

60 THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT.

water into the cave, ivy and suitable shrubs being planted
along its course above the roof of the cave.

The efl'cct is remarkably striking, though it is hardly the
kind of thing to be recommended for a public park. By
all means let us leave the luxuries of gardening out of the
question, till we have provided the necessaries for the popu-
lation of great towns, and these are green lawns, trees, and
wide open streets and ways, with their necessary conse-
quence, pure air. On one of the buttes, or great mounds
here, they have planted 500 or 600 dcodars—forming it a
hill of deodars in fact. This is a mistake, for though Paris
is not as foggy as Spitalfields, it is a great city, as may be
seen from this park, and with many a vomiting chimney
too, so that the better plan would be to pay double atten-
tion to deciduous trees, using only such evergreens as are
certain to grow. In one wide nook, perfectly sheltered on
the three coldest sides, M. André planted a collection of
subjects mostly tender in the neighbourhood of Paris.

From this park, the surroundings of which are by no
means attractive, you can look over nearly all Paris.
The approach to it from the central parts is shabby for
Paris, and on the way some idea of what the city was
before the splendid improvements of the past ten years may
be caught ; but this approach, like most objectionable
things there, is simply tolerated till more important ones are
finished. Of the quick way in which they proceed with
them, the reader can scarcely have a notion. I have
seen acres of land removed to a depth of several yards
without any fuss, and in a few weeks; miles of trees planted
in the course of a single week; old suburbs blown up by
hundreds of mines a day, and levelled into commanding
terraces fit for princely mansions. One June day, bright,
dry, and very warm, they were planting trees in ‘this park,
and large ones too—trees that required great machines to
lift them—while they were marking the ground for fresh
plantings. Do you plant after this date? I asked. Every
day in the year! Of the larger trees some seem not to
take well, and doubtless in consequence of summer-planting,
for which there seems little excuse.

.97‘324429 n : a 3 /;,fi 91/... ,,::_ Z~ n,‘~,:4J 3.44 Haw—<1—

 

 

 

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THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT. 61

The entrance is not promising—a hard-looking porter’s
lodge, and a mass of badly-made rockwork face a mound,
and from the rockwork springs an apparently quite un-
necessary bridge. The rockwork is bad because, although
superior in general design to the masses of burnt bricks
that sometimes pass for it with us, it shows radical faults
—presumption and unnaturalncss. Instead of a true rock-
work, something like a very puny attempt at reproducing
the more insignificant ribs of Monte Campione is the result
of plastering over a heap of stones. A hole is left here
and there in this mass from which may spring a small pine
or an ivy, but the whole thing is incapable of being di-
vested of its bald artificial character. One-fourth the
quantity of natural blocks of stone, visible through the
breaks in a mass of evergreens, would have been far better.
By this means one could get the necessary elevation, con-
cealing the basis of the stones with evergreens and trailing
plants, and not scaling up the thing with cement in any
part. The plastering of the joints merely makes the
“rocks” look truly artificial, especially when it begins to
drop out.

Bold high green mounds meet us immediately after pass-
ing under the ugly bridge at the entrance—here and there
patched with very presentable shrubs—as is not rarely the
ease in Paris gardens. One girdle seems to bind both French
and English, however, as regards the compact and formal
outlines of these shrubberies and plantings. “Ye know
very well that in nature nothing of the kind ever occurs;
that away from the wood strays the clump of low shrubs
which do not seem to be gregarious like their pillarcd fellows
of the forest; that indeed anything like straitlacing is
unseen. Why then should we draw a cordon 0f regularity
and sameness round our shrubbcries in the shape of a line
of some showy flower, making the whole thing change-
less as possible? What calls for this definiteness? I
know not unless it be that the mowing machine may have
the less trouble in cutting the grass around. Imagine the
British Museum or the Louvre arranged chiefly for the con-
venience of the dusters! The sooner everybody having the

62 THE PARC mas BUTTES CHAUMONT.

interests of gardening in mind proclaims that variety and
not formality should be the aim of all high gardening, the
better for the progress of the art. In their clumps the
French seem as straitlaced as ourselves, but in the newer
gardens they have adopted a system of dotting about single
specimens of individual beauty, which is very successful in
breaking up formalism, and is well worthy of imitation.

The chief feature of the place, as previously indicated, is
the great cliff, and unhappily the chief feature of the rock
is plaster. You can hardly approach it in any place with-
out perceiving the scams of plaster giving out, and where
this is not the case it is all palpably plastered. And why?
Perhaps the plasterer who made it could supply a reason;
but, whether he can or not, the sooner plasterers are dis-
pensed with as imitators of nature in her grandest workings
the better. There never was in a garden such a chance
of presenting walls of rock-plants almost as striking and inte-
resting as those one mcets with in the pass over the Simplon ;
yet it is entirely lost. By leaving the chinks and filling
them here and there with turf, by chopping back or leaving
the face of the high rocks sloping in some places so that
they would be well exposed to the rainfall, by trickling a
little streamlet over the face of the cliffs here and there,
and by scattering a few packets of seeds over the face of the
cliffs in spring, they would have given rise to an alpine
vegetation of great beauty. The great long-leavcd Saxi-
frage of the Pyrenees might have spread forth its silvery
rosettes here, so might its smaller relatives, its big brother
of the Piedmontesc valleys, and little Campanulas, Thymes,

Srinuses, Brooms, Stoncerops, IIouseleeks of many kinds,
with hundreds of the prettiest plants of northern and tem-
perate elimes might have been grown here. Now all is
daubcd over and plantlcss, save a bit of ivy and wiry
grass in some few spots ; and the face of the high rocks is
suggestive of little but suicide.

One of the few attempts to cultivate alpine plants out
of pots that I have ever seen made in France is here, but
it has been done on a mistaken principle. A tasteful and
desirable practice in some of the newer gardens and parks

PLATE XVII.

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THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT. 63

of Paris, is that of conducting a tiny streamlet irregularly
through the grass, and bordering it with water and marsh
plants; here there are a few examples of it for the most
part creditable. In one case, however, the streamlet in-
stead of coming from any probable source of higher rock or
brushwood, starts out of a plastered hole in the grass, in a
way one cannot admire. By the side of this and a neigh-
bouring streamlet alpine plants are placed, to grow here
and there in little beds along the stream, and indeed now
and then on a plastered spot in the middle. They are
associated with such lowland marsh plants as the loose-
strife; and in one instance a willow had started up and
shaded some choice dwarf Saxifrages and Rhododendrons.
It is creditable to attempt the cultivation of these plants
here, but alpine plants can never be grown thus. If they
could, it would be difficult to enjoy their native beauty or their
tiny character alternated with such things as the bullrush
and the flag! “’ith the supply of water that these parks
command, nothing could be easier than the creation of a
rocky mound healthfully covered with true alpine plants.
However, as no English landscape gardener has yet pre-
sented us with a rockwork well covered with its proper
ornaments, instead of merely ivy, Virginian creeper, &c., it
would be captious to find fault with the French for failing
in a branch which requires so much taste and knowledge of
plants. Not a few of the minor masses of rock—and there
are many of them—are in better taste; and being less pon-
derous, they will some day no doubt display the plant life with-
out which a rockwork is a poor affair. A piece of very bad
taste is shown in bringing a café right to the edge of the
walk commanding one of the best views of the rocks and
water. Restaurants and refreshment places are wanted,
but they should not be thrust in face of the most impor-
tant spots. People should never go to such places for
the sake of the café, however interesting it might be as an
accessory. There are unobtrusive and readily accessible
positions where they may be situated.

One feature deserves denunciation—the glaring way in
which the walks are exposed. There can hardly be two

64 THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT.

opinions about the desirability of concealing the walks of a
naturally disposed garden as much as may be convenient.
A marked feature in many new French gardens is the way
they are exposed. In the plans of the best French landscape-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l‘lnn of garden, showing how fund the French landscape-gardeners are of
describing sections of eggs wlule laying out their walks.

gardeners it is quite ridiculous to see the way the walks
wind about in symmetrical twirlings, and, when they have
entwined themselves through every sweep of turf in the
place, seem to long for more spaces to writhe about in.
Most glaring instances of this are seen here, and parti-
cularly on the top, the highest rock, where a small temple
is seated.

Near one of the entrances, here is a mixture of Indigo-
fera Dosua and the holly-leaved Mahouia, the first pre-
dominating and full of flower in summer, having the
delicate beauty and profusion of flowers characteristic of

THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT. 65

New Holland, and greenhouse plants: it is worthy of
being extensively used with us, and Indigofera floribunda
should be everywhere used as a flower-garden wall plant.
There is not much in the summer decoration of the place
that is worthy of note. Some kinds of Cannas in flower
look almost as showy as beds of Gladioli, but their real
value will always be greatest as fine-leaved ornaments.
The common artichoke was very effective in one spot as
an isolated specimen of a “ foliage plant,” nothing
being finer than the nobly formed silvery leaves of this
plant. Indeed, there is nothing to surpass it among sub-
jects suited for single specimens on the green grass. A
well-developed example would be sufficient in a. private
garden ; and if nobody else plants it, schools of art would
find it to their advantage to have a specimen of it some-
where near at hand.

The Parc des Buttes Chaumont was made on the site of
old and abandoned plaster quarries. It forms a curvilinear
triangle, having an area of nearly forty-five acres included
between the Rue de Crimée and two boulevards running
between Belleville and Puebla. Before the park was made,
the ground, which was divided by the Chemin de Fer de
Ceinture and the Rue Fessard, was an arid wilderness of
clay mounds and of excavations left by the quarrymen,
many of which were so deep as to form miniature pre-
cipices. It was proposed to turn this waste into a public
promenade by taking advantage of the natural irregularities
of the ground, by forming paths, laying turf, and making a
piece of water. To obtain this result, the natural hollows of
the ground in the part nearest to Paris were deepened, paths
leading to the top of the hills and mounds were laid down,
the general surface was made more regular and covered
with garden earth and flower-beds, and plantations were
formed where necessary. The improvements made were of
an important character only as far as it was necessary
to bring the boundary of the park into harmony with the
Boulevard de Ceinture, which runs through a trench nearly
sixty feet deep. The other portion of the park, in which
are situated the cutting through which the Chemin de Fer (10

F

66 THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT.

Ceinture passes, and the old plaster quarries, which now
forms the most picturesque part, necessitated works of a
much more considerable cost.

The line of rocks, which in some places are much over 100
feet in perpendicular height, was luckily terminated by a
craggy promontory looking down into the old excavations.
This promontory was separated from the general mass in
such a way as to form an isolated rock rising out of the lake
which surrounded it on all sides. The lake is supplied by
two rivulets which run through the two valleys of the
park. One of them flows out of the lower wall of the
upper boulevard, and falls down into a large cavern forming
a cascade over 100 feet in height. The wall and grotto
were formed to support the neighbouring land towards
Belleville which was gradually falling into the excavations
left in the quarries. The marly soil which lies above the
gypsum in a layer of forty-eight feet thick, the slightly sloping
surface of which was gradually crumbling away under the
action of the air, has been dug out so as to allow the slopes
to sustain the mould forming the plantations. At the
highest point of the promontory, however, where it was
necessary to have a bold mass of rock hanging over the
water, an embankment of masonry built in imitation of the
rocks at the base has been found necessary to support the
crumbling soil. A suspension bridge more than 200 feet
10ng thrown over the lake and the path surrounding it
joins this portion of the park to the other, and obviates the
necessity of a long walk round. A large number of carriage
roads twenty-two feet wide, the inclines rarely reaching
6 in 100, allow carriages to drive all over the park in spite
of the great difference of level existing in various parts.

The paths, whose inclination seldom exceeds 10 in lOO,
but which are sometimes cut into steps, afford foot-passengers
the means of making short cuts between the carriage-drives
in order to reach the heights of the park more expeditiously.
Four bridges have been built over some of the deeper hollows,
also a wire bridge has been thrown across the railway, a
stone bridge, forty feet in span and sixty feet high, above
a road and a small arm of the lake, the suspension bridge

THE PARC DES BUTTES CHAUMONT. 67

already mentioned, and a skew bridge fifty-six feet in span,
made of iron resting on stone piers.

The park being surrounded by large roads is enclosed
with an open iron railing, so that the View is never ob.
structed. Besides this, wherever it has been possible, the
garden has been so arranged as to be looked down upon
from the boulevards above. The boulevard itself is supported
by a wall forming a terrace over one part of the park, upon
which it looks down almost perpendicularly over an escarp-
ment 120 feet high. The water which supplies the cascades
and the pipes by which the garden is watered is pumped by
a special engine belonging to the Canal de l’Ourcq into a
reservoir situated at the side of the upper boulevard which
surrounds the park. As for the end of the park nearest to
Paris, it is, on the contrary, much higher than the boule-
vards. It has therefore been laid out in such a way as not
to interfere with the panorama of Paris seen above the tops
of the houses which will be built in the intervening
thoroughfares. The works, which were commenced early in
186%, are now finished. The cost of the bridges, roads, and
gardens amounted to something near 120,000l. The archi-
tectural work, including a first-class and two second-class
restaurants, one double and eight single park-keeper’s lodges,
a rotunda, and the surrounding railinor will amount to

23)

nearly 20,0001., making the entire cost close upon 140,0001.

r2

68

CHAPTER V.

THE JARDIN DES PLANTES AND THE GARDENS OF THE
LUXEMBOURG.

“'1: have nothing in the British Isles like the Jardin des
Plantes. It is half zoological, half botanical, and nearly
surrounded by museums containing vast zoological, bo—
tanical, and mineralogical collections. The portion entirely
devoted to botany is laid out in the straight, regular style,
while the part
Fm. 26. in which are
the numerous
buildings for
the Wild ani-
. mals,has Wind-
ing walks, and
some trifling
diversity here
and there. The
place is really
an important
school of sei-
' ence, and as
Conservatories and Museums in the Jardin des Plantes. 511011 it is {Irmt
and useful. In
addition to able lecturers on botany, culture, and allied
matters, there are, I believe, a dozen on various other scien-
titie subjects, some of these gentlemen being among the
ablest and most famous naturalists in Europe. Here Button,
Curier, Jussieu, and other great men have worked; and
here at the present day, even in minor departments, are
many men of well known ability.

 

Although the Jardin des Plantes is quite inferior in point

THE JARDIN

DES PLANTES.

69

of beauty to any of our large British botanic gardens, it con-
tains some features which might be introduced to them with

the greatest advantage. Its
chief merits are that its plants
are better named than in any

several arrangements which
enable the student to see con-
veniently, and most correctly,
all obtainable useful plants
infinitely better than in any
British botanic garden; and it
displays very fully the vegeta-
tion of temperate and northern
climes, and consequently, that
in which we are the most
interested, and which is the
most important for 11s. Its
chief faults are that it has a

FIG. 27.

 

Aquatic birds in the J ardin des
Plantes.

bad position in an out-of-the-Way part of the town; the
greater part of its surface is covered with plants scien-

FJG. ‘23.

 

Animals in the Jardin des Plantes.

planted in France.

it was given by the English botanist Collinson.

tifically disposed ; the houses
are poor and badly arranged
compared to those in our own
good botanic gardens; and
there is no green turf to be
seen in its open and impor-
tant parts. It has, in addi-
tion, a very bad atmosphere
for pines and evergreens, and
there is a ridiculous kind of
maze on the top of an other-
wise not objectionable mound.
Half way up this elevation
stands a tolerably good Cedar
of Lebanon, the first ever

It was planted by Jussieu, to whom

Beyond

this there is not much tree-beauty in the Jardin des

70 THE JARDIN DES PLANTES.

Plantes. There are fine collections of palms and other
subjects of much importance for a botanic garden, and the
house collections are on the
whole good, but the plants
in a great many cases are very
diminutive and poorly deve-
loped, therefore we will pass
them by.

There is one admirable
feature which must not be
forgotten, and that is the
fine collection of pear
trees. M. Cappe has had
charge of this section for
about thirty-five years, and
is now a very old man, but
still he attends to his trees,
and has them in fine condi-
tion, though contending with
much difficulty, because the
space upon which the trees
stand is really not enough for one-half the number, and
thus he is obliged to keep lines of little trees between and
under big ones, and so on. There are few things in the
horticultural way about Paris better worth notice than this
Collection of pears.

Remarking that they have a graceful way of comme-
morating great naturalists by naming after them the streets
in the innnediate neighbourhood of the garden, I will
pass on to the more important feature of the garden ; that
is, its very extensive and well named collection of hardy
plants. The only species of I’elargonium that ventures
into Europe (P. Endlicherianum) is grown here, and it is
quite hardy. The first of the principal arrangements of
hardy herbaceous plants, &e., is a curious and distinct one.
It is simply two large and wide spaces planted with
masses of ornamental species; and looks pretty well,
though far from being arranged in a way to developc fully
the beauty of its contents. Edgings composed of the several

FIG. 29.

 

Cedar planted by Jussieu in the
. ardin des l’luntes.

71

THE JARDIN DES PLANTES.

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72 THE JARDIN DES PLANTES.

that belong to the genus. Then there is a large space de-
voted to plants used for the decoration of the parterre, all
or chiefly tender plants or annuals. This is not so suc-
cessful or useful as some of the other arrangements, though
it displays numbers of popular ornamental subjects.

Let us pass on to a large division devoted to the culture
of plants used as food, and in commerce. It is at once
successful, useful, and complete. The chief va'ieties of all
garden crops, from Radishcs to Kidney Beans, are to be
seen ; the various species of Rhubarb, all important varie-
ties of Lettuce—in a word, everything that the learner
could desire to see in this way. It is not merely the plan
of the thing that is sensible and good, but its carrying out.
The annuals are regularly 'aised and put out; the ground
is kept perfectly clean, and it is, in fact, the best place I
have ever seen in which to become acquainted with useful
plants. Such arrangements well carried out, and cut off by
judicious planting from the general verdure and chief area
of any of our great public gardens, would be of the
greatest service. The ground is thrown into beds about
six feet wide, and each kind is allotted six feet run of the
bed. The sweet potato is grown here, as indeed are all
interesting plants that may be grown in the open air.

Below this arrangement, and near the river end of the
garden, is another very interesting division. It is chiefly
devoted to medicinal and useful plants of all kinds, arranged
in a distinct way. First we have the Sorghums, )lillcts,
\Vheats, and Cereals gene 'ally—all plants cultivated for
their grains or seeds. Then come plants cultivated for
their stems, from Pelymnia edulis to Ullucus tuberosus.
Next we have the chief species and varieties of Onion, such
plants as Urtica utilis, the Dalmatian Pyrethrum rigidum,
and in a word almost everything likely to interest in this
way, from Lactuea percnnis to the eseulent Hibiscus.
Here again the plants are well named and kept clear and
distinct, each having full room to develope, the general
space devoted to the subject being sullieiently large; and
the practice of giving ‘aeh plant a certain portion of the
whole breadth of each bed to itself is better than the more

THE JARDIN DES PLANTES. 73

crowded arrangements adopted in our British botanic gar-
dens. All these divisions we have just passed through
cover an oblong expanse of ground, the effect of which is
of course anything but beautiful from an ornamental point
of view ; but yet, in consequence of the ground being well
kept, each subject grown well and vigorously, and all the
squares bordered with roses and summer flowering plants,
the effect is better than might be expected. This great
oblong space is bordered on each side by double rows of
lime trees planted by Bufi'on. Between these are wide
walks, agreeably shady on hot days.

The second great oblong space to the north is entirely
devoted to the school of botany, and this is simply a large
portion of ground planted on the natural system, remark-
able for the correctness of its nomenclature and the rich-
ness of its collection. Here again everything is well taken
care of and kept distinct ; the aquatics are furnished with
cemented troughs, in which they do quite luxuriantly,
one of the singular and handsome Sacred Beans (Nelum-
bium speeiosum); and Limnocharis Humboldtii being well
grown in the open air. The whole is most satisfactory,
with one exception—that they place out the greenhouse
and stove plants in summer to complete the natural orders.
These poor plants are stored pell-mell in winter in a great
orangery, from which they are taken out in early summer
literally more dead than alive. They make a few leaves
during the summer, and are again put into their den to
sicken or die. The medicinal and other plants for special
uses are indicated by variously coloured labels.

Among manyhandsome hardy plants which I met with here,
and which are deserving of being more largely grown with
us, are Hibiscus militaris, Crambe juncea,Verbascum vernale,
Heracleum latisectum, Yucca lutescens, flexilis, Treculeana,
angustifolia and stricta (all hardy), Spiraea decumbens, Iris
nudicaulis, Antirrhinum rupestre, Merendera Bulbocodium,
Colchicum montanum, Magydaris panacina, Sorghum hala-
pense, Panicum bulbosum, altissimum, and virgatum, Epi-
lobium sericeum, Gundelia Tournefortii, Dahlia arborea,
imperialis, and Decaisneana (out only during the summer of

74 THE JARDIN DES PLANTES.

course), Datura fastuosa alba-duplex, Pyrethrum Tchihat
chewii, of the south of Europe—a capital plant for covering
the dryest of banks with dark green; it is very low in
habit, produces white flowers in spring, and for banks
and other positions so dry and arid that grass or anything
else fails to grow upon them, it will probably prove highly
useful. Anemone alba,Fiearia calthcefolia, Echinophora tenni-
folia, a graceful umbelliferous plant with hoary leaves; Gly-
ceria Miehauxii, a pretty grass ; and a collection of the genus
Asparagus, among which one, A. Broussonetii, is remarkable
for its great vigour and rapidity of growth—it quickly
runs up with dense vigour to a height of ten feet in spring,
its foliage is glossy and dense, and it might be used with
success as a covering for bowers or to make pyramids in a
highly diversified garden of hardy plants, and of course it
would be valuable in such a place as the subtropical
garden at Battersea Park. Asparagus tenuifolius is as
graceful and elegant as the one before-named is vigorous
and rampant in its climbing power.

Iris Mounieri, of “'estern Asia, is a really fine, bright
yellow kind. Among the larger Compositae are some likely
to prove useful for the subtropical garden; notably Rha-
pontieum scariosum, and cynarioides. Serratula pinnatifida
is elegant in leaf; and particularly fine is a silvery-leaved
Tanacctum ('1‘. elegans), with finely divided and elegant
frond-like leaves. Dipsaeus laciniatus is fine in its line
when well grown, and it will prove really well worth raising
annually, somewhat like the Castor-oil plants, for the
garden where distinction is desired. Sideritis syriaca is
hardy here, and fairly tried might make a useful edging
plant in the way of Gnaphalium lanatum, than which it is
a shade more, silvery. I’hlomis herba-venti is a pretty
and distinct herbaceous plant, medium-sized, and Eremo-
stachys iberica is a yellow species, well worthy of associa-
tion with laciniata. Acantholimon venustum is prettier
and more elegant than the admired A. glumaceum, the
dwarf cushion of leaves being of a glaueous tone, and the
large rose-coloured flowers being well thrown out on hold
graceful stems ; it is one of the prettiest dwarf plants I

THE JARDIN DES PLANTES. 75

have ever seen, and for a well made and tasteful rockwork it
will prove one of the best summer ornaments. Geranium
platypetalum is very good here, and one of the best of the
family. Erodium carvifolium is so elegantly cut that I
should not hesitate to place it beside Thalictrum minus,
from which it is, of course, quite distinct in character. ‘

There is a capital collection of the very neat Semper-
vivum family, planted in the open air, where they do re-
markably well. Seseli gummiferum is a pretty umbelliferous
plant, of a peculiarly distinct and pleasing glaucous hue.
Thapsia villosa is also fine, and so is Aralia edulis. Vicia
tenuifolia formosa is a very handsome climber; and Orobus
rosea is one of the most elegant and pretty of its family,
having arching and drooping shoots, and being well suited
for a large rockwork. There are many others in various
departments, but as the subject is not of interest to a very
wide class, it must not be enlarged upon further.

For the information of curators of botanic gardens, and
those taking a botanical interest in curious plants, I may
state that Cuscnta major is luxuriantly grown here upon the
nettle, C. Epithymum upon Calliopsis tinctoria, C. Engel-
manii upon a Solidago, and Orobanche grows upon Hemp.
I have grown 0. minor upon perennial Clovers, and 0. He-
derae maybe readily grown upon the Ivy at the bottom of a
wall (I once saw it growing freely on the top of a wall near
Lucan, in Ireland) ; so that there ought not to be the chili--
eulty which our botanic gardeners find in growing these
curious plants. Orobanche ramosa is also grown here upon
Calliopsis tinctoria. The safest way with the Orobanches
is to scrape away the soil till you come near the root of the
plant on which you intend it to be parasitical, and then sow
the seed. ,

A very old and fine pair of dwarf fan palms, given to
Louis XIV. by Charles 111., Margrave de Bade, are usually
placed in summer one at each side of the entrance of the am-
phitheatre. They have straight clean stems, and are more
than twenty feet high. They escape the notice of many
visitors, but are well worth seeing by all plant-lovers, not
only from their age, but their exceptional height. Should any

76 THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN.

visitor to the J ardin dos Plantes wonder at the poor external
aspect of its houses and some other features as compared
with those at ch, he would
do well to bear in mind that
money has a good deal to do
with such things; and that the
grant for museums, lecturers
(the lectures are free), the ex-
pensive collection of animals,
and everything else in the
J ardin des Plantes, is miserably
small. 011 the other hand, the
gardens and plants of La Ville
de Paris are plentifully pro-
vided with money; the muni-
cipality of Paris often spending
The Amphitheatre in the Jardin des prodigious sums for the pur‘

l’hmk‘s. 0" each 5““ 0f the "11- ehase of plants, and even for the

trance there is a very tall and old . .
specimen of the “ dwarf fan palm." Plant (lCOOl‘athII Of a Slnglc ball-

One ball at the Hotel de Ville
during the festivities of 1867 cost considerably over 30,000I.,
while the poor Jardin (les Plantes gets from the State not more
than one-third of that sum to exist upon for a whole year.

FIG. 31.

 

T/ze Luxembourg Garden.

rl‘he beautiful old garden attached to the Palais du Luxem-
bourg—the favourite resort for many years of the Parisians
of the left bank of the Seine——has lately been almost entirely
remodelled, much to the indignation of the Parisian public
and journalists; but it is still a pretty garden. Geometrical
gardens are seldom ‘apablc of atlbrding any prolonged interest
or refreshing beauty ; very rarely so much so as that of the
Luxembourg. Before the recent alte ‘ations there was a good
botanic garden—an irregular sort of English garden, which
the French 'all the “ never to be forgotten nursery”—and
much miscellaneous interest now passed away. At present
matters are much more. concentrated, and we shall find less
to speak of than of old, but yet enough to make the place

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THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN. 77

worth a short notice. The garden used to be famed for
its roses, and for perhaps the largest collection of vines ever
accumulated, but recent changes have altered all this. The
vines were removed bodily to the J ardin d’Acclimatation, in
the Bois de Boulogne, and thus it lost some of its interest.
The glass-house department, however, retains most of its
attractions, and to the horticultural visitor will present a
good deal of interest. It contains the best collection of
Orchids in any public garden about Paris, fine Camellia-
houses in which the specimens attain great perfection, and
miscellaneous collections. The Object and limits of this
book will not permit us to enter into particulars of this
department, and therefore we will go in the open air and
look at the broader features of the scene.

Usually in geometrical gardens the portion nearest the
building is a terrace commanding the surroundings—here,
on the contrary, the part nearest the palace and stretching
away from its face is a basin flanked by balustradcd terraces.
Above these terraces are seen numerous marble statues and
horse-chestnut groves. The lower portion, however, is from
a gardening point of view the most interesting, and we will
glance at the mode of decoration pursued therein.

The grass banks that rise from the lower garden to the
balustrade—such slopes as may be seen in most places of
the kind—arc not left naked, but planth with two rows of
dwarf rose bushes, and the effect of these is very pretty.
There seems no particular reason why like spots should be
left naked with us. Continuous borders, not beds, run
round the squares of grass, &c., and from the dawn of
spring to the end of autumn these are never without
occupants—never ragged, never flowerless. The system
adopted is one of bedding and herbaceous plants mixed,
but all changed every year. They steal out a spring
flower this week, and put in a fine herbaceous or bedding
plant, or strong growing florists’ flower in its stead, and
with the very best success. Stocks of good bedding and
herbaceous plants are always kept on hand to carry this out,
and the placing of the herbaceous plants into fresh ground
every year causes them to flower as freely as the bedders.

78 THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN.

But these borders also contain permanent things—Lilac
bushes, Roses, &c., which give a line of verdure throughout
the centre of the border, and prevent it from being quite
overdone with flowers. Among those woody plants there
were_others very beautiful and very sweet for many weeks

FIG. 32.

Vii/LAM”

 

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.7.’.‘/_!/./W0

 

Plan of the Luxemboarg Garden as recently altered.

through the better part of the season, and these were low
standard bushes of the common Honeysuckle! English
flower-gardeners would perhaps scarcely ever think of that
for such a position 3 but alternating between a Rose and a
Lilac, or other bush, and throwing down a head of free-

THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN. 79

growing and flowering shoots, very few subjects look more
pleasing in the flower garden. The mixture of Phloxes,
Gladioli, (Enothera speciosa, Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, large
yellow Achillea, &c., to be seen here every summer and
autumn, is quite attractive, and much more varied than is
now often the case. They also have the subtropical
system, and rather more tastefully than elsewhere. Thus
in one part may be seen a graceful mixture of a variety of
fine-leaved plants with an edging of Fuchsias, instead of
the ponderous mass of 500 plants of one variety of Canna,
which you sometimes meet with in other places about Paris.
BI. Riviére is fond of having mixed beds of ferns in the
open air, isolated specimens of tree ferns, ‘Voodwardias
elevated on moss-covered stands, &c. and their effect is
usually very good. The planting of the vases too is good.
Instead of using only flat-headed subjects, as many do with
us, they place in the centre of each a medium-sized plant of
the New Zealand flax, with its long and boldly graceful
leaves, and then set geraniums, &c., around, finishing off
with the ivy-leavcd geranium, the Tropaeolum, &c., for
drooping over the margin.

The effect of the fountain of Jacques Debrosse and its
surroundings is the most satisfactory of the sort I have ever
seen. The frontispiece, engraved from a photograph, almost
does away with the necessity for a written description of it.

Stretching from the foot of the fountain there is a long
water-basin, a walk on each side of that bordered with
Plane trees, which meeting overhead make a long leafy
arch, so that the effect of the fountain group at the end,
representing Polyphemus discovering Acis and Galatea, is
very fine. It is of course heightened by the leafy canopy
of Planes, but very much more so by the way in which the
Ivy and Virginian creeper are made to form graceful
wreaths from tree to tree. Between the trees the Irish
ivy is planted, and then trained up in rich graceful wreaths,
so as to join the stems at about eight feet from the ground.
At about a foot or so above the ivy another and almost
straight wreath of Virginian creeper is placed, and the
effect of these two simple wreaths from tree to tree is

80 THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN.

quite refreshing at all times. The wreaths seem to fall
from the pillar-like stems of the Planes rather than to
grow from the space beneath them, the bottom of the
lower wreath resting on the earth. An adoption of this
or a similar plan would add verdurc and grace to many a
formal grove, bare and naked-looking about the base.

In these gardens the Oleander is grown into large bushes
like the orange-trees, and put out with them during the
summer months. They become perfect beds of flowers.
I have seen plants or rather trees of those oleanders in
flower here, quite ten feet across, and with the flowers as
thick upon them as on a bed of Pelargoniums. They are
simply treated like the orange-trees, the culture of which
is fully described elsewhere in this book. Doubtless the
plan would succeed in England, and it is worth a trial.
Even indoors the Oleander is not often flowered well with us,
though quite worth the trouble of cultivation. Probably
the complete rest during winter that the plants get in an
orangery, and the making of all their growth out of doors
in the full light and free air, are more conducive to their
well-being than the careful culture they receive in our
glass-houses. On the Continent they are abundantly grown.
M. Riviere fils has obligingly written a short article 011 their
cultivation for me, which will be met with further on.

On the 5th of July, 1867, the men were busily em-
ployed in these gardens moving large chestnut and plane
trees in full leaf. They take them lip with immense balls
of earth, by powerful machinery, and very successfully, but
this system should not be pursued more than is barely
necessary in private gardens or public either. It may be
very desirable for Paris to move common trees of goodly
size to complete and rearrange straight avenues here and
there, but the plan is not worth the expense in any other
case.

Numerous amateurs and others "0 to the Luxembourg to
hear M. Rivibre, the superintendent, deliver his free lectures,
which are thoroughly practical, and illustrated by the aid
of living specimens and all the necessary material. The
lecturer goes through the theory and practice of the subject

 

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>

THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN. 81

before an attentive class, consisting of several hundred
persons, and elucidates the subject in a way which cannot
fail to highly benefit the numerous amateurs who attend.
It is interesting to see such a number of people here at
nine o’clock in the morning, and the deep. interest taken in
the matter, speaks much for the excellence of the professor.
As botanical professors lead their pupils on occasional ex-
cursions over meadow and hill, so M. Riviere takes his classes
to famous horticultural establishments from time to time,—
to Montreuil, famous for its peaches ; Thomery, for its
vines, and so on. There are many lectures delivered in
England on like subjects, but none so directly useful to the
horticulturist as these.

M. Riviére, being an admirer of \Voodwardias, pays
special attention to their cultivation, and succeeds in grow-
ing them to great size in small baskets, balls of moss, &c.
The accompanying plate will show how effective they are
when thus treated. Some of the specimens are placed in
the open garden on rustic stands or in vases during the
warmer months, and thus they grace the flower garden in
summer as well as the conservatory in winter.

82

CHAPTER VI.
THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.

MOST of us are familiar enough with the aspects of the
London squares, with their melancholy loneliness, and fre-
quent filthiness—their highest efforts being in the planting
of Privet, 81.0., so cleverly that any view of the interior is
impossible. If by way of contrast we glance at the state
of one of the most central and best known squares in Paris
before entering on the general question, we may be able to
get an idea of the different system pursued in each city, and
I trust also of the great advantages and superiority of the
Parisian one. The square and Tour St. Jacques illustrate
judicious city improvements better than anything else that
I am acquainted with. This tower—originally part of
an old Church, and hidden from view by tall, narrow, dirty
streets which crowded around it, is now one of the most
beautiful and interesting objects in Paris—striking to every
one who passes by it, and with the garden a source of much
pleasure and benefit to the people who live in this central
neighbourhood. It was made so by clearing away narrow
old streets ‘and buildings and making a garden.

The first thing that strikes the visitor in this square is
its freshness, perfect keeping, and the
numbers of people who are seated in it,
reading, working, or playing. “ The
same reason,” it is said in ‘ Gucsses at
Truth,’ “ which calls for the restoration
of our village greens, calls no less impera-
tivcly in London for the throwing open
_ of the gardens in all the squares. “'hat
onion“ ”‘0 PINK 0f bright refreshing spots would these be
margin of a Parisian

“mm in the midst of our huge brick and stone

    

’1

XX.

PLATE

 

 

_];\CQUES FROM THE RUE DI". RIVOLI.

THE SQUARE AND TOUR ST.

0 F

\'1E\V

 

\

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 83

labyrinths, if we saw them crowded on summer evenings with
the tradespeople and mechanics from the neighbouring
streets, and if the poor children who now grow up amid the
filth and impurities of the alleys and courts, were allowed to
run about these playgrounds, so much healthier both for the
body and the mind ! “'e have them all ready, 3. word may
open them. At present the gardens in our squares are
painful mementoes of aristocratic exclusiveness. They who
need them the least monopolize them. All the fences and
walls by which this exclusiveness bars itself out from the
sympathies of common humanity must be cast down.” The
aspect of this square with its wide walks lined with chairs,
on which hundreds of people sit and enjoy the scene at all
hours, but particularly in the evenings, would have well
realized this writer’s ideal of what a square should be. Nor
have the richest potentates more beautiful or diverse
objects in their gardens than are here spread out for all who
will enjoy them. It is almost as attractive to the passer-by in
the street as to those inside, for instead of a clump of shrubs
of commonplace character, cutting it off from the View of the
- passer-by, there is a belt of grass of varying width, kept
perfectly fresh and green, and on it here and there large
beds and masses, usually distinct from each other. Now it
is a fine bed of the dwarf fan-palm, edged with Carludovica,
as much exposed to the street as to the square ; now a
group of shade-giving hardy trees, furnished beneath with
neat evergreens, and finished off with a line or two of
flowers, next, a mixed bed of variegated Dahlias and other
tall autumn flowers, and so on. On the carpets of fresh
grass between these various clumps there are here and
there isolated trees—chestnuts, and the like, to give the
necessary shade and dignity, and to flower in their season.
In nearly every case the stems of these are neatly clothed
with climbers, generally ivy, occasionally Aristolochia and
Clematis. Very pretty effects may be worked out by using
the best climbers. But the grassy carpet is also ornamented
by smaller, though no less noble, things than the large
trees just mentioned. It is sparsely dotted with plants
having fine leaves, or distinct character. On one sweep we
G 2

84 THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.

have a tree Paeony, the tall Japanese Polygonum, and a
large-leaved Solanum. Passing two clumps of shrubs, and
between them an entrance, we meet with another strip of
green grass, adorned with four distinct plants- -the Pampas
grass, the Irish Yew, Mclianthus major, Hibiscus roscus,
and so on. It should he distinctly understood that these
plants stand singly and isolated on the grass, so that their
character may be seen. In the mixed clumps and planta-
tions near there are plenty of opportunities of seeing the
effects of things when grouped or massed.

Between the walk and the beautiful old tower there is
a little lawn, and in one nook of that deep green carpet,
sheltered on three sides, but coming boldly into the View
from the greater part of the square, is a specimen of the
noblest of fine-leaved plants, the great Abyssinian thsa.
It is about twelve feet high: the base appears quite two
feet in diameter, the young leaves made during the season
are perfectly intact, eight feet long each, a great red taper-
ing midrib, like a huge billiard cue, running from base to
point of each, and from this supply-pipe the gracefully
waved venation curls away towards the margin. Backed
by the foliage of the trees of our own latitudes, it forms a
striking and noble object indeed. Then, in the immediate
foreground, there is a mass of a scarcely less striking plant,
the edible Caladium, which springs from a groundwork of
fragrant mignonette, edged with the woolly Gnaphalium;
and so in like manner are sparsely scattered over the green
(they wisely keep the central parts clear to secure a little
breadth and repose), striking specimens or groups of speci-
mens, some of which it would pay the city to grow, if it
were only to give art students living specimens of Nature’s
finest leaf forms. I know some botanic gardens ten times
the size of this little square, which fail to furnish anything
like so good an illustration of the diversity and beauty of
the vegetable kingdom, and others where huge, tasteless and
formal arrangements prevent an equally agreeable impres-
sion from being obtained.

Amidst the whole stands the famous old tower, with its
leaves and figures in stone, a thing of beauty and interest

PLATE XXI.

 

THE SQUARE AND TOUR ST. JACQUES.

 

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 85

of itself, but greatly enhanced by being set so sweetly in a
green and brilliant garden. At every step the tower pre-
sents a fresh face, and the square a new charm. People
who sneer at what they call Haussmannization would do well
to ponder on such facts as this: a little reflection might lead
them to discover numerous objects more worthy of satire.
About this Tour St. Jacques were tried for the first time
the “'igandias, now the admiration of so many in both
French and English gardens, the Cannas, the Musas, Palms,
Ficuses, and others of the better kinds of what may be
termed the flora of Parisian gardens. What a change from
the filth and consequent unwholesomeness of its ancient
state! How different from the small squares around our
churches and monuments with their naked slimy earth and
doleful aspect ! Surely they might as well bloom with
verdure and life as be so suggestive of all that is opposite‘!
A visit to the Tour St. Jacques and its surroundings,
especially if accompanied by some idea of what the spot was
before the improvement was carried out, could not fail to
leave a deep impression of the great advantages to be
derived from the execution of similar improvements in our
cities. The old tower belonged to the ancient church of
St. Jacques, which was built in 1508. It is 175 feet high,
and affords a fine view of the greater part of the capital.
It was this tower that was used by Pascal in his experiments
on the variation of the barometer at different heights. The
works belonging to the garden were executed in 1856, the
total cost being nearly 6000]. for the alterations and planting.

Although so far in advance of our own squares in
every way, it is interesting to note that the idea was first
taken from London; but while we still persist in keeping
the squares for a few privileged persons, and usually without
the faintest trace of any but the very poorest plant orna-
ment, they make them as open as our parks, and decorate
them with a variety and richness of vegetation with which
it is only fair to say the choicest spots in our own great
gardens, public or private, cannot be compared. The whole
subject is treated of in such a judicious way by M. R.
Mitchell in the “ Constitutionnel” that his remarks may be

86 THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.‘

appropriately quoted here, dealing as they do fairly with
both sides of the question.

“ It has been often remarked, and with great reason, that
the English have carried their material civilization further
than we have. Comparisons have frequently been made
between Paris and London that were not at all to our ad-
vantage, and we are obliged to allow that the sort of accu-
sation brought against us was not wanting in justice. It is
not many years since the boundaries of Paris inclosed an
old city that ivas a disgrace to our civilization ; streets, or
rather fissures, without ventilation, and unhealthy districts
where an entire population of poor people were languishing
and dying. Now, however—thanks to the useful and im-
portant works that have been lately carried out—the sun
shines everywhere; streets have been enlarged, and every
one has sufficient air to breathe. Paris contains but few
unhealthy alleys, whilst in London the existence of such
localities as Bermondsey, Soho, St. Giles’s, Spitalfields,
“'hitechapel, &c., &e., is still to be deplored.

“ “'0 are far from forgetting the immense development of
material civilization in England. “'e simply mean to say
that our neighbours frequently invent for the sake of privi-
lege, and that when their ideas are good we take advantage
of them and popularize them. “'0 will take a single ex-
ample: every one knows how justly the English pride them-
selves on their gardens called squares, which are the admira-
tion of every foreigner. Our unfortunate public places that
the pedestrian cannot cross in summer without being grilled
by the sun or blinded by the dust only serve as examples
of our inferiority in this respect. The square, that is to
say, a little park surrounded by a railing, is the representa-
tion at once of a question of health—a question of morality,
and perhaps even of national self-respect. “'e certainly
could boast of the Place Royale, which, however, much more
closely resembled an unsuccessful attempt than the first step
in a happy way. At present, however, Paris need envy London
for nothing. The Emperor, who understands that for an
idea to be adopted in France it is not indispensable that it
should be French, was struck with the happy results that

PLATE XXH.

 

 

 

 

 

THE SQUARE AND FOUNTAIN DES INNOCENTS.

 

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 87

would accrue from the naturalization of the square amongst
us. He understood the necessity of a place of refuge, rest,
and freshness for those who have never carried their desires
even so far as the Passy omnibus, or even the railway to the
Bois de Boulogne. He has consequently bestowed on our
capital the squares of St. J aeques la Bouchérie, St. Clothilde,
the Temple, Louvois, des Arts et Métiers, and the Pare Mon-
ceaux. These masses of vegetation widely distributed
amongst the most populous neighbourhoods cleanse the air
by absorbing the miasmatic exhalations, thus enabling
every one to breathe freely.

“ The time has passed when a plate of copper exposed to
the air in one of the streets now demolished, would become
covered with oxide in a single night. This is a question of
public health that it is most important to bring forward.
Before the establishment of the Paris squares the existence
of a great number of children was passed in confined and
unwholesome districts. The fresh air for them was only the
threshold of that vitiated atmosphere that we have just been
speaking of. They were obliged to take a long walk before
they could find a patch of verdure or a bit of country.
The children went out but little; it was useless to dress
them or make them clean, because they never went out of
their own neighbourhood, and in this way their early years
passed away. How many times have we not noticed with
painful emotion these little, ragged, pale creatures, who
never apparently thought of the filth in which they were
obliged to live!

“ New, thank God, this dark picture has become bright.
“'ithin a couple of steps of the poor man’s house there are
trees, flowers, and gravel-walks where his children can run
about, and clean and comfortable seats where their parents
may sit together and talk. Family ties are strengthened,
and the workman soon understands that there are calmer
and more moral pleasures than those he has been used to
seek in the wine-shop. Again, the different degrees of the
members of the working classes meet together on common
ground, and parental feeling is developed by emulation. A
child must not be allowed to be ragged for fear of its being

\,
88 THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.

remarked, and we will answer for it that a woman in whose
breast maternal instinct has not been entirely smothered
will never take her child into a public place without first
paying attention to the cleanliness which is the ornament of
the poor. Some time ago, while walking through the
Square du Temple, where hundreds of children were running
and jumping and filling their lungs with the country air
that has thus been brought into Paris, we could not help
saying to ourselves that strengthened and developed by
continual exercise these youngsters would one day form a
true race of men, which would give the State excellent
soldiers, good labourers for our farms, and strong artisans
for our factories.

“It has already been stated that the English originate
privileges and that we popularize and perfect their ideas.
\Vc shall prove what we advance by comparison. The
Parisian Ediles have made squares wherever a too crowded
population threatened to contaminate the atmosphere, and
in all the parts of the city, farthest from the Tuileries, the
Luxembourg, or the Bois de Boulogne, so that those
living in the neighbourhood might be able to get to them
easily. In London, on the contrary, with but few excep-
tions, there are no squares worthy of the name, except in
rich and open neighbourhoods. The largest and most
beautiful gardens are found at the “'cst-end in Belgravia,
or at Brompton, that is to say, at the very gates of Hyde
Park. \Vith as trees are planted for sanitary reasons, and
the squares have been established, more especially in those
neighbourhoods where the atmosphere most required to be
constantly purified, and to this end trees of a particular
sort were chosen for their power of absorption. Fountains
too were built, and small pieces of water, which spread
that pleasant freshness through the air that is so grateful
to the workman who has passed the whole day in the
heavy atmosphere of the workshop.

“ In London they appear to have been above everything
anxious about the health of the trees; a healthy and warm
climate was chosen for them in open neighbourhoods close
to the parks, so that they should not suffer too much from

XXV.

PLAT I",

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THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 89

home sickness. We do not mean to say that the city, for
instance, or the other parts of the town, are completely un-
provided with squares, but simply that they are so small
and mean that they give one the idea of having been
blown into their position by the wind. But the head-
quarters of misery that we spoke of a short time ago—
those masses of crumbling houses—those networks of dark
alleys,—in a word, all that most needs pure air and daylight
has been forgotten, or rather neglected while the richer
parts have been improved. In Paris the squares are open
to every one; in England they are locked up, surrounded
by a railing surmounted with spikes, and planted with
bushes so as to impede the view of all that is going on
inside. By the payment of a small sum, generally a pound
a year, each inhabitant of the houses forming the four
sides of the square has the right to a key of the gate. So
that for a poor man to walk with his family in any of these
gardens, he must first live in a square and pay a high rent
for the privilege, and then contribute a pound a year to-
wards the expense of maintaining it. Practically these
squares are useless, and nearly always deserted. In
London the squares are private property with which
the State cannot meddle. “Tith us, on the contrary,
it is the Government that takes the initiative in these
municipal improvements. It is to the city of Paris
that we owe their construction; they have cost a great
deal, and the Imperial idea has only as yet been partially
carried out. “'e have already transformed the Bois de
Boulogne, the Bois de Vinccnnes, and we shall soon have
many more public promenades in different parts of the capi-
tal. Before long Paris will be one vast garden.

“ It is only necessary to walk in the neighbourhood of any
of the squares of Paris towards the middle of the day to see
with what pleasing readiness they are patronized by the
working classes. To give only an example, the Square des
Arts et Métiers is so crowded with people after four o’clock
that it is impossible to pass through it. It was at one time
said that the establishment of a public garden was an idea
that was perfectly practical in London, but not in Paris,

90 THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.

where the inhabitants were so turbulent and revolutionary
that they would soon pull down the trees, pluck the flowers,
and pull up the plants by the roots. Experience, however,
has shown how utterly this opinion was devoid of founda-
tion. At the inauguration of the Parc de Monceaux all the
gates were thrown open to the crowd. N0 surveillance was
exercised over the 50,000 persons who crowded the walks.
At the end of the day the total amount of damage done
only amounted to some forty-five francs for a few turf
borders that had been trampled upon. This fact is per-
fectly conclusive. Besides, the squares have now been
opened for a long time, and the numberless frequenters
of them have conducted themselves with admirable order
and decency. The people evidently understand that they
are at home; that it is for their especial behoof that the
gardens have been constructed ; they know that in pulling
up a flower it is their own property they are destroying;
and, moreover, they evince a respectful gratitude for the
hands that have given them these pleasant places of resort.
The establishment of public squares in Paris is an eminently
social idea. “'0 repeat it, it tends to regenerate the human
race by the development of the physical forces ; by exercise
in the open air it improves the morals 0f the people, by
allowing the working man to change the dirty wine-shop
by a pleasant walk and an agreeable resting-place; and,
lastly, it proves our readiness to adopt in our own country
whatever appears good and useful to our neighbours.”

It is to be hoped that we in our turn shall show an equal
readiness to profit by the excellent example shown us in city
squares. There are many private squares in London which
merely occupy space that otherwise would be devoted to the
gardens of the houses around; but, on the other hand,
there are not a few which seem to invite a trial of the
system found to work so well in Paris. I have very little
doubt that if we could set one of these sweet little Parisian
squares down in the centre of London, it would induce
many who would now oppose with all their might any
attempt to open their square to the public to ask for the
change. And eventually it would come to this, that even

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 91

persons having a claim over the smallest squares in
London—those that have been substituted for the little
private gardens—would see that it was to their interest
and for the benefit of everybody living near the square
that it should be cheerfully decorated, well kept, open to
the public at all reasonable hours, and a place where a
working man, too tired to walk to a distant park, could sit
down to rest without the necessity of resorting to the public-
house or any like place.

The Square St. Jacques, already alluded to, is so placed
that every visitor to Paris must see it. The next to be
noticed is rather out of the usual route of the English
visitor.

The Square des Batignolles is one of the largest and best
worth seeing in Paris. Entering it from its lower side, the
general scheme is seen to be that of a little vale, down
which meanders a streamlet, ending in a small round piece
of water. The margins of this streamlet are variously
embellished with suitable plants: the rich grassy sides
slope up till they end in dense plantations of the choicest
shrubs, so well planted and watered that they look as fresh
as if growing twenty miles from a large city. Let us walk
round—the margin of the shallow grassy vale to our right,
the boundary shrubberies and the railing to our left. The
walk expands from a
breadth of ten or a dozen
feet to forty, in the first _
corner of the square, so 1,.
that the children find little 4‘" v
playgrounds without going '
on the vividly green grass. . ‘ 1’ ‘
The first attraction to the
eye on the right is a group
of the variegated maize 7
springing out Of a mass of Portion of plan of Parisian square, showing

. - the widening of the walk to form a play-
d“ arf I‘d-110% Dmmmondl' ground, with seats and shade-giving trees.
Beyond it is a group of

Plane trees, Honeysuckles being trained up their stems by
the aid of rings of galvanized wire.

   
 

92 THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC.

Next on the right again comes a magnificent group
of Caladium esculentum, springing out of Lobelia Paxtoni;
behind it a dense mass of the Pampas Grass, in front of
groups of POplars and Cedars. On the left a profuse
variety of the very best shrubs, flowering and otherwise;
all these groups of shrubs being edged with some kind of
summer flower. Indeed it is these margins that afford the
floral display; and the absence of all attempt to make a
species of extensive coloured cotton handkerchief of the
place makes it almost as fresh and free from vulgarity and
gaudiness as a ferny dell in a forest. The keeping is
perfect, and there is no fence between the public and the
flowers but the very neat edging of rustic iron, which rises
about five inches above the gravel, and is placed about two
inches outside the grass. The only bed without any green
relieving it in the whole place was one of Centaurea
ragusina, planted thinly and springing out of a ground-
work of variously coloured and brilliant Portulacas. Again
we come to another angle of the ground, and the walk
once more widens to forty feet, with lots of seats in its
back portion. Behind all, to the left, is the well diversified
dense shrubbery; to the right Cedars and Thujopsis on the
grass, of the freshness, softness, and verdure of which
latter I can give no adequate idea. Here and there,
isolated on the turf, was a single plant of the red-stained
variety of the common Castor-oil plant, of which the
fruit, leaves, and stems were all efl'ective, the former strik-
ingly so. The Bananas planted out here are in a poor
state, except Musa Ensete, which is, as usual, superb. At
another corner there is again a widening of the walk to
forty feet. A few Chestnuts are planted on these wide
spots for shade; on the right there is a bank of choice
shrubs and low trees, margined with a belt of scarlet
Pelargoniums—thc only ones on the spot; but as it pro-
bably took more than 800 plants to form this belt, I do not
think anybody could complain of the scarcity of them.

“'0 will next pass 11p the walk by the streamlet that
runs through the centre of the grass. This is tastefully
margined with tufts of water plants; but a novel and

THE SQUARES, PLACES, CHURCH GARDENS, ETC. 93

praiseworthy feature is added. At some distance from
the margin—from four to ten feet—are planted here and
there single specimens of plants which, While not of
the water or the marsh, assimilate more or less in character
with the plants of those places—hardy Bamboos, Yuccas,

   
  
 
 
  
 
   
      
   

 

 

  
    
 
      
    
      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Erianthus, and other large grasses, some truly fine Acanthus
latifolius, the Pampas Grass, Tamarix, Funkia grandiflora,
850. Finally, we arrive at a mass of ivy and creeper clad
rockwork, from which issues the source of the rivulet: this
rockwork has its rear hidden amongst trees.

94- THE SQUARE DES BATIGNOLLES.

The Square des Batignolles, constructed on the once
open space in front of the church belonging to the com-
mune, is the largest of all the squares belonging to new
Paris; it contains over three acres of ground, without
taking into consideration wide promenades planted with
trees outside. It cost no less than 60,000]. The works were
commenced in 1862, and were finished the following year.

In a work of this kind minute details, especially of
commonplace subjects, are very rarely desirable, and for
this reason I avoid as much as possible describing the
contents of the squares and gardens in full. Nevertheless,
some may wish to know about the details of the planting,
and in the case of this square it is given. It will be noted
that each group of Section 1 is divided in three—the first
being trees; the second the shrubs that adorn the outer
sides of the plantation; the third the decorative plants
of the margin. The numbers answer to those of the plan
on page 93.

Sort. l.——Groups of trees. shrubs, and caters—1. JEseulus rubicunda,
JEsculus hippocasmnum, Tilia europsea, Pa us virginiana.—Ligustrum ovali-
folium, Berber-is vulgar-is, Ribcs sanguineum, Virgilia rosea, Lonicera tartarica ——
Phlox docussata, Coleus Versclmfl‘eltii.—2. l’aulowuia imperialis, (‘amlpa
svringa‘flilia, Plntanus occidentalis, Negundo fraxinifolium.—Forsythia viridis—
3mm, Ribos (in V811), Spirea (in van), Sambucus nigra, Symphoricarpus
(in vur).——Pelargouium zonale inquinans, var. Prince Imperial—3. zEsculus
hippocastanum, Sorbus aucuparia, Cytisus laburnum, Acer platanoides, Alnus
communis.—I.igustrum ovnlif'olium, Ligustrum spicatum, Cydouiu jnponiea,
Buxus sempervirens anguslifolius, I’runus lauroOerasus—Chrysanthemum pin-
natifidunr—‘L Aluus communis, Kmlreuteria pauiculata, Padus virginiann,
Paulowuia imperialis. Ligustmm spicatum, Ligustrum ovalifolium, Cytisus
sessilifolius, Muhonia Aquifulium, Berberis \uilg:iris.—-Pelargonium zonale in-
quimms, var. Christinus.——5. Juglans nigra, Sorbus aucuparia, Tilia europzea,
Aeer platunoidos, I’lamnus orientalis, liobinia viscosu. Lonicera turtarica, Sain-
bucus rum-moan, Mullonia Aquifulium, l‘Iuonymus japouieus, Deutzia scabra,
Kcrriajnpouicu, \Vcigvliu rosea.——I’hlox dccussutau—G. Robinia I’seud-Aeaciu,
Acor striutum, Cytisus labm-num, (‘atulpn syriugmflulia, Eleagnus angustiflslius.—
Hibiscus syriaeus. I’hilmlolphus coronarius, Ligustrum ovalifolium, Ligustrum
spicntum, Viburnum LaumnmY Tumurix indivu, (‘lliouantlius Virginia.—
Agomtum C(‘elvstiuuui.—7. Catulpa syringzvlbliu. Alnus glandulosus, Cytisus
Iniburnum. Sophom jupmdcn, Juglans uigra, Robinia Pseud-Acacimwlh-rberis
vulgnris, Viburnum Opulus,liibes sunguiuvum, Euouymusjupouicus, l’liiludelplms
iumlorum, Dcutzia Mama—Veronica var. (lloirc dc Lyon—8. Tilia argemoa
Aver striatum, flisculushippocustuuum, Soplmmjaponicu, Iiobiuia I’seud-Acacia,
Fraxinus cxvelsior var. nun-a. Ribes sauguinoum. Fomythiu Viridissium. )Ialus
spectubilis, Prunusjnpouicn, (‘ytisus sessililblius, Kcrriajapuuica, lleutziu scubm.
-—Acli\‘ruuthes Versclmilixltii.—9. Alnus l'ulm, i‘l‘lsx‘ulus hippocustnuum, Sophora
jupouieu, 'l‘iliu europma, Cytisus lnburnum, Surbus aucupuriu, Accr platunoidcs.—
Muhonin Aquifolium, Ileutziu scubm. Forsythia viridissimu, I‘liilmiclplms grandi-
fiorus, Kerriujupouicu, Sulubucus luciuiutu.Chionnmhus \‘irginica.—l'el:\rgxvuium
zonale inquinuus, var. Eugénic )lézard.—10. Sorbus aucuparia, Acer plata‘

 

 

 

THE SQUARE DE MONTROUGE. 95

noides, Juglans nigra,Paulownia imperialis, Alnus glandulosus, Catalpa syringes-
folia.——Euonymus japonicus, Forsythia viridissima, Philadelphus coronaria,
Mabonia Aquifolium, Cornus alba, Robinia hispida.—Gazania s lendens, Phlox
decussata.—11. Negundo fraxinifolium, Populus fast-igiata, uglans nigra,
Catal a syringaefolia, Cytisus laburnum, Sorbus aucuparia.—Symphol‘icarpus
alba, g‘orsythia viridissima, Ribes sanguineum, Euonymus japonicus, Deutzia
seabra, Syringe. (in var.).-——Chrysanthemum frutescens.——l2. Paulownia im-
perialis, Negundo fraxinifolium, Tilia européea, ZEsculus hippocastanum, [Esculus
mbieunda, Catalpa syringelblia, Acer striatum.—Ribes Gordonii, Weigelia rosea,
Mahonia Aquifohum, Syringa inodorum, Kerria japonica, Hibiscus syriaeus.—
Phlox (in van), Ptarmiea flore pleno, Calceolaria rugosa.-—-l3. Esculus hippo-
eastanum, Esculus rubicunda, Robinia viscosa, Paulownia imperialis, Acer pla-
tanoides.—Berberis foliis purpureis, Deutzia scabra, Forsythia viridissima,
Rhus Cotinus, Prunus lauro-Cerasus, Euonymus japonicus.——Phlox decusaata,
Lantana var. Queen Victoria—14. Sophorajaponiea, J uglans regia. Acer rubrum,
Ailantus glandulosus, Cytisus laburnum, Rubinia viscosa.—Bupleurum fruti-
cosum, Pmnus lauro-Cerasus, Euonymus japonicus, Spirea (in van), Hibiscus
syriacus, Tamarix indiea, Rhus Cotinus, Viburnum Opulus.———Phlox deeussata,
Coleus Versehafl‘eltii.—l5. Aeer platanoides, Paulownia imperialis, Cytisus
laburnum, Sorbus aucuparia, Robinia Pseud~Acacia, Aeer pseudo-Platanus.—-
Ligustrum ovalifolium, Prunus colchica, Sambucus racemosa, Berberis vulgaris,
Rhus glabra, Kerria. japonica, Ribes aureum.—Chrysanthemnm frutescens.—
16. Paulownia imperialis, Aeer striatum, Catalpa syringzei'olia, Tilia argentea,
Sophora japonica, Esculus hippoeastanum —Amorpha. fruticosa, Ligustrum
spieatum, Euonymus japonieus, Sambucus nigra, Prunus Mahaleb, Kerrie. japo-
niea, Coruus alba.—Fucbsia (in van).

Section 2.—-Beds for foliage plants and flowers.—17. Pelargonium zonale
inquinans.—18. Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Nierembergia frutescens.—19. Senecio
ilatanifolia, Centaurea candidissima.—-20. Heliotropium var. Anna Thurel,
l§oniga maritima var. foliis variegatis.——2l. Colocasia bataviense.—Calceolaria
rugosa, Gazania splendens.——22. Ficus Cooperii, Cuphea platycentra. —
23. Coloeasia esculenta, Knniga maritima.—24. Campanula pyramidalis, var.
eterulea et alba.—‘25. Musa paradisiaca, Lobelia erinus.——26. Plumbago scan-
dens, Dianthus var. Seneclauzii.

Section 3.~Isolated trees and plant3.——27. Bambusa aurea.—28. Pinus
uneinata.-—29. Araucariaimbricata.—30. Salisburia adiantifolia.—-3l. Pinus
excelsa.——32. Tliujopsis borealis.—33. Cupressus funebris.—34. Cedrus
deodora.—35. Thuja occidentalis Warreana.—36 Abies Pinsapo.—37. Thu-
jopsis borealis.

T he Square dc JIontrouga—Although our island is in good
repute for its natural verdure, I feel pretty sure that there are
few Britons who would not be persuaded of the necessity of
more efficient watering in our public gardens if they had seen
this square during the last days of the month of August of the
past year. To say it was green would be to give the faintest
idea of the glistening, deep, and refreshing verdure displayed
by everything in it, from the trees to the grass. It is a
very small place, not so big as Leicester-square, but quite a
gem in its way. It is simply laid out with belts of low
trees and shrubs; the centre of the little lawn left un-
adorned, while all around its edges really distinct and good
things are dotted about. The Acanthuses were very fine here

96 THE SQUARE DU TEMPLE.

in consequence of the constant and thorough waterings.
Previous to visiting this garden, I had no idea that they
would under any treatment look so well at the end of a
hot season. A plant of A. latifolius here was six feet in
diameter, not three feet high, and of the deepest and freshest
green. I can compare it to nothing but the young pushing
leaves of a healthy Camellia in point of glistening verdure.
Bocconia frutescens I never saw in such prime condition as
here—the leaves were three feet long and fifteen inches
wide, the plant four and a half feet high. Perhaps the
handsomest grass I have ever seen, as regards its foliation,
was here also. I do not except the Pampas. It was a
species of Cinna, which had just shown flower for the first
time; but it was the grace and position of the leaves that
were the most conspicuous. The central shoots gave off a
lot of leaves near the base, as grasses usually do, and con-
tinued ascending till seven or eight feet high, giving ofl‘
arching leaves all the way to the summit. The falling spray
of a fountain is not more graceful than were these leaves.
The effect of such things isolated on the grass is by no
means sufficiently appreciated by us. A handsome specimen
of Bambusa aurca, planted alone on the grass, helps to show
what may be expected of these tall, shrub-like grasses in
the time to come; I believe they will impart to our gardens
an entirely new aspect, and that of the most desirable sort.
The one we suppose to be the hardicst of all is tenderer than
several other species grown in Parisian gardens, and which
are enumerated elsewhere in this book. Cyrtanthera carnca
is used in this and other Parisian squares as a tall edging
plant, and is eflbctive when so employed.

On one of the grass plots here is a group in bronze.
Though in an out-of—thc-way part of the town, the keeping
is quite as good and the plants quite as choice as in the
1110st fashionable parts.

The Square ([11 Temple—This, although a pretty square,
has scarcely the finish of those previously noticed, but it is
a great advance on anything we possess in the same way,
and, as usual, was, on a very hot day in the beginning of
last September, as fresh as if it had not endured a scorching

THE SQUARE DU TEMPLE. 97

summer. A great advantage of the system of watering em-
ployed is that walks and every surface may be washed and
saturated with case ; for on hot days it is desirable that the
whole garden be moist and cool. A very splendid effect was
afforded here by a great mass ,of Caladium esculentum,
planted in a groundwork of the deep crimson Amaranthus
tricolor, the whole edged with a wide band of silvery
Gnaphalium. There is also a small pond with water plants,

FIG. 36.

 

The Square du Temple.

a piece of rockwork, and two fine examples of the weeping-
willow—always among the best ornaments of a garden.
The larger specimen is said to be four centuries old. Small
ponds in city squares, however, are in very doubtful taste, as
usually arranged. In a town possessing an abundant
supply of water it is possible to make some grand features
with it occasionally; but the number of small ponds should
not be increased. They are usually dirty-surfaced, and
besides seem out of place in a square from which the
buildings around are not hidden. This square was formed
H

98 THE SQUARE DES ARTS ET MIETIERS.

in 1857 011 the site of the old palace of the same name. It
has a surface of about 8000 square yards, and cost 60001.
The Square dcs Arts ct Me’tz'crs is like not a few others of
the minor ones, more of a playground than a garden, gravel
and trees being the main features. A low halustraded wall
encloses it, and at intervals vases for aloes and like plants
are placed upon this. The appea 'ance of this enclosure
may suggest that a kind of fence different from what we

Fm. 37,

 

 

('hildren at Hay in the Square des Arts et )letiers.

usually think neCCSsary in London. might he at onee more
elegant, and certainly not more expensive. It would not
do in the ease of the large enelosures, but should we open
small squares to the publie there is no reason why it might
not he tried. Few of us could have believed that Bay trees
in tuhs would remain intaet in that playground for the Lon-
don Aral)—'l‘rafalgar-square as they did during the past
year. In the eentre of the Square des Arts et, )letiers
there is a small but elegant Crimean monument, and there

 

PLACE ROYALE. 99

are two oblong fountain basins with statues. Around the
whole runs a narrow flower border, backed by a few
shrubs. It is like all Parisian squares, full of people, both
during the day and till late in the evening. The square
occupies a space of about 5000 square yards, and cost
12,800].

Place Royale.—This out-of-the-way square is chiefly a
playground for the infants, and a lounging and chatting
place for the children and old men. There is an eques-
trian statue of Louis XIII. in the centre, and around it a
group of horse-chestnut trees. Underneath, and indeed

FIG. 38.

 

The Place Royale.

nearly the whole square, is a gravelled surface, except a
slight belt of flowers which encircles the fountains that are
placed in each corner. Between the bed of flowers and the
fountain basin there is a belt of grass, a mere strip four feet
wide, and on this were planted at intervals single specimens
of the dark-leaved Canna. They of course backed up the
bedding-flowers, and came between the eye and the fountain
basin. This place was opened in the reign of Henry IV.
A couple of centuries ago it was the fashionable quarter of
Paris—now comparatively few but those who live in the
neighbourhood know of its existence. Richelieu, Marion
H 2

100 SQUARE DE BE-LLEVILLE.

Delorme, and Victor Hugo amongst other noted persons
have inhabited the old houses around this old square.

The garden of the Palais Royal, probably the best known
spot in Paris to the English, must not be confounded with
the Place Royale. It existed long before many of the
squares herein mentioned were thought of, is inferior to
most of them in beauty, and possesses no noticeable features
except it be ugly lines of clipped trees.

The Square des Innocents.-—This square which was formed
in 1859 and 1860 surrounds the celebrated Fontaine des
Nymphes, which was built in 1550 by Pierre Lescot, and
decorated by Jean Goujon. In 1860 it was completely
restored. The square measures internally 6800 square yards.
The expenses attending the construction of this square
amounted to the sum of 80001., of which more than three
quarters was spent in architectural embellishments. Like
all the new squares of Paris, it is tastefully embellished with
trees, shrubs, and flowers, and forms a fresh and pleasant
resort for the inhabitants of the busy neighbourhood in
which it is placed.

Square dc la C/capclle Expialoire dc Louis X VL—This
square, which is situated between the new Boulevard
Haussmann and the Rucs d’Anjou, Pasquicr, and Ncuve
des Mathurins, surrounds the chapel that was erected in
the year 1825 on the site of the cemetery containing the
remains of the unfortunate Louis XVI. and Marie An-
toinette. The total area is about 7500 square yards, of
which about 5000 are open to the public. The square
cost altogether nearly 7500]., and was completed in the
year 1865.

Square (18 Bellevillc.—In the centre of the old place where
the i'dtes of Belleyille were formerly held, which was planted
with lime trees trained in the form of an arbour, there
existed an open space a hundred yards long by sixty yards
broad. This piece of ground has been transformed into a
square by excavating the earth and planting it with flowers
and shrubs, thus creating a very pretty public garden in a
not by any means charming m‘ighbourhood. The works were
executed in the year 1861, at an expense of 800]. The

THE SQUARE LOUVOIS. 101

making of squares on this very inexpensive scale is much
more desirable than turning them into costly gardens.

The Square Mont/zolon.—'I‘hc Square Montholon is situated
on the Carrefour de la Rue Montholon in the Rue Lafayette,
and was constructed in 1863. It is composed of a central
grassplot, sunk below the level of the garden, and is orna-
menth at the further end with a rock, from a fissure in
which a stream of water is constantly falling into a little
basin. The size of the square is about 5000 square yards,
and it cost the sum of 7500]. The introduction of the
miniature lake is here, and in all squares of like extent, a

mistake.
FIG. 30.

 

Square and Fountain Louvois.

The Square Louvois is formed on the site of the old
Theatre de l’Opéra, which stood there until 1820. After
the assassination of the Due de Berri, which took place in
the February of that year, the theatre was pulled down,
and a Chapelle Expiatoirc was built on the spot. The
building, however, was hardly completed when the Revolu-

102 GARDEN or THE PALAIS DES THERMES.

tion of 1830 burst forth. The chapel was pulled down and
the ground was turned into a public square and planted with
trees. Later on a beautiful fountain, from the designs of
Visconti the architect, was built in the middle of the spot.
The square consists principally of a grassplot which sur-
rounds the fountain, and of two rows of the old trees, and
a few simple ornaments, but notwithstanding the effect is
very pretty. The Irish Ivy is used here in a peculiar way:
——trained so as to form low pyramids, Phloxes being planted
between. Usually, it is embellished by a few ornamental
exotics in summer, and is at all times a graceful spot.

Fm. 40.

 

View in the Garden of the l‘alais des Thermos.

The square or garden around the HOtel Cluny and Palais
des Thermes is quite distinct from all its fellows, and rightly
so. lnelosing ruins and a museum of antiquities, the cha-
racter of both has been imparted to it by arranging some of
the rougher and more permanent objects in it; and being
green and shady, the effect of the whole is quiet and Charm-
ing, though situated alongside the busy boulevard St. Michel.
As in most cities there are old ruins and buildings bearing
some resemblance to those in this garden, it may not be

 

l‘I,.\'l')l X\HI.

 

THE SQUARE VINTIMILLE. 103

amiss to say that they are always greatly enhanced by being
surrounded with the simplest kind of garden. Ivy, grass,
and a few hardy trees and shrubs are sufficient to change
their aspect from grimness, hardness, and decay to living
interest. A few shillings’ worth of the seeds of alpine plants
shaken in the tufts of moss or cracks of mortar would
give rise to a dwarf vegetation interesting in itself, but
doubly so from so markedly illustrating the ceaseless spring
of life even in the most unlikely places. For the additional
embellishment of gardens round old buildings, abbeys, &c.,
there are usually disjecta membra, not of importance enough
to be preserved indoors, in sufficient abundance, and if
arranged somewhat as they are here, the result will prove
satisfactory. The grounds of the museum at York afford
an admirable example of good taste in this kind of garden.

The Square V inlimille.—'l‘his square, situated in the
centre of the place of that name, is but of small extent, its
area being only 650 square yards. The cost of construc-
tion and restoration amounted to less than 6001. It shows
that the smallest spots in dusty cities may readily be con-
verted into oases 0f verdure and sweetness.

It would be useless to enumerate all the small squares
and places that, like the last, are little more than mere
specks in the city. Enough has been said to Show that
there is life and merit in the Parisian system of keeping
squares. It may not be perfect, and fault may easily be
found with the best of them, but considering how short a time
the municipality has had such works in hand, nobody can
doubt that they are a credit to it, and well worthy of imita-
tion by other people interested in the improvement of cities.
Some may say, Look at the expense—it must be given up
some day. Not so; intelligent Britons and others of
means have such a keen appreciation of a well-ordered city,
and go to Paris in such numbers to enjoy it, that they pay
a very considerable portion of the expense. I trust, how-
ever, that the day is coming when all hindrances to making
London a clean, airy, and noble city will be cleared away,
and when it will be made habitable for those who must
live in it at all times, as well as suited to the wants of men

104 CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES.

of business who can live out of town, or men of pleasure
who can leave it at will.

As to the order kept in these squares, nothing can be
more perfect. Being as a rule small and compact, the eye
of the guardian is a thorough protection, if protection were
required 3 but the people seem to require no looking after.
Of course there are many who will say that these open
and sweetly embellished squares would not be possible in
London—which is precisely what the Parisians used to say
before squares were tried there. At the hours fixed the
guardians of the squares are “ instructed to politely invite the
promenaders to retire, and the public ought immediately to
conform to this invitation.” The gates of the squares,
gardens, 8:0,, enclosed by railings, are opened to the public
from the 1st May to 1st October from six in the morning
to ten in the evening, and from seven in the morning to
eight in the evening at all other seasons. It is, however,
added, that in case of great heat, of snow, or of bad weather,
or when the wants of the department may require it, the
hours above indicated may be altered.

Church Gardens and Cemeteries.

There is no place in which a fresh little garden can
be made in better taste than round a city church; and
in Paris, where the difficulty would be to find an open
spot that is not planted, it is not likely that the spaces
around churches are neglected.

There are several instances of very pretty little gardens
being associated with churches in Paris, and they are so
successful that doubtless the system will be extended. The
best known is that in front of the new parish church of the
Trinité, a large and attractive building. An oval space,
three times as wide as the church, is enclosed in front of it.
The gradually ascending carriage-way is cut off from the
garden by a white stone balustrade, as shown in the plate.
From the garden to the church ascent is gained by two
flights of steps, and between these steps three curvilinear
cascades fall from three groups of statues, the waters unit-

CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES. 105

ing in one semicircular basin. The place is very tastefully
disposed and embellished. The effect of this fine new
church, with its sweet little garden in front, is something
quite sparkling even for Paris; and the place is, like the
squares, freely open to the public and much frequented.
Another exceedingly pretty garden intimately associated
with a church is the Square St. Clothildc. The View,
engraved from a small photograph picked up by chance

1‘10. 41.

 

The Square and Church of St. Clothilde.

in Paris, Will show at a glance how much the beauty of
like buildings may be enhanced by a little judicious gar-
dening. It is only justice to state that the tasteful plant-
ing, the neatness, and, above all, the refreshing verdure
which is sustained everywhere by profuse watcrings, make
the place leave quite a different impression to anything of
the kind seen in the British Isles.

It is an unfortunate fact that when we do attempt
any sort of garden round our churches it is usually
of the poorest character. The gardens just alluded
to have not been made on the site of cemeteries, and

106 CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES.

therefore the designer was free to do as he liked with the
ground. In this country there are numbers of city grave-
yards which, now disused, ought sooner or later to be
turned into gardens, but gardens of a peculiar kind.

In some places they have commenced rooting up the
graveyards, not merely where the tunnelling power of a
railway company is brought to bear, but in places untouched
in this way, and where the thing is done for mere love of
“improvement.” fivergrccn shrubs are proverbially fond
of London smut. The visitor to London who observes
such matters can hardly fail to be struck with their
luxuriance in front of Tattersall’s, and many other spots in
which they have been planted at some expense. The
verdant and luxuriant aspect of these places has had its effect
upon the churchwardcns and powers that be, and accordingly
they have set to work to beautify our graveyards. Ever-
greens are to be substituted for headstones, and lamentable
bits of coekney-gardcning for the memorials of the dead.
The most notable instance of this kind with which I am
acquainted is around the church in Bishopsgate—street.
Tombs and headstones appear to have been cleared out of
the way and all obstruetions removed, so that a level surface
might be obtained on which to set a few hundred evergreens,
which have little more ehanec of flourishing in Bishopsgate-
street than if planted in the Salt Lake. To have the bones or
memorials of one’s friends disturbed for the ill-digested schemes
of a jobbing gardener is bad enough ; but when it is considered
that this saerilege is performed to plant subjects that have no
chance of thriving,thenthe wisdom of the change is fully seen.
It is true the sculpture in our cemeteries is anything but
G reek, and the inscriptions are not quite so simple and elegant
as those in the catacombs; but the rudest and most mono—
tonous of them tell of love and death “ where human harvests
grow,” and to all but the most vulgar minds must be sacred
and beautiful. \Vhat, then, must be the feelings of those who
have had the memorials of friends and ancestors disturbed
for such a purpose '3 It is enough to draw an anathema from
a less ready rhymer than the one who wrote “ Cursed be
he who moves my bones l” And it is the more inexcusable

I’I, \TI-Z XXIV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH OF THE TRINITY VVI'I‘II GARDEN AND FOUNTAIN IN FRONT.

 

CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES. 107

when we reflect that there is not the least occasion for any
mutilation of the kind, and that the most suitable trees for
such places are those that would not require any alteration of
the ground, and would flourish freely in a town atmosphere.
The weeping willow, birch, ash, weeping elm, and a con-
siderable variety of drooping and other deciduous trees, are
above all others suited for this purpose, and might be planted
without interfering with the stones in any way. \Vould the
latter look any the worse for being shaded by a beautiful
pendulous tree here and there? The fact is, town ceme-
teries may be made as beautiful as it is possible to make
them with vegetation, by the use of deciduous trees and
shrubs and a few well-tried evergreens ; and instead of
any clearance or levelling being required for the judicious
placing of these, they will look all the better for being
picturesquely grouped among the tombstones and other
irregularities of the surface. “Then new gardens are made
in connexion with a new church it matters not of course
how the ground is moved, but it would be a great advan-
tage if the churchwarden mind could get rid of the idea that
before making a garden in a graveyard it is necessary to level
the space and make it like any commonplace bit of ground.
Instead of pursuing such a course they should procure a.
few pounds’ worth of advice from a respectable landscape
gardener acquainted with the subject, and say to him,
“Embellish the spot without destroying its memorials or
associations.” If you want it levelled, mutilated, and planted
with a few formal beds and shrubberies confide its execution
to an intelligent navvy. In such graveyard gardens mneh
temporary flower work should be avoided in consequence of
the ceaseless care it requires, and all attention should be paid
to the hardy and permanent ornaments fit for such a place.
Among these are happily found numerous graceful and
weeping subjects so suitable for cemeteries.

Our suburban cemeteries are often gardens, pleasantly
green, and abounding with trees, weeping and otherwise;
while in the country churchyard where-—

“ Scattered oft, the earliest of the year,
By hands unseen are showers of violets found,”

108 CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES.

there is a quiet verdure which makes the spot sweet to look
upon; but with the cemeteries of Paris it is very different.
There human love is lavish in its testimony, but the result
is ghastly to behold. The quantity of everlasting flowers
or immortelles, that is there woven into wreaths, for placing
on and about the tombs in the cemeteries, is something
astounding. Next to seeing the contents of a hundred
Morgues displayed, the great spread of decaying everlastings
is the most ghastly sight. They hang them on the poor
little wooden crosses, they pile them inside on the covered
tombs, they stick them on the few green bushes, they sling
them under little spans of glass placed purposely over many
tombs to protect the immortelles from the weather, till in
every part, and particularly the part where the second and
third-class departed are buried, there is scarcely anything to
be seen but everlastings in every stage of decay, the sight
being most depressing to anybody used to green British
churchyards. A considerable portion of each large Parisian
cemetery seems made to be inhabited by ghouls. In addi-
tion to decomposing compositte, there is no end of small
crockeryware art, and countless little objects made in bead-
work, and brought here by the survivors of the dead to hang
on the little black crosses or tombs.

It is somewhat difl‘erent in the portions devoted to the
graves of those who could command money when they
moved about on the surface, and such as passed on their
way to the grave by the paths of fame or glory. In their
case, a little chapel, a pondcrous tomb, 01’ something of the
kind, usually protects for a little time the dust of particular
individuals from mingling with the common clay of their
poorer relatives, and afl'ords shelter to the crosses of silver
and little objects of art, and a little more permanence to
the wreaths. But what a very wide difference between this
portion and that in which the ground is not paid for in per-
petuity! Ilere the dust is allowed to lie undisturbed, at
all events till they want to make a railway through it, or
the gardening taste of a future age directs the surface to
be levelled and planted with horrid taste as a garden, as has
been recently done in several cases in London, so that the

.mw:;*0 <4 Emma ho >xmhm2w0 £2?

 

;>XM EF<QL

 

CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES. 109

earth is not merely a deodorizing medium, as it would ap-
pear to be in other divisions. In the select parts, in addi-
tion to small statuary, &c., you frequently see choice forced
flowers placed on the tombs, and one cold February day I
saw a dame, evidently a nurse or respectable servant, sitting
weeping by the costly tomb of a young woman buried that
day twelvemonth, which tomb she had almost covered with

FIG. 4?.

 

View in the Cemetery Montinartrc.

large bunches of white forced Lilac and beautiful buds of
Roses.

Next let us visit the wide spaces where the poorer people
bury their dead out of their sight, and you will see a most
business-like mode of sepulture.. A very wide trench, or
fosse, is cut, wide enough to hold two rows of coffins placed
across it, and 100 yards long or so. Here they are rapidly
stowed in one after another, just as nursery labourers lay
in stock “ by the heels,” only much closer, because there is
no earth between the coffins, and wherever the coffins—
which are very like egg-boxes, only somewhat less sub-
stantial, happen to be short, so that a little space is left
between the two rows, those of children are placed in
lengthwise between them to economize space; the whole

110 CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES.

being done exactly as a natty man would pack together
turves or Mushroom-spawn bricks. This is the fossc com-
mune, or grave of the humblcr class of people, who cannot
afford to pay for the ground. I am not certain what he-
comes of the remains of these poor pCOplC after the lapse
of a short time, but by some means or other the ground is
soon prepared for another crop. on this principle, “the
rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep” but a very short time
in their last bed, and there is a very wide difference indeed
between “ sickle and crown ” in I’E-re la Chaise.

One day, when in the Cemetery of Mont Parnassc, I
saw them making a new road, the bottom being made with
broken headstones, many of them bearing the date of 1860
and thereabonts. These had been placed 011 ground that
had not been paid for in perpetuity, and were consequently

1’10. 43.

it" 0mm”. .-
,-. NW?" .

all:
, tit fa;
‘ mum, ctgxglozfiezficeem- fl

 

TheCatacombs.
grubbed up when, as before deseribed, they wanted to fill
the trenehes a seeond time. Sir (‘harles Lyell tells us about
a graveyard being undermined by the sea on the eastern
coast, and a stone inseribed to “perpetuate ” the memory
of somebody being knoeked about by the waves on the
beaeh-—bnt 1 never fully knew what a poor, transient, weedy
kind of grass is the flesh of the lords of creation till I be-
came aetplainted with Parisian eenteteries. A cutting
thirteen or fourteen feet wide, with the earth thrown up in
high banks at eaeh side, a priest standing at one part near

CHURCH GARDENS AND CEMETERIES. 111

a slope formed by the slight covering thrown over the buried
of that day, and, frequently, a little crowd of mourners and
friends, bearing a coflin. They hand it to the man in the
bottom of the trench, who packs it beside the others without
placing a particle of earth between; the priest says a few
words, and sprinkles a few drops of water on the coffin and
clay; some of the mourners weep, but are soon moved out
of the way by another little crowd, with its dead, and so on
till the long and wide trench is full. They do not even take
the trouble to throw a little earth against the last coffins
put in, but simply put a rough board against them for the
night. These places not paid for in perpetuity are com-
pletely cleared out, dug up, and used again after a few
years, the bones being doubtless sent to the catacombs.
The wooden crosses, little headstones, and countless orna-
ments are carted away, thrown in great heaps, the crosses
and consumable parts being, I believe, sent to the hospitals
as fuel. The headstones from such a clearing (when not
claimed in good time by their owners) go to make the
drainage of a drive, or some similar purpose. And yet
these people, who cannot afford to pay for the ground in
perpetuity, go on erecting inscribed headstones, and bringing
often their little tokens of love, knowing well that a few
years will sweep away these, and that afterwards they cannot
even tell where is the dust of those that have been taken
from them. \Vhat an instance of human love and man’s
fugacity! Let us hope that whatever else may be “ taken
from the French,” we may never imitate them in their
cemetery management.

The catacombs are simply 01d subterranean quarries stored
with the skulls and bones of multitudes of men. When some
of the old and well-filled cemeteries of Paris were removed to
make way for improvements, the bones, 820., were carted away
at night, escorted by priests and torches, and shot down in
these extensive burrowings. Afterwards they were regularly
arranged and packed, and these places now present the ap-
pearance shown in the engraving. These caves were origi-
nally precisely like those in which is practised the extra-
ordinary system of mushroom-culture described in another
chapter.

112

CHAPTER VII.
THE BOULEVARDS.

PARIS is famous for its parks, its squares, and its gardens,
but its noblest features, and those most worthy of imitation
in other cities, are its magnificent open streets, avenues,
and roads, called boulevards. There are people who
regard these as needless, simply created to serve the
designs of an astute autocrat, and only possible under
similar rule; whereas the fact is, they are merely such
means of communication as would be found in every city of
the world, if cities were designed with any due regard to
their being fitting and healthy dwelling-places for hosts
of men. '

Parks and gardens are excellent in their way, but they
effect only a partial good if vast areas of densely-packed
streets are unrelieved by green open spots where whole-
some air may obtain a vantage ground in its ceaseless work
of removing impurities. The slight good that is effected by
fine parks here and there in or towards the outskirts of a
city is as nothing compared with what may be carried out
by so planning and planting streets and roads that the air
in which the people work and sleep may day and night be
comparatively pure and free, and the eye refreshed with
green at almost every point.

Paris exhibits the noblest and most praiseworthy attempts
yet seen to render an originally close and dirty city healthy
and pleasant for man; and this has been chiefly effected by
her vast system of boulevards—wide well-made open streets
and roads bordered with trees, and excellent footways as
wide as many of the old streets, or wider. They do not
simply pass through the city in one or several important
lines, but pierce it in ever}r direction, and are designed

THE BOULEVARDS. 113

upon a far-seeing and systematic plan, so that during the future
existence of the city overcrowding of its parts must become
almost an impossibility. Many visitors who stroll along the
fashionable and crowded boulevards of central Paris, who see
them running in all directions from the Arc de Triomphe and
offering bold approaches to every important position, may
yet have but a meagre idea of their vast extent in the back-
ward and less known regions of the city. The elm-bordered
Boulevards Sébastopol and St. Michel cut through Paris
from north to south, running miles in a straight line, and
on their way effectually opening up the old Latin and many
other close quarters; but beyond their outer extremities
and between the fortifications and the central districts still
larger boulevards sweep round, wide enough to be planted
with groves of trees and to permit the breeze to play freely
through, no matter how high and thickly the buildings may
be raised for years to come. Immediately within the forti-
fications there is a wide boulevard running round the city
under various names for many miles, while from every
circular open space—like the Place du Trdne, Place du
Trocadero, Place d’Italie, or Place de l’Etoile—they radiate
like a star. In fact the whole of the space within the
fortifications is netted over by them, and, instead of the
outer and less frequented boulevards being narrower than
the central ones, they are often much wider. In many
instances these outer boulevards pass through parts but
thinly or not at all populated, so that the buildings to'
which the future is sure to give rise cannot encroach upon
the space necessary for the free circulation of air and
traffic.

The architecture that borders the boulevards in the most im-
portant and populous districts has often been objected to, and
with justice, as formal and not in any way attractive. But
this cannot, except with the most thoughtless, pass for any
objection to the creation of open, tree-embellished streets.
The greenest and sweetest of gardens may be quickly
rendered hideous by somebody with a taste for pottery,
plaster, or geometrical twirlings on the ground, but this is
clearly not the fault of the garden. The varied archi-

I

114 THE BOULEVARDS.

tecturc that has of recent years sprung up in many of
our leading streets is, with all its faults, infinitely to be
preferred to the bald formality and monotony characteristic
of the style adopted in the best streets of Paris. \Vith our
street architecture, which has improved so much, and pro-
mises so much more, we might, if we could only obtain
open, handsome, tree-enlivened streets, eventually pro-
duce a result of which we, and all interested in city im-
provement, might justly be prouder than the French are of
their boulevards.

How far we are behind them at present, these can tell who
know what has been done of late years in such cities as
Rouen, Lyons, and Paris, and who are also acquainted with
our own great, sooty, packed, and checrlcss cities. Are our
cities and towns to remain a mere agglomeration of furrows
—ruts which to the over-passing bird must seem an excellent
contrivance for preventing foul vapours to escape from the
abode of men—or are they to receive as much attention, as
to laying out, as is bestowed upon the surroundings of a
suburban villa? At first sight there does not seem any
reason why the places where men most congregate should
be those from which all who can afford it escape as
often as possible ; though, doubtless, in a country where the
laws of supply and demand regulate everything and every-
body in such a satisfactory way, and where political economy
is so well understood, one would not have to travel far for
reasons why things are right as they are. But judging by
results few will deny that the disposition of our cities is a
disgrace to any civilized race. Why, without touching at
all upon the most crowded and filthy parts of London, one
may see more in a walk from the Strand or Fleet-street to
the Regent’s Park than would suffice to make him cxclaim,
“ “'hat a miserable and disheartening accompaniment of all
our boasted progress I” Such a rocking mass of mismanage-
ment as may be found from east to west and north to
south, the world has probably never seen; and yet London
is the “richest city in the world!” The wealth of it,
compared to that of such towns as Rouen or Milan, is as
Mont Blanc to Primrose Hill 3 yet either of these cities

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would put the “ centre of civilization” to shame as regards
clean and well planned streets and promenades.

It is a city of commerce, and we cannot afford space
or money to remodel it, say some; but apart altogether
from questions of salubrity and appearance, imagine for
a moment how much is lost from mere want of room
even in our leading thoroughfares. In many cases they
are almost impassable except to those used and com-
pelled to force their way through them, while if the
pressed pedestrian retires into a cab he may find himself
brought quite to a standstill in some busy groove. Wide
thoroughfares and free circulation would be found to agree
as well with commerce on the banks of the Thames as on
those of the Rhone at Lyons. All real improvements would
result in a clear gain to the business of a city, as will
doubtless be proved ere long by our truly worthy Thames
embankment. But the space? Land is too dear! This
is really not a great difficulty in London. There is no city
which could be pierced with free, open roads and boule-
vards more cheaply and readily. In its very centre there
are acres covered by shallow brick buildings, which have
not cost, and do not pay, nearly so much as closely-packed,
tall, stone houses in inferior parts of Paris, that are cut
through every day almost as freely as if they were made of
pasteboard. Regions like that of Tottenham-court-road,
most important and well situated for business purposes, are
covered by the veriest shanties, which are of comparatively
little value. In such places houses to accommodate twice
the number of persons might be built, and lodge them far
more comfortably than at present, while the streets might
be as wide again, and therefore have purer air and more
light. “'ide tree-planted avenues might lead from the
embankment out towards the pleasingly diversified suburbs,
and would act as veins of salubrity to the regions they
traversed. The increase in the value of property along such
main arteries would repay for the outlay. If land be really
so valuable, why occupy it with such trifling and unprofitable
buildings? The fact is, the objection as to space, which is
usually urged as the greatest, is no objection at all. Half

I 2

116 THE BOULEVARDS.

occupied and sometimes waste ground without the margins
of the city, and square miles almost worse than waste within,
attest this.

Of course such changes as I advocate would involve the
adoption of the “flat” system, which some say our people
have a great objection to. But that there can be no real
objection in this is proved by the fact that it is adopted by
a non-gregarious people like the Scotch, as well as by the
French. In houses constructed in this way, and with all
modern improvements and comforts never to be found in
the miserable and fragile structures now everywhere to be
seen, the additional warmth and dryness which would result
from the thicker and better buildings necessary, could hardly
fail to have a beneficial effect on the public health, while
efficient ventilation would prove a still greater aid. It is
by no means clear that any less thorough mode of proceed-
ing will prove a true remedy. Our narrow streets, the want of
anything like a generally recognised plan, and flimsy houses,
are worthy only of a period when men first herded together
for security, and not of the Victorian era. No sprinkling
about of disinfecting agents when danger becomes imminent,
or pulling down of a few shops that have protruded them-
selves and their outhangings so far into the narrow street
that they have become intolerable, even to those accustomed
to dodge through the streets of London, will touch more
than the surface—roots of the evil. Most of such narrow,
sehemeless improvements as are now taking place will be
more than counteracted by the vast growth of what even in
Byron’s time was “ this enormous city’s spreading spawn.”

The change must be radical! “'e want a plan with the
Thames embankment for its backbone. There is nothing to
prevent us having the best embellishments seen in conti-
nental cities, minus their trees in tubs and paltrier features.
But to have them it is indispensable that we first have
breadth and room, that the street traflic may circulate with-
out abrading them away. Footways and roads, wide and
open, are the first and greatest necessaries, and they ought
to be planted with trees, which do better in London than in
Paris. No fancy gardening, no expense for vases, griflins,

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THE BOULEVARDS. 117

water-squirting—nothing whatsoever of that type—should
be tolerated until the pure free air be enabled to search its
way into the heart of the town, through open verdure-
bordered roads ; which indeed would induce it to ignore
the boundary line that now so Widely marks the difference
between town and country.

To hope to attack the mass of disease and dirt that exists,
without first giving men an opportunity of enjoying pure
air and light, is in vain. These are the cheapest as well as
the greatest of blessings; they are naturally the property
of all; but civilized man completely annuls them by his
muddling and stupid arrangement of our cities. To make
them once more the property of all should be the aim of
everybody who wishes well to his country. It should be
one of the first and most important “questions for a re-
formed parliament.” For what is the use of all our present
efforts towards ameliorating the condition of the masses in
our cities, if health and all its consequences be impossible in
them? Of none indeed, except it be in perpetuating much
of the misery and squalidness that occur amongst us by
ministering to them.

The conditions complained of do not simply occur in
central parts of London where land is very dear: far with-
out the radius of the parks, the arrangements of streets are
frequently quite as bad as in the poor central districts, and
capital preparations are being made to secure a dozen years
hence a suburban cordon of districts like St. Giles’s. To
experience the truth of this the reader has merely to walk
from Kensingtou Gardens to Kew—not the most unpleasant
stroll that could be selected in suburban London. In the
course of his journey he will find in the least populated parts
pleasant open roads, in some cases wider than a boulevard,
and with useless spaces railed off, and spreads of gravel, Wide
as a princely avenue, before some low and isolated public-
house; but the moment he arrives at a densely populated
part, the dead rabbits, sheep, &c., thrust out from the shops
into the few feet of crowded footway, oblige him to dodge so
often among the dung-carts and omnibuses of the narrow,
crowded street that, if he has ever seen even an approach

118 THE BOULEVARDS.

to a decently arranged city, he will be forced to admit that
suburbs of London, miles in extent, have received less
attention as to design than a cottager bestows upon his little
garden, or a designer of wall-paper on his rudest patterns.
From a like, or even a worse, condition our neighbours have
been delivered by their splendid boulevards, and in a very
short time.

The word boulevard, or boulevart as it is frequently spelt,
signifies in its primary sense a walk made upon the walls of
a fortified town, of which we have so good an example in
the ancient city of Chester: it is said to be derived from

FIG. 44.

 

l’aris seven hundred years ago.

the Low German “ bullcwerke,” a word of similar meaning to
our own bulwarks. Be this as it may, the Paris boule 'ards
proper, extending from the Madeleine to the Bastille,
undoubtedly occupy the site of the ancient wall built by
Etienne Marcel and Ilugucs Aubriot, to resist the incursions
of the English army which on ramped round St. Denis. The
tables have long since been turned however, and instead of
entering Paris to plunder and slay, a huge undisciplined
English army is constantly passing through the gates of Paris
to bc plundered by the shopkeepers, and take their chance

THE BOULEVARDS. 119

of being slain by one or the other of the numberless forms of
dissipation to be met with in that gayest of all cities.

The first Paris boulevard was opened in 1670, in the
reign of Louis XIV., and extended from the Porte St.
Denis to the Bastille. It so pleased the Parisians that
before the end of the following year the line was continued
in the other direction from the Porte St. Denis to the
Porte St. Honoré, which stood across the end of the Rue
du Faubourg St. Honoré, where that street now joins the
Rue Royale. A year or two after, the ancient Porte du
Temple which stood in the boulevard of that name was

F10. 45.

 

View on the old exterior Boulevards.

removed, and the road between the Porte St. Denis and the
Bastille levelled and repaired, thus completing the original
line of boulevards so often celebrated both in prose and in
verse since the days of the Grand Monarque, and which
have preserved their prestige, as the boulevards par excel-
lence, over all those that have been since constructed.

The promenadcrs of the 17th century, on looking to the
north of the capital, must have enjoyed an uninterrupted
view of the open country beyond, dotted here and there
with little villages or rich abbeys—the ancient fanc of St.
Denis lifting its grey towers in conscious superiority above

120 THE BOULEVARDS.

them all. Looking south, he would see a somewhat sparsely
populated district between him and the Louvre, although
the Marais to the cast was gradually extending itself
towards the fortifications. The boulevards then under
Louis XIV., formed a long promenade some 150 feet wide,
and planted with rows of trees, beneath which the Parisians
could enjoy the double sight of the city and country in the
midst of rural silence and quiet. The ancient buildings of
that epoch, from the Porte St. Honoré at one end to the
castellated Bastille, have long been swept away, and nothing
is left to remind one of the Grand Monarque but the
Portcs St. Martin and St. Louis—both heavy masses of
classicalism—and a few names that have been bestowed on
the neighbouring streets.

The memory of the old fortifications is still preserved in
the Rue Basse des Remparts, which forms the north side
of the Boulevard de la Madeleine. But it will not do to
linger over the recollections of the past when the present
has such pressing claims on our attention. During the
following reigns the city gradually crept up to the boule-
vards, absorbing numerous convents, monasteries, and noble
domains in its progress. The Revolution precipitated
matters by confiscating the remaining monastic and aristo-
cratic lands in the neighbourhood, both within and without
the walls. The boulevards soon became the favourite
resort of all that was noble, witty, or pretty in Paris.
Restaurants began to lift their heads above the small guin-
gucttcs that were first erected along the line, and house by
house, tree by tree, the boulevards gradually assumed their
present aspect.

The boulevards, par excellence, stretch from the Made-
leine to the Place dc la Bastille ; and a ride outside an omni-
bus from one point to the other will wcll afford a sight not
to be witnessed in any other part of Europe. The roadway
and footpaths are more spacious than any in London.
The latter are usually thoroughly well asphalted, shaded
with rows of trees, and furnished with numerous seats.
In the more fashionable portion—that between the Boule-
vard dc la Madeleine and the Porto St. Martin—nearly

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THE BOULEVARDS. 121

every other house is a restaurant, a café, or a theatre.
Before every one of these are groups of little tables, at
which pleasure-seekers from all parts of the world are
seated laughing, talking, smoking, and drinking as if no
such things as wars, revolutions, or financial panics ever
existed.

The boulevards of Paris are, generally speaking, so very
much alike that to describe them in detail is needless. The

FIG. 46.

 

 

Avenue Victoria, near the HOtcl de Ville.

illustrations will give a better idea of their actual appear-
ance than any written description. From house to house
they are usually, in the most frequented parts, over 100 feet
wide, occasionally reaching between 130 and 140 feet,
and even much wider than this in the outer boulevards,
which are sometimes large enough for half a dozen lines of
trees, in addition to very wide footways, and perhaps tWO
minor as well as a wide central road, as in the Avenue de

122 THE BOULEVARDS.

la Grande Armée. The footways of the most frequented
boulevards are about twenty-six feet Wide on each side, and
sometimes more.

But, notwithstanding their general similarity, there are a
few distinctive enough for special mention, and among
these none more so than the Boulevard Richard Lenoir,
which runs from the Place de la Bastille to the Rue du
Faubourg du Temple. This often escapes observation from
visitors, as the Boulevard Beaumarehais drains most of the
traffic from the Bastille to the fashionable boulevards; but

FIG. 47.

 

 

 

l'ind view of the Boulevard lliehard Lenoir.

it is one of the most remarkable in Paris, and more than
usually ornamental. It is n‘arly 2000 yards long, and is
in great part built over a canal. It was thought desirable
to cover a large portion of the canal, and to make a wide
boulevard over this huge bridge, in order to facilitate the
traffic and improve the appearance of the district. It
became neeessary to have ventilating and lighting shafts
for the canal, and eighteen pairs of these openings occur
in the course, of its length. These have been ingeniously
and tastefully hidden by eighteen little railed-in parterres.

THE BOULEVARDS. 123

In these the openings, which are wired over, are surrounded
by a thick low hedge of Euonymus or some close evergreen,
so that no opening of any kind is exposed to the passing
observer. In the centre of each garden there is a long
basin and a fountain, the whole being connected and sur-
rounded by flowers and grass. Then on each side of these
parterres there are very wide avenue footways, each shaded
by two lines of Plane trees—a road being on each side of
the parterres and tree avenues. For a considerable distance
from the Chateau d’Eau, the flower-market that has its head-
quarters held there extends down amongst the little railed-

 

Place du TrOne.

in parterres, and the effect is altogether very pretty and
quite unique.

Every visitor to Paris must of course have seen the
fashionable boulevards stretching from the Madeleine to
the Place du Chateau d’Eau, but the great outer systems
often escape observation. On the left bank of the Seine among
the more remarkable of the exterior boulevards are those of
St. Jacques, d’Italie, d’Enfer, Du Mont Parnasse, and the
Avenue de Breteuil; on the right bank the Boulevards
Pereire, des Batignolles, Cliehy, Rochechouart, de la
Chapelle, and de Bellcvillc are amongst the most important,

124 THE BOULEVARDS.

though, where there are so many of great extent and
almost similar features, it is difficult to particularize.

Of avenues, the largest and most gardenesque is the
Avenue de l’Impératrice, leading from the Arc de Triomphe
to the Bois de Boulogne.

In order to put the centre of Paris in communication
with the Bois de Boulogne by means of a wide direct road,
an imperial decree ordered the Route départemental leading
from the Rond Point de l’Etoile to the Porte Dauphine of
the Bois de Boulogne, to be straightened. Half the
expense was borne by the State, under the conditions that
an iron railing of uniform design was to be constructed along
the whole length of the road, that a strip of eleven yards
in breadth be left for a garden between this railing and
the houses on each side, and further, that no kind of trade
or manufacture should be carried on in the houses adjoining.
The avenue was made entirely through private lands which
were acquired for the purpose. Its total length is 1300
yards ; the width 130 yards. It consists of a central drive,
seventeen yards wide, of two large side walks, each mea-
suring thirteen yards wide, and of two strips of turf planted
with choice trees and shrubs, including the whole of the
species as yet naturalized in Paris, and lastly, of two feet-
paths running along the side of iron railings that separate
the houses from the road. The total cost of the avenue
amounted to over 20,0001., in addition to which the city of
Paris expended a sum of 4000!. more on the flower-beds and
plantations, for the enlargement of the Autcuil railway
bridge, and for the general drainage of the ride.

The Avenue dc l’l‘lmpercur, beginning at the Quai dc
Billy, opposite the Pout dc l’Alnia, and joining the Bois
de Boulogne close by the Porto de la Muctte, is another
example of the great attention and expense devoted to
avenues and boulevards in Paris during recent years. The
portion of the avenue between the l’orte de la Muette and
the Place du Roi dc Rome was laid down in 1862. The
part included between the line du l’etit Pure and the Place
du Roi de Rome necessitated considerable excavations, many
of them being as much as thirty-three feet in depth. Along

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THE BOULEVARDS. 125

the whole of this section the owners of the adjacent property
were obliged to set apart a strip of ground, thirty-three feet
wide, enclosed by an iron railing of uniform character, and
laid out as a pleasure-garden. They were also forbidden to
let out any of the premises for trading or manufacturing
purposes.

FIG. 49.

 

 

Avenue de Brcteuil : the artesian well of Grenelle, and the Invalides.

The part between the Place du Roi de Rome and the
Quai de Billy was begun and finished in 1866. The incline
of 27 in 1000 that was obliged to be given to this portion
of the road also necessitated large excavations of an average
depth of six feet between the Boulevard du Roi de Rome
and the Place Chaillot ; whilst from this point to the Pont
de l’Alma an embankment had to be made in some places

126 THE BOULEVARDS.

thirty-six feet high. Between the Place de Chaillot and
the Pont de l’Alma that side of the road only which faces
towards Chaillot will be covered with houses. The side
looking towards the Seine, which will form a terrace, sup-
ported by an immense wall, will give a. fine view of the
river and the hills about Mcudon. The land on which the
terrace wall is built is formed of the alluvium of the Seine,
which rendered the work of construction most difiicult,
owing to its want of firmness. The method which seemed
to promise the greatest amount of safety, combined with
economy, was to spread the pressure of the vast mass over
a large extent of surface. For this purpose a wide area
was formed of concrete, on which was erected a wall nearly
of the same size. This wall was hollowed out on each side
by large spaces, forming on the front turned towards the
observer a series of vaults supporting a row of shrubs,
which allowed the eye to wander through them into the
neighbouring gardens. On the other side where the em-
bankment had been formed there were two rows of vaults,
in order that the weight of earth resting on them might be
added to that of the arcade itself, so as to counterbalance the
effect of the tendency of the embankment to throw the wall
outwards.

The portion of the wall standing to the right of the
premises that belong to the waterworks at Chaillot was too
low to render the same method of construction necessary.
However, in order to increase the resources of this estab-
lishment, and to shut out from the sight of the passers-by
the vast heaps of coal lying in the yards, the vaulting
of the wall was continued on a smaller scale so as to form a
footpath above and a series of coal cellars below. This part
of the wall was surmounted by a railing covered with ivy so
as partially to hide the yard and buildings of the water-
works, which were somewhat awkwardly cut in two by the
new road. This wall was built entirely in a kind of artificial
stone formed of compressed concrete. The arcades that are
visible have niillstone dressings, in order as much as possible
to vary the appearance of the wall, which is no less than 430
yards long. The total cost ofthc construction of the Avenue

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THE BOULEVARDS. 127

de l’Empereur amounted to the large sum of 82,000l. From
the preceding the kind of difficulties that have been over-
come in carrying out such works in Paris of recent years
will be tolerably apparent. A large work might be filled
with like details.

Naturally the features of the boulevards which command
most attention in this book are the trees. The advantage
of having a full knowledge of the best boulevard and city
trees is so great that a special chapter is devoted to them.
It is truly surprising to see how well these are managed in
Paris, and to what an enormous extent they are planted, as
well in the centre of the city, on the boulevards, and along
the river, as on the scores of miles of suburban boule-
vards, radiating avenues and roads, the sides of which one
would think capable of supplying Paris with building
ground for a dozen generations to come. The planting in all
the London parks is as nothing compared to the avenue
and boulevard planting in and around Paris. The trees are
nearly all young, but very vigorous and promising. Every
tree is trained and pruned so as to form a symmetrical
straight-ascending head, with a clean stem. Every tree is
protected by a slight cast-iron or stick basket ; it is staked
when young, and when old if necessary, and nearly every
tree is provided with a cast-iron grating six feet wide or so,
which effectually prevents the ground from becoming hard
about the trees in the most frequented thoroughfares,
permits of any attention they may require when young, and
of abundance of water being quickly absorbed in summer.
The expense for these strong and wide gratings must be
something immense, but assuredly the result that will be
presented by the trees a few years hence will more than
repay for all the outlay by the grateful shade and beauty
they will afford the town in all its parts. As soon as a new
road or boulevard is made in Paris, it is planted with trees ,-
and every one of the millions is as carefully trained and
protected as a pet tree in an English nobleman’s park.

The trees recently planted on the boulevards are placed
at a uniform distance of between sixteen and eighteen
feet. To plant so closely of course helps to furnish the

128 THE BOULEVARDS.

streets with some shade almost directly; and as the trees are
usually trained specially for boulevard planting some little
effect is obtained at once ; but there can be no doubt that it
is too close a system of planting, as the trees cannot grow
sufficiently when so much crowded. A better way would be to
place them five or ten feet further apart, and plant, alternately
with the trees destined to grace the boulevard eventually,
some kind that grows very rapidly when young. This would
help to furnish and freshen the avenue until the trees in-
tended to permanently adorn it have been established and
advanced a few years; and as soon as those of the free growing
nursing kind have become large enough to deprive their
neighbours of light they may be cut in vigorously, and finally
removed altogether. Sometimes double ranks of trees are
planted, but this is only wise where there are very wide
boulevards. It is occasionally practised in avenues like
some of those that radiate from the Arc de Triomphc; but
usually it has the etl'ect of darkening the houses too much.
\Vhere, as is often the case in the outer boulevards, there is
abundant room for a double or even treble line of trees to
developc without disagreeably shading the houses, they
should of course be planted. The trees are usually placed
within three and a half or four feet of the edge of the
footway, but there can be little doubt that it would be a
better plan to keep them a few feet further from the road,
and this would admit of giving them a larger body of soil.
Generally in Paris they receive too little.

When the boulevard is marked out and levelled, if
the soil is of bad quality, as is nearly always the case,
trenches are dug in the footway, from one end of the
boulevard to the other. The width of this trench is
usually about six feet, and its depth four or five,- and before
filling it in, drain pipes are laid along the sides, made
with lapped joints so that the roots shall not enter between
them. The trench is then filled with good garden earth,
raising it a little higher than the level, so as to allow for
settling. In this ground the trees are planted at about
six yards apart. They should be carefully chosen, with
perfect roots, and moderately pruned. Formerly the stem

 

THE BOULEVARDS. 129

was cut at about nine feet from the ground ; but this had the
bad effect of preventing the top of the tree from being
straight, and the practice has been given up. The trees
are next staked and tied with wire over a neat wad of
straw, which prevents all injury to the stem. A protecting
cage, neither heavy nor very expensive, is placed round the
tree to prevent accidents; and if the weather be at all dry
at the time of planting, the trees are copiously watered. As
for the making of the roads and streets, it is admirable,
as many readers may have learnt for themselves. When
the repairing or making a road in Paris is finished, the sur-
face is as level and crisp as the broad walk in the Regent’s
Park, so that the horses are spared much pain, and car-
riage movement greatly facilitated. Stones of about the
same size as we spread on the roads are thrown down, and
then comes the heavy steam or horse-drawn roller, making
but a slight impression at first, as might be expected, and
indeed it has to be passed over many times before the work
is completed. All the time, or nearly all the time that
this rolling is going on, a man stands at the side of the
footway in charge of a hose on little wheels, and keeps
swishing the stones with water, while others shake a little
rough sand on them between the rollings; and so they wash
and roll and grind (lay and night—the result being that the
Parisian roads are as comfortable for locomotion as could
be desired. But it would be a mistake to suppose that
their system of road—making is otherwise superior to ours.
If we took the trouble to grind down the rough and sharp
stones used in repairing the streets, there would be little
to complain of as regards the texture of our roads,- and it
would probably be impossible to find more perfect examples
of roads than those in Hyde Park since the introduction
of the steam rollers.

It is not an uncommon impression among us, that since
his access to lower the Emperor has most industriously
employed himself in removing all the paving stones from
Paris, so that they may not be used against him in case of
an insurrection. This is an error ; for, although the wretched
old system of paving is being done away with—greatly to

K

130 THE BOULEVARDS.

the relief of the ears of the inhabitants of the streets in
which it existed—nearly all the important new boulevards
have a considerable breadth on each side well paved for
heavy waggon transit. This prevents the larger mac-
adamized portion in the centre from being cut up by the
heavy traffic of Parisian streets, and leaves it free for
carriages and the lighter kinds of traffic. In some of the
older and narrower streets, in which there is not very much
traflic, asphalte has taken the place of paving stones—mak-
ing a road that is almost noiseless; but its chief use is in
the formation of the wide and excellent footways that
border all the new streets and boulevards.

Asphaltc has long been used in Paris for two reasons:
first, the supply of good paving stone, similar in quality to
our York stone, is scarce, and the few quarries that do
yield it are far distant from the capital ; and secondly, the
peculiar bituminous sandstone from which the asphalte
pavement is made, is cheap and abundant.

Bad attempts at laying asphalte produce such very dis-
agre‘able results that the very name must be dreadful to
some people; but in a sloppy climate the advantage of
having 111 all 11 e1tl1ers drv,s smooth, and permanent footways,
instead of cloggy,satur1tcd gravel or mud, is so great that
some account of the best system of laying this material
cannot fail to be useful. Some vears ago asphalte pro—
d11((‘(l a regular industrial fever, and pavements were made
i1 all diieetions in Paris and London, of anym material that
at 1111 resembled it. (las tar, wood tar, pitch, and all sorts
of nastiness were ground lip with stone, and laid down with-
out ploper preparation; the consequence of which was that
a huge number of failures took place, and asphalte pave-
ments (at least in this country) were very soon completely
taboocd by all good architects.

Bituminous limestone occurs naturally in many parts of
the world, notably at Val (10 Travers, in the canton of
Neufehfitel, Switzerland, and at Pyrimont, near Scyssel, a
small town in the department of Ain, on the right bank of
the Rhone. The asphalte rock from Pyrimont consists of
pure limestone impregnated with about 10 per cent. of fossil

.—a

THE BOULEVARDS. 131

or natural bitumen. It may be asked how it is that ordi-
nary tar or pitch of good quality mixed with pounded lime-
stone does not answer the purpose of this natural combina-
tion ; but it is found by experiment that, although natural
bitumen differs but slightly in chemical composition from
pitch and tar, it is much more elastic and durable. If made
with tar, the resulting asphalte is sticky and soft in hot
weather; if with pitch, it is too brittle, and soon cracks and
splits.

In the natural asphaltic rock the bitumen is so intimately
combined with the calcareous matter, that it not only resists
the action of the air and water for a considerable time, but
even that of some of the strong mineral acids. The ancients
were in the constant habit of using natural bitumen instead
of mortar; and there is a tradition that the stones of the
Tower of Babel were cemented together with the same ma-
terial as that forming the footways of the boulevards. The
principal ingredients used in forming the mastic for the
pavement is the dark brown bituminous limestone from
Pyrimont, just described. The stone is first reduced to fine
powder, and then mixed with a certain proportion of mineral
bitumen, extracted previously from another portion of it.

When it is intended to be used for covering roofs, lining
tanks, &c., no other addition is necessary; but if it is to be
used for paving, a certain quantity of sea-grit is added.
One specimen analysed by an English chemist yielded 29 of
bitumen, 52 of limestone, and 19 of siliceous sand. The
ingredients are exposed for some hours to a strong heat in
large cauldrons, and kept constantly stirred by machinery.
The mastic thus formed is made into blocks, measuring
eighteen inches square by six inches deep, and weighing
from 1121b. to 1301b. each. In this state they are sold
ready for use, and are remelted on the spot where the
asphalte has to be applied ; for which purpose small portable
furnaces fitted with cauldrons are employed. A pound
weight of mineral bitumen is first put into the cauldron, and
when melted 56lb. of the mastic are added, the whole being
repeatedly stirred. When fully mixed, another 561b. of
mastic are stirred in, and so on until the cauldron is full.

K 2

132 THE BOULEVARDS.

When thoroughly melted—which may be told by the mastic
dropping freely off the stirrer, and by jets of light smoke
darting out of the mixture—it is conveyed quickly to the
spot where it is to be used, in heated iron buckets or
ladles. The cauldron ought to be as close to the work as
possible, and in covering brick arches it should be hoisted
to the top of the building. It must be clearly understood
that the only kind of bitumen to be used is that impreg-
nating the limestone itself.

In forming foot or carriage ways it is most important to
secure a good foundation by removing or ramming the soft
earth, and laying a course of concrete, care being taken to
allow the whole to dry before putting down the asphalte.
If this precaution is not attended to, the heat will convert
the moisture in the concrete into steam, and fill the asphalte
full of airholes and bubbles. The thickness of the layer of
asphalte may be regulated by slips of wood arranged across
the pavement at a distance of 30 inches from each other—a
width quite sufficient for one man to work at at a time. If
two men are employed, double the width may be taken, as
it is always better to have as few joints as possible. The
work is levelled with a long curved wooden spatula, assisted
by a long straight ruler, which stretches across the layer of
asphalte, over which it is moved backwards and forwards,
the wooden gauges supporting its ends. If the surface is
intended to be smooth, a mixture of equal parts of silver
sand and slate dust or plaster of Paris is sifted over it before
it has quite set, and rubbed down with a flat tool of wood.
If it is required to be rough, sharp grit is to be beaten in
with a heavy wooden block. One portion of the pavement
being complete, it is best to proceed to lay the next but
one, leaving the intermediate space to be filled up after-
wards when the first layer is firm and cold, so as to insure
a flood joint.

The thickness of asphalte for footways varies from
half an hub to an inch and a quarter, the former being
suflicicnt for common floors and courtyards, the latter for
carriage pavements. A thickness of from half an inch to
Jive-eighths is sufficient for roofs and the coverings of arches,

THE BOULEVARDS. 133

and for lining tanks and ponds, and about half an inch' for
the ground line of brickwork to prevent the damp from
rising. An asphalted surface admits of easy repair. By
placing hot mastic on the places requiring it, the faulty
part may be cut away and the edges cut square, when the
hot material will be found to adhere to them if they are
perfectly free from damp or moisture.

The great secret, then, in obtaining a perfect layer of
asphalte paving, dry, hard, elastic, warm, and durable, is
first to employ only the natural material, such as that from
Pyrimont—Seyssel ; and secondly, to provide a firm, dry sub-
stratum of concrete for it to rest upon. For pavements,
terraces, &c., nothing can be better. It is always warm
and elastic to the tread; there are no joints to encourage
the accumulation of filth or the growth of weeds 3 and in
case of rain it dries in a few minutes. As laid down by
the Scyssel Asphalte Company, its durability is immense.
The whole of the quadrangle in Trafalgar-square has been
laid with asphalte since 1863, and yet there is no sign
of wear upon it, in spite of the enormous traffic. The
terrace at Bridgewater House is also an excellent specimen.
If the reader desires to see a really bad example, he has
only to examine the pavements of some of the metropolitan
stations of the Midland Railway to see what badly-laid
asphalte made of improper materials is capable of be-
coming, in the course of even a few months.

For roadways and carriage drives asphalte does not seem
so applicable. In dry weather it is all well enough, but
after rain, more especially if there is any mud about, it
becomes disagreeably slippery both for horses and foot pas-
sengers. 1‘or laying between the courses of brickwork to
prevent the damp from rising, it is unequalled, a layer, even
only one quarter of an inch thick, keeping all damp down
most effectually. It is especially fitted for this purpose in
the case of boat houses built by the sides of rivers 0r lakes.
For ornamental ponds and banks it is also excellent, but it
should be roughened for, say, a foot in depth, so as to hold
sufficient soil or mud to grow water plants and weeds, and
so entirely conceal its existence. As to its cost, in England

134 THE BOULEVARDS.

it is somewhere about 10d. per superficial foot for quan-
tities not less than 700 feet. For roofs and terraces to
the same extent, the cost would be about 20'. extra.

During the last few years the preparation of the asphalte
in Paris has been much improved. Some years ago, when
a pavement was to be made with bitumen, a great nuisance
was experienced by the public during the operation. The
mastic was liquefied on the spot, and produced a nasty
smell and smoke, disagreeable and injurious; but now some
of these inconveniences have been done away with by a new
system, and asphalte is now laid down in the most expedi-
tious manner. It is prepared first in out-of-the-way places
devoted to the purpose, and the matter, ready for use and
liquefied, may be transported from these places to any
parts of the town without the least inconvenience in a semi-
eylindrical boiler, closed by iron doors, and moved about on
iron wheels as freely as a common cart. Under the boiler
is a fireplace, and the blaze, after having heated the two
sides of the boiler, passes out by a chimney placed at the
back of the machine. Means to keep the mastic in motion,
and prevent its burning by adhering to the sides of the
boiler, are secured by a simple mechanism easily worked
with the hand. These carriage boilers, full of liquid asphalte,
are driven from place to place with the greatest facility.
The boiler is emptied by the means of a pipe fixed to its
bottom, and the mastic is collected in a pail, and spread
on the surface to the thickness of three-quarters of an inch.

If the surface is not perfectly dry, the drying must be
accelerated with hot ashes, which are to be taken away
afterwards, or with a little spreading of quieklime in
powder. These operations are indispensable, as if the
mastic were laid on before the surface is dry, the heat
of it would dispel in steam the water underneath,
and that steam would produce blisters in the asphalte,
which would crack under the pressure of the feet, and
endanger the success of the operation. The workmen
place on the platform two iron bars of the same thickness
as the asphalte is to be, equally distanced from each other;
it is then laid down in a very warm state, and thick

THE BOULEVARDS. 135

enough to require some slight exertion of the operator to
make it level. This operation done, a small quantity of
fine gravel must be spread over the asphalte while hot, and
slightly beaten down to penetrate in it. This gives a
greater hardness and solidity to the footway, and insures
its lasting for a very long time.

The roads before spoken of are made of the powdered
and-not liquid asphalte. The surface of the roadway must
be beaten down very hard, and covered with a thickness of
about three inches of concrete, well beaten down and dry.
If the dryness is very necessary in the making of a pave-
ment, this condition is of a greater importance for the road,
as, if the powder were spread on a wet surface, the steam
caused by the heat would produce a great number of little
fissures, the elasticity would be destroyed, and the road
would be useless after a few months’ use. The concrete well
dried, the powder (hot) must be spread about three inches
thick; and then well levelled and beaten. The sides must
be done first, and pressed down with a rectangular iron
pestle eight or nine inches in length and two or two and
a half inches in width. When the sides are done, proceed
with the middle. The pestles used in pressing it are made
of cast-iron, circular, and about eight inches in diameter.
The pestles of either form are heated and used quite hot, so
as to compress the asphalte into a hard smooth mass.

“'hen the crust of asphalte is brought to the thickness
required, and is sufficiently smoothed and beaten hard, they
spread with a sieve a little quantity of very fine powder to
fill all the unevenness, and again smooth the whole with a
flat piece of hot iron. The compression is completed by the
employment of two cast-iron rollers, one of 40001b. weight
and the other of 30001b. Sometimes three of these rollers
are employed, the intermediate one being about 15001b. or
16001b. in weight. This rolling is not always necessary, and
in many cases the beating down with pestles is sufficient.
The roads thus made, completely noiseless and lasting a long
time, have been adopted with the greatest success by the city
of Paris, and are supplanting the paving stones, macadamiz-
ing, and other pavements, in narrow streets where there is

136 BATHING.

not much traffic. Some beautiful smooth roads through
the Luxembourg gardens have been made of this powdered
asphalte, and without the use of heavy rollers, the hot
smoothing irons only being used.

Bathing—“3th the boulevards one naturally associates
the quays, planted in every available spot with trees, and in
Paris the public swimming baths are all on the silent boule-
vard. However, the Seine at Paris is not a noble river, and
the ugliest things to be seen from its banks in summer are
the floating baths, which in some places half cover its surface.
But public bathing is a matter of the highest importance, and

Flo, 50.

 

Interior of lloating bath on the Seine.

it is perhaps better to have floating baths on the river than
tolerate the astounding exhibition of naked humanity which
may be witnessed on the Serpentine on any warm summer
evening. My friend Mr. Gibson, of Battersea Park, thinks
these floating baths would be a desirable improvement on
our river, and from its size they need not produce such an
ugly etl‘ect as at Paris. “’ith a clean river, a constant cur-
rent of fresh water is a great advantage of these baths; and
then they are not costly, and are closed in from public view.
But whatever may be. thought upon this point, it is certain
that there is no question connected with the healthful exer-

 

PLATE XXX”.

 

W l W

    

l

11

h ‘1 1‘

1‘!‘
W,“

W 1“ a

RIVER AND FLOATING BATHS.

THIS

TREES.

QL’AYS PLANTED VVI'I‘H PLANE

le'l'l'l‘U'l‘,

THIS LUL' VRIC,

BATH ING. 137

cise of the people that has been more neglected than that
of public bathing.

Everybody knows with what alacrity the cockney “takes to
the water” in summer, although indeed he can, as a rule, only
do so under great difficulties. The pluck that must be re-
quired to venture to bathe amid such an assemblage as that in
Hyde Park must be of itself considerable, and yet the enor-
mous crowds that practise it here show us to what an extent
decent cleanly bathing would be taken advantage of by the
working population of London. If it were provided it would
prove one of the greatest boons that could be conferred on
them ; and surely no great good could be so cheaply effected
as that of providing proper bathing-places in all our parks
and open spaces. The benefit to be got by the regular
practice of bathing by our working men during the summer
months could not be equalled by any other exercise or
recreation. It is a good of which the advantages have not
to be pointed out to the people ; and every one of our parks
offers capital positions, in which inexpensive bathing-places
might be made. Bathing-places should always be intro-
duced in a quiet and somewhat retired part of a park or
public garden. They should be surrounded by plantations
suflicient to thoroughly conceal the bathing from all but the
bathers. They should be made of a convenient depth for swim-
ming purposes, and, above all things, should have a clean level
bottom; for a sticky, muddy bottom, such as is likely to occur
in some places about London, is very objectionable; and in
making a swimming pond it would not be difficult to provide
against this. They should be surrounded by a diversified
plantation of trees and shrubs, with the taller growing sub-
jects kept somewhat back, and with an inner edge of dense
dwarf shrubs. The free-growing and smoke-enduring ever-
greens, such as Box and Aueuba, should be extensively
used around these bathing-places, which should also have a
very wide marginal walk of clean gravel, and long seats in
recesses of the shrubbery borders.

It would be an excellent plan if roomy sheds were also
erected near the water’s edge, but slightly thrown back and
concealed by vegetation. These might be well utilized in

138 BATHING.

the winter as a working place for the park men, or any
other labourers employed about. In it they could make
brooms, preparetwood, paint hurdles, make labels and pegs,
and many other things that are in constant use. Of course
this should only be done in bad weather. In all places
where a. number of workmen are employed in winter, there
is generally a difficulty in providing men with work unless
there are large sheds: such to the sagacious manager prove
a great boon. They might also be advantageously used as
winter storehouses for seats, boats, and other things which
must be used in our recreation grounds, if we are to afford
the people sufficient amusement and attraction therein.
But their chief use would be in making it possible for
people to bathe at all times. How many summer, spring,
and autumn days are there on which bathing would be a
delight, but when showers of rain forbid it in the open air!
Of course men cannot strip and bathe and then get into
wet clothes; and, like other exercises, bathing, if not
regularly practised, is not productive of much good. Those
sheds would afford a place where the clothes could be kept
dry, and then rain, light or heavy, would not produce any
difference—a swim would be as enjoyable in the heaviest
of rains as at any other time. Partial bathing, such as that
practised in the Serpentine during the mornings and even-
ings, merely meets the wants of a few persistent morning
bathers, and a host of the roughest of the great unwashed
in the hot summer evenings.

139

CHAPTER VIII.

THE JARDIN’ FLEURISTE AND OTHER PUBLIC NURSERIES OF
THE CITY OF PARIS.

IN its public nurseries Paris possesses a very useful aid
which we have not in this country. With us each park or
garden produces or purchases its own supplies 3 in Paris all
the gardens of the city are furnished from its nurseries. It
should be observed that in Paris there are two sets of
public gardens—those of the city comprising the boulevards,
squares, parks, church gardens, and so on, and those of the
State, the gardens of the Luxembourg, Tuileries, Ste. All are
equally open to the public—all arranged with a View to its
pleasure and convenience; but in the case of the State
gardens each supplies its own stock. \Vhat we have to
deal with now is the manufactory, so to speak, for the vast
array of gardens and open spaces made during recent years.
At one time the old State gardens were by far the most
important in Paris; now they are quite eclipsed by those
created specially for the city and its people, and not
merely as the surroundings of a palace or the pleasure-
gardens of princes. Considering that the whole is of such
recent growth, the success of the arrangements is surprising.
In commencing to improve the town by means of public
gardens, there can be no doubt that it was a wise step to
begin with central nurseries or plant manufactories, from
whence all those gardens could be supplied.

The advantage of having public nurseries of this kind to
supply the parks, gardens, and squares of a great city are
so great, that it is surprising they have not been already
adopted with us. Not only could the necessary trees,
shrubs, and flowers be procured much more cheaply, but a
far greater selection of choice subjects would be at the

l40 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

disposal of the planters. By selecting ground favourable to
each class of plants, shrubs, or trees, the whole of the sub-
jects in that particular section could be grown to as great
perfection as by any nurseryman—eould be produced at a
far cheaper rate than they could be bought ; and the
necessity of searching for, bargaining, and selecting would
be done away with, the planter having merely to indicate
the subjects required. They could be quickly despatched
to any given point in vans constructed for the purpose. In
addition to these advantages, 3. small portion of each nursery
might be devoted to an experimental ground to test newly
introduced or imperfectly known plants,- and in this respect
each would be of valuable aid, not only to the State, but
also to the general public. “'ith our parks and crown
lands in which to select positions, the establishment of such
gardens would not be expensive, and would in a very few
years save the first cost of their construction. Our large
nurscrymen would feel a pleasure in contributing their
novelties and rarities, as they 110w do to our botanic gardens,
and a system of exchange might be arranged between them
to the advantage of both public, private, and commercial
establishments.

The present system is too bad to last. “'0 have, in and
around London and our other great cities, numerous public
parks and gardens, and it is to be hoped their number will go
on increasing from year to year. Let us suppose that the
superintendent or designer of a new public park or garden
wants many thousand trees and shrubs for its embellishment.
llc has to obtain them wherever he can, and as the nurseries
are arranged chiefly or solely for private use, most probably
there will be great difficulty in getting some things even at
a high rate. For example, a very important item in town
gardening consists of trees for park and avenue planting. If
at the present moment we wished to plant an avenue of
l’lane trees, of suitable size and properly prepared for the
purpose, we should no doubt have to send to the Continent
for them, as in our own nurseries they are not prepared for
street planting; in which case they would cost much more
than if bought in this country, and be in far worse condition

PUBLIC NURSERIES or THE CITY or PARIS. 141

for the purpose than if they had been grown at home. The
Planes recently placed on the Thames embankment have
been imported from the Continent, and of course there
would not have been the slightest occasion for this if we
possessed the kind of establishment I suggest, and of which
the necessity must be seen by every reader. In Paris there
is a. great central establishment at Passy where all the
tender plants are grown and increased, and there are
nurseries specially devoted to the production of city trees
and shrubs, in which the most suitable kinds are grown,
and grown exactly to the size and shape in which they are
best suited for being placed on the boulevards, or in the
parks or gardens. The cost of each plant or tree is in this
case a mere trifle; in our own the plantation of even a very
small park, or one boulevard, would amount to a very con-
siderable sum. To pay a guinea apiece for specimens that
we could produce for a few shillings, and a shilling or two
each for common stuff that we could grow for a few pence,
is to follow a plan whereby our public gardening, and con-
sequently the health and beauty of our cities, are con-
siderably retarded. ‘
The Jardin Fleuriste of the city of Paris is situated in
the Avenue d’Eylau, close to the Porte de la Muette,
leading to the principal promenade of the Bois de Boulogne,
and should be seen by every visitor interested either in
public or private gardening. It is the depot for all the
tender plants used in the decoration of the parks, gar-
dens, and squares of the city. Entering from the Avenue
d’Eylau, the first objects of interest that meet the eye are
collections of handsome plants growing in the Open air on
a small lawn amidst the glass-houses with which the place
is nearly covered. My object is not to describe the garden
in detail, but simply here as elsewhere to point out its
most instructive features. To me the most interesting and
valuable group planted on this lawn is a number of hardy
Bamboos, proving clearly that in our latitudes we may
enjoy the peculiar grace and verdure of these giant grasses,
and by planting them highly improve the appearance of our
gardens and pleasure-grounds, especially in places under the

142 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

mild influences of the sea and in the west and south of
England and Ireland. As the family is alluded to in another
chapter, I will say no more of it here.

On the grass here during the past summer might be seen
one of the most magnificent of all pea flowers, Clianthus
Dampieri, flowering very freely in the open air, although
we find it so difficult to grow even in our greenhouses. It
was sown in February and planted out early in June as a.
tuft of several plants, isolated on the grass, but rooted in
peat soil. The shoots grew to more than two feet in length,
and began to unfold gorgeous blooms at their apex about
the beginning of August, continuing to do so till the com-
mencement of October. As an isolated group upon the
grass, I need not say it was very fine ; and I believe the same
success could be obtained in mild parts of this country, and
in many places against the low, warm walls of glass houses,
&c. lt should be raised as a greenhouse annual and planted
out about the first week in J unc in peaty soil. Some may
not be aware that it is infinitely more beautiful than the old
brilliant and popular C. puniecns, though, unlike that, diffi;
cult to cultivate and impatient under the most skilful treat-
ment in houses. There are usually many fine groups of
Yueeas, Musas, Cannas, various new plants, and other ob-
jects of interest on this little lawn which will well repay a
careful examination. The most remarkable of the novelties
of the past season was Dimorphanthus manchnricus, a re-
markably handsome plant, reminding one of Aralia japonica.
A plant of it a few inches high put out at Passy in July, 1868,
had leaves a yard long and thirty-four inches across by the
middle of September. It will prove of the highest value in
the ornamental garden.

The first great group of glass houses are span-roofed. The
interior arrangements made in them for the convenience of
the workmen and for the preservation of the plants in winter
are most admirable, and should be adopted by us in all similar
instances. \Ve build more hot-houses than any other people,
construct them better, and furnish them better; and therefore
it is desirable that in (lispOsing them in relation to each
other we should employ the most economical and convenient

PUBLIC NURSERIES or THE CITY or PARIS. 143

plan. Everybody knows how often they are scattered
about without any connexion with each other, and the con-
sequent additional expense and trouble. But, even where
the errors of the scattering system are guarded against,
there is seldom an effective means of communicating from
one to the other without going in the open air. We all
know how disagreeable it is to pass from a moist stove
to frosty air—from wet gusts to damp greenhouses; it is
dangerous to tender plants that often have to undergo it
unclothed; nor can it be otherwise than injurious to the

FIG. 51.

 

Glass-covered corridor between the plant-houses 1n the J ardin Fleuriste.

health of those employed in such structures. All these
inconveniences are got rid of by the very simple plan
ad0pted in the case of the group of houses, the arrange.
ment of which the following diagram may serve to explain.
The plant houses diverge on each side of a glass-covered
passage, and there is no necessity for taking the plants into
the open air in winter, or for the men who work in the
houses to undergo any change of temperature for hours at
a time. The houses are so closely arranged together, that
heating them becomes much less difficult than when they
are separated. The advantages of the plan are so great
that I should strongly advise everybody building a batch

144 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

of houses for growing or Storing plants to adopt no other.
For graperies with the borders outside it would not be so
suitable ; but where good borders are made inside it would
answer well; or the vineries or peach-houses might form
the outer four houses of each block, leaving the plant-
houses, forcing-houses, &c., inside.

FIG. 5‘2.

 

HOUSE FOR YOUNG PLANTS l I

» o ATN n .
RECENTLY nooran. 1” “G l G OUSE

 

PELARGON] UM HOUSE.

 

SOLANUM HOUSE. CALADIUM AND ARUM HOUSE.

 

 

GNU.“ 1.39 ‘SDVSSVJ (II-IUFIAOO'SSV’ID

 

 

BEGONIA nous}; ‘ MIXED COLLECTION HOUSE.

Plan showing the arrangement of glass houses in the Jardin Fleuriste.

 

Plants may be grouped in the passage, where narrow, in
half-oval groups between each door. In large places, where
money is not an object, and where the houses on each side
would be filled with very ornamental specimen plants, it
would be a capital plan to make the central passage as wide
as one of the houses. Beds may be placed between the
doors, in winter garden fashion, and climbers run 11p the
roof, thus converting the passage into a most agreeable
promenade. \Vltll the better kinds of climbers depending
from the roof; a few belts of Oranges and Camellias,
and some palms and fine-leaved plants here and there,
to lend the scene grace and character, I can fancy
nothing more agreeable in the way of winter garden
or conservatory, particularly as the varied contents of
the houses on each side could be seen through the glass

PUBLIC NURSERIES or THE CITY OF PARIS. 145

ends and doors from the promenade. A wide gutter separates
the roof of one house from that of its fellow—forming a
passage along which men can freely move to arrange shading,

ventilation, or repairs.

It will be seen at a glance that easy

communication between all parts of the range is secured,
that the plants just rooted in the propagating house have
merely to be carried across the passage to the house devoted

to their further de-
velopment. The plan
is capable of adap-
tation in various ways,
to houses either large
or small.

One of the houses in
the block just referred
to is the largest and
most perfect propagat—
ing house I have ever
seen—being more than
eighty feet long and
twenty-four feet wide.
From this house im-
mense quantities of
plants are turned out
in the course of a year,
many of them being
large-leaved Ficuses and
plants that are difficult
to strike, as well as Be-
gonias, bedding and
free - rooting plants.
It contains three cen-
tral and two side beds;
the central pits are
well elevated, and every
space is in active work,
the whole presenting a
most imposing array of
large bell-glasses.

FIG. 53.

/— A.

  

Propagating house in the Jardin Fleuriste.

146 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

The propagating which seemed most successful, is carried

Fm. 54. out on a different plan to ours.
No pans are used in this house,
but very small pots, a shade
larger than a thimble : in each
a cutting is placed, the little
pots are placed in the tan, and
covered with large circular bell-
glasses, as shown by fig. 55.
’lhe greater part of the house 1s

    

ff? . _ i occupied with these, all being of
"'P v ' : 1 '1 1"“: the same size. But there are
ropae ating pot user in t 1e . ‘ '- .
Janlinblwriste. tullsize some speelal a1ra11gements for

propagating the more difficult
subjects, and among them may be noticed what appeared
to be an improvement—the bell-glasses, which are somewhat
of the ordinary shape, being provided
with an aperture at the top of about
two inches in diameter, into which
a piece of sponge is squeezed to
absorb the moisture from the inside.
95W Nothing could be more business-
WWW WM , like than the arrange111ents for pro-
Small(allillfiul‘h‘Jhlllltlc pagating in this house. “'e will
g next glance at a few of the more re-

markable collections and structures.
Imagine 3 OIII‘Sle1)1“Cpul(‘(l to \ isit a propagating establish-
ment, and then finding 3ou1self ushered into a grand con-
servatory of Camellias

F10. 55.

   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

a second being in connexion with it
filled with Aralias,Y11(cas, Beaueal neas tlee terns ,l\ieotianas,
Dasylirions, Draeienas, and a host of such plants, all in fine
condition and well arranged; and another, 011 the other side,
containing healthy palms in vast numbers. These are
arranged in three longitudinal beds, while all along the
sides of the house is a belt of the smaller and younger
kinds, plunged in tan to give them a little encouragement.
To look along the pathway between these long beds is
like glancing into a fresh young tropical palm grove, in such
perfect health are the plants. “'hen it is considered that

PUBLIC NURSERIES or THE CITY or PARIS. 147

many other great houses are in the garden, besides a large
field of pits and frames, the reader will agree that it would
be out of the question to examine each subject, particularly
when it is stated that there are nearly 400 kinds of palms
alone in this establishment. Though it is essentially a
business garden, and one in which an almost innume-
rable host of plants have to be annually developed, no
slovenliness of arrangement or culture is apparent in any
part.

Seldom indeed do we see such eflicient economy of space
in gardens as is the rule in these houses. Under the benches
are packed quantities of Caladiums, Fuchsias, Cannas, and
other plants that may be efficiently preserved in such places
in winter ; and even after the great Arums, &c., are potted
off in spring, they are placed underneath for a short time,
every available inch being taken advantage
of. Some of the houses are large lean-to’s,
and instead of the back. wall being left naked,
or with one shelf placed against it at the
top, there is a series of shelves one above
another, six altogether, and on these a.
multitude of plants are accommodated—-
Coleuses, 820., in the warm houses; Lan-
tanas, and the like, in the cool. They
keep well on these during the winter, and,
if drawn a little or discoloured, the mischief
is soon counteracted by a sojourn of a few
weeks in the frames in spring. In the large
span-roofed curvilinear houses, with a nar-
row passage through the ccntre, there is
a series of shelves affixed to irons on each
side of the central pathway, and on these
great numbers of plants are stored, so that
every space is taken advantage of without Shelves for storing
in the slightest degree interfering with the beddingplantsalong
health of the plants, which is truly admira- 21,1951? trilljgfiififs
ble. But doubtless it is necessary thus to 1101150? inthe Jardin

. ' F lcunste.
economize space, for the enormous number
of nearly three million of plants is annually furnished by this
L 2

 

148 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

establishment for the embellishment of Paris and its environs.
They are raised at a very cheap rate—less than a penny each.
It should be observed that many of the plants are such as
would be fit to embellish any exhibition, numbers of them
being palms and fine-leaved plants, while of course the least
valuable are simply bedding plants, from Nierembergias to
Pelargoniums, of which last 400,000 plants are sent out
annually.

If neither houses nor plants were seen, the potting-shed
would tell of extraordinary operations, for in the centre
there is a great wide bench, around which sixty men can
work. Ordinary bedding plants are kept here in an un-
usually economical manner. A large space of ground
is covered by parallel lines of rough and rather shallow
small wooden frames, simply and cheaply made—in fact,
such as the rudest workmen could put together during
wet weather. The frames are rather closely placed ; and the
pathways between, and indeed all the spaces around them,
are filled 11p with leaves and mossy rakings from the ad-
jacent Bois de Boulogne. These are nearly or quite piled
up to the edge of the frames, and of course keep the plants
warm through the winter. In winter the floor of the
frames is low ; in spring, by putting in a quantity of the
well consolidated leafy stuff before named, it is raised so
as to bring the foliage of the plants right up to the glass.
All the material is removed from between the frames in
summer. Many of these frames are furnished with iron
sashes, so that only the rough cheap framework is exposed
to the decaying influences of the weather. The large
quantity of leaves and moss thus decomposed is preserved
for potting purposes, making of course excellent leaf-mould.

A number of houses that have lately been erected at La
Muette materially encroach upon the space occupied by
the rough framing just alluded to, which they are destined
eventually to replace. These houses are especially intended
for bedding plants, and are so well adapted for that end
that some details about them may be useful. They have
been designed on an excellent plan for the culture of such
plants, the raising of seedlings, and for the growth of seed-

PUBLIC NURSERIES OF THE CITY OF PARIS. 149

ling palms, and all dwarf and young plants. I have seen
a good many houses devoted to similar
purposes in public, private, or commercial
gardens in all parts of these islands, but
never any so well-arranged as those in
the J ardin Fleuriste. They are low,
and rather narrow, so that all operations
may be conducted from the central path-
way. The sashes are cheaply made of
thin iron, and the roof consists of one
sash at each side. Many of the iron
sashes of the old frames were utilized
in the building of the houses.

As you pass along by the ends of
these plant houses you may see a bench
about a hundred feet long, filled com-
pletely with the deeply dyed Alternan-
theras—a sheet of colour; the next
devoted to young palms, as green and
vigorous as if in their native wilds;
another devoted to young Dracaenas and
fine-leaved plants generally,- and so on.
The benches are of slate, and the plants
are held well up to the glass, while
quantities of subjects in the way of Cannas
and Dahlias may be stored beneath, as
shown in the engraving. we generally
prefer wooden houses, but any horticultu-
rist who has seen the plants in this low
range at Passy will agree with me that
no plants could be in finer health or
condition; while the very permanent
nature of the structure is a great gain, inasmuch as a
wooden series of the same character would require a com-
plete overhaul in the course of a dozen, and perhaps recon-
struction at the end of twenty years.

A mode of protecting these houses from frost by means of
wooden shutters, each about the size of the sash of the house,
is deserving of notice. As will be seen by the engraving,

FiG. 57.
End view of new range of bedding—plant houses in the Jardin Fleuriste.

 

150 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

the gutters, strongly lined with zinc, are wide, so that men
can run along them with the greatest ease to protect or
shade the houses. The shutters are not taken from between
the houses every day, but simply left in piles of ten or so
over some unoccupied spot, or if the range happens to be
completely filled, each pile is shifted every day so as to
prevent the plants beneath from suffering. The facility
and simplicity with which these houses may, in a few mi-
nutes, be thus encased in wood to meet a very severe
frost, and without the least untidincss of any kind, are
admirable. However, matters are so arranged in the
houses that they could dispense entirely with this pre-
caution, which is noticed merely from its adaptability to
many places where a great number of bedding plants have
to be kept, and
where the means
of heating suffi-
ciently to keep
out very severe
rune: é frosts are not
forthcoming. The
ground plan of
the range is
nearly the same
as that already
described, so that
the men at work in any of the eighteen houses of the
block already completed, may pass and convey plants from
one to the other without passing through the open air.
Thus the comfort of the men and the health of the plant
are both secured. Already nine houses are arranged on
each side of the central passage, and it is proposed to
continue the arrangement till all the ground previously
devoted to framing is covered with this class of house. The
visitor, entering at the outer end and continuing his way
through any of the houses, would at its further end meet
with the covered way running at right angles to it, through
which he could enter any of the other houses he wished to
see without again exposing himself or opening any doors to

FIG. 58.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portion of ground plan of the bedding-plant houses in
the Jardin Fleuriste.

PUBLIC NURSERIES OF THE CITY OF PARIS. 15].

chill the plants in winter, or running the draughty gauntlet,
as he usually has to do where houses are arranged in
the ordinary scattered way. Moreover, as in many cases,
one long house is devoted to a particular species or variety
in much request, the visitor or superintendents may see the
state of the stock by simply traversing the central passage,
and looking through the glass dividing it from the houses.

But though the ordinary dwarf bedding plants are pre-
served in vast quantities both in the rough frames and the
houses, these are not the cheapest ways in which they manage
such things here, as we shall presently see. Many have
heard of the graceful use made of the Cannas in Parisian
gardening. These are preserved in a most efficient way in
caves under the garden. “'hen the stone is taken out of
the ground for building purposes, a rough propping column
is left here and there, and thus dark and spacious caves of
equable temperature are left underground. They are in
this case about seven feet high, and are used for storing
plants that may be well preserved without light in the
winter. You descend by a sloping tan-covered passage,
and most likely you will imagine yourself in a large potato
store immediately you get down, as heaps of different kinds
of Canna, and those that are by no means common with us,
are in winter spread upon the floor a yard or more deep,
and twenty feet long. The tubers of some of the large.
varieties are from five to ten inches long, and the men
turn them over just as they would the contents of a series
of potato—pits.

Here too in wide masses against the wall are arrayed
quantities of Aralia papyrifera, the handsome and much
grown species so useful for subtropical gardening. It
seems in a perfectly firm and safe condition, growing in
this dark or rather gas-lighted atmosphere, and sends out
long blanched leaves of a delicate lemon colour, which will
of course soon acquire a healthy green when the plants are
placed in the open air. Thus they preserve Aralia papy-
rifera in all sizes, and this fine thing is turned out for
garden embellishment almost as cheap as wall—flowers. Of
course analogous protection could be given to such things

152 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE AND OTHER

in many English gardens where space may be limited, and
much expense out of the question. In these caves were
also preserved Brugmansias, American and other Agaves,
Dahlias, Fuchsias, &c., and it seemed to me about the best
possible place for storing such plants.

The quantities in which you see rare things and new
bedding plants here are surprising. Houses, eighty and a
hundred feet long, are filled with one variety 5 and others of
equal size are devoted to the raising of seedling palms, 810.,

I’m. 59.

    

(‘th-s under the Jardin Fleuriste, used For storing large quantities ot tender
plants in Winter.

in large quantities. If a plant be considered worthy of
attention at all it is propagated by the thousand; 30,000
being the opening quantity for a new thing of any promise.
During the past autumn 50,000 cuttings of one kind of
Fuchsia were inserted in one week. Draezenas are
grown here more abundantly than variegated Pelargoniums
in many a large inglish bedding garden, and the Jardin
Flouriste is believed to possess the finest collection of them
in existence. In one house a specimen of each kind has
been recently planted out for trial in the central pit, and

PUBLIC NURSERIES or THE CITY or PARIS. 153

among them are many handsome kinds worthy of extensive
use with us.

It is a favourite plan here to devote a house to a special
subject. Thus there is a large and fine span-roofed stove
for Ficuses ; a house for the collection of Bananas,
with a line of thirty healthy plants of Musa Ensete
forming its backbone, so to speak; a very large and high
curvilinear stove for the great collection of Solanums;
special houses for Arums, Caladiums, &c. 3 and a winter
garden about 120 feet long by 40 wide, well stored with a
healthy stock of the usual conservatory plants, with here
and there fine-leaved things like Phormium tenax, a very
effective plant when well grown in pots and tubs, and of
which they have here thousands of plants of various sizes.
Of course all this vast collection cannot be and is not used
for summer decoration. It is employed for the decoration
of the Hotel de Ville, where 10,000 plants are sometimes
required upon a single occasion. The boilers of some of the
smaller houses are heated by gas, and in this way a very
equable temperature is preserved.

It may give some approximate idea of the collection,
when it is stated that there are in cultivation nearly twenty
species of Banana, about fifty kinds of Aralia, forty of
Anthurium, fifteen of Pothos, thirty of Philodendron, nearly
one hundred and twenty of Canna, eighteen of Zamia, and
more than one hundred and ten of Ficus, while families
better known and more popular are counted by hundreds !

Although the place is chiefly devoted to tender plants,
and most of the dwarf hardy subjects are grown in the
nursery in the Bois de Vincennes, there is, nevertheless,
some interest taken in hardy plants, seeing that a part of
the garden is devoted to one of the most extensive col-
leetions of Tulips in existence.

It is a regular practice in this and other new public
gardens in France to plant out a sample of their stock of
tender flower-garden plants each year for comparison. In
the parks, squares, &c., they of course have opportunities of
seeing how they thrive, but the object is to test them all
growing on the one spot and under the same Conditions. Thus,

l 54 THE JARDIN FLEURISTE.

you see all the kinds of Canna planted out in one place, all
the varieties of Pelargonium in another, and so on. It is
a good practice, but it is needless to repeat it year after
year to a large extent. If you have thirty species of
Solanum planted out for several seasons in succession, you
must know all that you want to know respecting their com-
parative value, and the practice here of planting out every
year old kinds time after time is useless. All that is ne-
cessary is to test the new additions, and in some cases it
may be desirable to plant the old ones by them for com-
parison, but to plant out annually a vast collection from a
well-known family is quite unnecessary.

Large, light, and well-made spring vans are used for
transporting the stock of flowers from the J ardin Fleuriste
to the parks and gardens, and from one nursery to the other.
They are about twelve feet long, and a little over six feet
wide. By a simple arrangement each van is made to do
the work of two—a second floor of strong shutters, hinged
two and two together, being placed at the height of a feet
above the lower floor of the van. The shorter plants are
stowed underneath, those on the upper floor may be as tall
as you like; but as the stock removed in this way usually
consists of dwarf subjects, one serves as well as the other.
By means of this plan 2000 plants, each in single pots, are
removed at a time. The eontrivance is merely such as
common sense would suggest ; yet for want of a little such
common sense how much labour is wasted! How frequently,
for example, do we see in country places two men attached
to a handbarrow dragging about plants! Of course it is
as unnecessary as it is laborious for the men. There is often
more fuss and labour over transporting the summer flowers
of a country place from the propagating houses to the flower-
gardcn than occurs with the several millions of plants fur-
nished yearly by the city of Paris, and all for the want of a
few simply-contrived spring barrows. Not to adopt simple faci-
lities ofthis kind in ourpublicgardensissheer mismanagement.

There are also vans of peculiar make for conveying orna-
mental plants to the HOtel de Ville. Those used in winter
are furnished with a little stove with flat hot-water pipes

THE PUBLIC NURSERIES ron TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 155

passing round the interior, so that, while space is not cur-
tailed, the van is efficiently heated, and tender plants can
be conveyed by it in safety in the depth of Winter.

Students of all nations are admitted to this establishment.
They must be eighteen years of age, and must have spent
some time in practical horticulture. Their pay is sixty francs
per month during the first three months, seventy during
the second, and after that eightyor eighty-five francs per
month, after which they are paid according to capacity
and intelligence. They are changed from section to section
of the establishment, so as to study with profit each kind
of culture. An extensive botanical library has lately been
added for the use of the officers and students of this establish-
ment, and is now being catalogued and arranged. It con-
tains nearly all the standard English books on horticulture;
indeed quite half the books are English.

Attached to the J ardin Fleuriste are a forge, a carpenter’s
shop, a glazier’s and painter’s shop, stables, and other ofiices.
These are of course indispensable where economy is ne-
cessary ; and saving money is a consideration even for the
city of Paris at present. The mode of glazing with several
strips of lead-paper laid one over the other, as practised
here, is too expensive to be recommended: it costs as much
as the glass itself, and after all peels off after a time. It is
known as the couvre-joint métallique of Celard, 16, Rue du
Faubourg du Temple.

The Public Nurseries for Trees, Shrubs, and Hardy
Flowers.—The nursery for trees for the boulevards is situated
at Petit Bry, near Nogent-sur-Marne—a somewhat out-0f-
the—way place. The nearest railway station to the nursery
is that of Nogent-sur-Marne, on the Strasbourg line. It
consists of nearly forty-five acres, entirely devoted to the
raising of the commoner and more useful kinds of trees for
avenue and boulevard planting. On entering it the first
peculiarity that strikes the visitor is, that the whole of the
surface of the ground is thrown into ridges nearly six
feet in width, on the apex of which the trees are planted.
This arrangement is adopted in consequence of the ground
being occasionally flooded by the river Marne, which is close

156 THE PUBLIC NURSERIES FOR.

by, and the trees being injured bythe water being frozen above
the base of their stems. But the necessity of taking this
precaution resulted in an advantage, as the trees being
planted on the apex of these ridges, and with the collar of
each, say, a foot above the level, make their roots much
nearer home, so to speak, and thus their transplanting is
rendered much more easy. When the time comes for re-
moving them the workmen begin at one end and turn them
out quite rapidly, all with close bundles of roots. The whole
surface of the nursery is thus treated. The trees are a little
more than a yard apart in the lines, which are, as may be
inferred from what was before said, within a few inches of
six feet from each other.

The kinds mostly used are the \Vestern Plane, the Horse-
chestnut, the large-leaved Elm, the Ailantus glandulosa,
Planeras, and Lombardy poplars—the last, however, are not
used for avenue or street planting. Other kinds used
on a smaller scale than these—the Paulownia, for example,
are grown at Longchamps. These trees, the names of
which are put down in the order of their importance, are
all trained straight, and sent from hence to the boulevards
for planting as far as possible of an equal size. The rule is
to send them out with a clean stem nearly ten feet high,
and about eight inches in circumference. The portion above
the ten feet of clear stem is not of so much consequence
and may vary, but if the trees when taken up for planting
do not present the length of clean stem considered neces-
sary, the lower branches are cut away till it is attained.
Of course the trees are so pruned when young that straight-
ness of stem is obtained. To arrive at the necessary size
and fitness the Plane requires five years, the Horse-chestnut
ten, the Ailantus four, the Elm and Planera about five
years each. The Elm and Planera are the only trees that
require support in training them into the necessary form,
for which purpose stakes from fifteen to eighteen feet high
are used. The whole place is surrounded by a hedge of
Tamarix tetrandra, which is cut down occasionally, and the
shoots sent to the Jardin Fleuriste for stakes for house
plants and the like. This nursery is well kept and managed,
and has a large stock of street trees.

TREES, SHRUBS, AND HARDY FLOWERS. 157

The nursery for shrubs is very pleasantly situated near
the racecourse of Longchamps in the Bois de Boulogne,
and is somewhat more than twelve acres in extent. I
found it in excellent keeping, and with a good stock both of
well-known and rarely used subjects. Roses and all kinds
of shrubs and hardy climbers are grown here, as well as
nearly every description of low tree. The superin-
tendent considered the Caucasian Laurel (Cerasus cau-
casius) the hardiest and best of any he had tried. There
were good stocks of those fine hardy Aralias—spinosa and
japonica: they should be everywhere employed for the
sake of their large and handsome leaves. A good many
subjects were out for trial as to their hardiness, among
them an extensive collection of Japanese plants. Melia
Azederach was in a healthy condition after passing a sharp
winter in the open air. From this nursery all the shrubs of
the various parks, squares, and gardens of the town are sup-
plied.

The nursery for herbaceous plants is situated in the Bois
de Yincennes, and consists of nearly twenty acres of sandy
ground just outside the fortifications, near the Porte Picpus
and Lac Daumesnil. There were here, at the time of my
visit, five or six acres of Chrysanthemums, prepared for
bedding in the various parks as soon as the frost had cleared
them of their summer occupants. There were also large
stocks of the flowers used to replace the Chrysanthe-
mum and decorate the gardens in spring. The stock of
spring flowers is an unvaried one, and leaves much to be
desired. “'here there is so much ground devoted to a
specialty it ought to be well done; and it will be a pity
if with so much improvement in other ways a large stock
of all the really ornamental hardy flowers is not formed.
The public gardens cannot fail to have a great influence on
all visitors to Paris, and it would be conferring a. very general
benefit if, instead of depending so much on plants requiring
expensive stoves and ceaseless trouble for their preservation,
the chief gardeners of the city showed what may be done
with the hardy plants belonging to our own and similar
climates. At present their collections of herbaceous plants

158 THE PUBLIC NURSERIES FOR TREES, SHRUBS, ETC.

and spring flowers consist of quantities of common and not
always first-class kinds. They have, for instance, very few
Tritomas in the Vincennes Nursery, and none at all in the
parks, though they are perhaps the most useful and attrac-
tive of all autumn flowers. It is, however, only fair to state
that the nursery stock was killed in the winter of 1867.
But when groups of these plants are established in the parks
or gardens there should be little difficulty in preserving
them by placing leaves over the roots in winter.

The nursery for the Pines and Rhododendrons is also in
the Bois de Boulogne, near Auteuil, occupying somewhere
about the same space as the one previously described. The
climate of Paris is not so favourable to the growth of coni-
ferous trees as that of England, and consequently to the Eng-
lish visitor the Auteuil garden does not look so attractive as
that at Longehamps, but it is well stocked, and serves its pur-
pose admirably. The American plants are mostly grown in
the slight shade afforded by thin hedges of Arborvitae. The
ivy used for making the edgings, which are so much admired
in Paris gardens, and for every other purpose for which the
plant is employed, is grown here. Cuttings are first put in
in handfuls, so close that the stems touch each other. After
a year or so they are transferred singly into four or six-inch
pots, and plunged below the rims into the sandy soil. They
are used for forming the edgings at the age of two or three
years. Galvanized wire is extensively used here for the pur-
pose of supporting plants that are usually staked. Stretched
tightly in parallel lines at about the height the line of plants
requires it forms a neater, handier, and cheaper support than
ordinary wooden stakes, which are so liable to decay and
shake about.

159

CHAPTER IX.
TREES FOR CITY PARKS, AVENUES, GARDENS, STREETS, ETC.

IT is avery popular but utterly erroneous notion to suppose
that “ trees will not succeed in London.” On the Continent
people are accustomed to see wide open streets and road-
ways embellished with trees that are properly planted, well
cared for and flourishing. They naturally at once compare
these verdant avenues with our own streets, in which trees
are never planted at all, or where, if they are, no care is taken
of them, and at once jump to the conclusion that there is
“ something in the air.” If you tell them that trees
may be grown better in London than in Paris they
will stare at you in incredulous amazement ; but such
is nevertheless the fact. In August last a correspondent of
the Pall Mall Gazette wrote several letters to that journal
against planting trees in London, the following extract from
which affords an excellent example of the notions almost
universally held upon this subject.

“ When people propose to decorate London, the first con-
sideration should be what will suit the climate. It cannot
be too often repeated that our city atmosphere is fatally
inimical to delicacy of architecture, and quite equally so to
delicacy of vegetation. Our skies will rain soot continually,
and moisture therewithal to make the soot adhere; the soot
will insinuate itself amidst fairy tracery of stone, and clog the
pores of beautiful trees and shrubs ; and it is an utter waste of
art and money to disregard these inevitable conditions of the
question. It is very childish to tickle our fancy by providing
for a momentary admiration of things which a short time will
make hideous, and then, when the inevitable has taken
place, contenting ourselves with a shrug of the shoulders
and ‘ what a pity !’ Few young trees will really flourish

160 TREES roa crrr PARKS, AVENUES,

in the climate of our modern London ; the case was perhaps
different some years ago. But from any general planting
of trees in London, especially in leading thoroughfares,
however wide, I cannot expect agreeable results. I cannot
dismiss from my mind that mournful spectacle I have so
often witnessed with depressed spirits, all through the after-
summer (as Germans call it) and the autumn, of gloomy
civic avenues, every trunk black and filthy, with all its fur-
rows clogged with soot, the branches showing symptoms of
speedy decay, the scanty withered foliage distilling a drizzle
of mingled smoke and moisture—MIsonENDnos.”

These opinions are as erroneous as they are emphatic;
yet it is not to be wondered at that similar ones are enter-
tained by the general public, when we find those who ought
to know equally ignorant 011 the subject. Not long ago,
I was walking up Regent Street with a landscape gardener
who had mostly worked in pure air, and he almost ridiculed
my statement that trees could be grown in perfect health
and beauty in London. I felt it was useless to argue with
him,butrcmembering the splendid Planes in BerkeleySquare,
a few minutes enabled me, through his own eyes, to cure
him for ever of the erroneous opinion that trees cannot be
grown well in London. It is the custom in Paris and
other continental cities to plant trees with care, to provide
them with good soil, to spend a great deal of money in attend-
ing to them and watering them, and yet neither in all Paris,
nor in any continental city with which I am acquainted, can
such noble examples as these be found.

But some may say, An open square at the “'est-end of town
may do that which the smoky, densely-packed city will not.
If these persons, who are evidently not yet acquainted with
Stationers’ Hall Court, will inquire for that narrow enclosure
the next time they are passing near Paternoster Row—or
St. Paul’s Cathedral, to select a more conspicuous land-
mark—they will find in it a noble Plane tree looking as
happy as if it were in its native forest. It grows in what
to a tree is practically a brick well, and yet to stand under
it in summer and look up the hole towards the top of the
tree, is to get a glimpse of tree-beauty of the most refreshing

GARDENS, STREETS, ETC. 1‘61

kind. I could point out to friend “ Misodendros ” numerous
places in the heart of London where trees flourish in the
most satisfactory way. It must be borne in mind, how-
ever, that everything depends upon the kind of tree selected
for the purpose ; for even our best landscape gardeners make
a sad mistake by obstinately persisting in planting ever-
greens, which as a class are totally unfit for town cultiva-
tion. Even when moderately healthy these trees are
generally so coated with smut that they entirely lack that
polished and refreshing verdure which is so characteristic of
evergreens grown in fresh and pure air.

In winter the atmosphere of London, and of many of our
great cities and towns, is contaminated by certain minute
bodies vulgarly termed “blacks.” They belong neither to
the vegetable nor to the animal kingdom, but they exercise
a powerful influence on the former, for they are deadly
enemies to all breathing surfaces; and though they have not
caused civil war and bloodshed like their human name-
sakes, yet if the tale of death were carefully summed,
no doubt our “ natives” would head the fatal list by
along way. How then fares it with the vegetation sub-
jected to their pernicious influence ? Thousands of expiring
and leafless shrubs furnish a reply. The once handsome
and healthy Araucarias planted in front of Tattersall’s at
Knightsbridge, and now draped with filth and soot; the
young pines and evergreens planted annually in the
Regent’s Park Botanic Gardens, only to dwindle and die ; the
handsome Hollies, Yews, and other shrubs planted in the
new avenue gardens in the same park ; the fine and costly
evergreens in the Royal Horticultural Gardens at Ken-
sington when it was first laid out,—these and many other
cases that I could enumerate, were it necessary, answer the
question, and tell the same tale of how they were deprived of
life by the vile atmosphere.

Not so with the deciduous tree or shrub ; nor with those
beautiful rosaeeous bushes which are the glory of the grove
in all temperate climes. After summer’s “ fitful fever they
sleep well,” and when “people return to town,” and the
fines begin to vomit forth poison and smut, they cast away

M

162 TREES FOR CITY PARKS, AVENUES,

the leaves that have done their work, and with them the
filth of the year ; and, so to speak, retiring within themselves
they remain till the winter is past, safer from deadly vapours
than the Esquimaux in his snow-hut is from cold. The
consequence is, they grow nearly as well in London as in
the country. When the fires begin to go out in spring,
and the air of towns becomes more free from evil humours,
they burst out into leaf and beauty—clouds of light, fresh,
budding green. What sight on earth can surpass the
bursting into leaf of deciduous trees in temperate and
northern elimes ? We should see few things more beautiful,
nothing more magical, even if it were possible to pass high
over earth, like the swallow in its migration from the wolfish
north, with its pines and weird heaths, to the south with its
Vines and Oranges, and to the tropics with its Palms and
giant llamboos. No charm of tropical or other climes sur-
passes the freshness aud joy of an English spring. “'hy
then should we not take advantage of the fact, and make
our city springs more English still, by developing chiefly
those plants which flourish as well in towns as out Of
them, instead of everlastingly purchasing evergreens which
are doomed to perish sooner or later? I have repeatedly
noticed that Peaches, Almonds, the double Cherries, and
the numerous exquisite trees and shrubs allied to them,
flourish and attain the same perfect shape in towns and
cities that they do in the country, while beside them valu-
able evergreens are but the ghosts of what evergreens
should be.

Supposing for a moment that evergreen trees and shrubs
throve as well within city influences as deciduous ones do,
it would even then be a questionable practice to use them
extensively, be rause they do not gladden us with that floral
beauty which deciduous trees are wont to put on; their
verdure in the parks and open spaces goes for little in
winter, as at that time people seldom frequent these places.
They do not keep time with our suns and s ‘asons; and they
are not so beautiful, because not so ehangcful, as the de-
ciduous kinds. They do not flower or fruit conspicuously,
as many deciduous plants do, and they tend to preserve a

GARDENS, STREETS, ETC. 163

disagreeable moisture round us in winter, which we are cer-
tainly better without.

I am certain that if the expense and trouble taken to
plant evergreens in cities were devoted to the best of our
deciduous trees and shrubs, a beauty would result to which
towns are at present strangers. Even in parks and places

FIG. 60.

 

Sophora japonica var. pendula. One of the many deciduous trees of which the
wintry aspect is preferable to that presented by smutty and half-dead “' ever-
greens.”

where one would be led to expect a tolerable display of fine ‘
flowering deciduous trees, the shrubbery vegetation is so in-
tolerably poor and monotonous—so devoid of variety and
interest—that it is not surprising that town planters fall
back on evergreens and plant little else round their churches
and in their squares. A fine double Cherry, pyramidal in
outline, and hung with snowy bouquets, seen against one of
M 2

164 TREES FOR CITY PARKS, AVENUES, GARDENS, ETC.

our dark churches, would be more beautiful than all the
evergreens within four miles of Charing Cross, and yet it is
only one out of a host of flowering trees belonging to
temperate or northern elimes, nearly all of them far more
presentable objects even when leafless than the debilitated
soot-varnished “ evergreens” which we now select for town
planting. Even the Pear and Apple and the Hawthorn
families would furnish a grand array of beauty ; but any one
who examines the list of our deciduous trees and shrubs,
from the tall Acacias to the dwarf early-opening Daphncs,
may find a selection which, judiciously arranged, would
create a greater attraction in town gardens than has yet
been seen. All who know the amount of beauty to be
found among deciduous trees will have no difficulty in
imagining how attractive our parks could be made by taste-
fully grouping and cultivating other flowering trees of equal
or nearly equal merit. All those mentioned above thrive
well on the London clay, and indeed the same is true of the
majority of deciduous shrubs. It would be a great benefit to
city gardening if landscape gardeners were to be cooped up
in town for a few weeks in the dead of winter, instead of
being permitted to run about the pleasant country: they
might then consider our wants more than they do. Mean-
time, I strongly advise eity planters to pay nearly all attention
to deciduous vegetation, promising them that their efforts
will not be thrown away, as they too often are at present.
They would then find that planting trees is not a “ sheer waste
of art and money,” but one of the most praiscworthy modes
of rendering our great unwholesome and ugly human hives
healthy, habitable, and cheerful.

. Although so deficient in street trees proper, one of the
best and most distinctive features of the suburbs of our
Cnglish cities is that resulting from the practice of placing
little gardens between the house and the road: it is the
absence of these which gives such a hard, uninviting, and,
to an English eye, hungry look to the unplanted streets of
many towns on the Continent. Although the space is small,
a line of trees is usually planted immediately inside the
wall, which line sometimes acts as a screen, but is generally

A SELECTION OF THE BEST TREES, ETe., FOR CITIES. 165

ineffective for that purpose. Considering the Space at our
disposal, and the fact that strong-growing trees prevent, to
a great extent, smaller, more useful, and prettier subjects
from being grown in these gardens, the right method to
adopt would be never to plant anything stronger in them
than dwarf trees. We certainly have a considerable gain
in the large number of streets and suburban roads, where
little gardens run along in front of the houses, affording
greater breadth, and a little repose between the house and
its inmates and the hard and dusty street. It is a pity,
however, that when neighbourhoods become populous,
crowded shops are built upon these gardens, additional
rooms being eventually placed over them, thus narrowing
instead of widening the street at the very time when more
space is required for increased traffic. The Marylebone~road
is an example of this kind.

The street gardens of London, and our other large cities,
are true British institutions which I hope will never become
unpopular; but go on increasing in favour. The follow-
ing selection of city trees has therefore been made with a
view to their improvement, as well as to the requirements
of street or boulevard planting, in which branch continental
cities are now before uS.

A selection of the best trees and shrubs for cities.

The best of all trees for European cities is the “restern
Plane (Platanus occidentalis). I have seen it in many
places in towns, from the heart of the city of London to
the Shores of the lakes of Northern Italy; in the town
gardens of central France, in the fine old cities in La
Belle Touraine, and in Anjou, where the Camellia and
Azalea grow luxuriantly in the open air; in Brittany,
where the glossy evergreen Magnolia becomes a tree
bearing huge waxen flowers as big as plates; in the nume-
rous new boulevards of Paris ; and everywhere it is by far
the noblest city tree ; but in no place are there finer indi-
vidual Specimens of it than in London, although receiving
no such attention as they do elsewhere.

166 A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

Looking for a moment at the Plane in a wild and culti-
vated state in the pure air, we find it second to none. It
possesses the hardiness of a North American Indian, and
the massive and noble port of “ Daniel Boon, backwoods-
man, of Kentucky.” Found in a wild state over a vast
portion of the North American continent, in its fullest per-
fection, along the great rivers which fall into Chesapeake
Bay, and in the fertile valleys of the VVest,—where it is
constantly found to be the loftiest tree of the United
States, it becomes one of the noblest trees in British
parks and woods, and reminds us of its native land of great
trees, rivers, woods, and prairies. Fairly and roundly de-
veloped specimens have in summer almost the grace of a
weeping tree. In winter the branches retain this character,
but also present a rugged Gothic picturesqueness, which
makes them highlyagreeable to look upon,while the pendulous
seed-vessels and striking column-like bole add to their at-
tractions in the wintry season, when the trees are at rest
and safe from the evil effects of smoke. To these advan-
tages may be added the one that large specimens may be
transplanted with safety a very desirable point in a city
tree. I could point to many parts of London where what
is here stated of the advantages of this tree could be seen
in a moment—from north-western squares near smoky
King’s Cross, to the western and southern parts of town,
with a drier soil and better air, and even to the very heart
of the city, where it appears to do as well as anywhere else.

As we are now almost commencing street and city garden-
ing it is most desirable that we should have no failures—that
things of this kind should be done so as to satisfy all. Places
like the Thames Embankment should command the finest
tree:

 

“ We needs must love the noblest when we see it,”

says Tennyson 5 and amongst town trees it must be the Plane.
I can imagine nothing more calculated to bring town-garden-
ing into disrepute than such a specimen of planting as that in
the Mall in St. James’s Park. Had the Plane been planted
there it would have made a noble avenue—the Elm new
forms a miserable one.

AND SHRUBS ron CITIES. 167

Next to the Plane, the Horse-chestnut seems to offer the
greatest advantages. It has not indeed the stature and
beauty of frame of the Plane, nor does it attain as large a
size and as perfect health in cities, but it possesses great
claims from its fine foliage, large sweet silvery spikes of
bloom, and proved capacity of growing well as a town tree,
even where the ground is hard and root-room scarce. If
Paris is seen to greatest advantage when her groves of
this tree are piled up with little pyramids of flowers,
what might we not expect from the fact that it does even
betterwith us? The avenue of Horse-chestnuts in the Regent’s
Park is a case in point. In Paris during the past year they
lost their leaves rather early and became too rusty to be
agreeable to the eye; but on coming to London at the
beginning of August I found them in a green and healthy
state after one of the most trying summers we have ever
had. “’hile selecting picturesque trees for towns that are
not liable to suffer from disease or insect pests, we must
also encourage variety as much as possible. The Horse-
ehestnut would be worth growing for the sake of its foliage
alone, but when the additional charm of its superb in-
florescence is taken into account there can be no hesita-
tion in placing it among the most eligible of town trees.

The common Robinia or Locust tree has been so long and
extensively tried that we need have no more doubt about it.
It will never justify the reputation that Cobbctt gave it, but
I know of no tree which maintains such a depth of sweet
verdure and freshness by the sides of the dusticst roads and
in the most. unlikely places. No drought seems to touch
it; no heat renders it rusty-looking or fatigued. Few other
trees stood the heat of the summer of 1868 so well, and
after the drought was ended it looked as if it had just passed
through a showery month of June. It is worthy of being
much more extensively used as a park and square tree ; it is
also good for street use, not growing too large, and is the
best of all known trees for planting in the front of a suburban
house or villa, or in any position where a pleasant object is
required to refresh the eye at all times. Compared to the
Lime which is so often planted before London houses, it is
as gold to pewter.

168 A SELECTION OF THE BEST TREES.

At first sight there seems little reason why the somewhat
despised and roughly treated Robinia, or Acacia, as it is
sometimes called, should come in after such stately and
noble trees as the Plane and the Chestnut; but, taking the
varieties as well as the original tree into consideration, I
have no hesitation in giving it this rank, knowing it to be
as well adapted for the smallest town garden as for the
largest public park. Naturally it is not such a strong-
growing tree as the Lime, while it may be cut in to keep it
neater than it usually grows.

To many lines of suburban houses a thin line of trees is
a great improvement, and forms the only species of garden
embellishment of which they are capable. The qualities
necessary in such trees are perfect hardiness, healthy eon-
stitution, and size and habits suited to the positions for which
we require them. I know of no tree that combines these
better than the spineless round-headed variety of the
Robinia (R. inermis), and it is a very elegant object all
through file season. It is, to be sure, somewhat dearer
than the Lime and such trees; but the difference in
appearance is such that nobody would refuse the difference
in money, even for the improved appearance of the trees
during a single year. It is usually grafted on straight
stems, six feet to eight feet high, which support the
umbrella-like heads and their mass of graceful, healthy
green leaves. “'ith a little cutting in now and then, they
never become an inch too high.

Perhaps the most beautiful and appropriate city trees
I have ever seen are those formed by the round-headed
Robinias in the cities of Northern Italy ; their grace, dense
and grateful shade, and deep verdure being perfect. I
measured several thirty feet in diameter of head, and with
a bole a foot or more through, the heads being picturesque
and somewhat irregular from age, while preserving their
compactness and valuable shading properties. It would be
impossible to find a greater advance upon the hideous lines
of clipped Limes so common in France than is presented
by these trees at Novara and other cities and towns in
North Italy. But as we have no proof that as good a

AND SHRUBS FOR CITIES. . 169

result could be obtained in our English streets, we must turn
to those trees that we have already tested thoroughly.

IVe will next deal with the Lime, its bad and not its good
qualities placing it so high in my list 3 for, while planted
more abundantly than any other city tree, it is by far the
worst that I am acquainted with, and the extensive use of
it in our streets is the most blameworthy of bad practices in
either town or country planting. I am speaking of the
aspect of the tree as displayed in cities. I have seen the
tall lines of Lime trees in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris
fall into the sere and yellow leaf before one had time to
admire the pleasing soft green which they display when their
leaf blades are first rolled out ; and on coming back to
London, at the end of July, 1868, I found the Limes
the most miserable and mangy-looking trees anywhere to
be seen. And all this in the midst of the summer when
we are most oppressed with heat! The withered, burnt,
insect-covered leaves rustle lifeless upon the trees, hoarsely
whispering the death of the year in our ears before we have
half enjoyed the summer. In many cases they have perished
prematurely and unnaturally, and have even lost the power
to fall off the tree, but remain rustling on the branches,
giving the ear as well as the eye a foretaste of winter three
or four months before the proper time.

Can anything be more unwise than to persist in planting
such a tree as largely as we do when there are dozens of de-
ciduous trees that will do all that a Lime does at the best of
times, and that present no such objectionable features as those
alluded to at that season when a tree ought to be full of
life and beauty? Our winter, the period when our deciduous
trees must be devoid of leaves, is long enough without
making it needlessly so by lining every street with the
Lime. In the parks this tree may sometimes be planted,
but never in streets, quays, or boulevards. Apart from its
presenting a diseased appearance for more than half the time
that it ought to be full of green life, the Lime grows much
too large for the little front gardens where it is so abun-
dantly employed, and will soon keep away from the house
it is planted to adorn a large portion of the light and sun

170 , A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

that We grumble so much at being deprived of. If, in order
to obviate this, we cut it in periodically, it becomes an
object that every person of taste should abhor and cut down
as soon as possible, to say nothing of the labour and ex-
pense of this periodical mutilation. And all this is in face
of the fact that we have several handsome trees that do
infinitely better and without clipping. In many cases in
towns it would be better, instead of planting a coarse tree
of any kind, to cover the railings with the Irish ivy, as the
French do 5 and then, no light being intercepted, it would
be possible to have something worth looking at in the little
garden, and the heavier rushes of dust would be kept out
by the dense covering of ivy, which would moreover look
green at all seasons. Dwarf shrubs more suited to the size
of the place and plenty of flowers might then be grown with
success. Every Lime tree in every small garden in London
should be cut down.

The Elm is a tree much used in the London parks, and
sometimes seen of fine dimensions, but occasionally it is
much diseased when used as an avenue tree—for example,
in the Mall, in St. James’s Park, where the effect of the
avenue planting is as bad as it can be. And all this from
not having selected a good kind of tree at first; indeed it
is so bad that there need be little surprise at our not yet
having attempted street-planting. A few Plane trees near
the Buckingham Palace end of the Mall almost save it from
looking absolutely hideous from that point of view. The
effect of the lilms in Rotten Row, though much better, is not
nearly so good as may he produced in like positions by using
other trees. The variety chosen has a good deal to do with
it—the long Boulevard St. Michel, in Paris, planted with
the large-l raved Elm, is quite a success. However, looking
to the gross insect enemy of the Elm, and its aspect when
planted, as we plant it in avenues, it is not a desirable tree for
this purpose, though indispensable for grouping in the parks.

l’aulownia imperialis is a very noble subject for town
gardens, especially so for those on a dry soil like Paris, and
where a good shading medium is wanted. It might well
replace several of the miles of poor clipped Elms and Limes

AND SHRUBS FOR CITIES. 171

about Paris, and around numbers of French country houses.
It has been well employed in Paris, as may be seen on the
north side of the Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle. During the
first days of September, 1868—days as hot as they were in
J uly—I examined these trees, and found them as green and
as fresh as could be desired, when Chestnuts, Limes, Elms,
and all around looked as if they had passed a few moments
over a brisk fire. The stems of the trees were straight,
and just about the right elevation for a shade-giving tree,
and flip heads spread out flat, so as to give complete shade
without betraying an awkward tendency to rise too high, so
as to require clipping to prevent them from keeping the
light from the upper windows. The large leaves were quite
fresh—a sufficient proof after such a season as the past
that it is one of the very best trees for city planting. The
Paulownia, the Ailantus, and the Plane seem to preserve
a freshness and vigour no matter how great the heat and
abundant the dust. The forest trees of our own latitudes do
not do this, and fall into the sere and withered leaf while
their companions from Japan and America are in the greenest
health. It is not easy to imagine a greater improvement
than that which would be effected by planting this tree Where
a low and yet good shade is required. It is also worthy of
attention as a town garden tree, and for similar reasons.
Ailantus glandulosa sometimes called the “ Tree of
Heaven,” and by the French Vernis du J apon—is a town tree
of great excellence. ‘Vhen in a young state it is graceful
from its long pinnate leaves—when old and well-grown it
becomes a noble forest tree. But the qualities that will
above all others recommend it to the town planter are its
perfect health and freshness, under all circumstances, in
towns. Dust, foul air, or drought seem to have little or no
effect upon it. For parks and avenues it is indispensable,
as it perfectly retains its foliage long after our own deci-
duous trees have been scorched by drought and dust. It
seems to do equally well on all soils, having a constitution
and a leathery texture which seem perfectly indifferent to
any vieissitude of climate witnessed in these latitudes.
Everywhere in cities that beautiful and distinct tree, the

 

172 A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

Lombardy poplar, retains its glossy health and vigour,
proving its claims to be far more abundantly used than at
present. Avenues of this tree would tell as well in some
positions in cities as single specimens and groups of it do in
the landscape. The drip of trees is sometimes objected to :
this erect and close growing kind would seem to offer itself
for rather narrow streets and positions, where a Spreading
habit or drip might be an inconvenience at any time. I
do not recommend its use on an extensive scale,- but it is
so handsome and distinct in outline, stands drought, dust,
and bad soil so admirably, that we are bound to recognise
its merits far more than at present, and there are many
positions in London in which it would be highly appro-
priate. Of other tapering columnar or fastigiate trees, the
py'amidal variety of the Oak and the tapering variety of
the Robinia do particularly well in the parks; and the last
is deserving of recommendation for the town garden.

Of weeping trees, in addition to the long-proved and in-
dispensable \Veeping \l'illow—which it is needless to recom-
mend here, as most people will have noticed its bewitching
outlines in some of our parks—we have the weeping Birch,
Ash, Beech, and Elm, in all cases in perfect health in the
parks. There is one tree of those above-mentioned which
deserves to be much better known—the weeping variety of
the large-leaved Elm (Ulmus montana pendula). This is a
tree of much beauty and character, and it does not seem in
the least to suffer from the atmosphere of London. It is a
weeping tree of the first order : its foliage is massive, shade
dense, and outline most picturesque when thickly clothed in
summer—the backbone, so to speak, of each widespreading
branch being seen just glistening above the dense mass of
leaves, in consequence of none of the branchlets showing
above their support. They are all of the true drooping
tendency. It is a hardier and better constitutioned tree
than the “'eeping “'illow, and never grows too high for a
London or any other town garden; however, it spreads too
wide for those of the smallest pattern. In all courtyards
or open gravclled spaces, in little squares wherever a shady
tree is desired, it is invaluable. To form a shady bower

AND SHRUBS FOR crmas.‘ 173

there is nothing to surpass it. Should anybody doubt this,
I refer him to the specimen of this tree on the lawn of the
Botanic Gardens in the Regent’s Park. I have also seen it
in perfect health in small squares in less airy parts of
London than that just named.

A very charming town tree is the weeping variety of
Sophora japonica (S. j. pendula). This is perfect as regards
size, not spreading so wide as the weeping Elm, Ash, or
Willow, yet quite as graceful as any of them. It is always
densely green, no matter how hot the season, and enjoys a
poor sandy soil, and the dry conditions from which, from
overdraiuage and other causes, town trees are liable to suffer.
Bear in mind, however, that this and all weeping trees should
only be used where they are not likely to suffer from muti-
lation of any kind, and where their character and grace may
be seen and enjoyed.

The numerous free-growing trees of the Rose order, from
the Chinese Pear and the Almonds that illuminate our groves
with masses of light rosy flowers in earliest spring, to the
dwarf double Prunus, all grow healthfully in our parks;
and though unfit for street-planting, are worthy of the
highest attention both for small gardens in towns, and for
squares, public gardens, and parks. It would take a very
long list to enumerate all the really handsome members of
this family now almost entirely neglected in comparison to
their merits. They alone are almost capable of saving us
from the aspect of the soot-covered objects courteously
termed evergreens ; and in spring, when all the world bursts
out in leaf, they are almost typical of London seasons.
From sooty-brown sticks they would “ spread out their little
hands into the ray,” quickly become clouds of virgin green,
afterwards great bouquets of flowers, white, pink, and
rose, would give shade and verdure as well as other trees
in summer, and in the fulncss of time become covered
with gay fruits. Let us, for example, look at the Hawthorn
family, known popularly through one of its members, the
common May, the admired of everybody. In the Phoenix
Park in Dublin there may be seen many thousand quaint,
gnarled, indigenous plants of it—old fellows that must have

174 A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

first sprung from their tiny stone many generations ago.
During the flowering season the whole park (about 1760
acres in extent) is perfumed with them, and nothing can
be more agreeable than a stroll there of a May afternoon.

Of course the Phoenix Park is practically in the country,
but the group near the museum in the Botanic Gardens in
the Regent’s Park proves that the hawthorn family will
succeed perfectly on what is by far the worst kind of soil,
and the worst enemy with which the London gardener has
to contend —— the deep bed of clay on the north side of
the city. Generally people regard the Hawthorn as a thing
apart from all others, and know little of the varied beauty
of the family; but the fact is, it furnishes a greater number
of hardy ornamental dwarf trees than any other known to
us. They are not only pretty and fragrant in flower, but
the aspect of the fruit in autumn—borne in showers of
bright red, yellow, black, and scarlet—is of itself a recom-
mendation which should entitle them to general cultivation,
even if the bloom and fragrance were of that obscure type
which never attracts the attention of any but a botanist—
a type too common among our popular trees and shrubs.

Of the common Hawthorn alone, the double and pink
and other varieties are capable of a rich display of beauty in
spring; and the fruit, too, varies in a remarkable manner.
Varieties are grown with black fruit (Cratzegus Oliveriana),
yellow fruit (C. aurea), woolly fruit (C. erioearpa), and white
fruit (C. leucocarpa). C. przeeox, the early flowering, is the
Glastonbury thorn; C. punieea flore plcno, the double
scarlet-flowered ; and there are many other varieties of the
common haw. In fact, the plant would serve as well as
many to illustrate the variation of which a species is capable,
if such were wanted by a Darwinian.

If a single species displays so much ornament and
diversity, how much more may we expect from its numerous
congeners, all of which are hardy? To have a full idea of
their value it is necessary to visit places where a collection
is grown not only in the early summer-flowering season, but
also in the autumn. The brillianey and profusion of the
fruit—some of them many times larger than the common

AND SHRUBS FOR CITIES. 175

one, some of an agreeable acid flavour, and others like
miniature apples, both in shape and taste—are quite re-
freshing amidst evergreens and common trees which never
produce a noticeable fruit or flower. Some are as large as
marbles, others more pyriform in shape, but large and
eatable ; such indeed as I should be very glad of if I were
cast ashore on some desolate isle, like old Byron, and such
as would have been a godsend to poor Burke and Wills and
their party, who lived upon the tiny and miserable Nardoo
fruit. “'here the feeding and attracting of the feathered
tribes is a consideration, there is nothing to equal these
exotic thorns. Among the best kinds are the following :—
C. coceinea, and its varieties, corallina and maxima; C.
nigra ; C. crus-galli, and its varieties, splendens, pyracanthi-
folia, and salicifolia ; C. punctata, and its varieties; C. ma- -
erantha; C. Azarolus ; C. obtusata, a variety of the common
species which grows seventy feet high ; C. Douglasi, a purple-
berried North American kind, named after the famous and
unfortunate plant-collector Douglas, who sent us home the
noble Douglas fir and a host of valuable American plants;
C. Orientalis, C. Leeana, C. Aronia, berries yellow; and C.
tanacetifolia, a native of Greece, and its German variety
glabra ; but almost all the species are worth growing. The
well-known evergreen species, C. pyracantha,,so extensively
used for training against houses and walls, will not do for
association with these; but it is of course valuable for the
embellishment of the walls of the town garden.

It should be observed that the above species flowering at
various times, and some of them a good deal later than the
May and its numerous varieties, prolong the bloom of the
family for a considerable period. They are more suited for
grouping in the irregular and diversified parts of parks and
public gardens than anything else, and may also be used
with good effect in squares; avoiding, however, the very
common error of putting all our native and hardy shrubs
roughly in under the shade of big trees, &c. Numerous
subjects are never seen to present their native charms in
consequence of being overcrowded, or overshadowed, or
robbed at the root by heavy-feeding neighbours. If a

176 A SELECTION OF THE BEST TREES

thing be worth planting at all it is worth planting well;
and the rule in our squares, and too often in our parks and
gardens, is excessive crowding and little or no attempt at
the fair and full development of individual plants, be they
costly exotics or merely “common” wild Roses or Hawthorns.

Of tribes that maybe associated with the Hawthorns there
are the Cotoneasters—the freely flowering and fruiting deci-
duous species ; the Almonds and Peaches, double and single ;
the various double Cherries and Plums; Amelanchiers
(Snowy Mespilus); the Bird Cherry and the Weeping
Cherry; the Judas tree; the Quinees and Medlars (par-
ticularly Mespilus Smithii) ; the varieties of the Scotch and
common Laburnums : the Daphnes, the Deutzias, the various
kinds of Lilac, and numerous other rather dwarf shrubs for
the embellishment of the margins of groups, Ste. ; the various
kinds of Pyrus from the great P. vestita to the handsome
Chinese Pear and Japan Quince; the Rose Acacia; not to
mention many other useful species.

The common Stag’s Horn Sumach succeeds so well in
the small town garden that it deserves a word of praise.
It does not grow so gross as to require clipping, and retains
its verdure without taint long after that miserable town
tree the Lime has parted with it; but it is apt to produce
suckers too abundantly. Amongst deciduous flowering'
shrubs, the Althea would seem to be the king. “'ith
attention it should form a telling object in all parts where
the bottom is dry. By “ attention,” I mean planting it so
as to developc it into a specimen, and not thrusting it
promiseuously amongst rough and mixed shrubs, which
may obscure it from the sun or unduly rob it at the
root.

Liriodendron tulipifera, the Tulip tree, seems perfectly
at home in city parks or gardens, and being a handsome
and distinct tree in every way deserves to be planted largely
in such places. Sophora japouiea forms a grand tree in
the neighbourhood of London, and has the valuable property
of never seeming.r to suffer from drought, no matter how
dry the soil, but retains its verdure to the end of the season.
It therefore merits an important place in all our parks and

AND SHRUBS FOR CITIES. 177

squares, especially those with a dry gravelly, sandy, or light
bottom.

Among various trees thoughtlessly recommended for
London planting in the journals of the past year was the
Copper Beech. I trust nobody will ever use that as a town
tree; not at least until we have too much green in our
cities, instead of square miles of dull brick without a
verdant spot, as at present. “’hen we become sufficiently
Gallicized to establish a Morgue, a few dark and gloomy-
looking Copper Beeches might appropriately adorn its
neighbourhood. Nobody can object to grouping this
tree here and there in the parks, or to the use of the
Copper Beech in an isolated manner among other trees,
but to talk of planting avenues of these trees is harrowing.
There seems a sort of purgatorial ingenuity about this
recommendation. “'e are coppery enough in all conscience ;
and though a line of rusted Limes relieved by Coppery
Beeches might suit a nation of very strict ritualistic tenden-
cies, anxious to find even an additional pang among their
trees—surely the most noble, stately, and useful objects that
nature has given for the embellishment of the earth—I trust
such a peace-destroying combination will never be seen in
my time. I would punish the writer of it by shutting
him up in a London house of a hot August day, and let
Copper Beeches and hideous Limes be the only things on
which he could refresh his eyes—a dreadful punishment for
anybody with a nervous system and a slight knowledge of
trees.

Evergreens, as has been frequently pointed out, are
as a class better avoided; and yet there are for city
gardens some kinds which seem to flourish disregarding
smoke. Of these the Japan Privet (Ligustrum japonieum)
is worthy of a front place. The beauty and utility of the
Japan Privet is insufficiently known to the town-gardener,
though it is extensively planted by the judicious landscape
gardener and planter. Large in leaf almost as a goodly
Orange, producing flowers almost as large as the white
lilac, and very sweet, it possesses first-class attractions as an
ornamental shrub; but it is to its value as a London plant

N

178 A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

that I would call the attention of the town-gardening por-
tion of my readers. \Ve all know how diflieult it is to
get any sort of an evergreen to grow well in towns; those
with the best character for good behaviour Within the vile
influences of smoke are too apt to become hopelessly deci-
duous. The Japan Privet may be tried with safety in a
back garden, far into what Cobbctt called the great
“ wen.” Having the advantage of flowering so sweetly and
freely in addition to being a shrub with comely leaves
and good habit, I am sure those who so plant it will
not be disappointed. The remaining kinds are mostly
those that are well known and frequently used the Aucuba,
Holly, in great variety, Box, and Rhododendrons, Ivies,
Berberiscs, particularly Darwini, and the common Laurel
—often cut off, however, and not so good or hardy as the
Aucuba; the Caucasian Laurel, better and hardicr than the
common kind, Euonymus japonicus, Mahonias, and several
kinds of Yuccas.

All these are known to do very fairly if properly planted
in pretty good positions. Considering how excellently the
common Aucuba grows in our towns, we may look forward
with much hope to what may be done with the numerous
new and fine kinds as soon as they are common enough to
be tried extensively in city gardening. But the town-
planter cannot be too often cautioned against the over use
of evergreens—there is scarcely a suburb in which thousands
of pounds worth of them are not to be at any time seen
in a dying state! Even the kinds above enumerated are
often seen to languish and die after a year or two in a
west central garden, like Mccklenburg-square, where the
deciduous trees are fine enough to freshen the heart of a
North American Indian should he happen to pass by.

Anxious to promote as far as possible permanent and noble
rather than fleeting and mean styles of park decoration, I ven-
ture to add the names of some fine distinct trees that deserve
to be more widely planted in our city parks and gardens, if
only to vary the monotony caused by the profuse planting
of well known kinds. The Oaks oil'cr an example of the
arboreal riches within the reach of planters, and the Ame-

 

AND SHRUBS roa CITIES. 179

rican Oaks especially cannot be overpraiscd. Of course
they are not recommended here for street or boulevard
planting, but for parks and open spaces where the dust
is a little subdued and where they may have plenty of
root-room.

The following species of Oak are well worthy of atten-
tion in our parks z—Quercus ambigua—fine foliage ; the best
of all the American oaks for quick growth. Q. Prinus—
chestnut oak. Q. rubra—champion oak. Q. coccinea—
scarlet oak. Q. falcata—downy oak. Q. tinctoria—black
oak. Q. palustris—pine oak. Q. nigra—black jack oak.
Q. Catesbzci—scrub oak. Q. Phcllos—willow oak. Q. im-
bricata—shingle oak, very distinct. Q. ZEsculus—Italian oak.

The Maples also comprise some very noble trees z—Acer
macrophylla—the great Columbian maple. A. lobatum
—Siberian maple. A. Lobelii—this kind grows erect, like
the Lombardy poplar, and has violet shoots and striped
bark. A. eriocarpum—Sir Charles \Vager’s maple, a fine
silvery appearance. A. neapolitanum—Ncapolitan maple,
fine large foliage. A. obtusatum—Hungarian maple, very
distinct from the Neapolitan maple, with which it is
frequently confounded. A. colchicum rubrum—this kind
has bright red twigs in winter, and is distinct and good.
A. platanoides—Norway maple, very showy when in flower
in the spring. A. Pseudo-Platanus purpurca—purplc-leaved
sycamore. Negundo fraxinifolia varicgata—vcry showy.

Of other valuable subjects not running in such closely
allied groups, the following will be found worthy of extensive
use :—Catalpa syringaefolia, makes an ornamental tree near
London. Laurus sassafras, Nyssa bifiora and villosa—the
autumn tints of these are fine; they are natives of North
America. Ulmus stricta, the Cornish elm; Ulmus vimi-
nalis, distinct habit ; Ulmus vegeta, Chichcstcr elm ; Ulmus
nigra, Irish elm, a large timber tree of rapid growth ; Ulmus
montana major, smooth elm; and Ulmus amcricana, a very
distinct tree, of large size. Plancra Richardi, a fine tree,
with a peculiarly distinct and striking mode of branching.
Celtis occidentalis, the nettle tree. Juglans nigra, black
walnut, fine foliage. Carya amara, C. alb’a, and sulcata,

N 2

180 A SELECTION or THE BEST TREES

fine foliage. , JEsculus Hippocastanum flore-pleno—the
flower lasts three times as long in perfection as that of
the single horse-chestnut. 1E. rubicunda—the scarlet
flowered. Tilia alba, or argcntea—the Hungarian lime
tree, the best. T. americana—Mississippi lime, very large
leaves. Pavia rubra—native of the mountains of Vir—
ginia and Carolina, rather a small but ornamental tree.
P. {lava—this is a native of the same country, but attains a
larger growth than the former species. P. indica—very
distinct in foliage. P. californica—fragrant flowers in long
spikes, a very handsome tree. Liriodendron tulipifera—
the tulip-tree, and its variety obtusatum, the entire leavcd
form. Sophora japonica pcndula—a highly ornamental
weeping tree. It is somewhat tender in the north, but
flourishes finely about London, and on dry soils generally.
It can stand any amount of drought, and is therefore
particularly well adapted for dry soils. “'hen it flowers
it is very ornamental. Virgilia lutca—a native of North
America, has white pcndulous racemes of flower, a little
larger than those of the locust tree. It is very striking
when in flower, and does best on a dryish soil. Robinia
viseosa—a native of South Carolina and Georgia, comes
in flower later than the common locust tree, and bears pink
blossoms. (llcditsehia sinensis (horrida) and fcrox are very
singular, from having their stems embellished with large and
fierce spines. (iymnoeladus canadcnsis, the Kentucky coffee
tree, is remarkable for the beauty of its foliage during
summer. Of the Cratmguses—Aronia, with large yellow
fruit; Layi, with large red fruit used for preserving in
China; Cels ‘ana (Leeana of the nurseries), pale red fruit;
and Douglasi, black fruited, are among the most distinct.
l’yrns vestita is a large silvery species beautiful even
among the many good things in its family. Ornus europaaa,
the flowering ash; Fraxinus lentiscifolia, Calabriau manna
ash; 1"axinus amcri mm, the broad-leaved American ash;
F. pubeseens, black Ameri 'an ash; l“. cpiptcra (or lancea),
the Canadian ash or lanccwood. l’latauus orientalis
pyramidalis—fiue variety. P. acerifolia Spanish plane.
P. umbcllata—a fine variety. Liquidambar styraeiflua—

 

AND SHRUBS FOR CITIES. 181

fine tint in autumn. Salisburia adiantifolia—var. macro-
phylla. Populus accrifolia, or nivea— the silver-leaved
poplar, very fine. P. angulata—Carolina poplar, leaves
large, and sub-evergreen. Alnus incana laciniata—cut-
leaved alder. A. cordata fine large glossy leaves, very
distinct from all the other kinds; sub-evergreen. Betula
angulata, or nigra—the black birch. Elaegnus argcntous,
deciduous Magnolias, and Pterocarya caucasica — fine
foliage and distinct tree.

 

182

CHAPTER X.
SUBTROPICAL PLANTS ron THE FLOWER. GARDEN.

THE term subtropical is popularly given to flower-
gardens embellished by plants having large and hand-
some leaves, noble habit or graceful outlines. It simply
means the introduction of a rich and varied vegeta—
tion, chiefly distinguished by beauty of form, to the
ordinarily flat and monotonous surface of the garden.
The system had its origin in Paris, where it was first
carried out on asmall scale around the old Tour St. Jacques,
and is now adopted to a greater extent there than anywhere
else. Indeed, the presence of great numbers of fine-leaved
plants is one of the most marked features in the parks and
public gardens of that city. Mr. Gibson, the able and
energetic superintendent of Battersea Park, undaunted by
the popular nonsense about the great superiority of the
climate of Paris over that of London, boldly tried the
system, and with what a result all know who have seen his
charming “ subtropical garden ” in Battersea Park.

This system has taught us the value of grace and ver-
durc amid masses of low, brilliant, and unrelieved flowers,
or rather has reminded us of how far we have diverged
from Nature’s ways of displaying the beauty of vegetation.
Previous to the inauguration of this movement in Eng-
land, our love for rude colour had led us to ignore the ex-
quisite and inexhaustible way in which plants are naturally
arranged fern, flower, grass, shrub, and tree, sheltering,
supporting, and relieving each other. “"0 cannot attempt
to reproduce this literally, nor would it be wise or con-
venient to do so; but assuredly herein will be found the
source of true beauty in the plant world, and the more the
ornamental gardener keeps the fact before his eyes, the

 

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 183

nearer truth and success will be attained. Nature in puris
naturalibus we cannot have in our gardens, but Nature’s
laws should not be violated, and few human beings have
contravened them more than our flower gardeners during
the past twenty years. We must compose from Nature, as
the best landscape artists do, not imitate her basely. We
may have all the shade, the relief, the grace, and the beauty,
and nearly all the irregularity of Nature seen in every
blade of grass, in every sea-wave, and in every human
countenance, and which may be found too, in some way,
in every garden that affords us lasting pleasure either from
its contents or design. Subtropical gardening has taught
us that one of the greatest mistakes ever made in the
flower garden was the adoption of a few varieties of plants
for culture on a vast scale, to the exclusion of interest and
variety, and too often of beauty or taste. We have seen
how well the pointed, tapering leaves of the Cannas carry
the eye upwards; how refreshing it is to cool the eyes
in the deep green of those thoroughly tropical Castor-
oil plants with their gigantic leaves ; how grand the VVi-
gandia, with its wrought-iron texture and massive outline,
looks after we have surveyed brilliant hues and richly painted
leaves ; how greatly the sweeping palm-leaves beautify the
British flower garden ;——and, in a word, the system has
shown us the difference between gardening that interests
and delights all the public, as well as the mere horticul-
turist, and that which is too often offensive to the eye of
taste, and pernicious to every true interest of what Bacon
calls the “ Purest of Humane pleasures.”

But are we to adopt this system in its purity? Cer-
tainly not. All practical men see that to accommodate it
to private gardens an expense and a revolution of appliances
would be necessary, which are in nearly all cases quite im-
possible, and if possible, hardly desirable. We can, how-
ever, introduce to our gardens most of its better features ;
we can vary their contents, and render them more inte-
restlng by a cheaper and a nobler system. The use of all
plants without any particular and striking habit or foliage,
or other distinct peculiarity, merely because they are “ sub-

184 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR. THE FLOWER GARDEN.

tropica ,” should be tabooed at once, as tending to make
much work, and to return—a lot of weeds; for “ weedi-
ness” is all that I can write of many Solanums and stove
plants of no real merit which have been employed under
this name. Selection of the most beautiful and useful
from the great mass of plants known to science is one
of the most important of the horticulturist’s duties, and
in no branch must he exercise it more thoroughly than
in this. Some plants used in it are indispensable—the
different kinds of Rieinns, Cannas in great variety, Polym-
nia, Colocasia, Uhdca, \Vigandia, Ferdinanda, Palms, Yuccas,
Dracaenas, and fine-leaved plants of coriaceous texture
generally. A few specimens of these may be accommo-
dated in many large gardens ; they will embellish the houses
in winter, and, transferred to the open garden in summer,
will lend interest to it when we are tired of the houses.
Some Palms, like Seaforthia, may be used with the best
effect for the winter decoration of the conservatory, and be
placed out with an equal result, and without danger in
summer. The many fine kinds of Dracwnas, Yuccas.
Agaves, &c., which have been seen to some perfection at
our shows of late, are eminently adapted for standing out
in summer, and are in fact benefited by it. Among the
noblest ornaments of a good conservatory are the Norfolk
Island and other tender Araucarias—thcse may be placed
out for the summer much to their advantage, because the
rains will thoroughly clean and freshen them for winter
storing. So with some Cycads and other plants of distinct
habit—the very things best fitted to add to the attrac-
tions of the flower garden. Thus we may enjoy all the
benefits of what is called subtropical gardening without
creating any special arrangements for them in all but the
smallest gardens.

But what of those who have no conservatory, no hothouses,
no means for preserving large tender plants in winter? They
too may enjoy in effect the beauty which may have charmed
them in a subtropical garden. I have no doubt what-
ever that in many places as good an eflect as any yet seen
in an English garden from tender plants, may be obtained by

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 185

planting hardy ones only! There is the Pampas Grass—which
when well grown is unsurpassed by anything that requires
protection. Let us in planting it take the trouble to plant and
place it very well—and we can afford to do that, since one
good planting is all that it requires of us, while tender
things of one-tenth the value may demand daily attention.
There are the hardy Yuccas, noble and graceful in outline,
and thoroughly hardy, and which, if planted well, are not to
be surpassed, if equalled, by anything of like habit we can
preserve indoors. There are the Arundos, conspicua and
Donax, things that well repay for liberal planting ; and there
are fine hardy herbaceous plants like Crambe cordifolia,
Rheum Emodi, Ferulas, and various fine umbelliferous plants
that will furnish effects equal to those we can produce by
using the tenderest. The Aeanthuses too, when well grown,
are very suitable to this style; one called latifolius, which
is beginning to get known, being of a peculiarly firm, po-
lished, and noble leafage. Then we have a hardy Palm—
very much hardier too than it is supposed to be, because it
has preserved its health and greenness in sheltered positions,
where its leaves could not be torn to shreds by storms
through all our recent hard winters, including that of 1860.

And when we have obtained these we may associate them
with not a few things of much beauty among trees and
shrubs—with elegant tapering young pines, many of which,
like Cupressus nutkaensis, have branchlets finely chiselled
as a Selaginella ; not of necessity bringing the larger things
into close or awkward association with the humbler and
dwarfer flowers, but sufficiently so to carry the eye from the
minute and pretty to the higher and more dignified florms of
vegetation. By a judicious selection from the vast mass of
hardy plants now obtainable in this country, and by asso-
ciating with them where it is convenient, house plants that are
stood out for the summer, we may arrange and enjoy charms
in the flower garden to which we are as yet strangers, simply
because we have not sufficiently selected from and utilized
the vast amount of vegetable beauty at our disposal.

Let us next select the finer tender plants for this pur-
pose, speak of the treatment they require, and the uses or

186 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

associations for which they are best adapted. In selecting
tender plants of noble aspect or elegant foliage, suited for
placing in the open air in British gardens during the summer
months, we shall confine ourselves to first-class plants only.
It is necessary that they be such as will afford a distinct
and desirable effect if they do grow; and that is by no
means to be obtained from many subjects recommended for
subtropical gardening. And above all we must choose
such as will make a healthy growth in sheltered places in
the warmer parts of England and Ireland at all events.
There is some reason to believe that not a few of the best
will be found to flourish much further north than is generally
supposed. In all parts the kinds with permanent foliage,
such as the New Zealand flax and the hardier Dracaenas,
will be found as effective as around Paris, and to such the
northern gardener
should turn his
attention as much
as possible. Even
if it were possible
to cultivate the
softer - growing
kinds like the
Ferdinandas to
the same perfec—
tion in all parts
as in the south
of England, it
would by no
means be every-
where desirable,
and especially
where means are
scarce, as these
kinds are not capa-
ble of being used
indoors in winter.
The many fine
Variegated Asmm permanent leavcd

Fm. 61.

 

SUBTROPICA]. PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER. GARDEN. 187

subjects that stand out in summer without the least injury,
and may be transferred to the conservatory in autumn, there
to produce as fine an effect all through the cold months as
they do in the flower garden in summer, are the best for
those with limited means.

AGAVE AMERICANA and its variegated varieties are plants
peculiarly suited for this kind of decoration, being useful
for placing out of doors in summer in vases, tubs, or pots
plunged in the ground, and also for the conservatory in
winter. They are so well known and so long cultivated in
this country that nothing need be said of their requirements
or cultivation.

ARALIA PAPYRIFERA (the Chinese Rice-paper Plant) .-—This,
though a native of the hot island of Formosa, flourishes
vigorously around Paris in the summer months, and is one
of the most
valuable plants FIG- 62-
in its way. It
is useful for the
greenhouse in
winter and the
flower garden
in summer. It
is handsome in
leaf and free in
growth, though
to do well it
must be protec-
tedfromcutting
breezes, like all
thelarge-leaved
things. Insome
of the warmer
parts of France
the Peach does very well as a field tree—a low one, however.
The wind is so strong that it would be destroyed if allowed
to rise in the natural way, and so they train it as a dwarf
bush, spreading wide. Tall subtropical plants have with
us somewhat of the same disadvantage. If this Aralia be

 

188 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

planted in a dwarf and young state, it is likely to give more
satisfaction than if planted out when old and tall. The
lower leaves spread widely out near the ground, and then
it is presentable throughout the summer. Prefer therefore
dwarf stocky plants when planting it in early summer. It
should have rich, deep soil and plenty of water during the
hot summer months. The open air of our country suits it
better than the stove, and chiefly no doubt because it is
very liable to the mealy bug when kept indoors ; in the free
air this pest is washed away by the rain. For the public
gardens of Paris it is kept underground in caves during the
Winter ,- but in private gardens with us it will doubtless be
worthy of a place in the greenhouse throughout that season.
It is easily increased by cuttings of the root. It is usually
planted in masses, edged with a dwarfer plant; but as a
small group in the centre of a bed of flowers, or even as an
isolated specimen in a like position, it is capital. The stems
of this plant have a very fine pure white pith, which, when
cut into thin strips and otherwise prepared, forms the article
known as rice paper. It is rare for a plant to be so useful
both in an ornamental and economic sense.

ACACIA LOPHANTIIA.—-Thls elegant plant, though not
hardy, is one of those which all may enjoy, from the free-
dom with which it grows in the open air in summer. It
will prove more useful for the flower garden than it has
ever been for the houses, and, being easily raised, is
entitled to a place here among the very best. The elegance
of its leaves and its quick growth in the open air make it
quite a boon to the flower gardener who wishes to establish
graceful verdnre amongst the brighter ornaments of his
parterre. It will furnish the grace of a fern, while close
and erect in habit, thus enabling us to closely associate it
with flowering plants without in the least shading them—
cxcept from ugliness. Of course I speak of it in the young
and single stemmed condition, the way in which it should
be used. By confining it to a single stem and using it in
a young state, you get the fullest size and grace of which
the leaves are capable. Allow it to become old and
branched and it may be useful, but by no means so much

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 189

so as when young and without side branches. It may be
raised from seed as easily as a common bedding plant. By
sowing it early in the year it may be had fit for use by the
first of June ; but plants a year old or so, stifl', strong, and
well hardened off for planting out at the end of May, are
the best. It would be desirable to raise an annual stock, as
it is almost as useful for room decoration as for the garden.

ASPLENIUM NIDUS-AVIS.-—Thls is a very remarkable fern,
which has been placed out of doors in the garden in summer,
but it is not vigorous or hardy enough to be generally

FIG. 63.

 

Asplenium nidus-avis.

recommended for this purpose. However, as it may have
been noticed in abundance at Battersea Park during the
past season, I allude to it here. It is a popular subject in
places where large collections of tropical ferns are grown,
and in such a plant may be tried in the open air in a very
warm, shady, and perfectly sheltered position.

CALADIUM ESCULENTUM.—This species has proved the
best for out-door work of a large genus with very fine foliage.
It is only in the midland and southern counties of Great
Britain that it can be advantageously grown, so far as I have
observed ; but its grand outlines and aspect when well de-_
veloped make it worthy of all attention, and of a prominent
position wherever the climate is warm enough for its
growth. It does very well about London, and may have

190 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

been noticed in considerable masses during the past year
in the London parks, Where it served to illustrate to some
extent the disadvantages of that mode of planting. When
seen in wide masses the effect is by no means so fine as
when in a compact group or circle. The dead level line
presented by the tops—which line, unlike that of the upper
surface of the taller plants, is below the eye—neutralizes
considerably the great lines of the leaves; but place the
plant in a ring round a central object, or in some posi-
tion where its

Fm- 54- fine leaves

may contrast
immediately
with those of a
different type
of vegetation,
and it is beau-
tiful indeed. It
may be used
with great ef-
feet in associa-
tion with many
fine foliage
plants; but Fer-
dinanda, Riei-
nus, and \Vi-
, gandia usually
Culadium eseulentum. grOWtOOStI‘ODg

for it, and if

planted too close injure it. This may have been noticed par-
ticularly in cases where it was used as bordering to masses
of the strong growing kinds above-named. \Vith all kinds of
stonework, vases, &c., it is peculiarly effective and beautiful.
C. esculentum, though a stove perennial, is very easily kept
over the winter in a dry spot under a stage or in boxes of
sand in places where hothouse room is scarce. It is readily
propagated by first starting the plants in heat, and when
they have pushed forth eyes near the base, cutting them in
pieces, an eye or bud in each. In spring the older plants

 

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 191

should be potted and grown on in heat, so as to be fit to
plant out about the middle of June. On the whole,
although so fine and distinct, it is not suitable for any but
mild and warm parts of the southern half of these islands.
The nearly allied Colocasia odorata is sometimes employed, and
effectively especially in the case of old specimens with stems.

FIG. 65.

 

Colocasia odorata.

THE CANNAS.—If there were no plants of handsome habit
and graceful leaf available for the improvement of our
flower gardens but these we need not despair, for they
possess almost every quality the most fastidious could desire,
and present a useful and charming variety. The larger
kinds make grand masses, while all may be associated
intimately with flowering plants—an advantage that does
not belong to some free-growing things like the Castor-oil
plant. The Canna ascends as boldly, and spreads forth as
fine a mass of leaves as any; but may be closely grouped
with much smaller subjects. The general tendency of most

192 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

of our flower-garden plants is to assume a flatness and dead
level, so to speak; and it is the very qualities possessed by
the Cannas for counteracting this that makes them so valuable.
Even the grandest of the other subjects preserve this tameness
of upper surface outline when grown in great quantities:
not so these, the leaves of which, even when grown in dense
groups, always

F‘G- 66- carry the eye up

.' pleasantly from

the humbler
plants, and are
grand aids in ef-
fecting that har-
mony between
the important
tree and shrub
embellishments
of our gardens
and their sur-
roundings, and
the dwarf flower-
bed vegetation,
which is so much
wanted. Another
charm of these
most useful sub-
jects is their
power of with-
standing the cold
and storms of
autumn. They
do so better than
many of our
hardy open-air plants, so that when the last leaves have
been blown from the Lime, and the Dahlia and Heliotrope
have been hurt by frost, you may see them waving as
greenly and gracefully as the vegetation of a temperate
stove. Many of the subtropical plants, used for the beauty
of their leaves, are so tender that they go off in autumn, or

 

(‘anna nigi'ivans.

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER. GARDEN. 193

require all sorts of awkward protection at that season; but
the Cannas last in good trim till the borders must be cleared.
All sheltered positions, places near warm walls, and nice
snugly-warmed dells, are capital positions for them. They
are generally used in great ugly masses, both about Paris
and London 3 but their true beauty will never be seen till we

FIG. 67.

 

Canna atro-nigi‘ieans.

learn to place them tastefully here and there among the
flowering plants—just as we place sprigs of graceful
fern in a bouquet. A bed or two solely devoted to
them will occasionally prove very effective; but enormous
meaningless masses of them, containing perhaps several
hundred plants of one variety, are things to avoid and not
to imitate. As to culture and propagation, nothing can be
0

194 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

more simple: they may be stored in winter as readily as
potatoes, under shelves in the houses, in the root-room, or,
in fact, anywhere covered up from the influences of frost.
And then in spring, when we desire to propagate them,
nothing is easier than pulling the roots in pieces, and
potting them separately. Afterwards it is usual to bring
them on in heat, and finally harden them otf previous to
planting out; but a modification of this practice is de-
sirable, as some kinds are of a remarkably hardy constitu-
tion, and make a beautiful growth .if put out without so
much as a leaf on them.

In rambling through an obscure part of Paris one even-
ing, I encountered a tuft of Canna springing up strongly
through and around a box-cdging—pretty good evidence
that it had remained there for some years. Upon inquiry
of the proprietor of the garden I found this was the case,
and that he had no doubt of the hardiness of several other
kinds. They were planted not more than eight or ten
inches deep. “'hcn we remember that the Cannas are
amongst the most valuable plants we use for giving grace
and verdurc to the flower garden, this surely is a hint
worthy of being acted upon. Considering their diversity
of colour and size, their graceful pointed habit and facility
of propagation, we must concede them the first place; but
their capability of being used by anybody who grows
ordinary bedding plants, and the fact that they may be
preserved so very easily through the winter, enhance their
value still more. The following are among the best of the
hardiest kinds z—C. Annaei, musacfolia, gigantea, limbata,
\Varsccwiczii, nigricans, maxima, and zebriua. Of course
they will prove equally hardy with us. As it is desirable
to change the arrangements as much as possible every year,
it may not be any advantage to leave them in the ground,
and in that case they may be taken tip with the bedding
plants, and stored as simply and easily as carrots, parsnips,
or potatoes. A bed of Caunas, protected by a coating of
litter, was left out in Battersea Park through the severe
winter of 18(36— 7. During the unfavourable summer of
1867 they attained a height of newly tweeh teet.

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 195

THE DRACENAS.—L0ng as this noble family has been
known in our gardens, we have yet to learn a great deal
about its use and beauty. Hitherto only allowed to grace
a stove or conservatory now and then, Dracaenas in future
will be among the most indispensable ornaments of every
garden where grace or variety is sought. They are among
the very best of those subjects which. may be brought from
the conservatory or greenhouses in early summer, and placed
in the flower garden till it is time to take them in again to
the houses, where we protect them through the winter.
And if it were not necessary to protect them through the
winter it would be almost worth our while to bring them
indoors at that season, so graceful are they, and so useful
for adding the highest character to our conservatories. One
well filled with such plants presents a very different ap-
pearance to most English plant-houses in winter. The
hardier and most coriaceous kinds, like indivisa and Draco,
may be placed out with impunity very far north. The
brightly coloured kinds, like terminalis, have been tried in
the open air at Battersea, but not with success. It would
be dangerous to try them in the open air much farther
north, except in very favourable spots. The better kinds
are indicated in the select list of subtropical plants. I
have seen D. indivisa grow well in the open air in the south
of England. It has been many years out at Bicton.

ECHEVERXA METALLICA.—Thls is scarcely elevated enough
to be suitable for association with such plants as the fore-
going, but it is so very distinct in aspect, and has been
proved to grow so well in the open air during several
unfavourable seasons, that we must not pass it by. I pur-
posely exclude from this selection many things sometimes
included in lists of “ subtropical” plants, but which may
be classed most properly with bedding subjects. But this,
although not very large, forms an agreeable and distinct
object, and is very well calculated for producing a striking
effect among dwarf bedding and edging plants. It should,
however, be placed singly, and among very dwarf things,
such as Sedum, Sempervivum, and its dwarf relative
L. secunda. It may be propagated by the leaves or by

' o 2

196 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

cuttings, and requires a dry greenhouse shelf in the winter.
Light sandy earth, not of necessity very poor, will suit it
best in the open air. It is likely to become one of the
most popular of all garden plants.

FERDINANDA EMINENS.—Tllls is one of the tallest and
noblest subtropical plants, growing well in the southern
and midland counties: wherever it is supplied with rich soil
and abundant moisture. It is also very much the better
for being sheltered, and so are all large and soft-leaved
plants. Where the soil is rich, deep, and humid, and the
position warm, it attains large dimensions, sometimes grow-
ing over twelve feet, and suspending immense pairs of op-
posite leaves. It will in all cases form a capital companion
to the Castor-oil plant, and, though it may not be grown
with such case in all parts, it should be in every collection,
considering that it grows quite as well in the south of
England as in the neighbourhood of Paris. It requires to
be planted out in a
young state, and grows
freely from cuttings.
Greenhouse treatment
will do in winter. It
is better to keep a stock
in pots through the sum-
mer to afford cuttings,
though the old ones may
be used for that purpose.

FICUS ELASTICA(111(lla-
rubber Plant).—Anothcr
fine old plant, for which
we have lately found a
new use. It is one of
those valuable leathery-
leaved things that are
useful in hothouse, draw-
ing-room, or flower gar-
den. It not only exists
in the open air in summer
Ficus 01mm. in good health, but makes

 

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 197

a good growth under the influence of our weak northern
sun. Never assuming the imposing proportions of other
plants mentioned here, it is best adapted for select mixed
groups, and in small gardens as isolated specimens amongst
low bedding plants. It requires stove treatment, and is
propagated from cuttings. In all cases it is better to use
plants with single stems. It is especially valuable in con-
sequence of doing perfectly well in the dry air of inhabited
rooms, and this will enable many to enjoy a fine-leaved
plant in the flower garden who have not a glass house of
any kind on their premises.

FIG. 69.

 

Monstera dcliciosa.

Moxsrnm DELICIOSAr—Tllls veryrcmarkahle-looking plant
has been found to bear being placed in the open air with
impunity in shady and sheltered spots. Its great perfo-
rated leaves look so singular that everybody should grow it
who has a stove in which to do so, and it is so readily
grown and propagated that a plant may soon be spared for
placing in the open air during the warmer months.

MUSA ENSETE.—Thc noblest of all the plants yet used

198 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

in the flower garden is Musa Ensete—the great Abyssinian
Banana, discovered by Bruce. The fruit of this kind is
not edible, like that of the Banana and Plantain (Musa
paradisiaca and sapientum), but the leaves are magnificent ;
and, strange to say, they stand the rain and storms of the
neighbourhood of Paris without laceration, while all the
other kinds of Musa become torn into shreds. It is an
interesting and hitherto unknown fact, that the finest of all
the Banana or Musa tribe is also the hardiest and most
easily preserved. When grown for the Open air, it will of
course require to be kept in a house during winter, and
planth out the first week in June. In any place where
there is a large conservatory or winter garden, it will be
found most valuable, either for planting therein, or for
keeping over the winter, as, if merely housed in such a
structure during the cold months, it will prove a great
ornament among the other plants, while it may be put out
in summer when the attraction is all out of doors. Other
kinds of Musa have been tried in the open air in England,
but have barely existed, making it clear that they should
not be so cultivated in this country. The Ensetc is the
only species really worth growing in this way. “here the
climate is too cold to put it out of doors in summer, it
should be grown in all conservatories in which it is
desired to establish the noblest type of vegetation. It has
hitherto been generally grown in stoves. It also stands the
drought and heat of a living room remarkably well, and
though, when well developed, it is much too big for any
but Brobdingnagian halls, the fact may nevertheless be
taken much advantage of by those interested in room de—
coration on a large scale. The plant is difficult to obtain
as yet, but will, I trust, be sought out and made abundant
by our nurserymen.

Last September I saw a fine plant of this Musa that had
remained in the open ground in Baron Haussmann’s garden
in the Bois de Boulogne during the preceding winter. It
was left in the position in which it grew during the summer
of 1867, and in the month of November covered with a
little thatched shed, the space about the plant being filled

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 199

with dry leaves. All the leaves were cut off. In spring
the protection was removed and the plant pushed vigo-
rously. It had (on the 8th of September, 1868), sixteen
leaves, not one of which was torn or lacerated, although it
was in an exposed position. It was not more than five
feet high, but more attractive than much larger individuals
of the same species, from being so compact and untattered
in its growth. As most people who grow it will have means
of keeping it indoors in winter, and as it is so rare, this
mode of keeping it is not likely to be taken advantage of
with us at present 3 but that it can and has been so win-
tered is an interesting fact.

NICOTIAXA wwaxmornns—This is a shrubby or rather
tree-like species of
Tobacco, which, when F‘G- 70-
put out in a young
and healthy state,
makes a vigorous
growth, and is an im-
posing subject both in
the climate of Paris
and London. The
treatment given to
such things as the
Polymnia will suit it
well. It is, however,
scarcely so ornamental
or generally useful as
the large—leaved and
bright-flowered va-
riety of the common
Tobacco spoken of
further on.

POLYMNIA GRANDIS
AND PYRAMIDALIS.-—-
These belong to the
great composite order,
and are distinguished by rich handsome foliage and rapid
summer growth, which, moreover, never becomes objection-

 

Nicetiana wigandioides.

200 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

able from any trace of raggedness, the erect shoots growing
away till the end of the season in our climate. Doubtless,
there is a point at which in their native country seediness
does arrive, but with us they, like the Ricinus of one
summer, always look fresh and young, and are most appro-
priate for forming
luxuriant masses of
foliage in the flower
garden, and for di-
versifying its as-
pect. P. grandis
is best known in
this country, and is
second to no other
plant for its digni-
fied and finished
effect in the flower
garden; but P. py-
ramidalis is also
good and distinct.
They are easily
struck from cut-
tings taken from
old plants and put
in heat in spring.
Like most large soft
l’olymniagrandis. grOWing things in
this way, they are
best planted out in a young state, so as to insure a fresh and.
unstinted growth. 1’. pyramidalis is the newest of the group
and that least known in cultivation. I saw it several times
during the past season in Paris. The leaves are not so large
as those of the other species, and differ in shape, being nearly
cordate, but the growth is vigorous and the habit distinct. 1t
pushes up a narrow pyramidal head of foliage to a height
of nearly ten feet in Paris gardens, and will be found to do
well in the south of England.
PnoanM 'I‘ENAX (the New Zealand Flax).—This is tole-
rahly well known among us as a greenhouse and conservatory

 

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR. THE FLOWER GARDEN. 20].

subject, but not nearly so much grown as it ought to be.
The French make a grand use of it, both indoors in
winter, and in the conservatory and out-of—doors in sum-
mer. About Paris it is of course as tender as with us, and
requires the same amount of attention, which, after all, is
very little. They grow it by the thousand for the decora-
tion of rooms, and in the great nursery of the city of Paris
at Passy there are 10,000 plants of it, chiefly used for the
embellishment of the H6te1 de Ville. I need hardly say
that we are much worse off for graceful things for indoor
decoration than the French, and should in consequence
grow this plant abundantly, according to our space. When
grown to a medium size its leaves begin to arch over, and
when in that condition nothing makes a more graceful and
distinct ornament for room or hall. It maybe grown to
presentable perfection in an eight-inch pot, or to a great
mass of bold long leaves in a tub a yard in diameter.
Generally with us it will be found to enjoy greenhouse
temperature, though in genial places in the south and west
of Ireland and England it does very well in the open air.
Its best use is for the decoration of the garden in summer,
a few specimens well grown and plunged in the grass or the
centre of a bed giving a most distinct aspect to the scene.
The larger such plants are, the better, of course, will be the
effect. The small ones will prove equally useful and effective
in vases, to which they will add a grace that vases rarely now
possess. It is pre-eminently useful from its being alike
good for the house, conservatory, and even the living rooms
in winter. “'herever indoor decoration on a large scale is
practised it is indispensable, and it should be remarked that,
unless for vase decoration it requires to be grown into goodly
specimens before affording much effect out of doors; but
when grown large in tubs, it is equally grand for the large
conservatory and for important positions in the flower garden.

RICINUS COMMUNIS (the Castor-oil Plant) .— Vhen well
grown in the open air, there is not in the whole range of
cultivated plants a more imposing subject than this. It
may have been seen nearly twelve feet high in the London
parks of late years, and with leaves nearly a yard wide. It

202 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS ron THE FLOWER GARDEN.

is true we require a bed of very rich deep earth under it to
make it attain such dimensions and beauty ; but in all
parts, and with ordinary attention, it grows well. In warm
countries, in which the plant is very widely cultivated it
becomes a small tree, but is much prettier in the state in
which it is seen with us—i.c., with an unbranehed stem,
clothed from top to bottom with noble leaves. Soon after
it betrays a tendency to dcvelope side-shoots, the cold
autumn comes and puts an end to all further progress ; and
so much the better, because it is much handsomer in a
simple-stemmed state than any other. The same is true
0f not a few other large-leaved plants—once they break
into a' number of side-shoots their leaf beauty is to a great
extent lost. In the planting out of some other subjects, it
has been considered well to raise the beds on lime-rubbish,
&c., or in other words, to build them upon it, sloping up
the edge with soil and turf. But to grow this to perfection,
the best way'is to deeply excavate the bed, and place some
rich stuff in the bottom, making all the earth as rich as
possible. It is as easily raised from seed as the common
bean, requiring, however, to be raised in heat. The Ricinus
is a grand plant for making bold and noble beds near those
of the more brilliant flowers, and tends to vary the flower
garden finely. It is not well to closely associate it with
bedding plants, in consequence of the strong growth and
shading power of the leaves, so to speak. It is a good plan
to make a compact group of the plant in the centre of some
wide circular bed and surround it with a band of a dwarfer
subject, say the Aralia or Caladium, and then finish with
whatever arrangement of the flowering plants may be most
admired. A bold and striking centre may be obtained, while
the effect of the flowers is much enhanced, especially if the
planting be nicely graduated and tastefully done. It is
a judicious combination of both the green and the gay
that we are most in want of, and few things can do so much
to effect it for us in the flower garden as the common Castor-
oil plant. This combination may be effected in any way
that taste may direct. A graceful handsome-leavcd subject
in the centre of a flower bed will help it out, and so will

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. . 203

bold groups of fine-leaved plants towards the outer parts of
the flower garden. These bold masses connect in some
degree the larger ligneous vegetation that usually surrounds
our flower gardens with the small and low-lying brilliant
flowers. For such groups the varieties of the Castor-oil
plant are not likely to be surpassed.

SEAFORTHIA ELEGANS.—Tllls is perhaps the most elegant
and useful of all palms which may be safely placed out in
summer. It is too scarce as yet to be procurable by horti-
culturists generally, but should be looked for by all who take
an interest in these matters, and have a house in which to
grow it. It stands well in the conservatory during the
winter, though generally kept in the stove, where of course
it grows beautifully. There are hardier kinds—the dwarf
fan palm for example, but on the whole none of them are so
valuable as this. The following palms are suitable for like
purposes t—Areca lutescens, Caryota urens, Caryota sobo-
lifera, Chamaerops humilis, Chamaerops Fortunei, Chamaerops
Palmetto, Latania borbonica, Phcenix dactylifera, Phoenix
sylvestris, Corypha australis.

THE SOLANUMS.—-This family, so wonderfully varied,
affords numerous
species that look “6-72-
fine and imposing “ i
in leaf when in a
young and free-
growing state. In v
the nursery gar-
den of the city of
Paris there is a
very large house
entirely devoted
to the family, in
which are pre-
served over the
winter months
more than sixty
species for the
embellishment of Solanum “'arscewiczii.

 

204 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR. THE FLOWER. GARDEN.

Parisian gardens. But in selecting examples from this great
genus we must be much more careful, as our climate is
a shade too cold for them, and many of them are
of too ragged an aspect to be tolerated in a tasteful
garden. Half a dozen species or so are indispensable,
but quite a crowd of narrow-leaved and ignoble ones may
well be dispensed with. The better kinds—as seen both in

 

Solanum rolmstuln.

London and Paris gardens—are marginatum, robustum,
macranthum, macrophyll11111, \Varseewi-zii, crinipes, calli-
earpum, jubatum, Quitoense, galianthum, hippoleucum,
crinitum, and Fontainesianum, an annual with pretty
leaves, erisped and distinct looking.

Most of these plants may be raised from seed, while they
are also freely grown from cuttings. As a rule hothouse

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 205

treatment in winter is required, and in summer rich light
soil, a warm position, and perfect shelter. S. marginatum,
planted in a very dwarf and young state, furnishes a most dis-
tinct and charming effect : it should be planted rather thinly,
so that the leaves of one plant may not brush against those
of another. If some very dwarf plants are used as a
groundwork so much the better, but the downy and silvery
leaves of this plant are sure to please without this aid. It
is very much better when thus grown than when permitted
to assume the bush form. All the other kinds named are
suitable for association with the larger leaved plants, though
they do not attain such height and vigorous development as
those of the first rank, like the Ricinus.

Fm. 74.

 

UHDEA BIPINNATIFIDA.—-Tllls is one of the most useful
plants in its class, producing a rich mass of handsome
leaves, with somewhat the aspect of those of the great cow-

206 SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER. GARDEN.

parsnips, but of a more refined type. The leaves are of a
slightly silvery tone, and the plant continues to grow fresh
and vigorously till the late autumn. It is freely propagated
by cuttings taken from old plants kept in a very cool stove,
greenhouse, or pit during the winter months, and placed in
heat to afford cuttings the more readily in early spring.
Under ordinary cutting treatment on hotbeds or in a moist
warm propagating house, it grows as freely as could be
desired, and may be planted out at the end of May or the
beginning of June. It is well suited for forming rich
masses of foliage, not so tall, however, as those formed by
such things as Ricinus or Ferdinanda.

VERBESINA GIGANTEAr—TO this and other members of the
family, somewhat the same remarks will serve as have
been applied to the preceding. They require about the
same treatment, and are useful in the production of like
effects. They, like their fellows, will be much the better
for as warm and sheltered a position and as rich and light
a soil as can be conveniently given them.

“VIGANDIA MACROPIIYLLA (caraeasana).—This noble plant,
a native of the mountainous regions of New Granada, is
unquestionably, from the nobility of its port and the mag-
nificence of its leaves, entitled to hold a place among the
finest plants of our gardens. Under the climate of London
it has made leaves which have surprised all beholders, as
well by their size as by their strong and remarkable veining
and texture. It will be found to succeed very well in the
midland and southern counties of England, though too
much care cannot be taken to secure for it a warm sheltered
position, free good soil, and perfect drainage. It may be
used with superb efl'ect either in a mass or as a single plant.
It is frequently propagated by cuttings of the roots, and
grown on in a moist and genial temperature through the
spring months, keeping it near the light so as to preserve it
in a dwarf and well clothed condition; and, like all the
other plants in this class, it should be very carefully
hardened oti'. It is, however, lllllCll better raised from
cuttings of the shoots, if these are to be had. “1 macro-
phylla has the stems covered with short stinging hairs,

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 207

. and bearing brownish viseid drops, which like oil adheres to
the hand when the stem is touched. VVigandia Vigieri is
a plant of quick and vigorous growth, and remarkable habit.
In the beginning of September, 1867, I measured a specimen
with leaves three feet nine inches long, counting the leaf-
stalk, and twenty-two inches across—the stem, nearly seven
feet high and two inches in diameter, bearing a column of

Fm. 75.

 

such leaves. It is known at a glance from the popular
and older XV. maerophylla—by the leaves and the stems
being covered in a greater degree with glossy, slender,
stinging bodies. These are so thickly produced as to give
the stems a glistening appearance. W'. urens is another
species often planted, but decidedly inferior to either of the
foregoing, except in power of stinging, in which way it is
not likely to be surpassed. Seeds of the three species have

208

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN.

been offered, and all may be raised in that way—W. Vigieri
with unusual facility.

A select list of 100 of the subtropical plants best suited for use
in our climate. The most indispensable kinds are marked *.

1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

13.
14.

15.

16.
17.

18.
19.

20.
21.

22.
23.

24.
25.

26.

27.
28.
29.
30.
31.

32.
33.
34.

15me

*Acacia lophantha.
*Agave americana.
Agave americana
variegata.
Alsophila australis.

,, excelsa.
Anthurium Hookeri.
Aralia macrophylla.

,, *papyrifem.
,, reticulata.
Araucaria excelsa.
Areca lutescens.
Balantium cuicitum.
Bocconia frutescens.
Brexia madagasca-
riensis.
*Caladium esculcn-
tum.
C. bataviense.
Carma Annei
perba.
,, *robusta.
,, *musmfolia
hybrida.
,, *nigricans.
,, *grandiflom
iioribunda.
,, *Géant.
,, *discolor flori~
bunda.
,, *mctallicn.
,, *rubm super-
bissima.
Carludovica pa1~
mata.
Curyota urcns.

,, sobolifom.

Cassia corymbosa.

SU-

,, floribunda.
Chammpcuce d111-
cantlm.

Chammrops humilis.
,, *oxcolsa.
,, *Pulmctto.

 

35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40. *
41.
42.

43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.

53.

54.

55.
56.

57.
58.

59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.

67.

Colea Commersoni.
*Coiocasia odomta.
*Cordyline indivisa.
Cory ha australis.
C 'at 1ea dealbata.

6 'cas revoluta.

Dai1lia imperialis.

Dicksonia antarc-
tica.

*Dracaena austraiis.

,, *indivisa.

,, *Draco.

,, *braziliensis.
,, nutans.

,, Rumphi.

,, erithorachis.
,, *cannaefolia.
,, *lineata.

*Echeveria metal-
lica.

Erythrina crista -
galli, and its va-
ricties.

*Ferdinanda
nens.

*Ficus elastica.

,, nymphom-
folia.
,, Chauviei'i.

Hcdychium auran-
tiacum.

,, Gardnerianum.

Lomatia Bidwilli.

,, silaifolia.

Lomatophyllum bor-
bonicum.

*Melianthus major.

Monsters. dcliciosa.

*Musa Ensete.

Neottopteris austra-
lasica.

Nicotiana
dioides.

emi-

wigan-

 

68.
69.
70.

71.
72.

73.
74.
75.
76.
77.

78.
79.

80.
81.
82.

83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.

92.

93.

94.
95.

96.

97.
98.

99.
100.

Papyrusantiquorum.

Philodendron Simsi.
,, macrophyllum.

Phoenix dactylifera.

,, sylvestris.
*Phormium tenax.
Polymnia grandis.

,, pyramidalis.
Pothos acaulis.
Bhopala corcova—

dense.

*Ricinus communis,
in many varieties.

Sanseviera zeyla-
nica.

*Seaforthia elegans.

Selinum decipicus.

Senecio Ghies—
breghti.

Senecio Petasites.

Solanum crinipes.

,, macranthum.

,, macrophyllum.

,, marginatum.

,, robustum.

,, Warscewiczii.
Sonchus laciuiatus.
Sparmannia airi—

cana.
StadmanniaJonghii.
Tradesczmtia dis-

color.
zebrina.
T up1danthus calyp-
trams.
*Uhdea
fida.
\‘erbesina gigantoa.
,, *verbasci-
foiia.
*Wigandia macro-
phylln.
,, Vigicri.

bipinnati-

List of the best twenty-four subtropical plants.

. Acacia 10111131111111.
. Agave mnuricana.
. Amiin papyrifom.
. Cnlmlium

csculen-
tum.

5.

Comm. Annei
pcrba.
Chammrops excoisa.
, humilis.
Cordyline indivisa.

su-

9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Cycas revoluta.
Dracaena Draco.

,, indivisa.
Ferdinandaeminens.
Ficus elastica.

SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 209

14. Melianthus major. I
15. Musa Ensete. .
16. Phormium tenax. ‘
17. Polymnia grandis.
18. Ricinus communis.

19. Seaforthia elegans.
20. Solarium margina-
tum.

,, Warscewiczii.

22. Uhdea bipinnatifida.
23. Verbesina gigantea.
24. \Vigandia macro-

21. phylla.

Subtropical plants that may be raised from seed.

The best and readiest way to get up a stock of these
plants is by raising them from seeds. Annuals, like the
Castor-oil plant, must of course be raised from seeds in any
case 3 but a number of the very finest perennial kinds may
also be raised thus with great facility and pleasure to the
raiser, in time quick enough to satisfy ordinary patience.
And of those which cannot soon be grown to a presentable
size fi'om seeds like Palms, Dracaenas, &c., it is yet very
desirable to raise a batch, inasmuch as permanent dignified
subjects like these are always of a greater value in any
stage of their existence than the perishable rapid-growing
subjects so usual with us. All the following have been

offered in recent secd catalogues :—

Abutilon, in variety.
Acacia lophantha.
Andropogon bombyci-
nus.
,, formosus.
,, Sorghum.
Aralia australis.

,, elegans.

,, papyrifera.

,, bieboldi.

,, trifoliata.
Areca sapida.
Artemesia argentea.
Bambusa himalaica.
Boccouia cordata.

,, formosa.

,, frutescens.

,, japonica.

,, macrophylla.

Bmgmansia, in variety.
Canna,in profuse variety.
Cassia corymbosa.
,, .floribunda.

ChamaepeuceCassabonze.

,, diacantha.
Chamaerops humilis.

,, ,, glauca.

,, macrocarpa.
Cineran'a platanifolia.

v

 

Cordyline indivisa vera.

,, nutans ,,

,, superbicus.

,, Veitchii.
Corypha australis.
Cyperus vegetus.
Dahlia imperialis.
Erianthus Ravennae.

,, violaceus.
Erythrina caffra.

,, crista-galli.

,, Hendersoni.

,, laurifolia.
Eucalyptus globulus.
Ferdinanda eminens.
Grevillea robusta.
Hedychium Gardneria-

num.
Humea elegans.
Latania borbonica.
Melianthus major.

,, minor.

Musa Ensete.
Nicotiana grandiflora, a

variety of)? . tabacum.

,, wigandioides.
Owcnia cerasifera.
Paratropia tomentosa.

 

Paratropia venulosa.
Phormium tenax.
Phytolacca (lioica.
Polymnia grandis.
Ricinus, in variety.
Seaforthia clegans.
Solanum acantho-
carpum.

,, auriculatum.

,, giganteum.

,, glaucophyllum.

,, glutinosum.

,, lanceolatum.

,, macrocarpum.

,, macrophyllum.

,, marginatum.

,, pyracanthum.

,, rcbustum.

,, verbascifolium.
Sonchus pinnatus.
Sparmaunia africana.
Uhdea bipinnatifida.
Verbesina vcrbascifolia.
Wigandia macrophylla.

,, urens.

,, Vigieri.

Zea japonica van'egata,
and others.

P

210

CHAPTER XI.
HARDY PLANTS FOR. THE SUBTROPICAL GARDEN.

THIS is a most important subject, and concerns every lover
of gardening in the British Isles; for, however few can in-
dulgc in the luxury of rich displays of .tender plants, or
however rare the spots in which they may be ventured out
with confidence, all may enjoy these that are hardy, and
that too with infinitely less trouble than is required by the
tender ones. Those noble masses of fine foliage first dis-
played to us by tender plants have done much towards
correcting a false taste. What I wish to impress upon the
reader is, that in whatever part of these islands he may live
he need not despair of producing sufficient similar effect to
vary his flower garden or pleasure ground beautifully by the
use of hardy plants alone; and that the noble lines of a
well-grown Yucca recurva, or the finely chisellcd yet fern-
like spray of a graceful young conifer, will aid him as much
in this direction as anything that grows either in tropical
or subtropical climcs. The herbaceous collections in the
Jardin dcs I’lantes are very full, and correctly kept; and,
being much devoted to such plants, I rarely spent a week
without visiting them, chiefly to discover useful members of
this class ; while, of course, such as are used in the various
public parks and gardens also came repeatedly under my
observation. Of their relative importance and value I was,
perhaps, the better prepared to judge from having visited
for like purposes all the botanic gardens in the British Isles
within the past few years. The following is the result of
my observations as to the finest subjects we can use :—
ACANTIIUS LATIFOLIUS.—Tllis is a plant that anybody can
grow, and which is in all respects fine. The leaves are bold
and noble in outline, and the plant has a tendency, rare in

HARDY PLANTS FOR THE SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 211

some hardy things with otherwise fine qualities, to retain
its leaves till the end of the season without losing a particle
of its freshness and polished verdure. In fact, the only thing
we have to decide about this subject is, what is the best
place for it ? Now, it is one of those things that will not
disgrace any position, and will prove equally at home in the
centre of the

mixed border, FIG- 76-
projected a little 3%}
from the edge of ',

t?

a choice shrub-
bery in the grass,
or in the flower
garden; nobody
need fear its dis-
playing anything
like the seediness
which such things
as the H eracleums
show at the end
of summer. In
fact, few things
turned out of the
houses will fur-
nish a more satis-
factory eflect. I
should not like
to advise its being
plantedinthecen-
tre of aflowerbed,
or in any other ,_
POSition Where re" Acanthus latit'olius (lusitanicus),

moval would be

necessary ; but in case it were determined to plant permanent
groups of fine-leaved hardy plants, then indeed it could be
used with great success. Supposing we have an irregular kind
of flower garden or pleasure ground to deal with (a common
case everywhere), one of the best things to do with it is to
plant it in the grass, at some little distance from the clumps,

r 2

 

212 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

and perhaps near a few other things of like character. It
is better than any kind of Acanthus hitherto commonly
cultivated in botanic gardens, though one or two of these
are fine. Give it deep good soil, and do not grudge it this
attention, because, unlike tender plants, it will not trouble
you again for a long time. A fine effect would be produced
by a ring of it around a strong clump of Tritomas (grandis
in the middle, and glaucescens surrounding it), the very
dark polished green Acanthus being in its turn surrounded
by the fine autumn-flowering Sedum spectabile. There
would be little difficulty in suggesting a dozen equally suit-
able uses for this fine plant. It is to be had now in some
London nurseries, and in nearly every Paris one. The plant
best known by this name is also sold under that of A.
lusitanicus. Both are garden names, the first the best. It
came into cultivation in the neighbourhood of Paris about
six or eight years ago, and has since spread about a good deal.
Nobody seems to know from whence it came. Probably it
is a variety of Acanthus mollis. The plant itself varies a.
good deal; I have seen specimens of it about a foot high,
with leaves comparatively small and stiff and rigid, as if
cast in a mould, by the side of others of thrice that de-
velopment, and of the usual texture.

Axunoroeox SQUARROSUM is a hardy plant in the neigh-
bourhood of Paris, or survives with but slight protection,
making luxuriant tufts seven feet high or more, when in
flower. It would probably make a beautiful object in the
warmer and milder parts of l‘lngland and Ireland, and in
good soil, but, unlike the preceding, it is not a subject which
can with confidence be reeonnnended for every garden. But
all who value fine grasses should try it.

Anxmx EDULIS.——Tllls is a vigorous plant, well suited
for adding distinction to those positions in which we desire
a luxuriant type of vegetation. It is perfectly hardy, grows
six, seven, and even eight feet high in good soil, is of a fresh
and vigorous habit, and even so early as the end of June.
The leaves attain a length of nearly a yard when the plant
is strong, while the shoots droop a little with their weight,
and thus it acquires a slightly weeping character. It is a

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 213

little curious that plants so famous for their medicinal or
other uses as the Castor-oil, the Chinese rice-paper, and the
Indian-rubber plants, should have become so useful as orna-
ments in the garden. For this edible Aralia we may claim as
high a position as a hardy plant, and for planting singly few
things surpass it. It is very rare in this country now, but
being easily propagated, may, it is to be hoped, not long
prove so. I have seen it nine feet high; but as it dies down
rather early in autumn it must not be put in important
groups, but rather in a position where its disappearance may
not be noticed. An isolated place, or one near the margin
of an irregular shrubbery, fernery, or rough rockwork by
the side of a wood walk, will best suit.

ARALIA JAPONICA.—-A hardy woody species, and fine plant
for varying the garden, bearing immense and graceful leaves,
and delighting most in a warm and sheltered position——
plenty of sun, but little exposure to wind. It is best when
the stem is rather short and simple, and has an advantage
that few things of the kind possess—it may be used with a
stem of considerable height, or with a very dwarf one.

ARALIA SPINOSA, the angelica tree of North America, and
resembling the preceding, is highly useful in this class, in
consequence of its
beauty of foliage
and distinct aspect.
Like many of the
hardy things, it
should be placed in
positions where it
would not be ne-
cessary to remove
it, or closely asso-
ciate it with tender
plants requiring
frequent distur-
bance of soil. Both
this and the prece-
ding kind may be
hadin ournurseries. Aralia Sieboldi.

 

214 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

ARALIA SIEBOLDI is also a valuable species, usually treated
as a greenhouse plant. It is perfectly hardy around Paris
and London, at least on warm soils, and it not only remains
healthful in living rooms during winter, but grows freely in
them.

ARUNDO DONAX, the great reed of the south of Europe, is
a very noble plant on good soils. In the south of Eng-
land it forms canes ten feet high, and has a very distinct
and striking aspect. It will do more than that if put in a.
rich deep soil in a~favoured locality; and those who so plant
clumps of it on the turf in their pleasure grounds will not
be disappointed at the result. Nothing can be finer than
the aspect of this plant when allowed to spread out into a.
mass on the turf of the flower garden or pleasure ground. It
seems much to prefer dry sandy soils to moist ones; indeed,
I have known it refuse to grow on heavy clay soil, and
flourish most luxuriantly on a deep sandy loam in the same
district. Like all large-leaved plants, it loves shelter. No
garden or pleasure ground in the southern parts of England
and Ireland should be without a tuft of it in a sheltered spot.
But, fine as it is for effect and distinetness, its variegated
variety is of more value to the flower garden proper.

ARUNDo DONAX \'I£RSIC()LOR.—Tlll8 is a remarkably effec-
tive and beautiful plant, that is made little or no use of.
“Te have already noticed several fine things for grouping
together, or for standing alone on the turf and near the
margin of a shruhbery border,- and this is as well suited
for close association with the choicest bedding flowers as an
Adiantum frond is with a bouquet. It will be found hardy
in the southern counties ; and considerably north of London
may be saved by a little mound of cocoa-fibre, sifted coal
ashes, or any like material that may be to spare. In con-
sequence of its effective variegation, it never assumes a large
development, like the green or normal form of the species,
but keeps tidy and low, and yet thoroughly graceful. It is
of course suited best for warm, free, and good soils, and
abhors clay, though it is quite possible to grow it even on
that with a little attention to the preparation of the ground.
But it is in all cases better to avoid things that will not

 

PLATE XXXHI»

 

“AMBUSA FALCA'I ‘\.

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 21 5

grow freely and gracefully on whatever soil we may have to
deal with ,- and it is to those having gardens on good sandy
soils, and in the warmer parts of England, that I would
specially recommend this grand variegated subject. For a
centre to a circular bed, nothing can surpass it in the
summer and autumn flower garden, while of course many
other charming uses may be made of it. Not the least
happy of these would be to plant a tuft of it on the green
grass, in a warm spot, near a group of choice shrubs, to
help, with many other things named, to fill up the gap
between ordinary fleeting flowers, and the taller shrub and
tree vegetation that is now nearly everywhere observed. It
is better to leave the plant in the ground, in a permanent
position, than to take it up annually. Protect the roots in
the winter, whether it be planted in the middle of a flower
bed or by itself in a little circle on the grass.

ARUNDo CONSPICUA is a worthy companion for the Pam-
pas, though by no means equal to it, as has been stated by
some writers. As a conservatory subject it is fine in flower,
and it will be seen often in large conservatories after a few
years. A large pot or tub will be necessary if grown
indoors. The drooping leafage will always prove graceful,
and then it sends up long silvery plumes, drooping also, and
strikingly beautiful. Judging by its different appearance
when freely grown in a tub indoors, and when planted out
even on favourable spots, my impression is that it by no
means takes so kindly to our northern climate as the
Pampas grass. However, it is well worth growing, even in
districts where it does not attain great development ; it
comes in flower before the Pampas, and may be considered
as a sort of forerunner of that magnificent herb.

BAMBUSA vanIs-GLAUCESCENS, and others.—I wish to call
the attention of all horticulturists who live in the southern
and more favoured parts of these islands to the fact that
there are several bamboos and bamboo-like plants from
rather cool countries that are well worth planting. Nothing
can exceed the grace of a bamboo of any kind if freely
grown ; but if starved in a dirty hot-house, or grown in a
cold dry place, where the graceful shoots cannot arch forth

216 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

in all their native beauty, nothing can be more miserable in
aspect. On cold bad soils and exposed dry places in the
British Isles, these bamboos have little chance; but, on the
other hand, they will be found to make most. graceful
objects in many a sheltered nook in the south and south-

Fm. 78.

 

llaml nsa anrea.

western parts of England and Ireland. Nowadays there is
a growingr taste for something else than mere colour in the
flower garden, and these will in many eases be found a
graceful help. \Ve have some knowledge of the capabilities
of one kind in this country. In a well sheltered moist

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 217

spot at Bicton many have seen Bambusa falcata send up
young shoots, long and graceful, like the slenderest of
fishing-rods, while the older ones were branched into a
beautiful mass of light foliage of a distinct type. The same
plant has been grown in the county of Cork to a height of
nearly twenty feet. This is the best known kind we have.
At Paris I was fortunate enough to observe several other
kinds doing very well indeed, although the climate is not so
suitable as that of Cork or Devon. These are Bambusa edulis,
aurea, nigra, Simmonsii, mitis, Metake, and viridis-glauees-
cens, the first and last of this group being very free and good.
All the others will prove hardy in the south of England and
Ireland, though, as some of them have not yet been tried
there, it requires the test of actual experiment. Those who
wish to begin cautiously had better take B. Simmonsii,
viridis-glaueescens, nigra, and cdulis to commence with, as
they are the most certainly hardy, so far as I have observed.
The best way to treat any of these plants, obtained in
summer or autumn, would be to grow them in a cool frame
or pit till the end of April, then harden them off for a fort-
night or so, and plant out in a nice warm spot, sheltered also,
with good free soil—taking care that the roots are carefully
spread out, and giving a good free watering to settle the soil.
There are no plants more worthy of attention than these where
the climate is at all favourable, and there are numerous moist
nooks around the British Isles where they will be found to
grow most satisfactorily. The pretty little Bambusa For-
tunei is also hardy.

Among the Centaureas there are a few subjects which
might be used among hardy fine-leaved plants, but by far
the most distinct and remarkable is the very silvery-leaved
C. babylonica. This is quite hardy, and when planted in
good ground shoots up strong spikes clad with yellow flowers
to a height of ten or twelve feet. The bloom is not by any
means so attractive as the leaves; but the plant is at all
times picturesque.

BETA CICLA VAR. (“ Chilian Beet”).—Under the name
“ Chilian Beet” a very showy plant may have been seen in
the neighbourhood of Paris during the past two years.

218 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

When well grown the leaves are often more than a yard
long, and present a vivid and most striking coloration.
Their midribs reach
four inches or more
across, and vary from a
dark deep waxy orange
to vivid polished crim-
son. The splendid hue
of the lower part of the
leaf stalks flows on to-
wards the point, and
spreads in smaller
streams through the
main veins and ramifi-
cations of the great soft
blades of the leaf, often
a foot and even fifteen
inches in .diameter, if
the plant be in rich
ground. The under
sides of the leaves are
the most richly colour-
ed, and the habit such
that these sides are well
seen. It requires the
treatment of an annual
—to be raised in a
gently heated frame,
, and afterwards planted
L'entnurea babyloniea. out in very rich ground,

though it may also be

kept over the winter in pots. It varies a good deal from
seed, and the most striking individuals should be selected
before the plants are put out. Used sparingly, its efl‘ect
would perhaps be more telling than if in quantity, and it is
well suited for isolation—that is to say, placing singly on the
grass near a clump of shrubs. Everybody who values a
really distinct object in the flower garden should have it.
During the past season if attained splendid dimensions and

FIG. 79.

 

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. . 219

colouring in the nursery department of the Jardin des
Plantes, and it doubtless will soon be seen everywhere
with us.

CHAMEEROPS Excuse—It may not be generally known
that this palm is perfectly hardy in this country. A plant
of it in her Majesty’s gardens at Osborne has attained a
considerable height. It is also outlat Kew, though pro-
tected in Winter. On the water side of the high mound in

 

the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent’s Park, it is in even
better health than at Kew, though it has not had any pro-
tection for years, and stood the fearfully hard frost of
1860. If small plants of this are procured, it is better to
grow them on freely for a year or two in the greenhouse,
and then turn out in April, spreading the roots a little and
giving deep loamy soil. Plant in a sheltered place, so that
the leaves may not be injured by Winds when they get large

220 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

and grow up. A gentle hollow, or among shrubs on the
sides of some sheltered glade, will prove the best places.
The establishment of a palm among our somewhat mono-
tonous shrubbery and garden vegetation is surely worthy
of a little trouble, and the precautions indicated will prove
quite sufficient.

CRAMBE CORDIFOLIA.——This is unquestionably one of the
finest of perfectly hardy and large-leavcd herbaceous plants.
It is as easily grown as the common Seakale—easier, if
anything; and in heavy rich ground makes a splendid head
of leaves, surmounted in summer by a dense spray of very
small flowers. Doubtless, if these be pinched off, a larger
development of the fine glossy leaves may be expected, but
as the shoots are so vigorously shot 11p and converted into
a distinct and pretty inflorescence, many will prefer to
“leave the plant to nature.” In planting it,"the deeper
and richer the soil, the finer the result. It will prove a.
capital thing for every group of finc-lcaved hardy plants,
and may also be planted wherever a bold though low
type of vegetation is desired. There is another species,
C. juneea, which is also effective, but not so valuable as
C. cordifolia.

CUCUMIS PERENNIS (Perennial Cueumber).——This has not
the quality of leaf which we could desire, but it will prove
interesting to many. It is perfectly hardy, and possesses,
so to speak, great trailing power. Its leaves are strong,
rough, and of a glaucous eolour ; and the shoots run about
freely if the plant be in very rich soil. “’here bold trailing
plants for high trellis-work, or rough banks, or shaggy
rockworli are desired, it will be found distinct; but withal
we cannot give it a place in the front rank, and the small
select garden without any of the above-mentioned appen-
dages will certainly be better without it. For the botanical
garden and curious collections it is indispensable. It is
strong and lasting when well established, and may be
allowed to fall over rough banks, stumps, or be trained up
trellis-work, &c.

DA'rlsu CANNABINA. —-— The male plant of this has
long been known as a very strong and effective herb—

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 221

graceful too; but I saw female plants associated with males
for the first time in the J ardin des Plantes, and since then
I have a higher opinion of the species. The female plant
remains green much longer than the male, and being pro-
fusely laden with fruit, each shoot droops and the whole
plant improves in aspect. It must not'be forgotten in any
selection of hardy plants of free growth and imposing
aspect. From seed will probably be found the best way to
raise it, and then one would be pretty sure of securing
plants of both sexes.

ELYMUS ARENARIUS.—This wild British grass—a strong-
rooting and most distinct-looking herb—is capable of adding
a striking feature to the garden here and there, and should
be quickly introduced to civilization. Planted a short dis~
tance away from the margin of a shrubbery, or on a bank
on the grass, and allowed to have its own way in deep soil,
it makes a most striking object. In short, it deserves to
rank fourth among really hardy big grasses, the Pampas
and the two Arundos alone preceding it. I am not quite
certain that it is not more useful than the Arundo, being
hardy in all parts of these islands. In very good soil
it will grow four feet high, and as it is for the leaves we
should cultivate it, if the flowers are removed they will be
no loss. It is found frequently on our shores, but more
abundantly in the north than in the south. The variety
called geniculatus, which has the spike pendulous, is also
worthy of culture, and in its case the flowers may prove worth
preserving. It may possibly be useful for covert, and is
certainly so for rough spots in the pleasure ground and in
semi-wild places.

THE FERULAS.—I wish it were not necessary to write in
praise of such very fine plants as these, so noble in aspect
and beautiful in leaf. If you grow 2000 kinds of herbaceous
plants, the first things that ShOW clearly above the ground
in the very dawn of spring (even in January) are their deep
green and most elegant leaves. In good garden soil they
look like masses of Lept0pteris superba, that most exquisite
of ferns. Their chief charm will probably be found to
consist in their furnishing masses of the freshest green and

222 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

highest grace in early sprinrr. The leaf is apt to lose some
of its beauty and fade away early in autumn, but this may
to some extent be retarded by cutting out the flower.
bearing shoots the moment they appear. Not that these
are ugly; for, on the contrary, the plants are fine and
striking when in 'flower. It is indispensable that the
Ferulas, like some other hardy foliaged plants, be planted

 

feuds communis.

permanently and well at first, as it is only when they are
thoroughly established that you get their full effect. At a
first View, the best way to treat them would appear to be,
so to arrange them that they would he succeeded by things
that flower in autumn, and only begin their rich growth in
early summer; but it will be equally wise to plant them
near the margin of a shrubbery, where it is desired to have
a diversified and bold type of vegetation. In the rougher

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 223

and more solid ground, so to speak, near large rockwork or
rootwork, they would of course prove grand. The Hera-
cleums, so often recommended in garden literature for
planting near water, &e., are mere coarse rags compared to
the Ferulas, while the Ferulas may be used in the places
recommended for Heracleums. We may look forward to
the day when a far greater variety of form will be seen in
English gardens than is at present observable, and these
Ferulas are thoroughly well worth growing for their superb
spring and early summer effect. The best species are
F. communis, tingitana, and neapolitana. Probably a few
others, including sulcata, ferulago, and glauca, may with
advantage be added where variety is sought, but the effect
of any of the first three cannot be surpassed. Among
“aspects of vegetation” which we may enjoy in those cold
climes, nothing equals that of their grand leaves, pushing
up with the snowdrop. In semi-wild spots, where spring
flowers abound, it will prove a most tasteful and satisfac-
tory plan to drop a Ferula here and there in a sunny spot,
and leave it to nature and its own good constitution ever
afterwards.

GYNERIUM ARGENTEUM (the Pampas Grass).—This is so
well known to the reader that there is no excuse for naming
it here, except the opportunity to say a few words as to the
splendid use we may make of it in the branch of gardening
we are now discussing. It is to the Dublin Botanic
Gardens we owe the introduction of this noble plant, now
much grown in every country where ornamental gardening
is pursued. It really deserves as much attention as any
plant in cultivation, and yet how rarely is any thorough
preparation made for its perfect development. A paltry
class of tender plants may cost more labour and time in
the course of a few months than would suffice to plant a
field of the Pampas grass, yet such a glorious thing as this
may be put in with a barrowful of mould to start on a bad
soil, and then perhaps planted by the water or some other
secondary spot called its “proper place.” ‘Vhat is there
growing in garden or in wild more nobly distinct and
beautiful than the great silvery plumes of this plant waving

224 HARDY PLANTS FOR. THE

in the autumnal gusts—the burial plumes as it were of our
summer too early dead? \Vhat tender plant so effective as
this in giving a new aspect of vegetation to our gardens, if
it be tastefully placed and well-grown? Long before it
flowers it possesses more merit for its foliage and habit than
scores of things cultivated indoors for their efl'ect—Dasyli-

 

(iyneiiuul :u‘genlemn.

rions, &e., for example, and it would be well worthy of
being extensively used if one of its silken-crested wands
never put forth in autumn. It is not enough to place it
in out-of-the-way spots—the general scene of every garden
and pleasure ground should be influenced by it; it should
be planted even far more extensively than it is at present,

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 225

and given very deep and good soil either natural or made.
The soils of very many gardens are insufficient to give it
the highest degree of strength and vigour, and no plant
better repays for a thorough preparation, which ought to
be the more freely given when it is considered that the one
preparation suffices for many years. If convenient, give it a
somewhat sheltered position in the flower garden, so as to
prevent as much as possible that ceaseless searing away of
the foliage which occurs wherever the plant is much ex-
posed to the breeze. “'e rarely see such fine specimens as
in quiet nooks where it is pretty well sheltered by the
surrounding vegetation. It is very striking to come upon
noble specimens in such quiet green nooks ; but, as before
hinted, to leave such a magnificent plant out of the flower
garden proper is a decided mistake.

HELIANTHL‘S onGYALrs.—They use this in some parts of
the Continent as an ornamental-leaved plant in the pleasure
ground, &c. It is as hardy as the common dandelion,
grows to a considerable height, and is of a very distinct
habit. Its distinction arises from the fact that the leaves
are recurved in a peculiarly graceful manner. At the top
of the shoots, indeed, their aspect is most striking, from
springing up in great profusion and then bending gracefully
down. It will form a capital subject for the group of fine-
leaved, hardy plants, not running through the ground and
requiring all the room for itself to spread about. As it is apt
to come up rather thickly, the cultivator will act judiciously
by thinning out the shoots when very young, so that those
which remain may prove the stronger and the better
furnished with leaves.

THE HERACLEL'Ms—These are pretty well known for the
rapid vigour 'and great size of their herbaceous vegetation;
but they are as a rule too coarse, and decay too early in
summer, to be used in the flower garden or pleasure ground.
They may, however, be employed with advantage where a
robust and picturesque vegetation is desired in half wild
spots on islands, and for furnishing distant effects.

IIIBIseUs noans.—This is a very noble hardy perennial,
growing from four to six feet high about Paris, and having

Q

226 HARDY PLANTS roa THE

the upper part of each of its abundant shoots set thickly
with buds which produce flowers fully six inches across, of
a showy rose colour, with straight deeply coloured veins
running from the rich dark crimson base of the petals, and
gradually becoming lost towards the margin. There is
reason to think it thoroughly hardy, and it is well worth a
trial in good soil in the, southern and milder parts of Eng-
land and Ireland. The show it makes in autumn is really

 

Heracleuin tlax'escens.

very fine, and it will probably be found a grand thing for
association with noble autumn flowers, like the Tritoma and
Pampas grass. As regards leaf effect, it is scarcely sub-
tropical—to use again that awkward term—and should
perhaps be classed with showy herbaceous plants; but as
it was used with pretty good cll‘ect in one of the Paris

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 227

parks, I name it here. It should have a warm position, and
deep, rich, and light soil.

MACLEAYA CORDATA.—This is a fine plant in free soil, but
comparatively poor in that which is bad or very stiff. It
is quite distinct in habit and tone, and sometimes goes
beyond six feet high. The flowers are not in themselves
pretty, but the inflorescence when the plant is well grown
has a distinct and pleasing appearance. It will prove a
good thing for associating with other fine hardy plants
suitable for making bold groups. With some of the things
before named, and with other perfectly hardy plants, there
should be no difficulty in producing as bold and striking
groups of vegetation as any ever seen either with us or in
Paris, and afforded by costly and tender exotics requiring
winter protection.

MELIANTHUS MAJOR—This is usually treated as a green-
house plant, and is sometimes put out of doors in summer.
So grown, how-
ever, the full FIG- 84-
beauty of the
plant has not time
to develope; and
much the better
way is to treat it
as a hardy subject,
putting it out in
some sunny and
sheltered spot,
where the roots
will not suffer
from wet in win-
ter. The sheets
will be cut down
with frost, but the
root will live and
push up strong.
ones in spring,
forming by midsummer a bush of very distinct and beautiful
leaves. I have grown it in this way to a much more pre-

Q 2

 

U

lclianthus major.

228 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

sentable condition than it ever assumes indoors, where it is
usually drawn too much. I used to protect the roots in winter
by placing leaves over them, and then covering all with a
handlight, but have seen the plant survive without this pro-
caution. It is, however, best to make quite sure by using
protection, except where the soil and climate are parti-
cularly favourable.

MOLoroerRMUM nonunion—There is a deep-green
and fernlike beauty displayed profusely by some of the
umbelliferous family, but I have rarely met with one so
remarkably attractive as this species. Many of the class,
while very elegant, perish quickly, get shabby indeed by
the end of June, and are therefore out of place in the
tasteful flower garden; but this is firm in character, of a

dark rich green,
F‘""85- stout yet spreading
in habit, growing
more than a yard
high, and making
altogether a most
pleasing bush. It is
perfectly hardy, a
native of Carniola,
easily increased by
seed or division, but
very rare just 110w.
I doubt if it is even
in our botanic gar-
dens, but hope to see
it in cultivation ere
long.

NIC<)TL\.\'_\ MA-
(‘ROPIIYLLL—Tllls is
simply a garden name
for a fine large va-
riety of the common
Tobacco. As it is so
readily raised from
seed, and grows luxu-

 

Nicotiaua maerophylla.

SU BTROPICAL GARDEN. 229

riantly in rich soil, I need not say it is a very desirable
subject for association with the Castor-oil plant and the
like, and especially suited for the many who desire plants
of noble habit, but who cannot preserve the tender ones
through the winter under glass. The flowers are very
ornamental. It should be raised on a hotbed, and put out
in May.

PANICUM BULBOSUM is a‘tall and strong grass, with a free
and beautiful inflorescence. It grows about five feet high,
and the flowers are very gracefully spread forth. It forms
an elegant plant for the flower garden in which grace and
variety are sought; for dotting about here and there, near
the margins of shrubberies, 8:0. ; and indeed for the sake of
its flowers alone. P. virgatum is also a good bold grass.
Both of these may be raised from seed, and are well worthy
of cultivation.

PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA.——Tllc true plant of this name
forms a very free and vigorous mass of vegetation, and,
though perhaps scarcely refined enough in leaf to justify its
being recommended for flower garden use, no plant is more
worthy of a place wherever a rich herbaceous vegetation is
desired; whether near the rougher approaches of a hardy
fernery, open glades near woodland walks, or any like
positions.

POLYGONL‘M CUSPIDATUM.—-ThlS is an unusually large
herbaceous species of a genus which, as cultivated in our
botanical collections, does not appear likely to afford an
elegant or a graceful subject for our gardens. But it is
one of the best hardy things which can be recommended
for their embellishment. The growth is rapid, the size
unusual, perhaps eight or ten feet in very good soil, and the
bearing of the plant not at any season shabby. It is
covered with flowers in autumn. The same plant is often
called P. Sieboldi, and frequently sold by that name.
“'hen planted singly, and away from other subjects, its
head assumes a rather peculiar and pretty arching character,
and therefore it is not quite fit for forming centres or using
in groups, so much as for planting singly on the turf, there
leaving it to take care of itself and come up year after year.

230 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

In this way it would be particularly useful in the pleasure
ground or diversified English flower garden. It is also
good for any position in which a bold and distinct type
of vegetation is desired, while of course, when we come
to have fine groups of hardy “foliage plants” in our
gardens, its use will be much extended. The deeper and

 

llheuni limodi.

better the soil, the finer will its development prove. You
cannot make the soil too deep and good if you want the
plant to assume a striking character. As with tender
plants we have no end of attention to bestow, often daily,
the time and labour necessary to well prepare the ground
for a hardy subject should never be grudged. This plant
will probably be also found useful for game covert. It is

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 231

easily procured in our nurseries, and there is, or used to be,
plenty of it at Kew.

RHEUM EMODI.—The Rhubarbs, from their vigour and pic-
turesqueness, are well worthy of cultivation among hardy,
fine-leaved plants. Some of the common kinds have
recently been placed' in our parks, but the most striking
and distinct of the introduced kinds is the Himalayan
Rheum Emodi, and it is the one that is seldomest seen.

RHUs GLABRA LACINIATA.—I have known this plant for
about three years as a subject of much promise for garden
decoration, and can confidently recommend it as one of the
most useful and elegant dwarf shrubs we can employ to
furnish an attractive effect. It is a small kind, with finely-
cut and elegant leaves, the strongest being about a foot long
when the plants have been established a year or two.
When seen on a nicely established plant, these leaves com.
bine the beauty of those of the finest Grevillea, with a fern
frond, while the youngest and unfolding leaves remind one
of the dainty ones of a finely cut umbelliferous plant in
spring. The variety observable in the shape, size, and
aspect of the foliage makes the plant charming to look
upon, while the midribs of the fully grown leaves are red,
and in autumn the whole glow off into bright colour after the
fashion of American shrubs and trees. During the entire
season it is presentable, and there is no fear of any vicissi-
tude of weather injuring it. Its great merit is that, in
addition to being so elegant in foliation, it has a very dwarf
habit, and is thoroughly hardy. Plants at three years old
and undisturbed for the past two years are not more than
eighteen inches high. The heads are slightly branched, but
are not a whit less elegant than when in a simple-stemmed
and young state, so that here we have clearly a subject that
will afford a charming fernlike effect in the full sun, and
add graceful verdure and distinction to the flower garden.
“'hen the flowers show after the plant is a few years old
they may be pinched off, and this need only be mentioned
in the case of permanent groups or plantings of it. To
produce the effect of a Grevillea or fern on a small scale, we
should of course keep this graceful Rhus small, and propa-

232 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

gate it like a bedding plant. The graceful mixtures and
bouquet-like beds that might be made with the aid of such
plants need not be suggested here, while of course an estab-
lished plant, or groups of three, might well form the centre
of a bed. Planting a very small bed or group separately in
the flower garden, and many other uses which cannot be
enumerated here, will occur to those who have once tried it.
Some hardy plants of fine foliage are either so rampant or so
top heavy that they cannot be wisely associated with
bedding-plants. This is, on the contrary, as tidy and tract-
able a grower as the most fastidious could desire. It
would be a pity to put such a pretty plant under or near
rough trees and shrubs. Give it the full sun, and good
free soil.

Tun TRITO)IAS.—SO hardy, so magnificent in colouring,
and so fine and pointed in form are these plants, that we
can no more dispense with their use in the garden where
beauty of form as well as colour is to prevail, than we can
with the noble Pampas grass. They are more conspicuously
beautiful when other things begin to succumb before the
gusts and heavy rains of autumn, than any plants which
flower in the bright days of midsummer. It is not alone as
component parts of large back ribbons and in such positions
that these grand plants are useful, but in almost any part
of the garden. Springing up as a bold close group on the
green turf and away from brilliant surroundings ,they are more
effective than when associated with bedding plants; and of
course many such spots may be found for them near the
margins of the shrubberics in the generality of pleasure
grounds. It is as an isolated group flaming up amid the
verdurc of trees and shrubs and grass that their dignified
aspect and brilliant colour are seen to best advantage.
However, tastefully disposed in the flower garden, they will
prove generally useful, and particularly for association with
the finer autumn-flowering herbaceous plants. It seems we
do not suflieiently appreciate the advantage of good hardy
plants, however much we may grumble at the consumption of
coals. Here are the finest of all autumnal flowers, never
causing a farthing of expense for wintering, storing, or re-

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 233

planting, but merely asking for alittle ordinary preparation of
the soil at first,and yet they are merely grown as adjuncts even
in good gardens, and in
many you can scarcely
find them. For every
quality that should
make a plant valuable
in the eyes of the
flower gardener, they
cannot be surpassed by
any subjects that re-
quire expensive care
all through the winter ;
indeed we may say they
cannot be equalled by
any of such—a suffi-
cient proof that it is
not only those who
possess stoves, green-
houses, and glass-gar- _
dens, so to speak, that ~
may enjoy the highest

beautyin their gardens.

A most satisfactory result may be produced by asso-
ciating these Tritomas with the Pampas and the two
Arundos, the large Statice latifolia, and the strong and
beautiful autumn-flowering Anemone japonica alba. This
is peculiarly suited for association with hardy herbaceous
plants of fine habit, and should be in every garden where a
hardy flower is valued.

VERBASCUM VERNALE.—:\IOSt of us know how very dis-
tinct and imposing are the larger Verbascums, and those
who have attempted their culture must soon have found out
What transient far—seeding things they are. Of a biennial
character, their culture is most unsatisfactory: they either
migrate into the adjoining shrubbery or disappear altogether.
The possession of a thoroughly noble perennial one must
therefore be a desideratum, and such a plant will be found
in the Hungarian Verbascum vernale. This is fine in leaf

 

Anemone japoniea alba.

234 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

and stature, and produces abundance of flowers. The lower
leaves grow eighteen or twenty inches long, and the plant
when in flower to a height of seven or eight feet, or even
more when in good soil. It is a truly distinct subject for
helping us to variety, and may, it is to be hoped, ere long
be found in our gardens and nurseries. At present it is a
scarce plant in England, and perhaps not to be had in
many of our nurseries or botanic gardens, though it is cer-
tainly the best known plant of the genus to us in cultiva-
tion. I first saw it in the J ardin des Plantes.

THE YUCC.»is.—-Among all the hardy plants ever introduced
to this country, none surpass for our present purpose the
various kinds of Yucca, or “ Adam’s Needle,” as it is some-
times called. There are several species hardy and well
suited for flower garden purposes, and, more advantageous
still, distinct from each other. The effect afforded by them,
when well developed, is equal to that of any hot-house plant
that we can venture in the open air for the summer, while
they are hardy and presentable at all seasons. They may
be used in any style of garden 3 may be grouped together on
rustic mounds, or in any other way the taste of the planter
may direct. The best perhaps, considering its graceful and
noble habit, is Y. pendula, which is simply invaluable in
every garden. Old and well established plants of it standing
alone on the grass are pictures of grace and symmetry, from
the lower leaves which sweep the ground to the central ones
that point up as straight as a needle. It is amusing to
think of people putting tender plants in the open air, and
running with sheets to protect them from the Cold and rain
of early summer and autumn, while perhaps not a good
specimen of this fine thing is to be seen in the place. There
is no plant more suited than this for planting between and
associating with flower beds. Next we have Y. gloriosa,
more pointed in habit and rigid in style, and also large
and imposing in proportions. Lacking the grace of pendula,
it makes 11p for it to some extent by boldness of efl'ect,
while, like the preceding, it sometimes sends up a huge
mass of flower. Y. gloriosa varies very much when grown
from seed—a good recommendation, as the greater variety of

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 235

fine form we have the better. Then there is Y. claueescens,
with a sea-green foliage, and rather free to flower, the buds
being of a pink tinge, which tends to give the whole in-
florescence a. peculiarly pleasing tone. This is a first-class

1’10. 88.

 

Yucca pendula.

plant. Y. filamentosa is smaller than these, but one which
flowers with much vigour and beauty. It is well worth
cultivating in every garden ; not only in the flower garden
or pleasure ground, but also on the rough rockwork, or any

236 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE

spot requiring a distinct type of hardy vegetation, and so is
its fine though delicate variegated variety. Yucca flaccida is

Fm. 89.

   

 

W: h nu-a. \ F.7i‘r‘"~";

- r‘“;.l
»—‘:.¢ . -,-.~.—" _ X’ ‘-

Yueva lilamentosa variegata.

somewhat in the
way of this, but
smaller. It flow-
ers even more
abundantly and
regularly than
filamentosa, and
is well worthy of
cultivation. The
preceding spe-
cies, if not so
much used in our
gardens as they
deserve, are at
all events known
in them. The

following I met with for the first time in Parisian gardens :—

FIG. 90.

 

Stmiee laliluliu.

Y. luteseens is a species of neat habit and slightly yellowish

tone of shining green, and very distinct.

Y. flexilis is an

SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 237
ornamental, though not large growing kind. Y. stricta is a
rigid species scarcely so effective as the preceding; and Y.
angustifolia has narrow pointed leaves and a distinct habit.
Y. Treculeana is a very noble species, which will be found
perfectly hardy on good soil and in warm situations. It has
deeply furrowed and very large rigid leaves, and is well worthy
of culture even in a cool house, in which it is sometimes kept
in this country. If we had but this family alone, our efforts
to produce an agreeable effect with hardy plants need not
be fruitless. The freely flowering kinds, filamentosa and
flaccida, may be associated with any of our nobler autumn
flowering plants, from the Gladiolus to the great Statice
latifolia. The species that do not flower so often, like
pendula and gloriosa, are simply magnificent as regards their
effect when grown in the full sun and planted in good soil ;
and I need not say bold and handsome groups may be
formed by devoting isolated beds to this family alone. They
are mostly easy to increase by division of the stem and
rhizome ; and should in all cases be planted well and singly,
beginning with healthy young plants, so as ‘to secure per-
fectly developed single-stemmed specimens.

List of Hardy Herbaceous and Annual Plants, (50., of fine
habit, worthy of employment in the flower garden or
pleasure ground.

Acanthus, several spe-
cies.
Asclepias syriaca.
Statice latifolia.
Marina longifolia.
I’nlygonum cuspidatum.
Rheum Emodi,and seve-
ral other species.
Eupllorbia Cyparissias.
Datisca eannabina.
Veratrum album.
Tritomas, in variety.
Thalictrum foetiduln.
Crambe cordifolia.
Althzea taurinensis.
Geranium anemonzefb—
lium.
Melianthus major.
l’anieum, several species.

 

Spiraea Aruncus.

,, venusta.
Astilbe rivularis.

,, rubra.

Eryngium, several spe-

eies.
Ferula, several species.
Seseli, ,,
Chanizerops excelsa.
Cueumis perennis.
Hibiscus roseus.
Rhus glabra laciniata.
Artemisia annua.
Phytolacca decandra.
Centaurea babylenica.
Lobelia Tupa.
I’eucedanum ruthenicum
Heracleum, several spe-

cies.

 

Dipsaeus laciniatus.
Altre iia cernua.
Cynara horrida.

,, Scolymus.
Carlina aeanthilolia.
Telekia cordif'olia.
Eehinops exaltatus.

,, ruthenieus.
Ileliamlius argyrophyl-
lus.
,, orgyalis, and
others.
Gunnera seabra.
Funkia subeorilata.

,, japonica.
Tritoma, in varieties.
Arando Donax.

,, conSpieua.
Gynerium argenteum.

238 HARDY PLANTS FOR THE SUBTROPICAL GARDEN.

Elymus arenerius.
Bambuse, several species.
Arundinaria. falcata.
Yucca, several species.
Verbascum vemale.
Aralia. spinosa.

Aralia. jeponica.

,, edulis.
Macleaya cordata.
Punicum bulbosum.

,, virgatum.
Kochia scoparia.

Datura ceratocaula.
Silybum ebumeum.
marianum.

1’
Onopordon Acantlnum.
,, arablcum.

List of Hardy Plants of fine habit, that may be raised

from Seed.

Among suitable hardy plants that may be raised from
seed, the following are offered in recent seed catalogues :—

Acanthus letifolius.

,, mollis.

,, spinosus.
Artemisia. annua.
Astilbe rivularis.
Campanula pyramidalis.
Cannabis gigantea.
Curlina ecanthifolia.
Datura ceratocaula.
Echinops,several Species.
Er 'ngium bromelizel'o-

liuni.

,, campestre.

,, coelestinum.

 

Eryngium giganteum.
Ferula communis.
,, tingitana,
Geranium anemonmfo-
lium.
Gunnera scalira.
(lynerium argenteum.
llelizmtlius argyropliyl-
lus.
,, orgyalis.
lleracleum eminens.
,, giganteum.
,, platytmuium.
Kochia scoparia.

;
i
i
1

Lobelia. Tupa.
Morina longifolia.
Onopordon arabicum.

, tauricum.
Centaurea babylonica.
I’anicum, several species.
Pliytolacca decandra.
Salvia argentea.
Silybum mariauum.

,, eburneum.
Statice latifolia.
Tritomas, in variety.
Yucca, several species.

  
    
     

 
   

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SECS“ Freda

CHAPTER XII.
\‘ERSAILLES.

THIS being one of the most celebrated gardens in the world
it behoves us to examine it somewhat in detail—were we, how-
ever, to treat of it in proportion to its real merits as a garden,
a very small amount of space would suffice. Let us pass
through the vast stone courtyard and take up our position
near the garden front of the palace. Standing near the walls,
looking over the gardens, and following the vista of the
canal into the low country beyond, the eye first rests on a
vast spread of gravel, some marble margins of great water
basins, sundry protuberances from the level of the water,
and away in the distance an effect like that afforded by a
suburban canal in a highly practical and unlovely country.
A few Lombardy Poplars help this remote vista, but the
effect of the whole is from this point of view lamentable.
To the right of the palace there is a rather pleasing garden,
with big box-edgings, clipped conical Yews and other trees,
and numerous statues well shown against dense woods of
Horse-chestnut trees. To the left there is one of those
spreads of gravel, grass, a few stumpy clipped Yews, &c.,
generally known as geometrical gardens, the Horse-chestnut
groves starting up rather abruptly and relieving the whole
so as to render it tolerable. Advancing from the palace, the
lower terrace and its surroundings come into view, and the
effect improves. The faces of the terrace walls are hedged
with green ; the flower borders are somewhat after the
fashion of those at the Tuileries, and surrounded by a line
of well-grown Orange trees. Above the terrace walls Yew
trees are planted and clipped very regularly; in the centre
there is a fine and costly fountain, and the dense groves of
trees near at hand again save the scene from bald formality,

240 VERSAILLES.

not to say hideousncss. Versailles is a vast garden, much
of its interest being hidden behind these kindly groves of
trees, but we have about here the broadest effects of this
far-famed place, and may judge in how far they are worthy
of the praise bestowed on them and of our admiration or
imitation. .

Versailles is held up by the French and others as the
queen of geometrical gardens, and however this position
may be dissented from, it cannot be denied that it is a vast
illustration of the formal school of gardening.

There are in books many dissertations on the several
styles of laying out gardens; indeed some have taken us
to China and Japan, and others gone into Mexico for illus-
tration ; but when all is read and examined, what is the
result to anybody who looks from words to things? That
there are really two styles: one straitlaeed, mechanical,
fond of walls or bricks, or it may be gravel; fond also of
such geometry as the designer of wall papers excels in, often
indeed of a much poorer and less graceful kind than that;
fond too of squirting water in an immoderate degree, with
trees in tubs as an accompaniment, and perhaps griffins and
endless plaster and stone work. The other, with true
humility and right desire, though often awkwardly and blun-
deringly, accepting nature as a guide, and endeavouring
to multiply, so far as convenience and poor man-power will
permit, her most charming features.

Mr. Ruskin tells us that “ we are forced, for the sake of
accumulating our power and knowledge, to live in cities:
but such advantage as we have in association with each
other is in great part counterbalanced by our loss of fellow-
ship with nature. “'0 cannot all have our gardens now,
nor our pleasant fields to meditate in at cvcntide. Then
the function of our architecture is, as far as may be, to
replace these; to tell us about nature; to possess us with
memories of her quietness; to be solemn and full of ten-
derness, like her, and rich in portraiturcs of her; full of
delicate imagery of the flowers we can no more gather, and
of the living creatures now far away from us in their own
solitude.”

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VERSAILLES. 241

What, then, are we to think of those who carry the dead
lines and changeless triumphs of the building and the studio
into the garden, which, above any other artificial creation,
should give us the sweetest and most wholesome “ fellow-
ship with nature”?

Simply that it is presumption and bad taste, founded
upon ignorance of what a true garden ought to be, and of
knowledge that the deadliest thing you can do with it is to
introduce any feature which, unlike the materials of our world-
designer, never changes. Away, then, with the wretched
afl'ectation of pretending to enjoy—away with the ignorance
which asserts or blindly believes that there is some mys-
terious and occult beauty in, or necessity for, such gardens
as this !

It is perfectly true that there are some positions where
an intrusion of architecture and cmbankmcnts into the
garden is justifiable—nay, even now and then necessary;
but the misfortune is that they are often said to be so when
such is not the case. It would be a waste of space to quote
the nonsense that is printed and urged about things being
“in keeping,”—the necessity of making an architectural
garden associate with some particular style of building, and so
on. The best terrace gardens in continental countries are
those built where the nature of the ground most calls for
them and usually in positions where the ground is steep and
rugged; and it is in positions most like these that they
best succeed, and are most wanted in this country. Why,
then, talk of “congruity” in the matter, when it is con-
sidered right to place the most geometrical kind of garden
in the spots where the ground is most picturesque and ir-
regular? There is no code of taste resting on any real
foundation which proves that garden or park should have
any extensive stonework or geometrical arrangement. Many
instances could be given to prove that the natural or nearly
natural disposition of the ground is far preferable to the great
majority of expensive mathematical gardens.

Among other not often urged objections to great expen-
diture on architectural embellishments, costly fountains,
and statues, instead of on the development of the real life and

R

242 VERSAILLES.

interest of a garden, is the fact that outdoor artistic embel-
lishment, good or bad, is by no means so appropriate in
these cool and gusty climes as in warmer countries. Where
people can live out of doors the greater portion of the year,
and where the winter is merely a pleasant dry kind of
atmospheric tonic ; where the native can dine for more than
half the year in a bower of vines, and breathe the spices of
Orange trees and Magnolias—in the south of France, Spain,
and Italy, and all along the shores of the Mediterranean—
it is more desirable to have the nude form in marble in the
open air, independently of the fact that the lichens and
moss do not so soon begin to embellish the carving, or
grass to grow out of its interstices, in countries near the
sun. Leave art indoors—where, unfortunately, we must
content ourselves for the most part—use as few wall-
paper patterns and as little stonework as possible in our
gardens, and arrange them so that when our sunny
season does come they may be full of life and change,
and that all our efforts therein may tend to their improve-
ment in the right direction.

In discussing this phase of gardening we have a capital
example in the case of the Crystal Palace, in the region of
the great fountain basins, where a more horrid impression
is received than in any part of Versailles, though the upper
terrace at the Palace illustrates the best features of the
system, and shows as well as anything I know of in how
far it may be safely adopted near a great building. But
both at the Palace and Versailles the vast expense for a
poor theatrical effect is not the most regretful of present
features 3 that, perhaps—not to look deeply into the
blemishes of such positions—is the dirty, Wide, change-
less water basins, with their squirting pipes and perhaps
crumbling margins; for the purse that creates such de-
lights frequently fails, if it does not get tired of expendi-
ture that never produces the changeful beauty for which
the heart of man yearns. To me there is nothing more
appalling than the walls, fountain basins, clipped trees, and
long canals, &e., of such a place as Versailles, not only be-
cause they utterly fail to satisfy in themselves, but inasmuch

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VERSAILLES. 243

as they are ever accompanied by a day-ghost of wasted
effort—of riches worse than lost.

In connexion with the Crystal Palace one thinks of
ruined shareholders; and with Versailles, of the enormous
sums wrung from an oppressed people, and put to such a
miserable use, that one can scarcely regret a wild blood-
danee of revolution came and put an end to it all. And
this was the kind of good effected with the money so hardly
wrung from starving millions! It was merely burying
wealth—indeed, it might have been better to have buried
it, for many would prefer the naked earth to these gyra-
tions, which must be kept in repair at great cost or they
become intolerable even to their builders and designers.

“'hen a private individual indulges in expensive fancies,
he has small influence to injure any one but himself; but
when the place is a public one, and set up as an example
of all that is admirable, then, in addition to the first wasteful
expenditure, we have an object hurtful to the public taste,
and sowing the seed of its ugliness all over the country.

It may be said that our taste in England is sufficiently
assured against this; but it is not so. I have known those
whose lawns were or might readily be made the most
beautiful of gardens, ruin them, and for the mere sake of
having a terraced garden. There is a modern castle in
Scotland where the embankments are piled one above
another till the thing looks as if the Chinese who carve the
ivory balls had been invited to make a corresponding ar-
rangement in the fortification style. ‘Vere it a matter of
trifling cost, or which could be easily abolished or even
avoided, it would not be worthy our attention; but being
so expensive that it may curtail for years the legitimate
outlay for a garden, and prevent expenditure in live interest
rather than in slow crumbling monotony, too much cannot
be urged against it. The style was in doubtful taste in
climates and positions more suited to it than those of
northern France and England; but he who would now
adopt it in an age when civilization has set its formal brand
upon everything, and in the presence of the inexhaustible
and magnificent collections of trees and plants which we

R 2

2-44 VERSAILLES.

now possess, is an enemy to every true interest of the
garden.

We will next visit a few of the more interesting of such
features as are hidden from the general scene, first, how-
ever, glancing at the Tapis Vert—the grassy avenue which
leads from the parterre to the Bassin d’Apollon and the
Grand Canal. From it the effect is much better than from
the terrace above, and it, like many parts of the place, is
bordered or hedged with numbers of costly statues and
vases. They seem as profuse as if the gold and marble had
been dug up on the spot, and as if this had been the reason
why a great garden had been made in such a very bad
position.

The Orangery here, in a sunk garden to the south of
the Palace and the Parterrc du Midi, is probably the most
remarkable known. It is most permanently and massively
built in the face of a terrace, and is more than thirteen
hundred feet long byé'thirty-six wide. It is in fact an
immense archway, lighted at one side. The height from
the balustrade of the terrace above to the walk in front of the
Orangery is about forty-six feet, and once on the occasion of
a night féte a poor English visitor, thinking this balustrade
was merely a dividing line between two partcrres, jumped
over, and was found nearly killed below. The collection of
Orange trees here is immense; but as we have already dis-
cussed this unhappy phase of horticulture in the chapter on
the Tuilerics gardens, little need be said here. One of the
trees, however, is deserving of especial remark, and, indeed,
I hoped to give an exact portrait of it, and should have
done so were it not for an unpunetual photographer. This
tree was produced from seeds sown in 1421, by Leonora of
Castillo, wife of Charles 111., King of Navarre, and after
enduring between 400 and 500 years, is still healthy and
verdant in its leafage, though a little tottering, and requiring
to be carefully propped up. That it should have lived so
long under the circumstances is indeed very remarkable,
for of course a tree put into a half-lighted building in
winter, and placed in the open air in summer, and at all
times liable to vicissitudes at the roots, runs great danger

PLATE XX XVII.

 

L.“ TOILETTE D’APOLLON.

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VERSAILLES. 245

compared to one in the open air. The large collection of
Orange-trees is usually placed in the open air about the
15th of May, and under cover not later than the 15th of
October, so that the trees only enjoy the free air and sun for
five months out of the twelve. In addition to the Orange-
trees, a few other exotics were kept in this structure in
winter, and submitted to the same treatment as the Orange-
trees at all other seasons. These are Justieia Adhatoda,
Olea angustifolia, J asminum azoricum, and Edwardsia
grandiflora. They seemed to do remarkably well under the
treatment usually given to Orange-trees on the Continent,
and the Justicia and Jasminum, and perhaps the others, are
in my opinion more worthy of being thus grown than the
Orange, inasmuch as they display their fine flowers in the
open air in summer, and they are less costly than when
grown in stoves or conservatories. The Specimens of the
Madeira Jasmine are the finest I ever saw 5 the rich green
shoots drooping gracefully and bearing abundance of flowers.
The Justicia and others were said to flower abundantly in
their seasons. This, considered in connexion with the
success which attends the culture of the Oleander and the
sweet—scented Pittosporum under like circumstances, and
even when preserved in cellars during the winter, would
seem to point to the desirability of adopting the system, or
a modification of it. It has not spread among us, but it cer-
tainly is as practicable in England as in many parts of the
Continent where it is seen. “'ith us the nearest thing to it
is the practice of putting handsome evergreens in tubs for
placing in terrace gardens, 8:0. But surely it is scarcely
worth while doing this with things that we see in every
shrubberyl If we do go to the expense of growing plants
thus, let us select those that will not bear the open air of
our winters, but which succeed well out of doors in summer.

It is needless to describe the numberless gardens, foun-
tains, &c., of Versailles, and indeed impossible, unless one
could devote a book to the subject. Very few of the spots
indicated on the plan will please the visitor more than the
garden or Bosquet du Roi, near the Orangery ; and simply
because the artificialness, the stonework, and want of

246 VERSAILLES.

repose which are characteristics of the greater part of Ver-
sailles, are here absent. It is simply a sweep of grass, sur-
rounded by handsome trees, with a few flower beds and fine-
leaved plants here and there. It is but one of a thousand
types of scene which pure taste and a knowledge of hardy
trees and plants may produce, and yet it is sufficient to
show the vain, unsatisfactory, and trumpery character of
the various far more costly gardens in the immediate neigh-
bourhood. All visitors should see it after surveying the
general drearincss of the rest.

110.91.

 

 

The 'l‘apis Vel't.

To the south of the Tapis Vert, and near the Jardin du
Roi, the (‘olonnade is very well worth seeing, and perhaps
the happiest feature of the architectural gardening. The
grove encloses a peristyle in marble about one hundred feet
in diameter. It is composed of thirty-two columns of
marble in difl'erent Colours, with the capitals in white
marble, and all most richly ornamented. l'nder each arch
is placed a vase-like basin in marble from which springs a
jet d’eau, and in the centre of the arena is a group in
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VERSAILLES. 247

the whole, closely surrounded as it is by a dense grove, is
very fine.

To the right of the chateau, the most interesting spot, is
the Bosquet des Bains d’Apollon. This is simply a large
and picturesque surface of rock, well-backed by trees and
with a pillared grotto or recess about its centre, containing
the group in white marble shown in the accompanying
plate. To the right and left of this magnificent group, and
also exposed on the rocky face, are two groups in marble,
representing the horses of the sun watered by tritons.
These three groups form the most imposing ensemble of
sculpture at Versailles. When the waters play, a cascade
tumbles from the rocks into the piece of water at their
base. The banks in front of them are wildly clothed With
trailing shrubs, the Polypody densely mantles the rocks ;
the vegetation around is tastefully arranged to suit the
scene, which is on the whole the most striking and satis-
factory in the gardens at Versailles.

On the fountains and waterworks of Versailles skill and
gold were lavished by their creators. The Bassin dc Nep-
tune is the most important. As the waters only play
on special occasions, and as they cost about 10,000 francs
every time they do play, one is justified in considering the
basins in their usually dormant aspect. Nothing can look
more wretched than any garden exhibiting large fountain
basins. Early in the morning of the 24th of September, 1868,
I strolled round this fountain basin, endeavouring to dis-
cover some beauty in it. Had it not been for the fruits
falling abundantly from the Horse-chestnut groves close at
hand and a poor woman gathering them for fuel, I should
have imagined myself in a dead world. The formality of
the surroundings, the mouldering, faded margins and inde-
scribable emptiness and ugliness of the scene, seemed only
worthy of some sphere of geometrical craters and pools.

The figure showing this basin in full play obviates any
necessity of describing it. The upper margin of the basin has
twenty-two large vases in lead, ornamented with bas-reliefs,
while on the face of the wall are three immense groups in
the same material—the central one representing Neptune and

248 VERSAILLES.

Amphitritc seated in a vast shell surrounded by nymphs,
tritons, and sea monsters. The western group represents
Ocean resting upon a sea unicorn—that to the east Proteus,
while at the angles are two colossal dragons bearing Cupids.
This fountain is the last to play of all those at Versailles,
the grand final scene of the day, usually beginning about
five o’clock, when all the others have ceased. The effect is
very good of its kind, and attracts great crowds of people.

 
   

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It is hopeless to attempt an enumeration of the riches
possessed by almost every part of the garden in statues
and vases. The accompanying figure may serve to give an
idea of their execution.

The Russia dc Latone has five circular basins, rising one
above the other in a pyramidal form, surmounted by a group
representing Latona with Apollo and Diana, the goddess
imploring the vengeance of Jupite' against the peasants ot'

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VERSAILLES. 249

Libya, who refused her water. The peasants, changed, or
in the process of being changed, into frogs, tortoises, and
lizards, are placed on the different levels, and shoot water
upon Latona from every direction. The tablets are of red
marble, the group white marble, and the frogs, &c., in lead,
and the effect of the whole is very striking when the waters
play.

There are many other fountains, basins, 850., of minor
importance which the visitor will be delighted to escape
from into the garden of the Petit Trianon, at the north
end of the park.

The Grand and the Petit Trianons are simply two villas

FIG. 93.

 

 

 

 

Temple dc l’lhnour in the gardens of the l’etit Trianon.

at the extremity of the park, each with extensive gardens.
Those of the first mentioned are among the most angular,
ugly, and cheerless it has ever been my fortune to see—those
of the Petit Trianon by far the best gardens at or near Ver-
sailles. To pass into them from these interminable gardens,
where the “genius of Le Notre” has been so successful
in stealing from nature every grace, is as refreshing
as being suddenly transferred from some gigantic cotton-
opolis to a green and sunny Piedmontese valley. It was
the favourite residence of Marie Antoinette, and the gar-
dens were in great part laid out by her in what the French
call the “ English” or natural style. Most of the expense

250 VERSAILLES.

has been devoted to the planting of choice kinds of hardy
trees, of which there are many fine specimens in the grounds,
many planted before the Revolution, and a great many newer
species since. Quiet and refreshingly verdant gladcs, a tiny
streamlet picturesqucly meandering through them, a well
designed piece of water, a little Swiss village, dairy, &c.,
erected by Marie Antoinette, constitute the chief charms of
the place apart from its associations. But trees and grass,
and shrubs and flowers, a. streamlet and rocks, a lake and

Fm. 94.

 

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View in the garden of the l‘ctit 'l'rianon.

a few picturesque buildings, how much you can do with
them! “'0 travel far and wide to see natural combina-
tions of a few of these, and find them lovely and different in
every elime. "Even so may we make our gardens vary,
and infinitely more so, because we may combine the vege-
table 1) ‘auties of many clinics, while in nature we only get
a comparatively limited view of them in any one spot.

N0 visitor to the l’etit Trianon should omit to see the
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FONTAINEBLEAU. 251

chief gardener of the Trianons. It is a garden in the best
sense of the word, not large, but containing a rich variety
of plants tastefully arranged. There are many handsome
hardy trees, groups of Arundo and Pampas dotted on the
grass, the Tamarix used in like manner, and very effective
with masses of Cannas, Salvias, New anland Flax, and
numerous other tender plants put out for the summer.
These are usually very gracefully arranged, the boxes con-
taining the larger specimens carefully concealed by dwarfer
subjects and plenty of verdant grass as well as brilliant
flowers.

In the immediate neighbourhood of this garden are very
extensive and well managed nurseries for the supply of the
imperial gardens of Paris. To the professional horticulturist
they will prove worthy of a visit.

Fontainebleau, and the Gladiolus Grounds of M. Souchet.

Fontainebleau is one of many places in France not likely
to be remembered with much pleasure for their gardens.

 

 

Canal in tne gardens of L‘entainclileau.

The formality of the water and the avenues and the lines of
fusty clipped Lime trees render it impossible for the eye to
find in such a place any of the solace or charms of a true
garden. The portion planted as an “English garden ”
has indeed some peace about it, but unhappily the strictest

252 FONTAINEBLEAU, AND THE

formality governs every line of the vegetation on the garden
front of the palace. It is that type of garden which has
not a curious corner in it nor a ray of novelty, and conse-
quently to describe it in detail would be to waste space. The
illustrations show it fully, but with a touch of grace which
it does not really possess, for an artist has too much feeling
to draw it in all its angularity and baldness, and weaves in
over the grateful surface a little of the freedom and grace
of nature. The only feature of any practical horticul-
tural interest in the place is the famous Treille du Roi, an

 

View in the fun-st of Fontaincblcau.

enormous wall of vines, which, bordering the park, is said
to annually produce 80001bs. 0r 90001bs. of grapes. It is
planted with the Chasselas dc Fontainebleau, and the wall
is well managed, as indeed one would expect it to be, so
near Thomery.

Of the things to be seen at Fontainebleau, those best
worth remembering are far away from the chateau and
even from the garden. It is tedious work getting away
from the interminable long straight roads that lead from
the Chateau in every direction; but, once in the midst of

 

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GLADIOLUS GROUNDS or M. soucnnr. 253

one of those wilds where huge rocks and indigenous trees
are scattered in about equal profusion, the visitor will
hardly ask himself why Rosa Bonheur resides in the neigh-
bourhood.

But the most beautiful of those glorious wilds in the
forest does not present a greater charm to the landscape
artist or the lover of the picturesque than M. Souchet’s
collection of Gladioli affords to the horticulturist. It
is by far the finest collection in the world, and a remark-
able example of high cultivation. M. Souchet is the Em-
peror’s gardener, and has been so for many years. He has
been cultivating the Gladiolus for more than thirty years ;
and it was cultivated also here by his father. This is the
most noble of our autumnal flower garden ornaments, and
one comparatively neglected by us. There is no flowering
plant so well calculated to improve the aspect of the
autumnal garden, of no matter what style. M. Souchet
grows it in fields, surrounded by white stone walls. His
ground was for the most part formerly occupied by market
garden cultivators, and these usually surround their
gardens by such walls. He altogether occupies, with the
culture of his favourite, from eight to nine hectares of land,
or say about twenty acres English.

The first thing noticeable in this ground is that about
half of the land is unoccupied for the current year. That
bare portion is ploughed, and manured, and cultivated
throughout the summer as well as in winter, and thus he
has fresh land in capital condition for his bulbs every year.
Besides, the fact that the ground is bare for a year helps to
counteract to some extent the particularly vicious insect
enemies with which he has to contend, as, having no food on
the ground for the summer, they are not attracted ; and when
the ground is rolled between the ploughing and manuring
the tracks of the courteliere are easily seen, and it may be
readily destroyed. This idle ground is thoroughly tilled,
ploughed, or in some way disturbed six or seven times
during the season, and he would like to do it a dozen
times if time or labour would permit. The ground planted
this year will of course be empty next, and so on. Over

254 FONTAINEBLEAU, AND THE

the whole of the extensive grounds planted with Gladioli
you could not notice a decayed leaf, and all the plants were
in the rudest health, some of the varieties growing as much
as six feet high. It was a fine sight at any time of the
day to see the magnificent stretch of varied bloom; but
the days about the time of my last visit were very hot, and
one was obliged to get up very early in the morning to see
it at its best. Although very showy at noon, yet the hot
sun had caused the most open flowers to flag a little. But
in the early morning, when the dew hung upon the bloom,
and every petal was braced with its freshness, the flowers
were magnificent.

The insect enemies of M. Souchet would prove enough
to deter and defeat most men. He makes ceaseless war
against them, and if they do succeed in destroying a bulb

FIG. 97.

 

Courteliérc (Mole Cricket).

now and then, it generally forms the guide to their detection
and destruction. If the courteliérc or mole cricket were
allowed his own way for a fortnight in these grounds, I
fear some of the great bulb houses would suffer from their
want of Gladioli in autumn. “'hen this strong and well
armed little fellow gets into a bed of choice Gladioli, you
cannot well dig him out as you could if he happened to be
in an open spot. The way he is killed here is so interesting
and effective that I must relate it. M. Souchet explained
it to me; but so many receipts for cxtcrminating vermin
are not worth the trouble of trying the second time, that
probably I should not have noticed it had he not called a
workman and given me an illustration on the spot. “'hen
the mole cricket goes about, he leaves a little loose ridge,
like the animal after which he is named: and when his

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GLADIOLUS GROUNDS or M. SOUCHET. 255

presence is detected in a closely planted bed of Gladiolus
at Fontainebleau, they generally press the ground quite
smooth with the foot, so that his track and halting-place
may be more distinctly seen the next time he moves about.
This had been done in the present instance in the case of
a young bed of seedlings. We saw his track, and a work-
man, who brought with him a jar of water and one of
common oil, opened a little hole with his finger above the
spot where the enemy lay. Then he filled it with water
twice, and on the top of the water poured a little oil. The
water gradually descended, and with it the oil, which,
closing up the breathing pores of the mischievous little
brute, caused it to begin to suffer from asphyxia, and in
about twenty seconds we had the pleasure of seeing it put
forth its horns from the water, go back a little when it saw
us, but again come forth to die on the surface, hindered
for ever from destroying valuable bulbs. Being very strong
and well armed, a single mole cricket can do a deal of damage
in a bed of Gladiolus, and therefore the moment the work-
men of M. Souchet see a trace of the pest they take means
to catch it as described, jars of water and oil being always
kept at hand.

The mole cricket is only one enemy—the ver blanc is
worse. Of what a vile opponent this is,
some idea may be formed when I relate the
precautions M. Souchet is obliged to take
against it, even for the sake of enjoying a
few Rhododendrons. He has built a pri-
vate house near his Gladiolus grounds, and
wishing to have a couple of beds of these
shrubs within view of the windows, he has
had to build strong cemented walls deep VA-b
into the earth around each bed, and fill {hie §3§§Cfir£§ff
in the bottom with a deep bed of fine
sand, so as to guard against the entrance of this dreaded
worm into the bed. But it is amonghis bulbs that most is
to be feared. He employs a great number of people to gather
the parent insect at the egg-depositing season, has the larvae
picked up after the plough, and one way or another avoids

 

256 FONTAINEBLEAU, AND THE

their ravages, though at great cost of time and money.
The ver blanc is simply the larva of the cockchafer.

The damage done by these enemies to horticulture and
agriculture in France is almost incredible. They are pro-
ductive of far greater injuries than any that we are visited
with through insects; and though their ravages are not so
noticeable in this country, it is very likely that they occa-
sionally do a good deal of damage perhaps without being
suspected. “here they happen to be plentiful in or near
gardens they are sure to be at mischievous work, and should
be watched accordingly. Gardens and fields and whole
districts are sometimes ruined by the ver blanc in France;
and there are even places where it is impossible to cultivate
any kind of vegetable in consequence of the ravages of the
mole cricket.

The soil is a very sandy, not a fluffy one, observe, but
one with some holding power, and yet when you get a dry
bit of a clod of it, and crumble it fine on a silk glove, you
find that most of it sinks through to the palm of your
hand, in the form of nearly impalpable sand. It is well
manurcd, and pretty rich and deep, from having been long
used as kitchen-garden ground. Horse manure is preferred,
and that as well rotted as possible. The time of planting
is, perhaps, one of the most important things to be acquainted
with, and they do it here from April till the early part of
June. The late planting is not often resorted to however.
They prefer the beginning of May for the general and the
safest planting. The medium-sized bulbs give the best
flowers as a rule, the biggest often breaking into several
stems instead of giving one good one. To plant at various
times of course will lead to a succession of bloom. The
seedlings flower in their third year. The time of taking up
is October, and, from the great quantity to be stored, this
process sometimes goes on to the beginning of November.
The plants are mostly in beds, about four feet wide, placed
in rows across the bed, from fifteen to eighteen inches apart.
The beds are all covered with short litter to keep the soil
moist. In very hot weather they are well watered. ‘ Each
kind is numbered, the scraps of lead on which the numbers

GLADIOLUS GROUNDS or M. SOUCHET. 257

are stamped being wrapped round bits of Vine prunings,
stuck in the earth. The beds are also carefully examined
during the blooming season, so as to destroy all those not
true to name, or what are termed “rogues.” Such are the
chief points as to cultivation—next for a selection of the
varieties.

There are altogether in cultivation here between 250 and
300 varieties. Of these, we first selected the undermentioned
as best, and then went over them again, marking the very
best of all. This second or choicest selection is indicated
by an asterisk to all those so chosen :—

Achille. *Lord Byron. Prince of \Vales.
Anais. *Madame Furtado. Princess of Wales.
Belle Gabrielle. Madame Leséble. *Princesse Clothilde.
Charles Dickens. Madame de Sévigné. *Princess Mary of Cam-
Cherubini. *Madame Vilmorin. bridge.

*Dr. Liudley. Maréchal Ynillant. *Queen Victoria.

*Duc de Malakoff. *Marie Dumortier. f Reverend Mr. Berkeley.

El Dorado. Mazeppa. Roi Leopold.

Fulton. Météore. Rubens.

Galilee. *Meyerbeer. *Shakspeare.
*Impératdce Eugenie. *Milton. Sir William Hooker.
*James Veitch. *1“. Ad, Brongniart. Stephenson.

*John \Vaterer. *Napoleon III. Stuart Low.

Lady Franklin. Newton. Thomas Moore.

Laqnintinie. Ophir. *Sir Joseph Paxton.
*Le Poussin. Oracle. Vesta.

La Titiens. *I’énélope. *Sir \Valter Scott.

Linné.

 

 

It is evident there is an ample field from which to select,
and a sufficient variety to please the most fastidious. 1W.
Souchet grows exclusively for wholesale houses, and a
large proportion of the bulbs of these attractive autumnal
flowers, which are met with in the stores of the Paris and
London nurserymen or scedsmen, are derived from the
grounds of this most successful of cultivators. I cannot
close this without acknowledging the great kindness of II.
and Madame Souchet, both as amiable and excellent in
private life as )I. Souchet is distinguished in horticulture;
and some of the pleasantest of the many agreeable visits I
have made to great gardens were those paid to M. and Madame
Souchet and the forest and gardens of Fontainebleau.

In France the Gladiolus is cultivated much more abun-
dantly than with us—a state of things which should not

s

258 GLADIOLUS GROUNDS or M. SOUCHET.

long continue, as nothing can be more worthy of general
cultivation, or more calculated to improve the general aspect
of our ornamental gardens. Perhaps one of the best re-
commendations of this fine bulb is that its flowers continue
to open long after the spike is cut, and bloom in a vase of
water as freely as in the open garden. I have never seen
anything more beautiful or effective than large Sévres vases
filled with the spikes of the finer kinds in M. Souchet’s
house. Many of his varieties grow five feet or more high;
when cut, a yard or more of the spike is preserved, no
other arrangement being needed except to insert their bases
in the mouth of the vase, and allow their heads to spread
widely forth, placing a few branches of evergreens, or any
verdure at hand, among the stems, just to give them a little
relief. There is no one kind of flower that could make
such a noble combination, and the effect within the cool,
thick-walled French house, on hot (lays, was of the highest
character. It may safely be said that the Gladiolus is the
finest of all our flowers for indoor decoration in autumn, its
tall and noble spike entirely preventing it from being used
to produce the dumpling—like effects given by Dahlias and
other popular flowers ,° and in the open air its uses are even
more valuable. '

It should be premised, however, that in all cases either a
naturally sandy, rich, and deep light soil should be given
to it, or one made so artificially. There are many stiff and
sticky soils on which it would be much better to avoid its
culture, and turn one’s attention to things more tolerant of
the soil. But the question of soil once settled, let us take
the ease of a bed of choice Roses in some position near the
house. Most probably this bed will present a somewhat
disappointing aspect after the Roses are past their best; and
even if they continue to flower well, the peeping forth of
some splendid spikes of Gladioli here and there will surely
not detract from their beauty. To secure this, all we have
to do is to insert some bulbs of the various kinds of Gladioli
in the spaces between the Roses in the early part of May, or
thereabouts, planting them singly here and there, and at about
three or four inches deep, and taking up the roots in the

 

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CLOUD.

THE GARDENS AND PALACE OF ST.

THE GARDENS or ST. CLOUD. 259

month of October. Is it necessary to suggest a score of
other analogous uses? Need it be said how tastefully they
may be introduced just within the edge of the low choice
plantation, or in beds of valuable shrubs on the lawn? Groups
of them in the centre of flower-beds would be splendid; and
planted thinly here and there among beds of low-growing
subjects—say Saponaria, Mignonette, &c., they would rise
above these, and their effect above the surfacing flower would
prove very fine indeed. They may be placed in groups or
rings around Standard Roses; they will make the most
valuable groups in the mixed border; and finally, we may
make grand beds of them by themselves, or associated with
Lilies or Irises.

St. Cloud, popular as it is, is perhaps one of the most
uninteresting gardens known. It is, however, worth seeing,
if only to get an idea of how much “the genius of a Le
Notre” may do to spoil a place naturally beautiful. The
canals, the lines of ugly clipped trees, and every base feature
of geometrical gardening are there, but nothing worth
remembering as an example. The situation is one of the
most beautiful that gardening man could desire, and would
be ravishing if tastefully and simply laid
out in the natural style. The lamentable
effect of clipping the trees is well shown
in the plate; it is very evident the poor
trees do not like it. It would be difficult
to find a more striking example of labour
worse than thrown away than that be-
stowed on clipping trees in many French
gardens. Not only are the trees them-
selves robbed of all individual beauty or
character, but many noble places are
spoiled by their presence. Frequently the
trees become hideous from disease conse-
quent upon mutilation; and what they are
in perfection may be seen by the accompany-
ing model tree figured by a professor in one
of the best French books on arboriculture.

Any real necessity for this clipping does not exist.

s 2

 

tree-beaut y.

260 MEUDON.

When trees are planted in close lines to form a shady
avenue, their natural tendency is to form a beautiful
and formal, though picturesque arch, so that clipping them
to obtain this is a. futile barbarism. Do we want to prevent
them spreading forth and filling the streets with their great
Wide heads ? If so we may select trees almost pillar-like in
their habit, as the Lombardy Poplar, the fastigiate Acacia,
and various trees of similar aspect. Do we require them
flat-headed and low, so that while shading the hot street

FIG. 100.

 

 

Mendon.

they may not darken all the windows? If so we haye the
Paulownia, of great shading power, and fine as a street tree
on dry soil, without a disposition to mount much higher
than the headed-down Limes we notice in so many London
street gardens.

Alma/on is much less known and visited by English
people than St. Cloud or Versailles, though it could hardly
fail to please as much as the former. For a charming VlCW
of Paris and the intervening country it is superior to St.
Cloud, and equal to any spot near Paris. This \‘lCW may

MEUDON. 261

be best enjoyed from the terrace, which is tastefully planted
and not disfigured with Orange trees in tubs, as many eon-
tinental gardens are. As to its gardening proper, the most
novel feature is an ornamental orchard—a good idea. This
is simply formed by planting shrubberies, groups, and
single specimens of well trained fruit trees in an undulating
piece of pleasure ground instead of the ordinary subjects
generally used. The plan is well worthy of adoption, nearly
all of our best fruit trees being highly valuable as orna-
ments alone.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE PLANT DECORATION 01" APARTMENTS—REFORM IN THE
CONSERVATORY—PALMS—THE IVY AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN
GARDENS.

The plant decoration of apartments.

THE graceful custom of growing plants in living rooms is
very much more prevalent on the Continent than with us.
It is true that we often see a display of flowering plants in
rooms, though we very rarely rise to the use of subjects
distinguished by beauty of form, or select those that are
peculiarly adapted for culture indoors. But the day is ap-
proaching when the value of graceful plants as house orna-
ments will be very fully recognised ; and that the substitution
of life and cliangeful interest for much that, however costly
or well executed, is without these qualities, will prove a gain
few will doubt. Apart altogether from their effect as orna-
ments, what can more agreeably introduce us to the study
of natural history? The influence of the graceful form of
a young Palm in the hall, the fascinating verdure of Ferns
and fine-leaved plants from many countries in the drawing-
room, and flowers, from the Orchids of the uplands of
Mexico to the tiny bulbs of Europe, in your Lilliputian
room-conservatory, is surely more eloquent in that direction
than any book teachings. You cannot deny, as Kingsley
says, that your daughters “ find an enjoyment in it, and are
more active, more cheerful, more self—forgetful over it, than
they would have been over novels and gossip, crochet and
Berlin wool. At least you will confess that the abomination
of ‘faney work’—that standing cloak for dreamy idleness
(not to mention the injury it does to poor starving needle-
women)—-has all but vanished from your drawing-room

THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS. 263

since the ‘ Lady Ferns’ and ‘ Venus’s Hair’ appeared; and
that you could not help yourself looking now and then at
the said ‘Venus’s Hair,’ and agreeing that nature’s real
beauties were somewhat superior to the ghastly woollen
caricatures which they have superseded.” Ferns, to be sure,
have been a great help and a great attraction 3 but they
are by no means so readily grown in rooms as some things
to be presently mentioned; nor are they supreme as regards
verdure and elegance. By a combination of all the
plants suitable for

this purpose, we FIG-101-

may not only find
very agreeable in-
door employment,
but create the
highest kind of or-
nament and inte-
rest in the house
at all seasons.

Not only are we
deficient as regards
the better kinds of
plant ornament in
houses, but also
in large gardens—
with far greater
means of readily
developing it than Maranta fasciata.
occur on the Con-
tinent. Merely displaying a few popular or showy sub-
jects is not plant decoration in any high sense! Rooms
are often overcrowded with ornaments, many of them
exact representations of natural objects ; but in the case of
the plants we may, without inconvenience, enjoy and pre-
serve the living natural objects themselves. Those we em-
ploy for this purpose now are mostly of a fleeting character,
and such as cannot be preserved in health for any length of
time in living rooms. But if in addition to the best of
these we select handsome-leaved plants of a leathery tex-

 

264 THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS.

ture, accustomed to withstand the fierce heats of hot
countries, we shall find that the dry and dusty air of a
living room is not at all injurious to them, and that it is
quite easy to keep them in health for months and even for
years in the same apartments.

Fm. 102.

 

Dracmna terminalis.

They would speak to us of many distant lands; interest
us by their growth under our care ; teach us the wonderful
variety and riches of the vegetable kingdom, and prove them-
selves quiet, unobtrusive friends. The variety of form and
grace of outline which many of these plants possess, may to
some extent be judged of bythe illustrations scattered through

THE PLANT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS. 265

this chapter. Many of them are exotics that in this country
are rarely seen out of stoves, while about Paris they are sold in
abundance for the decoration of apartments. The demand
for use in private houses gives rise to a large and special
branch of trade in many of the nurseries, and I know one
Versailles cultivator who annually raises and sells 5000 0r6000

Fm. 103.

 

Gymnostachyum Verschafi‘elti.

plants of the bright-leaved Dracmna terminalis (Fig. 102)
alone, and by far the greater part for room decoration.

As compared with the plant decorations of one of the balls
at the H6tel dc Ville, anything seen in the British Isles is
poor indeed; While the way plants are arranged at the
Linnean and Royal Societies and other important places, on

266 THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS.

special occasions, is almost sufficient to prevent people tole-
rating them indoors at all, and yet the plants are much
better grown in England than they are in France. The dif-
ference is caused by exceedingly tasteful and frequently pe-
culiar arrangement, and by employing effective and graceful
kinds. What the Parisians do as regards arrangement may
perhaps be best gleaned if, before selecting the kinds most

 

Dicfi‘cnbachia seguina maculata.

deserving of indoor culture, I describe the decorations for
one of the balls at the HOtel de Ville.

Entering the Salle St. Jean, the eye was immediately
attracted by a luxuriant mass of vegetation at one end;
while on the right and immediately round a mirrored recess
was a very tasteful and telling display made as follows :——In
front of the large and high mirror stretched a bank of moss,

THE PLANT DECORATION 0F APARTMENTS. 267

common moss underneath, and the surface nicely formed of
fresh green Lycopodium denticulatum, the whole being
dotted over with the variously-tinted Chinese Primulas—a.
bank of these plants, in fact, high enough in its (back parts
to be reflected in the mirror with the taller plants which
surrounded it, gradually falling to the floor, and merging
into the groups of larger plants on either side of the bank,
the whole being enclosed by a low gilt wooden trellis-work
margin. The groups at each side contrasted most beautifully
with this. Green

predominated, but Fm. 105,

there was a suffi-
ciency of flower,
while beauty of
form was fully
developed. In the
centre and back
parts of these
groups were tall
specimens of the
common Sugar-
cane (Saccharum
officinarum) which
held their long
and boldly'arching
leaves well over
the group. These
were supported Alocasia metallica.

by Palms, which

threw their graceful lines over the specimen Camellias, which
were, in their turn, graced here and there by the presence of
a Dracaena or dwarf Palm; and so down to the front edge,
where Cinerarias, forced bulbs, Primulas, and Ferns, finished
off the groups, all very closely placed, so that neither the
lower part of the stems, nor a particle of any of the pots,
could be seen. Any interstices that happened to remain
between the bases of the plants were compactly filled with
fresh green moss, which was also pressed against the little
gilt trellis-work which enclosed the Whole, so that from the

 

268 THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS.

uppermost point of the Cane leaves to the floor nothing was
seen but fresh green foliage and graceful forms, enshrouding
the ordinary flowers of our greenhouses, that are infinitely
more attractive when thus set in the verdure of which
nature is so profuse, and which is always so abundant where
her charms of vegetation are at their highest.

A scene such as this explains the prevalence of these
graceful and noble-leaved plants in Paris gardens and in

 

_lfehmea fulfil-us.
D

Parisian flower-shops and windows; for you may frequently
sec elegant little Draezenas ornamenting windows there, and
as they look as well at Christmas as at midsummer, I need
hardly suggest how highly suited they are for purposes of
this kind. The number of llraeaenas cultivated in and
around Paris is something enormous, and among the newer
species of these not alluding to the coloured-leaved kinds
—-are some that combine grace with dignity as no other

 

THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS. 269

plants combine them. They are useful for the centres of
noble groups of plants in their larger forms, while the smaller
species may be advantageously associated with the Maiden-
hair Fern and the Cinerarias of the conservatory bench.
They are of the greatest utility in these decorations, and
are largely used in all parts. So are most kinds of fine-
leaved plants, from Phormium to Ficus. Young Palms are
also cultivated to an enormous extent about Paris ; and so is
every green and gracefully—leaved plant, from the Cycads to
the common trailing

Ivy,—used a good FIG. 107.

deal to make living
screens of. “’ith
such plants they have
but little trouble to
find materials for this
kind of embellish-
ment.

The Wide staircase
ascending from the
entrance hall had also
a charming array of
plants so placed that
the visitors seemed to

 

pass through a sort of fl, i

floral grove — fine- ___. W»: a/ 3-:—
leaved plants arching \ '7 7 /'
over, but not rising Caladiumargyritcs.

very high, and having

a profusion of flowering things among and beneath them.
As the bank of Primulas and the groups of tall plants were
placed opposite this staircase, and reflected in the great mirror
behind, the effect when descending the staircase was fasci-
nating indeed. A still finer effect was produced in a room
near the great dancing saloon, and through which the
guests passed to the magnificent ball-room. Against each
pillar in this saloon was placed a tall palm with high and
arching leaves like those of Scaforthia elegans, and others
with longer leaves and pendulous leaflets. These meeting,

270 THE PLANT DECORATION 0F APARTMENTS.

or almost meeting across, produced a very graceful and
imposing effect, while round them were arranged other
plants distinguished either by beauty of leaf or flower, and
the groups at each pillar connected by single rows of dwarf
plants, closely placed, however, and well mossed in, as in the

F10. 108.

 

Caludium mirabilc.

case of the more important groups. The very close placing
of the plants is a peeuliar part of the arrangement—you
cannot notice any dividing marks or gaps, yet there is no
awkward crowding. The fact is that with an abundance of
plants distinguished by beauty of form, it is almost impos-
sible to make a mistake in arranging them.

THE PLANT DECORATION 0F APARTMENTS. 271

These arrangements are infinitely varied at the great
balls, both public and private; rocks, water grottoes, and
similar decorations, are occasionally introduced, both in-
doors and in the open air, and in the gardens behind pri-
vate houses. The Tuileries Gardens at the time of the great
fétes were largely decorated in this way, each of the nume-
rous lamp-posts having a bed of flowers around it, and the
whole scene being turned into a kind of conservatory in a
few days. The number of flowers required to do this was

FIG. 109.

 

l’teris cretica albo-lineata.

something enormous; and when it is considered that at the
same time great quantities of plants were arranged both
indoors and out, in other great public and private buildings,
some faint idea may be formed of the enormous extent to
which plant decoration is carried out in Paris.

To go more fully into details would be useless—very few
words serve to explain the difference between their system
and ours. It simply consists in the use of a far greater
number of fine-leaved subjects on their part. This, of

272 THE PLANT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS.

course, has a greater effect in popularizing the use of plants
in houses; for how can you make beautiful arrangements in
this way if you ignore the higher beauties of plant form?
The fashion as carried out in such instances as the above
carries its influences through every grade of society. Thus
you see people with
a graceful Yucca.
or young Palm, or
New Zealand Flax,
in their windows
and rooms, who, if
in England, would
not in all probabi-
lity have had an
idea of the exist-
ence of such things.
The extent to which
the floral embellish-
ment of the Hotel
de Ville is carried,
may be judged
from the great
numbers of plants
grown at Passy for
that purpose—the
New Zealand Flax
which is so very
useful for indoor or
outdoor decoration
Begonia da-dalea. bL‘lllg grown to the
extent of upwards
of 10,000 plants, and Palms and all plants with fine leaves
in great quantity.

The following few notes on the principal plants which
serve for window and room decoration in Paris are by
M. A. Chantin, a cultivator of plants for these, purposes
on a large s 'ale, and the possessor of a very rich collection
of Palms and other exotics distinguished by beauty of leaf
or habit. Among these, the Palms, without doubt, occupy

FIG. 110.

    

   

\ 7 N ‘7-‘_‘ ,-

w“

t ‘ ,

      

THE PLANT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS. 273

the most important position, are most generally used,
because of their hardy character and moderate price, and
among the very best are the fan-palms — Chamaerops
humilis and excelsa. Corypha australis, although now but
little known as a house plant, is destined in a short
time to occupy a foremost place in the decoration of apart~
ments. It is conspicuous for its peculiar beauty, and the
number of its leaves, and is, I believe, the most hardy and
enduring of

all the Palms 1310.111.

for indoor cul-
ture. Cocos
coronata and
flexuosa are 1“ “"2."
very elegant,
and produce a
charming ef-
fect. 'Latania
borbonica is
certainly one
of the most
valuable plants
of this family,
and is valued
as much for the
deep yet fresh
green of its
leaves as for its
hardiness and
elegant appear-
ance. PhCBlllX Maranta resca-picia.
dactylifera,

leonensis, and reclinata are very much sought after, and are
highly esteemed, also Areca alba, lutescens, and rubra.

The following Palms could be used with great advantage
in the decoration of apartments ; but their high price and
great rarity cause them to be not much known, although
they accommodate themselves to the atmosphere of rooms
as well as any of those previously mentioned. Areca

T

 

274 THE PLA‘_NT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS.

sapida, most of the species of the genus Caryota, Chamae-
dorea amazonica and elatior, Chamaerops Palmetto, Elaais
guineensis, Euterpe edulis, with its finely-serrated and very
graceful foliage; Oreodoxa regia, young plants of Which
are very frequently used; Phoenix pumila, thnix tenuis,

FIG. 112.

 

lliell‘cnlmchiu llm‘aquinizum.

Rhnpis flabelliformis, Thrinax argentoa, T. elegans, and
Leopoldinn pulchm.

Next in importance to the Palms we must place the
Dracmnas. Those which are the most frequently noticed
are Dracaena australis, cannzefolia, congesta, indivisa, in-

THE PLANT DECORATION OF APARTMENTS. 275

divisa lineata, rubra, stricta, terminalis, and umbraculifera.
Those most easily managed, and therefore the most popular
for window ornaments, are Dracaena congesta, rubra, and
terminalis. Pandanus utilis, amaryllifolius Vandermeerschi,
and javanicus variegatus 3 Cycas revoluta, and varieties of ‘
Aspidistra, occupy also a very important place in the decora-
tion of apartments.

The plants compos- FIG- 113-
ing the following list,
although suitable and
distinct in appearance,
require somewhat more
care and attention
than the precedintr.
Several species of
Aralia, more especially
Aralia Sieboldi 5 Bam-
busa japonicavariegata
and B. Fortunei varie-
vata ; the different
varieties of Begonia;
most of the Bromelias ;
Billbergias and allied
families are very use-
ful, including the
variegated Pine-apple,
which forms a splen-
did object for placing
in large warm rooms Gesnera cinnabarina.
on special occasions.
Caladium odorum, for winter decoration, and the species
with the beautifully-spotted and mottled leaves, for the
summer ,- Carludovica palmata and plicata ; Croton pic-
tum, pictum variegatum, and discolor; Curculigo recur-
vata, and several species of the genus Dieffenbachia. The
Ficus elastica is a capital plant for Window ornament, and
some years ago was very much employed for that purpose;
but since it has become somewhat common Ficus Chauvieri
has been substituted for it in many places. There are many

'1‘ 2

 

276 THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS.

other Ficuscs which are suitable for this purpose, and will
be found most useful when they become plentiful enough.
Maranta zebrina is the only species of Maranta suit-
able for cultivation in apartments, as all the other species
should be grown and kept in the houses, and only intro-
duced to the house when extra attractions are desired for
special occasions. Several species of Musa are favourites,

Fm. 114.

 

Saxifraga Fortunei tricolor.

but principally M. discolor and M. rosea; Musa Enscte is
particularly suitable for room culture, but it is still so
scarce, and of such a high price, that it is but seldom met
with. Monstcra deliciosa was much sought after dur-
ing rcccnt winters, and has in most places thrivcn so
well that it has given general satisfaction. Several
varieties of Beancarnea are suitable for rooms, and pro-
duce a very beautiful and graceful effect when grown in

THE PLANT DECORATION 0F APARTMENTS. 27 7

suspended vases or baskets. Rhopala corcovadense is a
plant that exhales a somewhat disagreeable odour, but it is
nevertheless much sought after, on account of its very
elegant and graceful appearance during the development of
its young leaves. Hecktia pitcairnifolia is capital for sus-
pending in baskets. Tradescantia discolor, Phormium tenax,
Rhododendrons, Camellias, Grevillea robusta, Euonymus,
Aucubas, Bonapartea, Agavcs, variegated Yuccas, 830., are
also frequent. In ad-

dition to the common FIG‘ 115'

Saxifraga sarmentosa,
which is frequently seen
with its slender runners
pendant from window
baskets in England,
several other allied spe-
cies would prove equally
useful in the same way
—Saxifraga Fortunci
variegata, and S. cus-
cuteeformis, for exam-
pic.

The family of Ferns,
although classed among
plants with delicate tis—
sues, and having a great
dislike to dry hot at-
mospheres, nevertheless
furnishes numerous ex- Mamnta Vimm.
amples which, with
careful management, add very much to the beauty of
apartments. Thus I have very frequently remarked several
species of Adiantum, which, wherever they can be preserved
in good health, produce without doubt a most pleasing
effect. Pteris argyraea, P. cretica albo lineata, and P. ser—
rulata variegata likewise produce a good effect with ‘their
prettily marked fronds. Alsophila australis and Dicksonia
antarctica are also sometimes employed for decorative pur-
poses in rooms of large dimensions, where their magnificent

 

278 THE PLANT DECORATION or APARTMENTS.

appearance never fails to produce a pleasing impression.
Nephrolepis exaltata is universally useful, and stands the
air of rooms without the slightest injury.

Until recently, I had little belief in the utility of Orchids
for this purpose, but exPerience has shown me that they
may be introduced into a drawing-room with perfect success,
the plants not having suffered in the least by the change of
atmosphere. The most suitable Orchids are the various

species of Cattleya, Vanda,
Fm. 116. Acrides, and Cypripcdium.
' Doubtless the time is not far
distant when we may venture
to try many more kinds than
we can now afford to do ; but
even from what we have al-
ready done in that way, I en-
tertain no doubt that the Or-
chid family will eventually
furnish the most valuable of
all plants for room decoration.
True they may not live
throughout the year in rooms
as Fieuses and such plants do,
but that is not desirable—-
their appearance, as a rule,
not being preposscssing when
out of flower. The quality
. that they do possess, and that
which makes them so valuable,
is, the thick succulent texture
of the flowers generally. This
enables them to continue a
long time in bloom in a room, and a like kind of texture
enables the leaves to stand during the blooming time without
111.1ury.

 

'l‘illandsia splendens.

\Ve ourselves are foremost so far as flowering plants are
concerned, ours being as a rule better grown. One plant,
however. cultivated in great abundance around Paris for
winter blooming, is well worthy of increased attention——

THE PLANT DECORATION 0F APARTMENTS. 279

Epiphyllum truncatum. There are several varieties, and
they certainly form most beautiful objects on dull December

 

Maranta zebrina.

FIG. 118.

 

Pandanus javanicus variegatus.

days. The employment of simple materials is also deserving
of commendation. Thus the variegated form of the common

280 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

Roast-beef pl ant—Iris fcetidissima—may be seen occasionally
used with good effect. We mostly use hot-country plants
if we want those that live long in our dwelling rooms,
but this is a true hardy native which well deserves culture
indoors, though in the open air it never presents a very
striking variegation—looks rather undecided, in fact. It
forms a very pretty plant for room decoration, requires none
but the most ordinary attention, and is easily obtained. In
France the plant is rather commonly used as an edging.
The Acanthuses too, and particularly A. lusitanicus used so
effectively out-of-doors, are also grown abundantly in rooms,
where they do very well. Everything proved to do well
indoors without the protection of a case is a gain to the
very large class who, from choice or necessity, like to grow
plants in rooms.

Ihform in the Conservatory.

There are few things more worthy of the attention of
the numbers interested in indoor gardening in this country
than the superior mode of embellishing conservatories and
winter gardens which is the rule in France and on the
Continent generally. Conservatories and similar structures
are, it is true, seareer abroad than at home, but whenever
they are erected they are gracefully verdant at all times,
being filled with handsome exotic evergreens, planted and
arranged so as to present the appearance of a mass of
luxuriant vegetation, and not that of a glass shed filled
with pots and prettiness with which we are all so familiar.

“'0 build more glass houses than any other nation, but
have as yet nearly everything to learn as to the arrange-
ment of the most important of them, or what is usually
called the conservatory. This in some form is an adjunct
to a large class of country and suburban houses; sometimes
it is well placed and an ornament to the house, but more fre-
quently a thing which to a tasteful person would seem better
placed among the out-offices. When unsatisfactory, the cause
is in the structure of the building or in its contents—often
in both, generally in the latter. As regards the form and

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 281

style of building little need be said, as the improvement
required seems so obvious. When conservatories are built
near the house they should always present a somewhat
permanent and architectural character, and be removed as
far as possible in stability and appearance from glass sheds.
This is desirable for several reasons—chiefly the propriety of
having a presentable and lasting structure in such an im-

FIG. 119.

 

Cordyline indivisa.

portant position, and the fact that plants and flowers show
to greater advantage in a subdued light than in that of the
glass shed. For growing plants you cannot as a rule have
too much light; but when in flower their effect is much
heightened by being placed in a subdued light. Those Who
consider for a moment the charming effect of the flowers
under the thick canvas of the great flower-show tent in the

282 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

Regent’s Park, as compared with the aspect of the same
plants in a well-lighted conservatory or placed in the open
air, will have no difficulty in appreciating the truth of this.
It should also be borne in mind that things that are worthy
of culture for their leaf-beauty alone always associate well
with substantial surroundings.

Fm. 1‘20.

.- ‘ L“ ,3

( a
,.,--o"‘« I”

 

Tree Fern for Conservatory.

But the grand improvement to be effected is in the con-
tents of conservatories. They will never be truly enjoyable
until we display in them beauty of form. Numerous rea-
sons urge us to endeavour to make a change in this respect.
The aspect of the greater number of conservatories through-

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 283

out the country is paltry in the extreme, except perhaps
when the flush of flower in early summer diverts our eyes
from the faults of a structure so little conservative of the
elegant forms and bewitching grace which make the vege-
table world so attractive. Having these structures staring
point-blank at our drawing-rooms in numerous instances, it
is clearly desirable to make them presentable. We build
hothouses to enable us to enjoy the vegetation of warmer
and more favoured countries. Let us enjoy it, then, and
not delude ourselves by cramming our conservatories with

FIG. 121.

 

Polypodium inorbillosum.

all the pepular small fry, from the Cincraria to the Azalea.
Such things may please the enthusiastic amateur of these
and like plants; but plants are capable of higher work
than that, and nothing can be hoped for the conservatory
until a nobler type of vegetation is not only represented,
but predominates.

Flowers of a similar, if not of a nearly identical type to
the popular ones mentioned, abound in our gardens during
summer, and there is consequently no necessity for letting
them predominate indoors; while on the other hand those
wonderful aspects of vegetation which we can never produce

284 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

out of doors in this country may be obtained under glass
Without difficulty. The temperature of conservatories gene-
rally is suflicient to develope as noble a type of vegetation
as the hottest stove, so objectionable from its heat and
moisture. The grandest of all the Banana tribe (Musa
Ensete) thrives healthfully in a cool house, While the Pal-
metto Palm of the Southern States of America, the Fan
Palm of Europe, Chamaerops excelsa, and the graceful
Seaforthia elegans, and many other Palms, do the same.

FIG.12‘3.

 

lllechnuni lirasiliense.

Nothing even among Palms can surpass the effective
grace of such Draczenas as lineata, Rumphi, nmbraeulifera,
Draco (before it gets very old and branched), brasiliensis,
Cannmfolia, and australis; and they all grow well in the cool
and agreeable, temperature of the conservatory. Numerous
Ferns, from those great Dicksonias which at the Antipodes
rival or surpass the Palms in grace, to the “Voodwardias,

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 285

which spread about such great fronds covered with swarms
of little plants on their surface, grow under such con-
ditions without trouble, compared to what the commoner
and smaller stuff, as the gardeners call it, requires. For
instance, a Dracwna, growing in a pot or planted out,
never requires any attention beyond watering, whereas a
Pelargonium must be cut down and regrown every year,

Pro. 123.

 

Theophrasta macrophylla.

causing much labour for staking, 8:0. And it is not only
the Palms, Cyeads, Tree Ferns, Draczenas, and finc-lcaved
plants generally which thrive throughout the year in a cool
temperature that we may enjoy therein ; nearly all similar
plants that flourish in stoves would well bear being intro-
duced to the cool conservatory or winter garden after their
vigorous spring and early summer growth had been matured.
Left there during the hottest months they would be more

286 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

appreciated than if in a hot stove, and they could be taken
back to their winter quarters in early autumn.

But perhaps the best plea in favour of the fine-leaved grace-
fully-built plants that can be urged to the generality of culti-
vators, is that they enhance the beauty of the ordinary flower-
ing subjects in a remarkable degree, and that by their aid
one-sixth the amount of flowers will suffice to produce
a more beautiful effect than was ever obtained by the use
of the blooming plants alone. This is a great point at all
times, and particularly in winter, when flowers are scarce.
In winter too the aspect of houses arranged on the system
I advocate is quite as good as in summer, and more
grateful from its contrast with the surrounding dreariness ;
and in summer, when abundance of flowering plants
may demand more space in the “ show house,” many
of the fine-leaved ones may be placed in the open air,
much to their benefit and the improvement of the flower
garden.

rl‘hc greater part of the foregoing having appeared in The
Field, the following response was drawn from one of its
correspondents 2—“ This subject has long been engaging my
attention. “'0 do build more glass houses than any other
nation, for every suburban villa boasts nowadays of the so-
eallcd conservatory; but whether these adjuncts are orna-
ments or not is most questionable. In nine cases out of
ten, I atlirm, they are far from ornamental, whether viewed
from the inside or the outside, and it is a wonder to me
that people consent to have these ill-shapen, ill-adapted
greenhouses stuck on to their residences. Any one visiting
the villas built within twelve or fifteen miles of London
must have noticed the conservatories, so named, attached to
the houses. I ask, are they even sightly?

“ But there is a point I wish to insist upon much more
than upon the external ; it is the arrangement of the plants
inside. “'hat do we find as a general rule? Long lines
of white stages with sickly, leggy plants in pots all round
the house ! If people could all hire efficient gardeners,
the thing would be different ; the conservatory might then
be filled with show plants and specimen shrubs creditable

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 287

alike to the owner and to his gardener. It is needless to
say that the gardener could do but little with only one
house; What I want to point out is the advantage to be
derived from a totally different arrangement of the house.

FIG. 124.

493% ‘

V
55

LU)
‘5

,J'J'r‘
-41

r.‘
‘

ml“: Mathew;

 

asammamm'a‘s

S?

i.

 

Cycas circiualis.

As you say, ‘ Let us enjoy it, then, and not delude our-
selves by cramming our conservatories with all the popular
small fry, from the Cineraria to the Azalea.’ Just so. For
goodness sake get rid of all those weakly, insect-infected

288 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

Cinerarias, Primulas, Geraniums, and others, and plant in
borders round the house plants and shrubs alike easy of
cultivation and beautiful.. You put forward a plea for the
fine-foliaged plants which it would be needless for me to
insist upon. Your readers must see that what I am aiming
at is a graceful and novel kind of shrubbery adjoining the
drawing-room, rather than a house full of pets. Why not
make round the house rich borders of the same width you
would have devoted to these unartistic stages, and plant
Camellias, Ficus, and other such things? You mention the
names of many suitable plants of the Palm and Fern tribes,
and the list could be added to a hundredfold if it were
necessary. Let us only see the attention of. the owners of
conservatories directed towards this point, and lists of plants
will soon be published by the horticultural firms.

“ As you say, the aspect of these houses is equally beautiful
in summer and in winter. This is the most thorough praise
that can be given to the system. To pursue the subject
yet further I will illustrate. In St. Pctersburg, where the
climate is intensely rigorous, conservatories are even more
appreciated than here at home. “'hen people cannot
afford them, you will find their rooms crowded with plants
of the Palm tribe and numerous creepers, which thrive well
all the winter 3 and it must be remembered that the windows
are not Opened from October till April. In the conserva-
tories Of the wealthy what do we see? A shrubbcry—a
maze of luxuriant foliage. It matters not whether there be
50 degrees or (30 degrees of frost : the promenade round the
greenhouse—truly a greenhouse—is always agreeable, always
charming. No words of mine could give your readers a
true idea Of the beauty of these places, nor of their utility
to those deprived of plants and trees for six months in the
year. One requires to see these plant houses thoroughly
to appreciate them.

“ Your readers may object that they are more suited to
ltussia than to our country. Not so. Is it not a melancholy
exhibition to see our conservatories naked, nearly destitute
of bloom, during December and January, and equally
disheartening to see them full of flowers only when the

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 289

gardens are becoming gay ? Depend upon it, what we
want, and what will some day be the cry, is an agreeable
promenade attached to the house—not a swarm of little
plants in pots, which none but the gardener can name or
appreciate. And then, again, look at the simplicity of the
cultivation of the plants whose cause I advocate. Plant
them fairly in the border, and they will always thrive.
Azaleas, Geraniums, &c., are constantly requiring to be

FIG. 125.

 

slihuld'llla.

smoked or watered with manure water. Are you to take
them outside, or into another house, each time they require
such attention? If not, and the conservatory adjoins the
drawing-room, there will be a decidedly unpleasant aroma
there when either of the above-mentioned processes takes
place. I could go on to show other advantages connected
with the system I am endeavouring to put forward 3 I could
attempt a description of the plant house of the wealthy
U

290 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

banker, Outehine, at St. Petersburg; but I feel 1 have
already said too much. To my thinking, it is, however, a
truly important topic, and I hope to live to see more
interest taken in the beauty of the conservatory, of its tout

ensemble, and less of the rarity of the plants and flowers.”
To any person with a knowledge of what the beauty of
vegetation really is there can be no doubt of the correct-
ness of these views. The rule
therefore in every conservatory
in the land should be to use
plants of handsome foliage or
noble habit. Plant them in
/ beds or borders; grow them
in pots or tubs; the means,
size, and requirements of the

/ place must determine on what
/ ‘ scale the thing may be carried
' out. In some degree the effect
desired may be produced in the
smallest greenhouse; where the

Fm. 126.

i
i

\

    

. \. u; - .
., h 'I__>P"'Q.7't>4‘,

    

.. man , .

space is large enough to deve-
lOpe the effect of the finer
plants named, the aspect that
may be wrought by their taste-
ful use will prove ravishing,
compared to that of the old
display of small-leaved, ordi-

nary-looking vegetation.

1n planting out, select things
that are graceful and orna-
mental during the whole course
of their natural lives. Do
not plant subjects which, like Acacias, run up to the roof
in no time, giving you a mass of bloom for a week or
two in spring, and a great mop-head of ugliness for the
remainder of the year. A great many greenhouse plants
grow like these; but if you plant out a Palm like Chalme-
rops, or a thing like the New 7.0aland1“lax or the superb
Musa linsete, they are presentable and satisfactory at all

Gonioplili-lnum in suspension
basket.

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

291

_ seasons ; and besides, do not run up against the roof in a few
years, like many New Holland and other greenhouse plants.

Every conser-
vatory should pos-
sess, in proportion
to its size, a cer-
tain number of
green and grace-
ful plants,or those
distinguished by
some peculiar
beauty of habit,
which are ready
at all times for
fresh combina-
tions, and look as
well in mid-winter
asin June. These
are not sought for
by horticulturists
generally, but cer-
tain it is that
without them we
cannot succeed in
the successful ar-
rangement of a
conservatory at all
seasons without
great expense, or
even with it.
“'hat are flowers
"unless set in the
graceful green
among which we
find them nestle
in a wild state?

By the selec-

FIG. 127.

$3;-

-\ . .
\ ’i- =1:
4 ,‘.‘€;

0

a"

g '.

cf ,
‘v ‘ a O

5, my

, 34%“

‘: . ".(" 9
"‘ s-
’

    
   
   
   
  

A I“. ‘

A?'1.v"4 ('5‘ x
M fig?" V
5:? 1' :if a h i

’J

,1 _3._
, )A?
I? . '2:
JRW‘

.pt

i 494

a

Testudinaria elephantipes (Elephant's-fuot plant).

tion of a great number of things which flower profusely—
so profusely as to hide the leaves in many instances,

U2

292 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

your modem cultivator has contrived almost to annihi-
late leaf beauty. Nature is strongly vigorous in the
production of leaves, and in the widest spread of Heath over
a mountain, in the densest mass of Bluebells in a wood, or
in any natural display of bloom Whatever, you find the
mass toned down by pointed leaves, and in the ease of the
spreading Heather by fringe of Polypody and cushion of
moist mountain moss, if you go near to it and examine it.
Everywhere Na-
ture sets her
flowers in clouds of
refreshing green,
andthereforethose
who merely culti-
vate dense flower-
ing things, and do
not take care to
relieve them with
others possessed
of sweet grace and
verdure, outrage
nature, and offer
nothing worthy
of admiration to
the educated or
tasteful eye. To
_ , have all the
\l’WJ‘ ,__, flowers dished up
Marantamieans. Without a bit 0f
green, is like eat-
ing your dinner in the form of a pill—a great saving of
time no doubt, but still utterly destructive of the joys of
the table.

A not unimportant merit of the subjects I so strongly
recommend for general culture is the great ease with which
they are cultivated; no neat staking, delicate attentions,
or repeated pottings, being required. They may be
grown with nearly equal facility in pots or tubs or planted
out. The continental plan of divesting the interior of the

FIG. 128.

5.57..—

 

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 293.

conservatory of all formality is well worthy of imitation
with us. Usually an attempt to create a picturesque scene
in some small spot with formal surroundings has a ridiculous
ending ; but in consequence of the luxuriant growth of many
plants that flourish in the temperate greenhouse, it is pos-
sible to sufficiently hide almost every trace of the building

FIG. 129.

 

Caladium.

in a few years. With little lawns made of Lycopodium
dentieulatum, tiny winding streamlets bordered with New
Zealand Flax and graceful Grasses, Ferns, and the like;
groups of Tree-ferns, Camellias, and Palms, and a plant of
the noble Musa Ensete, I have seen some winter gardens
made really worthy of the name, and quite as charming
as veritable bits of nature in climes the most favourable to

294 REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY.

vegetation. Whether the natural system of arrangement be
adopted or not, every attempt should be made to soften the
lines of the building and to shroud the spot with graceful
verdure. The use of hanging baskets with creeping plants
cannot be too much recommended where this end is to be
attained, while climbing or twining plants with a pendulous
rather than an erect habit in the branchlets, flowering-spray,
or leaves should always be preferred. A claim too de-
serves to be made in favour of singular and curious plants—
subjects like the Elephant’s-foot plant for example. The
Monstera with the perforated leaves, figured in the chapter
on SubtrOpical Gardening, one of the most curious as well
as one of the handsomest of fine-leaved plants, thrives
tolerably well in the conservatory in summer; indeed I
have known it grown well where it had to pass all the
winter in a cool house.

In large places where stove plants are grown, much im-
provement might be effected by introducing some of them
into the conservatory during the summer months. Stoves
are so warm during that period that they are seldom visited,
and rarely enjoyable, and it could hardly be otherwise than
a gain to see some of their best ornaments in the cooler
and shaded conservatory during three or four of the warmer
months. Considering the number of exotics that have been
placed in the open garden at Battersea during the past few
years, there is little need to say that the temperature of a
conservatory will be enjoyed by many stove plants during
summer. The host Of handsomely marked Caladiums, and
other fine-foliaged plants that are now in cultivation, should
not be kept at all times in a steamy house, but when at
their best exposed where people may see and enjoy them.
Take, for example, that noble plant the variegated Pine-
apple—a subject never seen in our conservatories. Usually
treated as a stove plant, and growing best in a warm tem-
perature, it may, when fully grown, be employed in the con-
servatory, and will therein attract the attention of everybody
who sees it. That it will not suffer there, is evident from
the fact of its having been employed in the Open air in
summer in the gardens at Cliveden, and with telling efl‘ect.

REFORM IN THE CONSERVATORY. 295

It also bears well the dry air of a living room ; but there
are many stove plants with leaves having a soft open
texture which, while they will not bear the air of rooms,
will not suffer in that of a conservatory in summer.

As for Orchids, hothouse Ferns, and other stove plants,
which do not bear without injury the temperature of the
conservatory, an arrangement might be readily made by
which they also could be enjoyed in this structure. A
conservatory heated to stove temperature would be intole-

FiG. 130.

 

 

Ananassa sativa variegata.

rable near the house, and is not desirable elsewhere, the heat of
the temperate house being so agreeable to our senses. The
best way to secure means for the display in the conservatory
of the very tender subjects alluded to, is by making a
closely-glazed case in some convenient spot therein, and
fitting it up with rustic shelves. .In this might be placed
any Orchids, choice Ferns, or not over-large stove plants
that come in flower at any time, particularly in winter,
spring, and autumn, and by interspersing them with the

296 PALMS.

pretty, and in many cases beautifully marked plants so
common of late in our stoves, a charming feature may be
added to the conservatory. As the plants would only
remain in this case during their period of flowering, and
the “foliaged plants” perhaps a few weeks longer, the
position of the ease as to light matters little. Against the
back or some other wall of the house is of course the best
position; and if there be an arched recess, or anything in
that way, it would be the very place in which to put the
case. The best example of this that I am acquainted with
is heated with a few small pipes from the kitchen, which
is nearly under it ; the little apparatus being distinct from
that required for heating the conservatory in cold weather.
Of course it could be readily heated in that way, but it is
found more convenient and economical to heat it distinctly.
To heat a little boiler sufficiently to keep any desired tem-
perature in such a case would be of very easy accomplish-
ment, and to do it with gas would be very convenient
indeed to many persons. The boilers attached to some of
the propagating houses in the J ardin Fleuristc at Passy are
thus heated most effectually, and the propagator informed
me that he could regulate the temperature to a degree with
this mode of heating. To make the wall and the shelves
in this case of a rustic character is a good and tasteful plan;
they should be studded with Moss, which if kept moist will
give off the vapour so congenial to stove plants, and par-
ticularly Orchids and Ferns, and the windows or folding-doors
should be fitted with large glass, kept clear at all times. It
would be easy to induce the common Lycopodium and other
stove mosses to crowd over the back wall, or even to grow
on turvcs placed along the front shelves; and if the rustic-
work were well done, to stud every spot not used as a
standing-place for a plant with seedling-ferns, trailing
plants, &C.

Palms.

In conversing one day with M.Barillct, the superintendent
of the parks and gardens of Paris, he informed me that he
was more surprised at the marked absence of Palms in

PALMS. 297

English gardens than by any other want, and he thought
this the more remarkable from the fact that the superb
collections of exotics grown in many parts of this country
are quite unriv.alled That the plants which combine
the qualities of dignity and grace as no others do, should
be so neglected in

a country where FIG-131-

vast sums are
spent upon Orchids
and almost every

, ' Wm y,\

other tribe of ,9 =1 "‘

exotlcs, and where /2/'( /. ,3
these are culti- I ‘ ‘
vated better than

anywhere else, is
indeed somewhat
singular.

The Palms are
plants that we
know very little
about as a rule;
but this is not at
all surprising, for
practically they
belong to a dif-
ferent world to
ours. The oppo-
sites in every vein
of their structure

 

of our wiry twig- : 7 .4 f.
ged and tortuous “’15 If” ‘
Oaks and Elms, Chamaedorealatifolia.

they are as far

removed from them geographically as structurally. Avoid-
ing the cold grim North, they luxuriate in the hottest
and moistest regions of the earth, spread for thousands
of miles along the banks of the Amazon and Orinoco
and their tributaries, running north all the way through
the Isthmus and Mexico, crossing the Mississippi, and

298 PALMS.

fringing the Gulf. They appear again in abundance in
the Eastern Archipelago, they form impenetrable forests in
tropical Africa, they occur frequently in North Australia
and the Pacific Isles, and flourish, in fact, in almost every
torrid country, gradually dying out towards the Poles,
but going a little further north than south, and ascending
nearly up to the snow line in Asia. We have in northern
and temperate regions our gay dwarf meadow flowers set in
the sweetest grass; our Oaks and Ashes and graceful
Birchcs; and our Firs, which are among the finest and
most majestic subjects of the vegetable kingdom. IVe
have our exquisite alpine vegetation, confessedly inferior to
none ; but we have not a trace of the noblest of all plants
as regards form, the Palms. They are therefore more
worthy of being grown artificially than numerous other
exotics, which though requiring as much or more heat than
Palms are by no means so distinct from all northern types
of vegetation. There are few of us who have not read of their
grace and magnificence in the Indian isles or Amazonian
forests; but the rather humiliating fact remains that in our
practical horticulture they are almost unknown. From an
ornamental point of view, it is not easy to over-estimate the
less this is to high gardening. A perfect idea of what they
are capable of doing for us can hardly be obtained until
small, well—grown specimens of the most elegant kinds are
seen in abundance at our flower shows and in our plant
houses.

In this particular respect we are behind the Belgians
and the French who, long ago, recognised the superiority
of Palms, now cultivate them by thousands, and employ
them for every purpose of plant decoration in rooms
either permanently or for special occasions, in green-
houses, stoves, and for the open garden in summer.
Nurseries like Chantin’s at Paris, and Verschaffelt’s at
Ghent, have house after house filled with Palms, in great
variety, some very rare and dear, many cheap enough for
the purse of the poor window gardener. It should be
also noted that they cannot be propagated in quantity
and with 'apidity like many popular plants, so that the

PALMS. 299

formation of such collections has taken up much time and
pains. It should be observed that While a new Verbena or
Pelargonium may be fashionable for a season, or attractive

FIG. 132.

 

 

 

    

4—-

w— 1b»-

 

Scaforthia elegans.

for a few months, they are soon lost sight of or perish;
whereas Palms, under ordinary treatment, go on prospering
from year to year, and increasing in value. Some kinds

300 PALMS.

are costly in the beginning; but there is a great difference
between growing subjects which at the end of several years
will be more valuable than when you obtained them, and
propagating those which multiply so fast with yourself and
your neighbours that they soon become of only nominal
value. In consequence of the value to which Palms are
sure to attain in the future for the decoration of large eon-
servatories, stoves, and any plants that became too big for
small inexpensive greenhouses or stoves, could be sold or
exchanged to those wanting large subjects. This may meet
the objection of those who regard them as only suited for
houses like the great Palm stove at Kew. They may be
grown by everybody in possession of a snug pit, greenhouse,
stove, conservatory, or ferncry, and it will be found even-
tually that not a few of them—thanks to their leathery texture
-—will flourish in the dw‘elling-house without protection.
Everybody possessing such structures and in the habit of buy-
ing plants, should secure some few examples, as few others will -
furnish such lasting satisfaction to the buyer; and there are
certainly no plants in existence more worthy of becoming
the fashion. To make them abundant in a country abound-
ing with things grown for their colour alone, will be to
ennoblc its gardening.

It is tempting to trace them through the warmer zones——
to speak of their almost innumerable uses, one species yield-
ing Palm oil, another Cabbages ; of their striking diversity of
size, from a little Oreodoxa with a stem no thicker than one
of our grasses, to J ubaea, whose stem is nearly four feet in
diameter; of the species that spread their leaves on the
ground, and there rest stcmless and content, to those that
shoot up as straight as the columns of a cathedral, to a
height of between two and three hundred feet, waving their
plumes far above forest vegetation as vast as our own woods.
Apart from its beauty, the family is perhaps the most useful
of all to man 3 but we, deriving our food directly or
indirectly from the grasses, frequently forget their great
interest in this respect.

This is far from being the case with the owner of a cot-
tage on the banks of the Rio Negro. The rafters of his

PALMS. 301

dwelling are formed by the straight cylindrical stems of the
J ara Palm; the roof is thatched with large triangular
leaves neatly arranged in regular alternate rows, and bound
to the roof with forest creepers: the leaves are those of the
Carana Palm. The door of his house is a framework of
thin hard strips of wood neatly thatched over with the split
stems of a species of Palm. In one corner stands a heavy
harpoon for catching fish, made of the black wood of the
Pashiuba variegata. By its side is a blowpipe ten or twelve
feet long, and hanging near it a little quiverful of small
poisoned arrows, with which the Indian brings down birds
for his food, or for the sake of their gay feathers, or even
slays the wild Hog or Tapir ; it is from the fierce spines of
two species of Palm that they are made. His great bassoon-
like musical instruments are made of Palm stems ; the cloth
in which he wraps his most valued feather ornaments is a
fibrous Palm spathe; and the rude chest in which he keeps
his treasures is woven from Palm leaves. His hammock,
his bow-string, and his fishing-line are from the fibres of
leaves which he obtains from different Palm trees, according
to the qualities he requires in them. The comb which he
wears on his head is ingeniously constructed of the hard
bark of a Palm; and he makes fish-hooks of the spines, or
uses them to puncture on his skin the peculiar markings of
his tribe. His children eat the red and golden fruit of the
Peach Palm, and from another species he prepares a
favourite drink which he offers you to taste. The carefully
suspended gourd contains oil which he has extracted from
the fruit of another species. The plaited cylinder used for
squeezing dry the pulp that makes his bread is made of the
bark of one of the singular climbing Palms.

“'hat veneration this man must have for the noble
family of Palms, which not only furnishes him with many
comforts and conveniences, but affords him a choice, so
that he nicely selects the kinds that best suit his wants.
Should we wonder if Palm worship were a common creed on
the Rio Negro? At least let us hope that they never'kneel
down to a carved idol while such living benefactors as
those generous Palms are to be found! These manifold

80:2 .PALMS.

uses came Within the observation of only one gentleman,
Mr. Wallace, and in an almost unexplored country: how
marvellous would the uses of the tribe appear to us if we

FIG. 133.

 

'4 257/ //‘-I ”3’wa
’4 441 I, [K Xi}: \ \YA‘?

 

 

i ..- ‘ {1 .
r‘» ‘ 'fi'no . -.__

_ ‘._‘:v , _,, -—

__ -....‘-c,.~:~ _ -p——

Caryota sulolifcra.

could but glance at the various races of men who manage
to exist upon Palms alone! The cocoa-nut, s0 plentifully
grown on the coasts of all tropical countries, is alone said

PALMS. 303

to have as many uses as there are days in the year. It
yields everything, from cordage to candles, to say nothing of
arrack, door-mats, and Fern fronds. Upwards of 170,000 cwt.
of a valuable oil, afforded by its kernel and used for soap-
making, were imported in the year 1862. Of the oil
afforded by Elaeis guineensis of west tropical Africa, near
1,000,000 cwt. are imported annually ! The uses of Palms are
as infinite as their grace is inimitable. Sago, upon which
whole races solely depend for food; dates, which feed dusky
hosts in Arabia and North Africa; toddy, which affords
one of those strong drinks the human race always manage
to squeeze out of something or other in every known
country, to the peril of their souls and destruction of their
stomachs; resins, wax, brooms, books (the old Sanscrit
was written on Palm leaves), sugar, and the bottoms of
chairs.

Clearly they are of the highest interest from an econo-
mical as well as ornamental point of View; and we may
confidently look forward to seeing them abundantly grown
in the gardens of this country before many years have
elapsed. The object of amateur growers of these plants
should be to secure a suitable selection, preferring such as
are hardy and small in their proportions. Hitherto Palms
have been for the most part confined to our botanic gardens,
and in them all sorts were welcome ; but for the purposes
of private collections we must be more select and choose
them for their ornamental qualities rather than their bo-
tanical interest, particularly favouring all the dwarf kinds.
There can be no doubt that when once the taste for these
plants is established among us, plant-hunters will search for
all that is diminutive in this vast family, so that the owner
of a town greenhouse may enjoy his Palms in pots as well
as the owner of a conservatory big enough to hold an old
Date Palm. The collections found in the nurseries of this
country are by no means so rich as those of the Continent,
and particularly Belgium ; but many of our larger nursery-
men keep them in stock, and no difficulty need be ex-
perienced by the purchaser in getting them. The following
selection has been made from the collections in our bo-

304

PALMS.

tanic gardens, and from those in continental and British

nurseries.

As there are a greater number of persons who can
grow greenhouse than stove Palms, and fi'om the fact that
the former class will as a rule prove doubly useful by
adorning the open garden in summer as well as the houses
in winter, we will begin with a list of Palms that may be
grown in cool houses—i.e., Winter gardens, conservatories,

greenhouses, and even in orchard-houses.

Chamaerops excelsa
,, Fortunei (Sl-

nensis).
,, Ghiesbrcghtii.
,, humilis.

,, Palmetto.
,, tomentosa.
Cocus austmlis.
,, Bonnetii.
,, campestris.
Corypha australis.
Latauia borbonica.

 

Molinia chileusis (syn.
J ubaea spectabilis).

thuix dactylifem.

,, farinifera.

,, humilis.

,, leonensis.

,, pumila.

,, reclinata.

,, sylvestris.

,, tenuis.
Rhapis flabelliformis.

Of Stove Palms there is abundance.
grow well in the cooler houses flourish healthfully in the
warmer ones, simply growing faster therein; and the con-
stitution of hot-country Palms is generally such that they

flourish without much special care in hothouses.

 

Sabal Adansonii.
,, Mocini.
Seaforthia elegans.
,, robusta.
Thrinax parviflora.
,, tunicata.
Areca lutescens.
Brahea calearea.
,, dulcis.
Diplothemium
mum.

mariti-

Some of those that

The

following are among the more desirable kinds :—

Areca aux-ea.

,, monostaebya.

,, nobilis.

,, rubra.

,, snpida.

,, specxosa.
Astrocaryuni

num.
Bactris, all obtainable

species.
Cnlaunus elegans.

,, dcalbata.

,, Verscball‘eltii.
Caryota sobolifcm.

,, elegans.
Cocos coronata.

,, llexuosa.
(‘opernicia Cirrifi‘ra.
Elwis guineensis.
Latania glaucophylla.

mexica-

 

Latania aurca.
l‘ritchardia acifica.
Euterpe eduiis.

,, olcracea.
Geonoma fencstralis.

,, magnifica.

,, paniculata.

,, pumila.

,, specxosa. .
., \ ersclmfl'eltix.

Hyphmne tllebaica.
Muximiliana elegans.
Oreodoxa regia.
,, Ghiesbrcghtii.

Onenspcrmum fascicu-

latum.
l‘lnvnicopborium secbel-

larum.
Pliytclephas

carpa.

IllilCX'O-

 

Arenga obtusifolia.
Calaxnus adspersus.
Rhaphia Hookerii.

,, taedigera.
Sabal princcps.
Thrinax argentea.

,, elegans.

,. radiata.
Verschafi‘eltia

ebzetes.

,, splendidu.
Ceroxylon audicola.
Cbamsedorea cxcclsa.

,, paniculata.
,, atro—vrrcns.
Dmmonorops plumosns.
Leopoldina pulcbm {L‘X~
pensive and rare).

melano-

l Calamus Getah.

,, oblongus.

Most of the above range in price from two shillings,

THE Ivr, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS. 305

and even less, to half a guinea each, while some of the
rarer kinds go much higher, and strong well-grown specimens
of all are of course much more expensive than the small
and young plants to be bought for the prices above
given.

77w Ivy, and its Uses in Parisian Gardens.

The Irish Ivy is a very old friend that is often seen beauti-
fying old walls and like positions, and one, as we may have
thought, sufiieiently appreciated and employed. Gaiety and
grace I was led to expect in Parisian gardens, but that they
should take up our Hibernian friend, so partial to showers and
our mossy old ruins, and bring him out to such advantage in
the neighbourhood of new boulevards and sumptuous archi-
tecture, was not to be expected. That “ a rare old plant is
the Ivy green when it creepeth o’er ruins old,” we Britons
all know, but that it is no less admirable when mantling
objectionable surfaces with its dark polished green in winter,
would not appear to have yet sufficiently dawned upon us.
Apart from the fact that the Ivy is the best of all evergreen
climbers, it is the best of all plants for softening the aspect of
town and suburban gardens in winter, not to say all gardens.
The Parisian gardeners know this fully, and they, taking it
out of the catalogue of things that receive chance culture,
or no culture at all, bring it from obscurity and make of it
a thing of beauty.

To rob the monotonous garden railings of their naked-
ness and openness, they use it most extensively, and there
are parts about Passy where the Ivy, densely covering the
railings, makes a beautiful wall of polished green along the
fine wide asphalte footways, so that even in the dead of
winter it is refreshing to walk along them. And if it does
so much for the street, how much more for the garden?
Instead of the inmates of the house gazing from the windows
into the street swarming with dust, or splashing with mud,
a wall of verdure encloses the garden ; privacy is perfectly
secured; the effect of any flowers contained in the garden
is much heightened ; and lastly, the heavier rushes of dust
are kept out in summer, for so admirably are the railings

x

306 THE IVY, AND ITS USES 1N PARISIAN GARDENS.

covered by planting the Ivy rather thickly, and giving it
some rich light soil to grow in, that a. perfectly dense
screen is formed. Railings that spring from a wall of some
height around the larger houses are covered as well as those
that almost start from the ground. Frequently the tops of
the rails are exposed, and often these are gilt, while wire
netting on the inner side supports the Ivy firmly.
One day, as I was passing near the Hotel de Ville, and
looking at its tra-
Fm- 134- ceries, my eye was
‘ caught by some-
thing more attrac-
tive than these: a
gilt-topped railing
densely covered
with Ivy, and be-
tween the mass of
dark green and
the bared spikes at
the top a seam of
light green foliage,
here and there
besprinkled with
long beautiful ra-
cemes of pale
purplish flowers.
That was the “'is-
Railings densely covered with Ivy. 'l‘his figure also taria! 0110 Of the
shows the wide asphaltc pathway, the grating: over ITIOSt beautiful of

the ground at the base of one of the trees, and the
cage used to protect its stein.

 

China’s daughters,
here gracefully
throwing her arms round our Hibernian friend, and forming
a living picture more pleasing to the eyes of a lover of nature
than any carving in stone. If there are tall naked walls near
a Parisian house, they are quickly covered with a close carpet
of Ivy. Does the margin of the grass around some clump of
shrubs or flower beds look a little angular or blotehy? If
so, the Parisian town gardener will get a quantity of nice
young plants of Ivy, and make a wide margin with them,

THE IVY, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS. 307

which margin he will manage to make look well at all times
of the year—in the middle of winter when of a dark hue,
or in early summer when shining with the young green
leaves.

When the Ivy is planted pretty thickly and kept neatly
to a breadth of, say, from twelve to twenty inches, it
forms a dense mass of the freshest verdure, especially in
early summer, and of course all through the winter, in a
darker state. The best examples of this description of edging
that I know of anywhere are to be seen around the gardens
of the Louvre, and in the private garden of the Emperor
at the Tuilcries. In the latter the Ivy bands are placed on
the gravel walks, or seem to be so; for a belt of gravel a
foot or so in width separates
them from the border proper. FIG- 135-

The effect of these Ivy hands When” 2° ”MS “”0:
outside the masses of gay ‘ '
flowers is excellent. They are
the freshest things to look
upon in Paris during the 7
months of May, June, and
July. They form a capital I

    

setting, so to speak, for the ms:
flower borders—the best, in- O
deed, that could be obtained ; 1v edginggrlgegeometmal

While in themselves they
possess qualities sufficient to make it worth one’s while
to grow them for their own sakes. In some geometri-
cal gardens we have panels edged with white stone—an
artificial stone very often. These Ivy edgings associate
beautifully with them, while they may be used with ad-
vantage in any style of garden. A garden pleases in direct
proportion to the variety and the life that are in it; and all
bands and circles of stone, all unchangeable geometrical
patterns, are as much improved by being fringed here and
there with Ivy and the like, as are the rocks of a river’s
bank.

It should be observed that an Ivy edging of the breadth
of an ordinary edging is not at all so desirable as when its

x 2

308 THE IVY, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS.

sheet of green is allowed to Spread out to a breadth of from
fifteen to eighteen inches. Then its rich verdure may be
seen to full advantage. It must of course be kept within
straight lines if the garden be symmetrical: if it be a
natural kind of garden, you may let it have its own wild
way to some extent. In nearly every courtyard in Paris
the Ivy is tastefully used. I do not think I ever saw the
scarlet Pelargonium to so great advantage as in deep long
boxes placed against a wall densely covered with it, and with
Ivy planted also along their front edge, so as to hang down
and cover the face of the boxes. One of the best known of
the floating baths on the Seine has a sort of open air
waiting-room immediately outside its entrance—a space
made by planks, and
F‘”- 136' communicating with
the quay by a gangwayu
On this space there are
seats placed around, on
which in summer people
may sit and wait for
their turn if so dis-
posed, while the whole
is elegantly embow-
Section ofeircular bower formed of a single Cl‘Cd Wlth IV)’, Whmh
plant of the Irish Ivy grown in a tub. looks as mUCh at home
as if the river was not
gurgling rapidly beneath. This is secured by placing
deep boxes filled with very rich light soil here and there on
the bare space ; then planting the Ivy at the ends ofeaeh box
and devoting the remainder of the space to flowers, keeping
the soil well watered, and training the shoots of the Ivy
to a neat light trellis overhead.

In the garden of the Exposition a pretty circular bower
was shown perfectly covered with it, the whole springing
from a tub. Imagine an immense green umbrella with the
handle inserted in a tub of good soil, boards placed over
this tub, so as to make a circular seat of it, and you will
understand it in a moment. That and the like could of
course be readily made on a roof, wide balcony, or any such

 

THE IVY, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS. 309

position. One sunny early summer day, when the Ivy was
in its youthful green, I met with a shallow bower made of
it that pleased me very much. It was simply a great erect
shell of green not more than five or six feet deep, so that
the sun could freshen the inside into as deep a verdure as
the outer surface.

The Ivy may be readily grown and tastefully used in a
dwelling-house. I once saw it growing inside the window
of a wine-shop in an obscure part of Paris, and on going in
found it planted in a rough box against the wall, up which
it had crept, and
was going about Fm. 137.
apparently as
carelessly as if
in a wood. If
you happen to
be in the great
court at Versail-
les, and, requir-
ing guidance,
chance to ask a
question at a
porter’s little
lodge seen to the
left as you go to
the gardens, you
will be much in- ‘
tereSted to see Variegated Ivy in suspension basket.
what a deep in-
terest the fat porter and his wife take in Cactuses and
such plants, and what a nice collection of them they have
gathered together, but more so at the sumptuous sheet of
Ivy which hangs over from high above the mantelpiece. It
is planted in a box in a deep recess, and tumbles out its
abundant tresscs almost as richly as if depending from a
Kerry rock.

The Ivy is also used to a great extent to make living
screens for drawing-rooms and saloons, and often with a
very tasteful result. This is usually done by planting it in

 

310 THE IVY, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS.

narrow boxes and training it up wirework trellises, so that
with a few of such a living screen may be formed in any
desired part of a room in a few minutes. Sometimes it is
permanently planted 5 and in one instance I saw it beauti-
fully used to embellish crystal partitions between large
apartments.

To make the Ivy edgings which are so abundantly employed
in and around Paris, plants are easily procured in pots, and
at a very cheap rate, at the markets on the quays, or of the
nurserymen at Fontcnay aux Roses, who every year grow it
in large quantities. It is planted thickly in borders, and

trailed along in

Fm- 133- strips from twelve

to Sixteen inches
in width, accord-
ing to the Size of
the beds. It is
laid down with
wooden pegs, a
layer of earth
being placed over
the stems. “'hen
once planted, it
only needs to be
kept clear of
weeds, and to be

 

Ivy screen for the drawingrooxn with flowers at
its base. moderately water-

ed. Under this

treatment, it forms healthy borders the year after it is planted.
In preparing the Ivy for growing against railings and trellis-
work that encloses the various parks and gardens, it is
trained carefully during the first one or two years, so that
all empty spaces may be filled 11p. At the end of the
second year, the railings will be completely covered, and for
the future it is only necessary to keep it properly pruned.
The Ivy used by the City of Paris for ornalnenting the
flower beds in the squares, the trunks of trees, &e., is grown
and propagated at the nurseries in the Bois de lloulogne.
Towards the end of the summer the propagation of the Ivy

THE IVY, AND ITS USES IN PARISIAN GARDENS. 311

by means of cuttings is carried on. Three or four leaves
are left on each cutting, and they are planted very thickly in
lines in a half-shady position. \Vhen they have taken root
sufficiently, which generally takes place in the following
spring, they are transplanted into pots of four or five inches
infiiameter. Afterwards stakes are fixed along the lines of
pots, from which are stretched lines of thin galvanized wire,
and to this slender but firm trellis from three to five feet
high the plants are trained several times during the growing
season. At the end of the second or third year the plants
are strong enough to be employed to cover railings, and for
many similar purposes. The nurserymen in the suburbs of
Paris generally propagate them by layers. For this purpose
old plants are placed at a certain distance from each other,
and are allowed to grow long. Pots from four to six inches
in diameter are then plunged in the ground around, the Ivy
being fixed in them by means of small pegs, one shoot in
each pot. Afterwards stakes are placed in the pots, and
the Ivy trained against them as it grows. When the layers
are sufficiently rooted, they are separated from the old
plants, and towards the end of the second or third year it
is ready for use. If a wide belt of Ivy is desired, the
young plants may be put in in two or three rows, as the
French do when making such excellent Ivy edgings as are
here described. In any case, after the plants are inserted
the shoots must be neatly pegged down all in one direction.
The reason why Ivy edgings when seen in England look
so poor compared with those in Paris, is that we allow them
to grow as they like, and they get overgrown, wild, and en-
tangled, whereas the Freneh keep them the desired size by
pinching or cutting the little shoots well in, two or even
three times every summer, after the edging has once at-
tained size and health. The abundant supply of established
plants in small pots enables the French to lay down these
edgings so as to look well almost from the first day.

312

CHAPTER XIV.
FRUIT CULTURE: new ARE WE TO IMPROVE?

THE discussion on French and English fruit growing which
emanated from my letters to the Times in August, 1867,
and afterwards spread through all the gardening papers,
was too desultory to leave any impression on the public
mind as to the best course to pursue. For this reason
therefore, and to prevent misrepresentation, I entered on
the question of the general improvement of our hardy fruit
culture in the Times in May, 1868 ; and in this chapter I
propose to enter more fully into this very important ques-
tion. Some have so little understood me as to suppose that I
had recommended the cordon for orchard culture, which
would be a stupendous blunder only worthy of some nur-
scryman very anxious to sell his trees. Therefore, although
the present subject may seem wide of the aim of the book,
it is necessary to enable the reader to estimate the value—
bc it small or great—of what we may learn from continental
fruit growers, and how we may improve our supplies. The
fruit question is not one that merely concerns those who
can afford to keep gardeners, or even the much larger class
who can devote some time and money to the pleasant and
healthful amusement that amateur gardening affords ; it is
a question for the public in its widest sense, and of especial
importance when considered in relation to the enormous
and badly supplied masses in our ever-growing great cities
and towns.

I shall first deal with the Pear, for several reasons :—
lst. Considering its hardiness, keeping qualities, and rich
variety, it is the most delicious and valuable fruit that can
be grown in northern latitudes. A perfect Peach may be pre-
ferred to a first-rate Pear, but by properly selecting varieties

FRUIT CULTURE. 31 3

of Pears we may have them in perfection during eight or
nine months of the year—or even longer—and the variety
in flavour is perhaps greater than in the ease of any other
fruit. 2nd. V'Ve are quite behind the French growers in
its production. Our stocks of Apples are usually good and
abundant; our stocks of Pears are frequently scarce and
very poor in quality. I have seen many large gardens in
the British Isles where a really good Pear was almost as rare
as a Mangosteen. 3rd. I believe we can increase the quan-
tity and quality of our Pears in a tenfold degree over the
greater part of England and Ireland, and even in time to
come export the fruit that we now import s0 largely.

It is indisputable that the brighter sun of France is more
favourable to the culture of the Pear than our own climate ;
but it is equally as true that by the aid of walls for some
sorts, by judicious selection of ground, locality, and kinds,
we may grow it to perfection. The quantity of pears the
French send to our markets is surprising. Messrs. Draper,
the salesmen of Covent-garden, showed me by their books
that from one importer alone they sell from 601. to 100l.
worth of French garden produce (chiefly Pears) each market
day; and a fruit merchant has told me of one dealer in
pears who annually collects in France and sells in our
markets 10,000]. worth of that fruit. Are not these signi-
ficant facts for the British cultivator ?

It is quite a mistake to suppose that the climate does all
this for the French—the winter and spring in many parts of
northern and north central France being quite as difficult
for the fruit grower as those of England. The pear loves a
moist, genial climate, and in many parts of England and
Ireland our advantage in this respect will be found to
compensate in some degree for the difference in sunlight.
Some pears are grown better in England than in France,
and it is a curious fact that some that ripen and go off
quickly in the neighbourhood of London remain in an
eatable state much longer and acquire a more delicious
flavour in the cooler climate of Yorkshire. Let it be borne
in mind that we are talking of the culture of a fruit which
grows in a wild state as far north as southern Sweden, and

314 FRUIT CULTURE :

not of the Pomegranate or any really tender subject; and
then the objections of those who say that our climate
prevents any improvement, and perhaps immediately after-
wards assert the superior quality of British-grown fruit,
will pass for no more than they are worth. If one
individual can grow a first-class Pear, why not a score or
more persons in the same neighbourhood? Nature is our
willing handmaid in this matter, and I firmly believe that
we have it in our power to place this fine fruit within
the reach of all, and render ourselves quite independent
of the French. I do not say we could grow such big Belle
Angevine Pears as they sell at Covent-garden for a guinea
and a half apiece ; but that is of no consequence, as these
are at best only fit for show or kitchen use, and are, in fact,
little better for eating than a raw turnip.

There are various ways in which we may improve the
culture of the Pear, and the first and best is by paying
more attention to it as a naturally developed standard
tree—in a word, by an improved system of orcharding.
This also applies to other hardy fruit trees, and is treated
of at greater length further on. Upon orchards we must
chiefly depend for the supply of our large cities and towns.
This subject, in its commercial aspect, may be left to the
growers of fruit for the market, but the country gentleman
and large farmer—in fact, everybody possessing a hedgerow,
field, or shrubbery—cannot be too strongly urged to use the
great opportunities they have for growing Pears. They
grow useless shrubs and woody trees in many places where
the finest fruit might be grown without any attention,
expense, or trouble beyond gathering it. There are
plenty of landed proprietors who at present know not what
it is to have the luxury of a stock of good Pears, who might
gather them from spots now utterly useless ; there are multi-
tudes of farmers who hardly ever see a good fruit of this
kind, in possession of lines of hedgerow where the tree would
stand as healthfully from among the lower brushwood as
any subject that now embellishes them; and there are
thousands of owners of villas and suburban gardens who
now go to market for their fruit who might gather it from

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 315

places in their little shrubberies, at present entirely devoted
to that miserable shrub the Privet, and some of its most
worthless allies. I know well the kind of objection that is
made to some of these suggestions—the boys would gather
the fruit, &c. Small blame to the poor boys for making an
occasional attempt on the little fruit that comes in their
way, and for exercising a little ingenuity in getting at what
is for them such wholesome and delicious food; but if the
fruit were as plentiful as it ought to be they would not be
so tempted.

It should be remembered that some of our hardy fruits
are capable of affording quantities of wholesome food to the
people; but before they do so efficiently we must take
them out of the class of things that are carefully walled.
in gardens, overdone with kindness, or perhaps mutilated
to death by excessive and unnatural pruning, and recognise
and take full advantage of the fact that many excellent
kinds are as hardy and easily grown as the Blackberries
_and Sloes of the hedges. For the purposes herein sug-
gested thoroughly hardy and free-growing sorts should alone
be selected; but it must not be supposed that first-class
fruit, even of the continental varieties, cannot be produced
in this way. The other day in visiting the gardens at Oak
Lodge, Kensington, my attention was attracted by a very
large and handsome Pear tree growing among the Rhodo-
dendrons and other choice shrubs which adorn the margin
of a piece of rock-bound water. Upon further inquiry I
found it was a fine old tree of the Beurré Diel, which,
without pruning or attention of any kind, produced abun-
dantly such good fruit, that of twelve samples of the same
fine variety recently laid before the Fruit Committee of the
Royal Horticultural Society the fruit of this tree was pro-
nounced the best. I by no means mention this as a
remarkable instance, but merely to prove that the finest
Pears may be grown by the simplest means, and that the
tree is worth cultivating for its beauty alone. The garden
of Oak Lodge is the best designed town garden I have yet
seen, and Mr. Marnock, who arranged it, left several
of these old Pears in conspicuous positions when laying

316 FRUIT CULTURE:

out the place solely for their beauty as trees, apart from
their fruiting qualities. Therefore it is clear that we may
effect considerable improvement by planting this tree in
shrubberies, pleasure grounds, and like positions, and in
many wild and semi-wild places, both in enclosed private
grounds and in the open country. There can be no doubt
that enormous quantities of good fruit could be grown upon
railway banks now useless, and from which fruit could be
so readily conveyed to market. The French are nearly as
backward in these matters as ourselves, but they have at all
events taken the initiative, as described in another part.
It is really astonishing that such beautiful objects as most
of our fruit trees are when in flower do not more fre-
quently occur outside the garden walls in this country.

The second way in which we may improve the cultivation
of the Pear is by planting it to a greater extent as a pyra-
midal tree, and grafted on the Quince where the soils are
rich, moist, or deep. On many dry and sandy lands the
Pear must be grown on its own stock, and for orcharding
purposes generally that may safely be pronounced the best.
Indeed, one writer suggested this as the remedy for all our
wants in this way ; but it is not so. “'e shall never have a
cheap supply for market till we pay more attention to the
Pear as a freely developed standard tree ; we shall never have
a first-rate supply of winter pears till we pay better atten-
tion to walls than we do at present. The French, from
whom we have adopted the pyramidal form, employ it to an
enormous extent, but do not stop there. It is in planting
the pyramid that most of our improvement in this direction
has taken place for a good many years back. Almost every
nurseryman has now a stock of the tree in this form, and
we cannot employ it too much, provided sorts that ripen
well in ordinary seasons are selected; but there are other
ways of equal importance. The pyramid is so pleasing in
outline, and indeed in all other respects, that, although so
highly suited for the kitchen or fruit garden, it should by
no means be confined to either. Handsome specimens may
well be introduced in favourable spots in the pleasure ground
and shrubberies, and thus the owners of those numerous

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 317

small ornamental gardens near towns may gather fine fruit.
However, this form is so well known, and has been so much
recommended for many years, that I shall now turn to the
third way of improving the culture of the Pear, and one
that has been comparatively neglected for some years past.

I mean the Pear on walls. Here we are certainly behind-
hand, and do not appear to have made much progress for a
very long time. Perhaps it may be thought that the French
might dispense with walls; but no such thing. They find
them indispensable for the perfect culture of the finer winter
Pears ; and were it not for their use, they could never obtain
such a stock of them as they have. Yet we have for a long
time past been paying attention to almost every kind of
garden improvement but this very important one. It is true
that walls are expensive, but once up it is a great pity to
neglect them; and, apart even from garden walls, there are
numerous places with as much wall surface naked and use-
less as, if properly covered, would yield a good supply of
fruit to the family. Few things combine beauty and utility
more effectively than a well-covered wall of Pear trees 3 and
the creation of such is not a matter of mystery or difficulty,
but what anybody can perform. \Vith walls it may be
safely said that our climate is as good as that of northern
France. Indeed, there can be no doubt about it, as I and
many others have eaten as good fruit ofl' well-managed English
wall-trees as ever grew; but unfortunately there is but
little attention paid to them compared to what they deserve.
Most large gardens would be benefited by having a much
greater proportion of wall-surface than they have at pre-
sent; to many small ones they would prove a great ad-
dition. Fortunately, a recently-invented, or revived, process
offers an opportunity of buildng them very much cheaper
than before, and as good as could be desired.

I allude to Tall’s plan for making concrete walls, which
has not as yet been utilized by horticulturists, but which is
certain to prove of the greatest use to them, and to have a
marked influence on our horticulture for the future. I have
seen it employed with much success in the building of the
Emperor’s model houses for workmen near the Bois de

318 FRUIT CULTURE :

Vincennes, and from the day of visiting them I have had no
doubt whatever that it will prove a great gain in our fruit
growing. The building of houses by its means is simple
and as easy as could be desired, although none but the
roughest labourers are employed; that of walls may be
effected even with greater ease. The Paris houses were built
with very rough gravel dug up on the spot. The same
or any like material may be used for like purposes, as
may burnt clay, stony rubbish of any kind, or even such
material as elinkers, abundant and hitherto useless in many
districts. I need not and cannot here go into the plan, but
it consists in little more than mixing a small portion of
cement and sand with the rougher material, and throwing
the mass between boards firmly adjusted to the size of wall
required. The mass hardens in twenty-four hours or so,
then the boards are elevated, another layer of concrete
thrown in, and so the work goes on. It will be clearly
seen that nothing can be better suited for garden purposes.
In addition to this mode, I know no reason why walls of
adhesive earth on a brick or stone foundation should not be
used with us as well as on the Continent. I have seen
many of these garden walls and houses perfectly sound and
strong many years after their erection, and looking no worse,
indeed better, than ordinary brick walls.

No matter of what material the wall be made, it will be
desirable to whiten its surface and keep it white. Black
and dark coloured surfaces absorb heat in the daytime, and
give it out again during the night in the form of radiant
heat; from which facts we might draw the conclusion that
walls for training fruit trees against should be black, or at
any rate of a dark colour. Direct experiment was, however,
necessary to settle this question, and M. Vuitry, who em-
ploys his leisure in arboriculture, has communicated the
results of his experiments in this direction to M. du Brenil,
which leave no doubt as to the proper colour to be chosen
for walls against which fruit trees are to be trained. He
has proved—lst. That a thermometer hung during theday
with its face turned towards a white wall, at a distance from
it equal to that of a fruit tree trained against it—i.e., about

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 319

an inch and a quarter—always showed a mean temperature of
nearly 6 deg. Fahr. higher than one hung against a black wall
under precisely similar circumstances. 2nd. That during
the night the difference of temperature shown by these two
thermometers was inappreciable. Contrary therefore to
the opinions entertained by many persons, it seems to be
evident that the walls must be whitened when we wish to
give the trees trained against them the maximum amount of
heat to be obtained from the particular climate and aspect.
Indeed, it is precisely the plan that has already been pur-
sued by the fruit growers of Montrcuil for Peach trees, and
of Thomery for their Vines, it having been frequently re-
marked that trees trained against white walls were healthier
than those nailed to more or less dark-coloured ones. This
result is easily explained, for not only does the lighter colour
reflect more heat back to the trees, but by this means they
receive a greater quantity of light; and it is well known
how greatly vegetation is stimulated by these agencies.
Walls of a light tint are advantageous in another way, for
they not only reflect light and heat on the particular trees
trained against them, but also on the others in their imme-
diate neighbourhood. By abundantly planting the finer
winter Pears against walls with a warm exposure and white-
washed surface, we may within half a dozen years gather
such crops of the really valuable winter Pears as have never
before been seen in this country.

Another improvement must of necessity accompany this,
and that is the French method of wiring garden walls.
“'e cannot use nails with concrete and earth walls, and
if we could the deliverance from nails would be a great
point gained. To me the most lamentable of all garden
sights is that of men handling these miserable shreds and
nails during winter time, and blowing heat at their fingers
and patting their toes to keep up the circulation. Our way
of wiring a wall is so expensive and eumbrous that many
still prefer the nails, but the French mode of employing a
little raidisseur or tightener on each wire, and using very
slender galvanized wire, is quite perfect in its way. When
adopted with us it will be found to save much time

0 FRUIT CULTURE :

and greatly improve the appearance of garden walls. We
must also adopt the improved kind of espalier which the
French are beginning to employ so extensively, and which
is elsewhere described and figured.

Of all our wants in connexion with the Pear, that of the
spread of good varieties is perhaps the greatest. Naturally,
or rather I should say in a wild state, the Pear is a poor
fruit about an inch and a half long; and from this in the
course of thousands of years the splendid race we now
possess has sprung. Scattered through our gardens and
orchards in all parts of this kingdom, there are scores of
kinds which are practically of little more use than the wild
fruit trees of the woods and hedgerows. But apart from all
these worthless varieties, named and unnamed, that occupy
valuable ground, there are numbers which are regularly
sold in our nurseries, possessing fine names and pedigrees,
and yet which are practically useless to the cultivator, and it
may be mischievous to the amateur. Let us suppose the case
of a person wishing to commence Pear culture—110 has some
slight knowledge of other branches of horticulture, and expects
that the long list of the varieties of Pears which he finds in his
nurseryman’s catalogue will resemble each other pretty much
as his Verbenas or Pansics do. Taken by the different names
and descriptions, he goes in for collection instead of selection,
seeks variety and finds disappointment. The truth is that a
wide selection of varieties is an evil in every way. It
requires much sagacity on the part of men who have studied
gardening all their lives to know what to avoid in these
lists; how very dangerous, then, for the amateur, or for
those who have neither amateur nor professional knowledge
of the matter, to make a selection! Let us glance for a
moment into some of the fruit catalogues. It is needless
for us to state how much the Pear varies. Here is a cata-
logue naming, describing, and numbering nearly 400 kinds.
What a danger for those who suspect not how few are the
really good varieties of Pears suited to this climate ! People
suppose that giving long lists of this kind is for the sake of
selling a great number of varieties; but that course would
be so clearly a mistaken one, that one cannot suppose an

HOWARE WE TO IMPROVE? '321

intelligent person persisting in it. The presence of bad and
unsuitable Pears everywhere throughout the country simply
tends to retard the culture of this noble fruit,- whcreas the
distribution of the really good kinds in abundance would
create such a demand for them as would cause the trade in
young trees to increase tenfold.

The compilers of the above catalogues do not follow the
example of the famous M. de la Quintinye, chief gardener
to Louis XIV. at Versailles, whose list was lengthy, although
published so very long ago, but who conscientiously divided
it into several sections—viz., “ good pears,” “indifferent
pears,” and “ bad pears l” This was honest in De la Quin-
tinye, and would be admirable in a British nurseryman.
The spirit of expurgation was strong in this famous old
gardener, and he follows the bad with another list—a long
one—heading it—“ Besides the pears which I know not, here
is a particular list of those which I know to be so bad that I
counsel nobody to plant any of them.” And that is followed
by another :—“A list of those which I esteem not highly
enough to counsel any gentleman to plant them, nor yet so
much despise as to banish them out of the gardens of them
that like them.” Here was an instance of a most praise-
worthy desire to weed out the bad, followed by others to
exterminate the middling and the not very good. This,
observe, was in France, where a greater number of kinds
arrive at perfection than is the case with us, and where a
greater number of varieties are grown. Although our
nurseryman friend, with his long list, is somewhat of
an exception, the lists of others of our fruit-tree raisers
are much too long to be of any real guidance to the
amateur.

The following list comprises the cream—the best Pears
of the many hundred kinds known :—Doyenné d’Eté, Jar-
gonelle, “’illiams’s Bon Chréticn, Louise Bonne of Jersey,
Jersey Gratioli, Urbaniste, Fondante d’Automne, Beurré
d’Amanlis, Suffolk Thorn, Seckel, Comte de Lamy, Flemish
Beauty, Désiré Cornelis, Marie Louise, Baronne de Mello,
Thompson’s, Beurré Bosc, Duchesse d’Angouléme, Beurré
Diel, Beurré Hardy, Maréchal de la Cour, B. Superfin,

Y

322 FRUIT CULTURE :

Doyenné du Cornice, Glou Morceau, Winter Nelis, Beurré
Rance, B. Sterckmans, Joséphine de Malines, Bergamotte
Esperen, Easter Beurré.

Of the above, Marie Louise, Beurré Bose, Duchesse
d’Angouléme, Beurré Die], Doyenné du Cornice, Glou
Morceau, Beurré Rance, J ose’phine de Malines, Bergamotte
Esperen, Easter Beurré, Bcurré Sterckmans, Désiré Cornelis,
and Winter Nelis should be grown against walls. In some
cases they may afford a satisfactory result away from them,
but if grown against white walls they will in all cases be
highly improved, and some of the very best of them are
only to be had in perfection when thus grown. As wall
space is often limited, and as it is necessary to have the
warmest walls to perfect the finest winter pears, it is desirable
to be very particular indeed when selecting pears for wall
culture; and I should advise Easter Beurré, Doyenné du
Comiee, Glou )Ioreeau, Beurré Rance, J oséphine de Malines,
and Bergamotte Espercn to be abundantly planted against
walls wherever a prime supply of first rate winter pears is
a want—and of course it is a very general one.

Some of our authorities 011 fruit growing give the Easter
Beurre as one which should be planted as a bush or pyramid,
and say it is “ mealy and insipid from walls.” To show how
worthless is this opinion,I have merelyto point to the fact that
the splendid Easter Beurrés which adorn our tables in winter
and spring are grown on walls in France. All of the same
variety for the imperial table are grown in like manner at
Versailles ; and as soon as a wall is cleared of other varieties
of Pear trees there it is immediately planted with the Easter
Bcurré—so much is this fine variety esteemed. The quantity
of its fruits sold in the markets of Europe during the winter
season is something incredible. It is perhaps the most valu-
able of all winter Pears; and the chief, I may say nearly the
whole supply comes from France. The climate does it, some
Will say, but such is not the ease ; for if left to the climate un-
aided, we should havc few tine Easter Beurré pears in Covent-
garden in winter. And the same remark applies to other
varieties of winter Pears. The flavour is said to be inferior
when grown against walls. Let us try them against white

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 323

walls as the French do, and see if we cannot nearly or quite
equal their pears in size, and quite equal them in flavour.
“'e have been for years planting them as bushes and
pyramids, and paying little or no attention to their culture
against walls; hence our deficiency of good winter pears—
those which are by far the most valuable of all.

Having taken sufficient care to select the very best va-
rieties, and to place them in positions where they are likely
to succeed, there is more to be done in getting rid of the
bad ones. They abound in every part of the country, and
take up space in which the most delicious kinds may be
grown. This prevalence of bad kinds not only results from
the greater scarcity of the good varieties in bygone days,
but also from the large number of inferior kinds that are
still offered for sale. In very many cases the tree is
worthless, because it has not been planted in a position to
insure success. It frequently happens, for example, that
the very finer kinds of winter Pears, and those which the
French grow against walls around Paris, are in Britain
sent out as suitable for pyramids. All worthless Pear trees
should be destroyed, and good kinds planted or (happily
there is an alternative) regrafted with good sorts. Instead
of sacrificing a plantation we may cut the trees close in,
regraft the branches with the best kinds, and thus in a
short time have established trees of the finest sorts that
arrive at perfection in any given locality. This may be
performed with either standard, pyramid, wall, or espalier
trees, “ crown” grafting being the best for this purpose.
Another great point would be gained if the custom of
growing inferior kinds from pips—which is common
among farmers in some fruit growing districts, with Pears
as well as other hardy fruits—were abandoned, and only
first-rate and hardy kinds planth or grafted.

It was touching the utility of the low cordon for the
production of superb dessert Apples that we have had most
discussion; and a much wider experience with French fruit
gardens enables me to say that it is worthy of all the praise
that I have given it, and certain, when well managed, to
give the highest satisfaction. The reader will kindly ob-

Y2

324 FRUIT CULTURE :

serve that I specially recommend only one species of cor-
don for the Apple. There are many kinds, with various merits.
The grower for market will also oblige me by hearing in
mind that I only recommend it for the garden and for a
special purpose. Emphatically I say that a good hardy
kind on a well-managed standard or naturally developed
tree is the best for the supply of the markets With all but
the best fruits, and for all ordinary purposes; and that the
system of orcharding in the London market gardens is on
the whole a good and safe one. Generally speaking our
apple-culture is not to he complained of, though it may
certainly be improved. There is in this country a large
demand for fruit of the finest quality that can be obtained,
both in the case of those who buy all they use and those
who grow their own. In these islands it is also generally
admitted that to keep the sun from the general contents of
our gardens by shading them with Apple trees is anything
but desirable, and therefore I recommend the cordon trained
as an edging, and on wire, tightened as before described,
at one foot from the ground. I have ascertained beyond
all question that where well managed these will, if placed
alongside the walks in the kitchen and fruit gardens, fur-
nish abundance of fruit without planting any others.

Now, in many places the positions in which this plantation
may be made are quite unoccupied, and therefore the system
will prove a decided gain. It will have to encounter pre-
judiec and bad management; but once well managed speci-
mens are seen in our gardens it will spread rapidly through
these islands, and prove a great boon wherever perfect fruit
is desired. I have passed through many parts of northern
England and Scotland during the past year or two——districts
in which every ray of sun is required; and yet in these you
see in all directions the gardens shaded and half destroyed
by old standard Apple trees. This is especially the ease with
the smaller class of gardens, in which you may frequently
see gouty old trees shading and soaring the aspect of the
very house itself. The objections urged against the simple
cordon are dealt with in the chapter devoted to this system
of culture. Let no person think he has fairly tried

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 325

the cordon system if he employs what is called the “ English
Paradise ” stock.

And now a few words about the Peach. This fruit
attains the finest possible condition when well grown against
walls in England. In other countries it may be grown
freely as a standard tree; in none can they produce finer
or better fruit than may be gathered from walls in England
and Ireland. France has very diverse climates—some in
which the Peach grows well as a standard—but the best
Peaches grown in France are gathered from walls in those
parts where the climate is most like our own. In the
middle of September, 1867, I ate capital specimens of
Crawford’s Early Peach, gathered from pyramid trees stand-
ing in the Open quarters of the Rev. Mr. Benyon’s garden
in Suffolk. I by no means mention this as an example to
be followed, but simply to prove that in the midland and
southern parts of the British Isles the Peach may be grown
against walls to the highest degree of perfection; and in
favourable parts of the south, the Early York Peach may be
grown with success as a standard or bush tree, away from
all protection.

There can be no doubt whatever about the fact, that if
we pay as much attention to the Peach as the cultivators of
)Iontreuil do, we can attain quite as good a result. The
fact cannot be too widely known that no fruit tree nailed
against walls furnishes a more certain and regular crop than
the Peach tree when well treated ; and yet it is hardly possible
to buy a good Peach in London. In Covent-gardcn, it is
true, excellent Peaches may be bought at 8d. and ls. each,
but those sold by most fruiterers at 3d. and 4d. are worse
than those procurable in Paris for a son, and are only fit
for pig-feeding. And in numbers of private gardens the fruit
is by no means common. Our good gardeners understand its
culture well enough; but of late years public attention has,
by various means which I will not detail here, been called
away from the fact that, with walls, we can produce the
finest fruit in the world, and without them do little or
nothing with the choiccr fruits. The “ power of the climate”
in Paris may be very wonderful to some people, but there is

326 FRUIT CULTURE :

one thing it cannot do better than our own—it cannot
produce a better Peach than I have often gathered from
walls both in England and Ireland. It would be thought,
perhaps, that with their fine climate, the French would
be able to dispense with protection to the trees in spring,
and altogether leave their trees more to nature than the
British gardener; but the fact is exactly the reverse. The
French peach-grower takes care to have a good protecting
coping to his wall. With us it is not uncommon to see the
culture of the Peach and Nectarine attempted, and even with
success, without any coping at all. The French cultivator
frequently places iron rods eighteen inches or two feet long,
and furnished with a catch at the end, just under the per-
manent coping of his wall, which rods enable him to slip on
a most efficient protection in the shape of a temporary
coping just under the permanent one. I know one grower
who has ‘1000 yards of this temporary coping, made of tar-
paulin, stretched on cheap light frames.

This is, I trust, a sufficient commentary upon the climatic
advantages possessed by the two sets of gardeners! Of
course we want this protection as badly as the French, if
not worse. Over the greater part of the country, without
question, the l’cach may be grown to the highest degree of
perfection, and yet, though few Englishmen could manage,
as Johnson did, “ seven or eight large peaches of a morning
before breakfast began,” they may well say with him that
getting “ enough” of them was indeed a rarity. It is stated
in a recently published book on fruits that for the majority
of the population to partake plcntifully of this fruit, “the
only hope that can be held out involves nothing less than
an emigration across the Atlantic 3” The present state of
matters justifies the writer in the remark. The quality of
the Peaches sold at the lowest, but by no means a low price,
is such as to prevent anybody making a second investment
in them, and therefore the fruit is, as the writer remarks
in describing it, “ a luxury confined to the wealthy.”
Before it is otherwise, good fruit must he sold at a price
that will put it within tasting reach of others than those
provided with a powdered footman to convey it from the

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 327

fashionable fruiterers to the carriage waiting at the end of
the “ Row.” To market gardeners I may with respect to
this fruit offer a word of advice, though I have not ventured
to do so with regard to other matters. To succeed with
the Peach you must remove it altogether from the chance
culture now bestowed upon it; you must employ men to
give it full attention in spring and early summer; you must
select suitable soil in the first instance, and thus avoid
expense for what is called made ground. You must
take care to protect the trees in spring, as the careful
French eultivators do; and you must take advantage of the
very cheap and excellent way of erecting walls that I have
alluded to. No chance culture on any walls that may
happen to surround the place will alter matters much.

The same remarks apply to some extent to the private
gardeners and to amateurs. They should pay more atten-
tion to walls, erect more and utilize those they already
have. I had a letter lately from Mr. J. A. Watson of
Geneva, in which the writer describes a village church
as being covered with Peaches and Nectarines, and goes
on to state that the sexton gives a lecture on the subject
now and then to the natives on Sunday mornings. I do
not wish the example to be followed, nor the glorious old
Ivy to be disturbed even for the luscious Peach; but we
may do a good deal more than at present with our unoc-
cupied walls. Probably many readers who live near Oxford
can testify to the beauty and profit that results from the
villagers covering their walls with Apricot trees. The same
may be done in many parts of England where such a thing
is not now to be seen; but in the case of cottagers and
others the only thing likely to do good is example. If they
see a specimen of success they need no other encourage-
ment. And perhaps I may here suggest that a present
of a few good kinds of trees, and perhaps a few minutes’
advice from the gardener, would be more productive of
benefit to cottagers than many other things given them in a
charitable way.

As to our various other hardy fruits, including the Apple
and Pear, there can be little doubt that it is to good

328 FRUIT CULTURE :

orchard culture we must look for the increase of our sup-
plies. The word orchard is familiar enough in our ears, but
a really good orchard is as rare round country seats as if it
were not a British institution. There are farmers and
market gardeners and fruit growers who have the finest
orchards; but at the country seat, with generally every
opportunity to select a good site, it is surprising how rarely
even a presentable thing of the kind is attempted. Indeed,
in some parts of the country it is never thought of—the
ordinary type of kitchen garden being considered sufficient
for all attempts at fruit growing. I say attempts advisedly,
for what do half the gardens in the country show? The
surface cannot be devoted to standard trees, as they hide
the light from the necessary crops, and the walls and dwarf
trees, if such there be, are those upon which the gardener de-
pends. Now good wall culture is not common, even in
places where a regular staff of gardeners is kept; and in
hundreds of cases where there are not, the trees are “ aban-
doned to themselves.” But supposing that the wall culture is
good, and that the most is made of the space, it is hardly
sufficient to yield a crop of fruit such as one would like for
eating, cooking, preserving, and presents. If the walls
supply a good dessert for a reasonable length of time, it is
as much as is expected of them, and more than they gene-
rally do. They who secure a good crop of winter Pears,
who can command really eatable specimens of this fruit
during the winter and spring months, are luckier than most
persons in possession of garden walls. The walls can only
supply a portion of the choicest fruit—chiefly ofthose kinds
which require the additional heat of a wall for their perfect
development and flavour.

Let us next glance at the fruit trees in the garden itself.
Standards we see are not much grown,- they shade the
ground too much, and the crops are better when fully
exposed to sun and air. In some places the culture of
bush and dwarf pyramidal trees is carried on successfully,
but in general it is so backward that nothing like a good
crop is gathered. Besides, all dwarf closely pruned and
accurately trained trees require considerable expense and

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 329

time; and it is sheer folly to bestow these on kinds which
will produce as good a result if grown as standard trees,
requiring hardly any attention, and actually permitting of
as good a crop of some things being gathered from under
them as if the trees did not exist. Perhaps there may be
a few espaliers in the garden ; but they are usually so very
few, and so very badly managed and ugly, that little fruit
is got from them. I look forward to the time when the
well trained espalier, on its cheap, neat, and permanent
trellis of galvanized wire, will run along within a few feet
of every garden walk; but little can be reaped from such
as we have at present. It follows, then, that in private
grounds there is as a rule no source from which an abun-
dant stock of the better kinds of hardy fruit may be gathered.

Most of our fruits are wholesome and delicious food, or
capable of being made so. They should be much more
abundant than they are at present, and might form part of
the daily meal of every Briton. But if the country gentle-
man, to whom the production of these fruits should be a.
matter of the greatest case, does not lead the way, how are
we to improve? The chief thing necessary is to plant an
orchard, carefully choosing the site, and, above all things,
selecting the very best kinds, all perfectly hardy, and such
as ripen their fruit every year, be the season What it may.
Such an orchard would be very convenient near the garden,
and in fact might form part and parcel of it ; ‘but as the
care required is nearly none, except the pleasant one of
gathering the fruit, it would not matter much about its
position. The first consideration should be the selection of
the most suitable soil at the owner’s disposal. Not an inch
of space of the whole need be lost. All the trees should be
allowed to grow as standards, and the crops to be gathered
from them would soon put to shame the few dozens that are
considered a wonderful crop on the wall or dwarf tree. All the
wall, dwarf, and espalier trees might then be exclu-
sively kinds that require some additional heat or atten-
tion, or that the shelter and support of the espalier and
the cordon are an advantage to. As protection of some
kind might be provided for most of these carefully trained

330 FRUIT CULTURE :

trees, it would of course be wise to include among them all
the sorts most liable to be injured by spring frosts. And
such kinds are so abundant that all the walls and espaliers
might well be devoted to them.

The apparent utility of such an orchard is so great that
to speak of its beauty can hardly be necessary; and yet we
question if those who ought to be most interested in the
matter have the least idea of this. It is difficult for those
who do not live in a good fruit growing or orcharding dis-
trict to have any notion of what an ornamental as well asuseful
thing a good orchard or fruit garden is. I have never any-
where secn in gardens of the usual type such a picture as I
did during the past year in the well managed orchards or fruit
gardens of a west London market gardener—one who devotes
about sixty acres to fruit culture. IIis groves of Cherries,
Pears, and Plums were superb—the Plum trees, densely laden
with their purple eggs, being as attractive from colour alone
as many ornamental plants are when in flower. The pro-
duce is enormous, compared to what we are accustomed to
from the garden managed in the ordinary way. Of course
such a scene is a garden in the best sense of the word. An
acre or two planth after this fashion would be productive
of more satisfaction than any other attempt at fruit growing,
though it is by far the most inexpensive of all.

The only points to be attended to as regards pruning,
are an occasional winter pruning to open them up to the
full influence of light, and a thinning of the fruit buds to
concentrate the energies of the trees, and thereby much im-
prove the value of their produce. These operations per-
formed once every second or third winter will do much good.
It is true that without them the pear may be profitably culti-
vated; but I know of one instance near London in which a
grower of the Pear as a standard, or orchard, tree 011 an exten-
sive scale has doubled the market value of his fruit by well
thinning the buds and branehlets——operations which are
carried out in winter, when time can be most readily
spared for such work. If this were generally done by
orchardists it would lead to much improvement. The
orchard once planted it would not prove much addition to

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 331

the labour of the gardener, and the abundant crops might
often save him from the grumblings that are sometimes
known to accompany large garden expenditure and a
scarcity of vegetables and fruits.

Having said so much in favour of good orchard
culture it behoves me to give the names of the kinds
of hardy fruit that do best as standard orchard trees :—
Pears: Jersey Gratioli, Doyenné du Cornice, Citron des
Carmes, Jargonelle, VVilliams’s Bon Chrétien, Aston
Town, Beurré de Cap'iaumont, Louise Bonne of Jersey,
Suffolk Thorn, Thompson’s Pear, Bcurré d’Amanlis, Swan’s
Egg, Croft Castle, Doyenné d’Eté, Comte de Lamy,
Knight’s Monarch, Althorpe Crassane, Marie Louise, and
Beurré Superfin. Apples : Borovitsky, Early Harvest, Irish
Peach, Joanneting, Summer Golden Pippin, Lord Suflield,
Keswick Codlin, Adams’s Pearmain, Blenheim Pippin, Cox’s
Orange Pippin, Early Nonpareil, Golden Pippin, Ribston
Pippin, Sykehouse Russet, Bedfordshire Fouudling, Haw-
thornden, Yorkshire Greening, Golden Noble, Court Pendu
Plat, Golden Harvey, Sam Young, Sturmer Pippin, Beauty
of Kent, Dumelow’s Seedling, Royal Pearmain, Tower
of Glammis, and Pitmaston Nonpareil. Plums: Pond’s
Seedling, Early Rivers, Orleans, Gisborne’s, Victoria, Prince
Englebert, and Damson. Cherries: May Duke, Early
Prolific, Bigarreau, Late Duke, Knight’s Early Black, Belle
Agathe, Rival, and Mammoth. Apricots (for standard trees
in the southern counties): Breda, Brussels, Turkey, and
Moorpark. Figs : Black Ischia, Brown Ischia, Brown
Turkey, and Courcourcelle Blanche. These would be better
grown as shrubs, with low sweeping branches, and buried in
the ground in winter to save them from the frosts, as the
French do about Argenteuil. Medlars .- The Nottingham is
the best kind. Nuts .- Lambert’s Filbert (Kentish cob) is
the best; Purple Filbert, Pearson’s Prolific, and Cosford
also good. Of the Quinces the Portugal is the best. The
Berberry is rarely cultivated, though worth that trouble.
Where the fruit is much in request, it would be a good
plan to inclose the orchard with a dense hedge of this shrub.
The stoneless variety is the best, but it is not easy to get the

332 FRUIT CULTURE:

true kind. The smaller fruits are so well known and abuna
dantly grown that it is needless to speak of them.

Of the various waste Spaces where good fruit might be
grown the most conspicuous are the railway embankments.
Here we have a space quite unused, and on which for hun-
dreds of miles fruit trees may be planted, that will after a
few years yield profit, and continue to do so for a long time
With but little attention. I am not aware that any attempt has
been made to cultivate fruit trees on these places in England ;
but learning that one had been instituted in France, I went
to see the experiment which has been made for a distance
of eight leagues or so along the line from Gretz to Colom-
miers—Chemin de Fer de l’Est. The French see the great
advantage of utilizing spots at present worthless in this way,
and are beginning to work at it ; but to all intents and
purposes they are nearly as backward as ourselves. It is
true you now and then hear of somebody becoming a rentier
by planting a barren mountain side with Cherries, but on
the whole they have nearly as much to do as we have with
regard to fruit culture in waste and profitless places. How-
ever, they have commenced, and it is most likely the first trial
will be a profitable one, though by no means so inexpensive
as like ones might be made.

A cheap fence of galvanized wire runs on each side of the
line, and on this Pear trees are trained so that their branches
cross each other; and they are, though only in their fourth
year, at the top of the fence. In some parts they are trained
in like manner on the slender but very cheap and slight
kind of wooden fence, so common in France. By training
them in a way to cross and support each other, before the
time the fence decays the trees are perfectly self-supporting,
and form a very neat fence themselves. This is a plan well
worth adopting in many gardens where neat dividing lines
are desired. Judging from appearances, these trees will bear
abundantly for many years to come. But this, although
something in the right direction, does not occupy more than
a more thread of the space 011 each side of the line, and I cannot
but think that much more might be done on the remaining
surface by planting small trees. It would be a great point

HOW ARE WE TO IMPROVE? 333

gained if we could have dwarf productive trees without
having to go to expense for fixing or training them—if we
could make them self-supporting, in fact.

It is quite possible to train espaliers of the choicest
varieties of pears so that they shall be perfectly self-
supporting, as shown by the
figure, or in some like way.‘ Fm. 139.
Established trees that I saw
crossscd in this way were not
allowed to get into a rough
hedge-like condition, but, on
the contrary, trained as neatly
and perfectly as ever trees
were on trellis or wall. No ~ ,
flaying of the branches re- Young line of self-supporting
sulted from their being inter- Pear Trees'
laced. A shoot was taken along the top so as to act as a
finish and tend to hold all tighter, and the whole looked
much firmer and neater than the ill-supported and ill-trained
espaliers that one too often sees at home. Other examples
of self-supporting espaliers are figured elsewhere in this
book.

A mere line of trees, however, trained along a railway,
will not effect the improvement we require. Why not plant
pyramid or bush trees in such positions? Why not the Fig
in the southern counties? By covering nearly all the sur-
face of those sunny banks—in many cases of excellent soil—
there would be enough work to do to make it necessary
and profitable to have men in charge of comparatively short
lengths of the line, and these men would be able to better
protect the fruit. On the French railway in question the
fence of fruit trees is carried along, no matter what the soil
or situation. A more rational system would be to adopt the
kind of tree to the soil, and simply take the more desirable
spots at first.

 

334

CHAPTER XV.

THE CORDON SYSTEM 0]“ FRUIT GROWING.

THE first thing we have to settle is, What is a cordon ?
There has been some little discussion on this point—discus-
sion that was utterly needless, and even mischievous, as
tending to prevent the public knowing exactly what the
term is used for. It simply means a tree confined to a.
single stem ; that stem being furnished with spurs, or some-
times with little fruiting branches nailed in, as in the case
of the peach when trained to one stem. Some contended
that it meant any form of branch closely spurred in ; but

FIG. I40.

  

ways; W~?ff%fiuw~q' .

nut . '

. x
;, , 1' . a... :\.W
«’3‘. \ ”l." .{xb‘ / I .4, ."~ (1/;' I

 
   

The Apple trained as a Simple Horizontal Cordon, grafted on the French
Paradise Stock, and in full beaiihg.

this is quite erroneous. The term is never applied to any
form of tree but the small and simple stemmed ones. The
French have no more need of the word to express a tree
trained on the spur system than we have, and they have
trained trees on that system for ages without ever calling
them by this name. Before it was given to the forms of
Apple and Pear and Peach-trees shown in this chapter, or
rather before they came into use, it was chiefly applied to a
mode of training plants horizont ant resembling
what we call the bilateral cordon. (See the engravings illus-
trating Vine culture at Thomery.) However, to settle the
use of the term, I wrote to Professor D11 Breuil, the leading
professor of fruit culture in France. His reply was thus

               

THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 335

alluded to in the Gardener’s Chronicle :——“ What a vast
proportion of controversy and dispute might be saved, would
people only agree as to the meaning to be attached to
words. Just now, as it appears to us, a great deal of
unnecessary discussion is raised as to the word ‘cordon.’
A wrangle about words is about as satisfactory as an argu-
ment to prove a negative. It may serve, perhaps, to stop
this futile wordy debate to give the opinion of M. Du Breuil
himself on the matter. This renowned horticulturist, in a
recently written letter, which has been submitted for our
inspection, says that he applied the word ‘ cordon ’ to trees

FIG. 141.

 

Tree with horizontal branches. This form, very commonly seen in our gardens,
has been called a “cordon” by some writers, but has nothing whatever to do
with that form.

consisting of a single branch, bearing fruit-spurs only,
and never allowed to ramify. When there are two such
branches, M. Du Breuil applies the expression ‘double
eordon.’ In order to be quite accurate, we subjoin M. Du
Breuil’s letter verbatim et literatim :—

‘Le mot ‘cordon’ dérive en frangais de cord: j’ai
employé eette expression pour désigner les formes d’arbres
dont la charpente se compose seulement d’une seule branehe
qui ne porte que des rameaux a fruit.’ ”

Professor Du Breuil states distinctly that, struck with
the long period it took to cover a wall by means of the

336 THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

larger forms of trees, he adopted those quick-rising simple-
stemmed kinds to cover the walls rapidly and give an early
return. Now it is clear that if we call a fan, or horizon-
tally trained tree, a “cordon,” we not only misapply the
term, but prevent the inventor’s very clear idea from being
understood. Notwithstanding this, some persons have
actually figured the old forms of fruit trees common in
our gardens for ages and called them cordons. To show
how erroneous is the impression that the term applies to
any kind of tree with the branches closely pinched in, I
have merely to state that the cordon Peach trees in French
gardens are not pinched in in this way, but have the
wood regularly nailed in, just the same as the common Peach
trees on our garden walls. However, the figures in this
chapter will give a correct idea of what the cordon system is.

A simple galvanized wire is attached to a strong oak post
or rod of iron, so firmly fixed that the strain of the wire may

   

  

a,mP-<ru .5;-
bm, .,. _-.,
0

The Simple Horizontal Cord .

not disturb it. The wire is supported at a distance of one
foot from the ground, and tightened by one of the handy
little implements described elsewhere in this volume. The
raidissenr will tighten several hundred feet of the wire,
which need not be thicker than strong twine, and of the
same sort as that recommended for walls and espaliers.
The galvanized wire known as No. ll is the most suitable
for general use. At intervals a support is placed under
the wire in the form of a piece of thick wire with an
eve in it, and on the wire the Apple on the French paradise
is trained, thus forming the simplest and best and com-
monest kind of cordon, and the one so extensively employed
for making edgings around the squares in kitchen and fruit-
gardens.

THE CORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING. 337

Cordons are trained against walls, espaliers, and in many
ways, but the most popular form of all, and the best and
most useful, is the little line of Apple trees acting as an
edging to the quarters in the kitchen and fruit garden.
By selecting good kinds and training them in this way
abundance of the finest fruit may be grown without
having any of the large trees or those Of any other
form in the garden to shade or occupy its surface. The
bilateral cordon is useful for the same purposes as the
simple one, and especially adapted to the bottoms of walls,
bare spaces between the fruit trees, the fronts of pits, or
any low naked wall with a warm exposure. As in many
cases the lower parts
of walls in gardens are F’G- 143‘
quite naked, this form
of cordon Offers an
opportunity for cover-
ing them with what
will yield a certain and
valuable return. It is
by this method that the
finest coloured, largest,

and best FrenchApples The Cordon on low sunny wall of plant-house.

ld . C - d In this way Calville Blane, Reinette du
SO 111 o‘ent'gar en Canada, the Lady Apple, Melon-Apple,

and in the Paris fruit American-Mother, Newtown Pippin, and all
. the finer and tenderer French, American, and
shops at such hlgh British apples may be grown to perfection.

prices are grown. I

have seen them this year in Covent-garden and in Regent-
street marked two and three shillings each, and M. Lepére fils,
of Montreuil, told me when with him last summer that they
have there obtained four francs each for the best fruit of the
Calville to send to St. Petersburg, where they are sold in win-
ter for as much as eight francs each 1 Why should we have
to buy these from the French at such a high rate? Con-
sidering the enormous number of walled gardens there are
in this country, there can be no doubt whatever that by
merely covering, by means of this plan, the lower parts
of walls now entirely naked and useless, we could supply.
half a dozen markets like Covent-garden with the very

z

 

338 THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

choice fruit referred to, and be entirely independent of the
French. ‘

Doubtless many think that these very fine fruit require a
warmer climate than we have for them. But by treating
them as the French do we may produce as good or a better
result, and may, in addition, grow tender but fine apples,
like the Calville Blane, that do little good when grown as
standards. The climate in most parts of England Will be
found to suit them quite as well as that of Paris, if not
better, because the sun in France is in some parts a little
too strong for the perfect development of the flesh and
flavour of the apple. There is no part of the country
in which the low cordon will not be found a most useful
addition to the garden—that is, wherever first-rate and
handsome dessert fruit is a want. So great is the demand

 

Young Cordon of the Lady Apple trained as an Edging.

in the markets for fruit of the highest quality that some-
times the little trees more than pay for themselves the first
year after being planted. In any northern exposed and
cold places where choice apples do not ripen well it would
be desirable to give the trees as warm and sunny a position
as possible, while the form recommended for walls should be
used extensively. In no case should the system be tried
except as a garden one—an improved method of oreharding
being what we want for kitchen fruit, and for the supply
of the markets at a cheap rate.

“’hen lines of eordons are perfectly well furnished the
whole line is a thick mass of bold spurs. Some keep them
very closely pinched in to the red, but the best I have ever
seen were allowed a rather free development of spurs, care
being taken that they were regularly and densely produced

THE CORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING. 339

along the stem. If anybody will reflect that as a rule the
full vigour of the ordinary espalier tree flows to its upper
line of branches, he will have no difficulty in seeing at a
glance the advantages of the horizontal cordon, particularly
if he bears in mind that the system as generally applied to
the apple is simply a bringing of one good branch near the
earth, where it receives more heat, where it causes no
injurious shade, and where it may be protected with the
greatest efficiency and the least amount of trouble.

The system is simply an extension of the best principles
of pruning—a wise bending of the young tree to the
conditions that best suit it in our northern climate. The
fact that by its means we bring all the fruit and leaves
to within ten inches or a foot of the ground, thereby ex-
posing them to an increase of heat, which compensates to a

FIG. 145.

      

.7 -./"':~ "
Amt..-»— —--—w./

The Bilateral Cordon.

 

great extent for a bad climate, will surely prove a strong
argument in its favour to every intelligent person.

The form is so definite and so simple that anybody may
attend to it, and direct the energies of the little trees to a
perfect end, with much less trouble than is requisite to
form a presentable pyramid or bush. It does not, like
other forms, shade anything ,' and beneath the very line of
cordons you may grow a slight crop. They are less trouble
to support than either pyramid or bush ; always under the
eye for thinning, stopping, and pruning ; easy of protection,
if that be desired; and very cheap in the first instance.

A few words are necessary as to the best method of planting
and managing the Apple trained and planted around the
quarters or borders. In a garden in which particular neat-
ness is desirable it would be better to plant them within
whatever edging be used for the walks; but in the rough
kitchen or fruit garden they may be used as edgings. The

z 2

340 THE CORDON SYSTEM 0]? FRUIT GROWING.

reason for supporting the cordon at one foot from the surface
is to prevent the fruit getting soiled by earthy splash-
ings. By having something planted underneath which
would prevent this, we might bring the cordon lower down;
but, though I have thought of several things likely to do
this, none of them are very satisfactory. Doubtless, however,
we shall yet find something that may be cultivated with pro-
fit immediately under the cordon so as to prevent splashings,
and thus be able to bring it within six inches of the earth.
In gardens where it would not be suitable as an edging,
the best way would be to plant it ten inches within the
Box or whatever kind of edging was employed. In plant-
ing, keep the union of stock and scion just above the
surface of the ground, to prevent the Apple grafted on the

F10. 146.

 

(x1, 7‘ “id l' (XI/1 65.

,— \y F’ _~ ,_/—
,rh\-i’ '2 W VOL .17

n;- ; r «*A/Y\._r

lieinettc du Canada trained as a Cordon.

Paradise from emitting its own roots, and consequently
becoming useless for such a mode of training. The trees
should never be fixed down to wire or wall immediately after
being planted ,' but allowed to grow erect during the winter
months, and until the sap is moving in them, when they
may be tied down. Some allow them to grow erect a year
in position before tying them down. They should in
all cases be allowed to settle well into the ground
before being tied to anything. For general plantings, the
best and cheapest kinds of plants to get are those known as
“maidens,” 5.0., erect growing trees about a year from the
bud or graft. These can be readily trained down to the
wire, or to the wall, in spring. In training the young tree,
the point with its young growing shoot of the current year

THE CORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 341

should always be allowed to grow somewhat erect, so that the
sap will flow equably through the plant, drawn on by the
rising shoot at its end. To allow gross shoots to rise at any
other parts of the tree is to spoil all prospect of success.
If the tree does not break regularly into buds, it must
be forced to improve by making incisions before dormant
eyes.

A chief point is not to pinch too closely or too soon.
The first stopping of the year is the most important one,
and the first shoots should not be pinched in too soon ;
but when the wood at their base is a little firm, so that the

FIG. 147.

 

Edging of Simple Cordons three years old in French fruit garden.

lower eyes at the bases of the leaves may not break soon after
the operation. Stop the shoot at five or six leaves, as the
object is not to have a mere stick for the cordon, but a dense
bushy array of fruit spurs quite a foot or more in diameter, _
when the leaves are on in summer. All the after pinching
of the year may be shorter, and as the object is to regularly
furnish the line, the observant trainer will vary his tactics
to secure that end—in one place he will have to repress
vigour, in another encourage it. About three general
stoppings during the summer will suffice, but at all times
when a strong soft “water shoot” shows itself Well above
the mass of fruitful ones, it should be pinched in, though

342 THE CORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING.

not too closely. I have even in nurseries seen things called
“ cordons” with every shoot allowed to rise up like a willow
wand—utterly neglected and on the wrong stock,- and I
have in other cases seen them so pinched in as to be worth-
less sticks. Of course success could not be expected under
the circumstances; and I must caution the reader against
taking such things as examples of the cordon system, or
placing any reliance on the opinions of their producers.

As the Paradise keeps its roots quite near the surface of
the ground, spreading an inch or two of half decomposed
manure over the ground, or in gardening language mulching
it, could not fail
to be beneficial.
The galvanized
wire support (No.
14) is neatest and
cheapest, and in
fact, the only one
that should be used.

The cordons are
usually planted too
close together in
France. InDecem-
ber last I finished

Grafting by approach, to unite the points of Heli- an experimental
zontal Cordons. The apex of each Lordon is cut at 1 . ..
A, when firmly united to its neighbour. P antatlon Of 900

at six feet apart,
but anticipate taking every second one up after a year or two.
\Vhen the cordons overtake each other it is common to graft
them one to another—a very simple operation. If when
all are united they should grow too strong in rich ground,
the stern of every second plant may be cut off just beneath the
wire and the trees will be nourished by the others. “'hen
the line is well trained and established the wire may be taken
away altogether; but it is so very inexpensive that it is
scarcely worth while removing it. If the plantation be
made on a slope all the trees should be planted so as to
grow 11p the incline.
Finally, in winter, the trees will be the better for being

FIG. 148.

 

THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 343

looked over with a view to a little pruning here and
there ; taking care to thin and regulate the spurs when the
plantation is thoroughly established, to cut in Objec-
tionable stumps, and to
firmly tie the shoots
along the wire. These
should never be tied tight-
ly, so as to prevent their
free expansion ; but they
may be tied firmly with-
out incurring any such
danger.

As the system is chiefly
valuable for the production
of superb dessert fruit,
only the finest kinds
should be selected,- but,
as some apples are of high
value both for kitchen and
dessert, some Of the finer
kitchen apples are included
in the following list of
such as Will be found
very suitable : Reinette du
Canada, Reinette du Ca-
nada Grise, Reinette
Grise, Reinette de Caux,
Reinette d’Espagne, Rei-
nette trés Tardive, Belle
Dubois, Pomme d’Api,
Mela Carla, Calville St.
Sauveur, Coe’s Golden
Drops, Newtown Pippin,
Calville Blane, Northern
Spy, Melon-Apple, Cox’s
Orange Pippin ,Duke of Devonshire, Kerry Pippin, Lodgemore
Nonpareil, White Nonpareil, American-Mother,Early Harvest,
Lord Burleigh, Beauty of Kent, Bedfordshire Foundling, Lord
Sutfield, Cox’s Pomona, Hawthornden, Tower of Glammis,

Flu. 149.

 

Another mode of Grafting to unite the Cordons.

 

344 THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

Winter Hawthornden, Betty Gecson, and Small’s Admi-
rable. Some of the best of the above are valuable keeping
apples. I have seen the Reinettc Grise in fine condition in
the markets at Roucn in June, and
Reinette trés Tardive is good in

v :9

E? July. Those who wish to plant
a? good early apples might try Boro-
gy: vitsky, and a few of the best early
.5 :— kinds ; but it is best to devote

most of our horizontal cordons to
the growth of the finer, later, and
most valuable fruits. Of the above
selection the Calville Blane, the
Reinctte du Canada, and Mela
Carla must be grown on a warm
wall; Newtown Pippin, The M0-
ther, Melon, and several of the
other later and finer apples Will
also be grateful for the same pro-
tection.

As our stock of apples 011 the
Paradise are at present chiefly ob—
tained from France, there seems
little chance of our securing the
finer English kinds for a While.
But more than one of ournursery-
men have assured me of their in-
tention to plant and graft this stock
largely, and I should advise all
large fruit nurserymen to do so.
They should he offered as Cheaply as
possible by the hundred, as they
will be required in greater num-
bers for planting than any other
form. Of the kinds of French
apples that may be had grafted
on the l’aradise abundantly in nurseries all over France the
following are among the best :—Calville Blane, Reinette
du Canada, R. d’Angleterrc, R. Grise, R. de Caux, R. trE‘s

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THE CORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 345

Tardive, R. de Bretagne, R. d’Espagne, Pomme d’Api, Belle
Dubois, Belle Josephine, Calville St. Sauveur. Donbtless
ere long we shall have an abundant stock of the best English
kinds on the right stock. As a great number of trees are
required for this mode of planting; as the apple on the
Paradise occupies but a small space in nurseries compared to
other trees, and as it is very likely there will before long be
a large trade in this form of tree, it is to be hoped that our
mu'serymen will offer suitable kinds at a very low rate by
the dozen, score, or hundred, as is the case in France. I
have no hope of the perfect and general success of the system
till this is done.

I have recently received the following on the raising
of the Apple on the Paradise stock in nurseries from
my friend M. Jean Durand, of the well-known fruit tree
nurseries at Bourg-la-Reine, near Paris, and have much
pleasure in giving it, particularly as it is desirable that our
nurserymen, and even in some cases private growers, should
raise it for themselves :—

“If the Apple tree is to be grown in the form of the
horizontal cordon, it must be grafted on the variety known
to horticulturists as the Paradise. This variety, which
loves a fresh, damp, clayey soil, cannot be grown from
seed, but must be propagated by means of layers or cuttings,
which are obtained in the following manner :—Having
chosen soil of the proper description, it must be well dug
and manured. Trenches, six inches deep and a yard apart,
are then opened, and the stocks, which have been procured
previously, planted in them. They should be pruned down
to twelve or fourteen inches in height, and placed in the
trenches at a distance of four inches apart, and in such a
way that about six inches of the top appears above the
ground. The trenches are then filled in and the ground
levelled.

“ In the following spring, as soon as there is no longer
any danger from frost, the stocks are cut down level with
the ground. The object of this operation is to develope
a number of shoots : these are earthed up about June or July
by covering them with a small quantity of earth taken from

346 THE CORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

the trench on each side of the line of plants, so as to cover
their bases to the depth of four inches or so.

“ In the following November these buds will have taken
root, the plants from which they take their origin will con-
sequently be alluded to in future as old stools, and will
give every year a certain number of young plants.

“ Every year during the month of November the young
plants should be stripped from these old stools. It is neces-
sary above all during the first year to use a strong sécateur
for taking them off in order not to injure the stools; later
on they may be simply broken off. Immediately after this
operation the wounds left in the trees should be covered
over with earth. They will perform the same service for
a great length of time—-from five to ten years, according
to the care taken of them—and the young plants thus ob-
tained will serve for grafting in the nursery.

“ For this purpose the ground which is destined to
receive them should be well dug and then divided in lines
distant from each other two feet or two feet six inches.
The operation of planting in beds requires great care. The
young plants should be well trimmed both at top and
bottom, so as to give the branches a uniform length of
sixteen inches. They should then be planted sixteen or
twenty inches apart and three or four inches deep, and the
ground hoed frequently until the month of August, so as to
destroy the weeds and break up the ground. At this period
the young plants are ready for budding, each subject re-
ceiving a bud at about four inches above the surface of the
ground. Immediately afterwards, particularly in dry years,
it will be well to give them a good hoeing to prevent the
ground from caking together, and to preserve it in properly
moist condition.

“During the winter the young plants that have been
budded should be stripped of all the shoots that have grown
on them to within a height of three inches above the bud,
and the plant itself should be pruned down to this height.
The following spring a certain number of small shoots will
make their appearance all over the pruned plant. “'hcn
they have reached a length of an inch or an inch and a

THE CORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 347

half, they should be pinched down to favour the growth of
the graft which will have grown as large as the other buds.
The bud which has not been pinched will naturally soon
surpass in size those which have been. From this time
it will attain sufficient strength to absorb the sap, and
it will be necessary to destroy all useless shoots. This little
pruning operation requires considerable caution, and is per-
formed by the aid of the knife. Care should be taken not
to confound the graft with the other shoots on the plant.
The stem of the stock above the bud being thus deprived of
its shoots, serves as a stake to which to tie the young growing
scion. Tied thus loosely, it is preserved from accident during
its growth. This natural stake having served its purpose is
cut away at the end of the year, and the graft having at-
tained its proper size is ready for sale as the scion or graft
of one year, and may be trained into any form the grower
may think desirable.

“ The Apple thus graftcd on the Paradise is, as is well
known, a great success throughout all parts of France and
the adjoining countries. In proportion to the space it
occupies, it furnishes a great quantity of the finest fruit.
It is not rare to count seventy or eighty apples upon a
little tree whose arms together are not more than seven feet
long. This form is due to M. J. L. Jamin, of Bourg-la-
Reine. This nurseryman used to sell dwarf fruit trees of all
kinds in pots in the Paris market, and amongst them the
now well known cordon. The form was much appreciated
and promptly spread abroad, and after having had some
success at a horticultural exhibition held at the Louvre, it
was definitely adopted in kitchen and fruit gardens under
the name of the cordon horizontale.

“To establish the growth of cordons in the nursery a
line of galvanized iron wire is stretched along the ground
at fourteen inches from the surface, and firmly fixed at
each end. The young trees are then cut down nearly to
the level of the wire, and when they start in spring two
opposite buds are chosen for the formation of the two arms,
and allowed to grow during the summer, the buds on the
stem below these being pinched within an inch or so of

343 THE CORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

their base. During the summer the two shoots ought to
form a strong cordon fit for sale in the following winter.
The simple cordon with one branch is formed in the same
manner, except that one bud only is allowed to grow. There
are many other methods of procuring these forms, but I
like the one above indicated better than that of bending
the shoot directly to the wire either in the first year of
plantation or the second year, as recommended by some
professors.”

Since the discussion which took place in the Times
and the gardening journals concerning the merits of this
mode of apple-growing, and since the first part of this
chapter was written, I have seen miles of cordons on the
Paradise in many parts of France and in Switzerland, and
sought everywhere to ascertain its merits and defects; and
the result is that I am more than ever satisfied of its great
value. Before stating my reasons, let us first devote a few
minutes to the more important objections to the system.
I have been active in proclaiming its merits. It should be
equally well known that some of the most distinguished
horticulturists in the country have condemned it. Some
have considered that a late frosty season would be fatal to
low cordons, and that our climate is too conducive to the
growth of gross wood, whereas on the Continent it becomes
ripe and stubby, and the trees may be preserved within
bounds. If such were the fact, this objectionable tendency
should be more developed in the warm parts of north-
western France 11 air the sea coast; but this is not the ease.
Grafted on the true French Paradise stock, the tree is
always good, and keeps perfectly within bounds in parts of
France and Belgium as cold as southern England. In a
note from Professor Morren, of Liege, he says : “ The cul-
ture of the Apple as a cordon on the Paradise stock has
been extensively tried in this country, and is rapidly ex-
tending, particularly near Liege, Verviers, Huy, Namur,
and in all the Flemish districts. Hedges of horizontal eor-
don Apples and of Pears are now formed along the sides
of the railway between Brussels and Louvain. These plan-
tations were made two years ago, and have proved very

THE GORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING. 349

successful. The fruits attain a considerable size, and the
experiment promises so well that preparations are being
made to greatly extend it.” Is there magic in the air, that
there should be so much difference in the behaviour of trees
separated by a few miles of sea? In many continental
districts where frosts are quite as severe as here, the
cordons escape yearly without injury; and besides, no
form of tree is so easily protected in spring, it being so
very low.

One distinguished horticulturist attacked the system by
declaring that he had tried it alongside of grass walks; that
the shoots grew as big as broom-handles, and the slugs ate
any fruit that happened to occur in such unlikely covert—
One can hardly call it fruit wood. But in this case the error is
clear. He planted a Crab or a Doucin stock, which grew
too much, and which it is perfect folly to plant in the
hope of having a satisfactory result as a horizontal cordon.
The shoots from trees grafted on the Paradise stock never
grow as above described, and may be kept within bounds
with very ordinary attention.

In addition to the objections above stated, some are good
enough to Observe that the cordons may, under certain
circumstances, be desirable for amateurs, but that prac-
tically they are to be regarded as toys. If, as I believe,
they will supplant our present mode of cultivating the
Apple as a standard, half-standard, pyramid and bush
tree, they will prove toys only in the sense in which a
guinea is a toy compared with a penny piece. I have urged
the advantages of improved orchard culture so much that it
is needless to renew my commendation of it here ; What I ad-
mire in the horizontal cordon is that it is the simplest
mode of doing away with the gouty old Apple trees which
now in multitudes of cases shade our gardens and haunt
them with ugliness. Moreover, as people rarely let them have
their own way as when grown in orchards, they form a last-
ing puzzle to the pruncr, who, in cutting them in annually,
merely makes them uglier, more vigorous, and less useful.

As to my reasons for being more than ever convinced
of the merits of the system I advocate, after hearing

350 THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

all arguments against it, and travelling many hundreds of
miles to have full Opportunities of studying it,Iwould urge :—

1. The fruit is larger and finer than that borne on any
large form Of tree—2. The tree comes into bearing much
earlier—in fact, Often bears freely the second summer after
being grafted—3. The growth is dwarfer and much more
compact than that of the apple on any other stock, and the
tree may, without root pruning, be kept in a more com-
pact and fruitful form than Apples on the Crab may be
with that troublesome attention—4. The fruit being held
at an average Of one foot from the ground it is in conse-
quence benefited by a greater degree of heat; and from
the compactness Of the form the leaves and wood enjoy
a greater amount of sun than is the case with high trees:
it need not be said that these are great advantages—5. The
tree being confined to a single stem, and stubby fruit-spurs
held near the surface of the ground, there is in consequence
no injury to the fruit from wind or the swaying about Of
branches; besides, the fruit, if it does fall, is not injured.—
6. The trees may be more readily protected than any other
form whatever, should protection be considered necessary.—
7. They may be more easily attended to in pinching, pruning,
and thinning the fruit, and the desired shape attained more
readily than any other form Of trained tree—8. Being little
taller than a neglected Box edging, they shade no garden
crop—9. They take up but little space, and the positions best
suited to them are those that hitherto have been made
little or no use Of.—10. They will enable us entirely to do
away with the ugly and gouty Old Apple trees now so
common in gardens.—ll. The apple on the French Paradise
grows to its highest perfection on stifi' loamy and clayey
and wet soils, those which are often most inimical to fruit
culture in these islands—12. By planting it against low
walls we may grow for ourselves the fine winter apples now
supplied to the capitals of Europe from northern France
and from America.

The reader, knowing my views on this system—knowing
perhaps the contemptuous opinions which many persons hold
of the cordon in England, and understanding that it is highly

THE GORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING. 351

appreciated by the best judges on the Continent, may like
to learn how its merits are appreciated. by one or two
English horticulturists who have had some opportunity of
examining its worth. The first opinion quoted is that of
one of the most able and experienced horticulturists in
England :—

“ As Mr. Robinson’s writings induced me to see for myself the horizontal
cordons on the true Paradise stock, my opinion may he as useful on this question
as that of some who have never seen them at all, or have not get beyond the
erroneous idea that they are espaliers with one branch, being ignorant of, or
ignoring the fact, that the stock is entirely different. 1 have seen a good many
espaliers in my time, but never one that bore a crop like those little cordons that
I saw at F errieres, Versailles, and amongst the French fruit growers. The
espalier on the Crab stock, no matter how big and ugly was the trellis you put
it upon, was always with difficulty kept within bounds, always pushing its vigour
to the top branch, whereas the little trees 1 saw in France growing on very stiff
moist loams, were in the stubbiest and neatest condition that could be desired;
and everywhere I was told that they were scarcely any trouble, 3. little pinching
now and then, and some attention to see that the spurs were equally distributed
along the line, being all that was required. Why, the trouble is worth incurring
for the sake of having such a pretty garniture to our walks in spring and autumn,
even if the great Apples were of wood, and not of the finest flavour. The pinch-
ing and training would be pleasant employment for ladies and young folks, in
their few hours’ garden rambles, afl‘ering both profitable and amusing exercise.
So many tortured forms of trees have been presented to the public that 1 do not
wonder at those rejecting them who cannot see the undeniable merits which have
been claimed for these cordons; but when once they are seen well done, and in
working order (we cannot expect the will be in England for a year or two),
everybody interested in a garden wil be charmed with them, and the plan will,
I venture to say, be adopted in the largest as well as the smallest gardens in the
land. Every operation connected with the culture of these trees will be agree-
able in consequence ofits simplicity; and it will be apleasure to have the little
trees under the eye, from the unfolding of the rosy buds in spring to the gather-
ing of the fine fruit in autumn. It is to me very surprising that none of our
great fruit growers, pomologists, and others, who are, I believe, in the habit of
travelling in France every year, and some of them for the past thirty years, did
not spy out and introduce this system long ago, and more surprising still, that it
is but recently that we have learned from Mr. Robinson the real value and nature
of the stock (others who have mentioned it have always recommended the Doucin
or English Paradise), and no doubt but for his exposition of the matter, we might
have gone on for many years without knowing anything of value about it. as we
have already lived without such knowledge for many years, notwithstanding the
proximity of the fruit gardens of northern France and southern England, and the
abundant intercourse between the two countries. We have brick and tile
edgings in all sorts of fancy forms, pebble, stone, slate, and wooden edgings,
also Grass, Box, Thrift, and many other living edgings; but when once fairly
understood, the little edging of choice Apple trees will prove the most popular,
profitable, and useful of them all for the fruit or kitchen garden. Apart from
edgings, the plan of planting the cordon on the ends, fronts, and low walls of

’lant-pits, and glass houses, low walls and fences, small vacancies or spaces
tween fruit trees on walls of any aspect—indeed, on any kind of blank space
on walls—is another distinct improvement; and, when we have it in full operation,
the specimens of the finer and tenderer fruits grown on this method will be such
as we have not yet had the pleasure of producing in this country.”—Mr. JAMES
Bsnxss, of Bicton, in the Gardener‘s Chronicle, February 27, 1869.

The next is that of one who has had excellent oppor-

352 THE OORDON SYSTEM or FRUIT GROWING.

tunities of studying fruit culture in the country round
Geneva.

“ M. Vaucher, the President of our Horticultural Society, began fruit growing
at Chatellaine, a mile from Geneva, three years ago. Knowing that he had made
large plantations of the horizontal cordous, I paid him a visit early in July with
a view Of ascertainin their condition. The plantation is not more than three
years Old, the garden having been a grass field three years a o. In entering the
garden the first things that catch the eye are the very neat ines of these little
trees running around the borders, and at about one foot from the margin of the

avel walk. The space between the cordons and gravel is planted with the

Elder kinds of Strawberries. The borders margining each square are cut Off
from the body of the square by alleys, and these are also edged by cordons in
the same way. In most cases two lines Of cordons are employed, one above the
0ther,—the fruit Of the lower line sometimes coming within three and four inches
of the ground. The effect of the whole is neat, and such as would make a.
tasteful gardener use them for edgings, even if the result they yield be ever so
problematical. But as regards the A ple, with ordinary care there is nothing
iroblematical about it, for the most ense crops already adorn these beautiful
little trees. Here are my notes and measurements of a few of them :—Calville
d’Hiver, eighteen inches from the ground, seven feet six inches long, thirty-seven
fine promising fruit ; the same kind, seven feet long, seven inches from the ground,
twenty-four tine fruit ; Pepin d’Angleterre, six feet long, the fruit fifty-seven in
number, hanging at an average of fifteen inches from the ground; Reinette
d'Espagne, three feet six inches long, twenty-four fruit; the Lady Apple, six
feet long, 110 fruit. These were some of the best examples I saw; and I need
not remind your readers that the fruit, instead of being too thin, is much too
thick. I may safely say that if properly thinned as fine fruit as ever grew will
be athered from these young cordons—so neat to look at, and at the same time
such a luxury and profit. I particularly observed that the fruits on the lower
line of wire, at an average of about six inches from the ground, were quite as
good and fertile as those on the upper wire, at an average height of about
eighteen inches—althouvh, perhaps, at some disadvantage from being exactly
under the higher line. ‘0 the above I may add, that there are many gardens
about Geneva in which these cordons on the Paradise are a perfect success, that
they give little trouble to the gardeners, who are‘always fond Of them, be the
gardens or the ‘ help’ large or small."—J. A. \V Arsox, Chateau Lammermoor,
Geneva, Switzerland, in a letter to the Gardener's Chronicle.

It is not merely in the way it is at present practised in
France or elsewhere that the cordon system is interesting and
instructive to all taking an interest in the culture of hardy
fruits. To me it seems to offer a means of training trees so
that we may readily give them that protection in spring,
the want of which is in nine cases out of ten the cause of
all our failures in fruit crops. Hitherto the best course to
pursue with the borders along our fruit walls has always
been a disputed point: some contending that they ought
not to be cropped at all; others that salads and small
vegetables mightbc grown upon them.

Let us crop the borders with trees trained on the hori-
zontal cordon principle as suggested in the accompanying

 

THE CORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING. 353
figures, and in this way dispose of the much debated
question as to what is best to do with the fruit borders. By
so doing we should collect such a valuable lot of fruit trees
immediately in front of each wall as would render it con-
venient and highly desirable to protect efficiently both walls
and borders, and by the same means. The low cordons will
no more shade the
wall than a crop
of small salading,
will prevent all
necessity for dis-
turbingtheborder,
and will utilize
every inch of its

FIG. 151. FIG. 152.

 

N arrow border

 

space. Indeed, I in lrontof fruit
can conceive Of 110 wall, w1th two
lines of hori-
greater improve- zontalcordons, :x . \o . .

protected in
spring by wide
temporarycop-
ing and rough
canvas.

ment in our fruit
culture than de-
voting to fruit
trees those excel-
lent sunny borders that usually lie
at the foot of our fruit walls. By
this plan we should, it is true, sacrifice
some of the more suitable spots for
our early vegetables and salads, but we
should gain very much more, and the
change would be in every way conducive

Peach wall and border, with five
lines of cordons, the whole pro-
tected in spring.

FIG. 153.

 

 

 

 

 

Double espalier of pears,

to the beauty and utility of our gardens.
“'hen the wall trees are being attended
to the cordons cannot be forgotten, and
the whole will be under the eye at a

with three lines of cor-
don apples on each
side, the whole to be
protected in spring as
suggested in the illus-
tration.

glance.

The Pear may be grown thus, and the Apple to the highest
degree of perfection; so much so that I have no doubt what-
ever that the splendid Apples which may be grown in this
way would, if put to the market test, more than pay for
the expense of protecting cordons and wall trees at the
same time, by means of the plan shown above. Other

A A

354 THE CORDON SYSTEM OF FRUIT GROWING.

fruits will probably be found to submit to this mode of
culture as well as these, and all sorts should be tried by
those with opportunities for making experiments in fruit eul-
turc, kinds of a fertile and compact habit being selected
for trial. Should we in time find varieties of our other hardy
fruits conform as readily to the cordon system as the Apple
0n the Paradise, this way of covering borders as well as walls
with fruit trees will prove a gain in the culture of our
choice hardy fruits, the importance of which it would be
difficult to over-estimate.

Efficiently protect borders and walls fromthe time of flower-

Flo. 154. FIG. 155.

    

LW’\||I—-fl «nopv‘né
”In/(r 4llllll- - ‘
/
1’
.1 u ' , I ,i

Simple wooden support for Cordon,
the Wire attached to a stone in
the ground.

Flo. 156.

 

Iron support, with ratchet wheel
at the top.

 

lrou support let into stone.

ing till the fruit is beyond all danger, afterwards expose all to
the refreshing summer rains, and then there will be an
end to all but mere routine work till the protecting season
comes again. livery hundred feet in length of such well pro-
tected wall and border would be equivalent to a well-ma-
naged orchard house ; and how attractive the borders would be
considered from an ornamental point of view ! The fact of
the borders being thus covered with fruit trees will make it
almost imperative to protect the wall and borde ‘ at the same
time; and withouteflieient protection at flowering tinle,we can

THE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS. 355

hope for but very little success with the finer hardy fruits in
this country.

Although the cordon is so simply supported, it is desirable
to know the best means of doing so in a permanent and
ready way. The simplest way of all is to drive a tough
post in the ground to the required height, and attach the
wire to it. The post may be driven in obliquely, as in
fig. 154, or erect, as is the custom. An iron support with
a stay let into a block of rough stone, as suggested in
fig. 156, would be as satisfactory as any other, because so
permanent. The strongest, best, and dearest kind I have
ever seen was in M. F. J amin’s garden at Bourg-la-Reine ;
fig. 155 is a representation of it. The stay is bolted between
two vertical irons, and the galvanized wire strained be-
tween them at the top.

THE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS.—The stock is
to the cultivated fruit tree as important as the foundation is
to the bridge; if we have not the right stock, all is wrong.
The Paradise stock (the French Paradise stock, it must be re-
membered—for the term “ English Paradise” is a misnomer)
is the only one that should be used to form the cordon, ex-
cept on the very poorest and driest of soils. Of quite
an opposite opinion, Mr. Thomas Rivers, our great au-
thority on fruit growing, says :—“ It is exceedingly dwarf
in its habit, and too tender for this climate, unless in very
warm and dry soils!” But in fact it is as hardy as the
hardiest tree of the forest, not perishing even if thrown with
its roots exposed on the surface of the ground, and allowed
to remain there through a rigorous winter; and the soils
above all for which it is peculiarly unfitted are those that
are hot and very dry, while it flourishes with the most satis-
factory vigour, fertility, and health on rich, moist loams, and
even had clays—the very soils which often present the
greatest amount of difficulty to the British fruit grower.
As will be readily seen, this is simply a matter for experi-
ment, and I appeal to the horticulturists of Britain to settle
the question by direct trial, a thing they can so readily do.
The “ English Paradise ”' recommended by Mr. Rivers for
this purpose is, according to his own statement, the Doucin

A A 2

356 , THE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS.

—one that as regards vigour is intermediate between the
Crab and the Paradise, well fitted for neat standards,
pyramids, and large bushes, but growing too vigorously to
furnish anything but disappointment if planted as a low
cordon, except on very light calcareous or “ burning” soils.
To plant the Apple on the common or Crab stock, and
expect to form a dwarf fertile tree, is simply folly. By
mutilation and removals you may secure a crop, and keep
the Doucin or “ English Paradise” within bounds ; but what
we want- is a stock that will furnish a dwarf and fertile
growth, without any root-pruning or attention whatever,
beyond that of pinching in the shoots two or three times in
summer, according to their luxuriance. This we have exactly
in the Paradise stock, grown by millions in the nurseries
around Paris, and in many other parts of France.

“'0 have next to determine what is this Paradise stock.
It need scarcely be said that a plant like this, which exerts
so marked an influence on the trees grafted on it, and is so
truly valuable for our gardens, deserves to be at least as
well known as any one kind of fruit, however good. Yet
this is so far from being the case that but very little is
known about it. To most of the French botanists its origin
is involved in obscurity. I failed to find perfect fruit or
flowers in any garden in the neighbourhood of Paris or
London, but have had some young trees of the Paradise
and Doucin planted with a view of allowing them to fruit.

As regards the origin of the trees, apparently the clearest
account is that of Professor Koch of Berlin, who has paid
a great deal of attention to the origin of all our fruit trees.
lle says :—“ The name Malus paradisiaea appears to have
been first used by ltuellins in the year 1537. It is a native
of South-Eastern Russia, Caucasus, Tartary, and the Altai
Mountains. I have often seen this shrub in the Caucasus,
and near the Don and the Volga, where it forms shrubs and
dwarf trees, frequently accompanied with suckers.”

\Vithout attempting to throw any light on the origin of the
Paradise, M. CarriC‘re of the Jardin des Plantes has studied
its elnn'aeteristics, compared them with those of the Doucin,
and described both in the Flore des Serres :—

THE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS. 357

PARADISE. Doucuv.

“Rootsmuchramified and tidy, short, “ Roots rather long and strong, tap-
remaining near the surface, and never rooted. Tree not much ramified,
tap-rooted. Shrub, bush-like, much straight in its growth, with branch-
branched, the branchlets rather long, lets short, large, in adult specimens
and with a lateral tendency, the adults covered with a deep dull brown bark ;
covered withasmooth bark of a reddish very tomcntosc, and whitened in the
colour; lightly pubescent in the case case of the young shoots. Leaves
ofthe young shoots. Leaves laneeolate, broadly oval or nearly oboval, lightly
elliptical, of a light green above and blistered, shining on the upper and
velvety beneath, finely denticulated, pubescent on the lower surface, rather
acuminate at the ends, but principally roadly denticulated, scarcely acumi.
at the base. Petiole broadish and nate at the apex, abruptly contracted
channelled. Calyx, with divisions and round at the base. Petiole broad,
acuminated and recurved, often con- scarcely channelled. Calyx with divi-
torted, as longas the peduncle. Petals sions usually horizontal, occasionally
straightlyelongated at the base, faintly recurved, rather large. Petals sub-
keeled, borne ona thin base, prolonged oval, nearly blistered, keeled, borne on
into a sort of keel. Ovary on aslender a base short and rather broad. Ovary
base, pubescent. Fruit higher than on a stout support, covered with a t0<
broad, lightly ribbed, skin white, flesh mentose down, white and thick. Fruit
sweetish, almost insipid; ripening in depreSSed, broader than high, not
July.” It flowers more abundantly, ribbed, the skin of an intense green,
and eight days earlier, than the Doucin. marked here and there with brownish
spots: flesh of a high and agreeable
flavour; ripening in August.”

 

The Paradise stock has been known in France for between
200 and 300 years. The Doucin would appear to be not
quite so ancient, but has been known for at least 160 years.
It is used to form neat low trees, pyramids, wall, espalier,
and even standard trees less vigorous and more suitable for
gardens than those grafted on the Crab, or commonest
stock, and occasionally for cordons on bad and very
poor and dry soils. It is most probably a vigorous and
deep-rooting variety of the same species as the Paradise,
healthy everywhere, and succeeding well on some very dry
and poor soils, where in consequence of its habit of surface
rooting the Paradise would suffer and prove useless. Apples
grafted upon it come into bearing earlier than upon the
Crab, and it is. admirable for all forms of garden trees
in size intermediate between the very dwarf cordons and
bushes, and the tall and vigorous orchard trees.

The Crab stock it is needless to describe. It is the
stock on which our Apples have been grafted for ages, and
which is the only one employed in the majority of British
gardens. It is the natural stock for the‘ Apple, and that
on which it grows with greatest vigour; but it takes a

358 THE PARADISE, DOUCIN, AND CRAB STOCKS.

much longer time to come into bearing, and the attempts to
keep it of a size suited to gardens by pruning, pinching,
and root-pruning which may be seen everywhere, are all
efforts thrown away.

Thus it will be seen there are three distinct stocks, each
suiting distinct purposes, and that those who experiment
upon or criticise the cordon system of Apple growing with-
out acting upon or hearing these facts in mind as the
greatest and most important of all in connexion with the
subject, may be likened to an individual attempting to study
the moon by gazing through the wrong end of his telescope.

Of these three stocks, the one which has been most
abused and least known, but which will yet prove the most
valuable of all as a garden stock for the Apple, is the true
French Paradise. “'hen it is fairly tried it will prove to
be of all stocks yet known the hardiest, most dwarfing
in its effects, and most powerful in inducing early fertility.
This stock, which has hitherto been characterized in Eng-
land as a thing quite worthless and eontemptible only fit
for growing in pots, and such toy gardening—will, if planted
in the coldest and wettest of soils, instead of sending long
and hungry roots down into the sour bowels of the cold
clayey earth, like the Crab, and in a lesser degree the Douein,
keep its wig-like mass of small roots near the surface, and
without root-pruning bear fruit long before the others, even
if they receive every attention. The above is the way to
best test its powers of withstanding cold, and the other
merits I claim for it : on all ordinarily rich and cool soils it
will be found to succeed perfectly without root-pruning of
any kind. Amateurs and gardeners throughout the length
and breadth of these islands have only to try it to prove
that instead of sickening and dying in our cool climate, and
on our moist soils, its general adoption will lead to one of
the greatest improvements our garden fruit culture has ever
undergone. It is necessary to observe that in trying this stock
healthy plants should be secured to begin with. It has been
ascertained that some of our nurscrymen who have tried this
stock import the Paradise from France in a very small state,
and then graft it soon after it arrives. The consequence is

 

THE PEAR AS A CORDON. 359

that the little trees have no power to push forth a healthy
graft. If imported in this way they should be allowed one
year’s growth before being grafted.

THE PEAR as A CORDON.—Having said so much about
the Apple as a cordon, we will next turn to the Pear trained
as an oblique cordon on walls. It does not,
as applied to this fruit, offer a distinct and FIG- 157-
economical way of producing a better class of
fruit, as in the case of the Apple. Its ad-
vantages are simply quick growth, early fer-
tility, and a considerable number of varieties
from a limited space. Figure 162 will fully
show the appearance of a wall covered with
Pears on the cordon system. The plants at
each end, which display a fuller develop-
ment, show the means by which the ends of
the wall are covered. As will be seen, the
trees are placed very close together, which
makes the plantation costly. They, however,
soon run up to the top of the wall, and yield
a quicker return than the larger forms.
Then if one fails it is easily replaced. But
are these advantages sufficient to justify us
in adopting this system to any extent for
our wall Pears?

“'e may secure handsomer trees, less dis-
tortion, longer life, and more fruit, by adopt-
ing such simple and easily conducted forms
as those figured in the account of the Im-
perial garden at Versailles, and other Pear Tree. trained
medium-sized and simple forms. These 3:: Vr‘iwrfiigal #3351
forms are handsomer than the wall or espa- is bestfiuited for
lier cordon for the Pear, yield a great number £2), high walls’
of kinds from a comparatively small space,
and moreover, allow of a somewhat free and natural develop-
ment. We all know how comparatively few are the varieties
of first-class Pears which succeed to perfection in any one
place, and that the necessity of planting a new kind at every
eighteen inches along the wall does not exist. For the

 

360 THE PEAR AS A GORDON.

fruiting of seedlings and testing of new kinds, it is however
a good plan, and if the object be to cover a wall in a short
time and get a quick return, it is certainly the best way.
In this case it enables us to attain our ends in the shortest
space of time, and with the least possible waste of space.
Some of the leading teachers of fruit culture in France
adopt the oblique cordon as the surest way of getting a
quick return, and plant extensively the finest varieties trained

FIG. 158. FIG. 159.

  

~ A4313;
The Year as a Simple Oblique Cordon. Oblique Cordon Pear. 2nd year.
lst year. Showing the first pruning

after planting.

 

in this way ; but others ridicule the planting of trees as closely
as one would colcworts, and laugh at the system as only
profitable for thc nurseryman. My opinion is that for the
finest kinds of winter pears and high walls it is well worth
adopting, provided the trees can be got at a low price. To
plant high priced trees so thickly would be ruinous. It
would be better to wait for years and allow the larger forms
to cover the walls in their old-fashioned way. But where
the cultivator can graft and raise his own trees, or procure

THE PEAR AS A CORDON. 361

first-rate kinds cheaply as “ maiden,” or very young plants,
then he will probably find the system an improvement.
None but the very best kinds should be planted, and to
begin with, it would be desirable to plant a goodly number
of one kind known to succeed well in the neighbourhood

FIG. 160.

 

Oblique Cordon Pear. 3rd year. B is the position which the tree will
eventually occupy.

rather than a variety of sorts. The kinds known to do best
in this contracted form are *Beurré Superfin, Flemish
Beauty, Beurré Giffard, *Louise Bonne of Jersey, *Marie
Louise, Beurré Clairgeau, Duchesse d’Angouléme, *Easter
Beurré, and Beurré d’Anjou. Of these a beginner would do
well to take those marked With an asterisk. As regards the

362 THE PEAR AS A CORDON.

training of the Pear in this way, it is too simple to require
description here. The tree is simply treated as we treat a
single branch of a fan-shaped tree, and requires none of
the careful pruning necessary to form the more elaborate
shapes. Healthy young plants, a year from the graft, are
chosen, planted at from 16 to 18 inches apart, and
pruned as explained in the accompanying figures.

FIG. 161.

 

Oblique Cordon Pear. 4th year.

Sometimes the Pear is trained as a vertical single or double
cordon. Of the two forms the single is preferable, and it is
chiefly suited for very high walls, the gable ends of out-
lionses, and the like. It need scarcely be added that the
trees should be on the Quince stock.

The Pear may also be trained as a horizontal cordon on
low walls, the fronts of glass houses, and as an edging like
the Apple. But generally the Pear pushes too vigorously

THE PEAR. AS A GORDON. 363

to be trained in this way, While the pendulous habit of the
fruit renders it more liable to be soiled. I once saw Uvedale’s

y-—-—-— -—---v/
1/ r’

/ J
/ Vii /

l
l
1

FIG. 162.

7’7

This form is best suited for the wall-culture of choice Winter Pears where it

is desired to obtain a quick return.

_,_ _

/
4
1’

V

__....._‘:z__-_

,7

 

The Peer trained as an Oblique Cordon.

St. Germain grown in this way, the great fruit sitting on
the ground, and quite encrusted with earthy splashings.
I have frequently seen plantations of the Pear as a hori-

364 THE PEAR AS A GORDON.

zontal cordon, but never one that I could call thoroughly
satisfactory. The disposition to form a neat compact line
of spurs so abundantly manifested by the Apple when well

Fm. 163.

 

 

3):); ‘1‘ unk‘illeurzk‘kqA

 

4?“ J’ '1"

 

 

Pear Tree trained in U form. This has no special merits, and is only useful
for very high walls.
trained on the Paradise is very rarely shown by the Pear.
Nevertheless a few varieties, such as Louise Bonne and
Beurre, Gill‘ard, might be tried; allowing them to attain
a greater length of stem than the cordon Apples, and placing

THE PEAR AS A GORDON. 365

them a little higher from the ground. As regards the Pear
as a horizontal cordon, Mr. Watson of Geneva wrote as
follows to the Gardener’s Chronicle :——“ I question if there
exists elsewhere a more extensive collection of Pears trained
on the horizontal cordon system than may now be seen in M.
Vaucher’s garden near Geneva. There are hundreds of them,
consisting of every good sort that M. Vaucher could buy.

FIG. 164.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l'TCMIT" __--_.__ .._ 7'7"” "‘77 iii—“”7:

 

”In!

The Spiral Cordon against walls. This form is not to be recommended.

After carefully examining them, I came to the conclusion
that Mr. Robinson’s conclusions are right—namely, that the
Pear as a rule does not conform to this mode of culture like
the Apple, and can report no such success. Still some sorts
are all that could be desired. Beurré Noirchain, four
feet six inches long, had twenty-three fruit; Beurré Gifl’ard,
six feet six inches long, twenty-two fruit. The fruit of the last-
named kind are hanging about four inches from the ground.’ ’

366 THE PEACH As A CORDON.

Of the various modifications of the cordon system the
spiral cordou deserves note. The merit
claimed for it is that a greater length of
g stem is secured, and consequently that the

tree is not so likely to suffer from being
confined to a single stem. Trained as
shown by Fig. 165, it is pretty, but against
walls it has not even that merit. The

> isolated spiral cordon may be trained on a

FIG. 165.

galvanized iron support like that shown in
the illustration, or round a circle of stakes
inserted in the ground. The first way is
certainly the neatcst and the best. It is
quite easy to train trees round this spiral
support, which seems best fitted for adop-
tion where a thorough system of protec-
tion is carried out, in consequence of the
1/55?) number of trees that may be packed into
V l a small space. It also seems worthy of
attention for orchard house and pot culture.

THE PEACH As A Connom—‘Yith the
Peach as an oblique cordon, a good result
is attained, the wall being covered very
rapidly; and the neat laying in of a great number of shoots
on each side of the simple stem does away with the
crowded and unnatural appearance which a plantation of
cordon pears assumes when old and the stems are thickened.
But instead of the wood being closely pinched in, as people
might suppose in England from reading of the method of one
M. Grin, it is nailed in at each side of the branch, ay,
more so than if that branch were part and parcel of one of
the older and larger forms of tree. I once saw an excellent
result afforded by this system against the high back wall of
a vinery in the establishment of M. Rose-Charmeux, at
Thomery. By its means he perfectly covered his wall in a
short time, and gathered a great variety of fruit from a
small space. Out of doors I have seen it afibrd beautiful
results, and that not unfreqnently. It is well calculated for
high walls, and it may be adopted for low ones by training
the trees at a more acute angle with the earth.

<
<
<i

 

   

The Spiral Cordon.

THE PEACH AS A GORDON. 367

Considering the time usually required to furnish walls in
the ordinary way, there can be little doubt that this mode
of training the Peach is a real improvement, where a con-
siderable number of varieties are required from a small
space. Apart from that, however, the facility and simplicity
with which walls may be covered by this method, and the
readiness with which a diseased or otherwise objectionable
tree may be replaced, will doubtless prove a suflieient recom-
mendation for cultivators who are not restricted as to space.

FIG. 166. FIG. 167.

 

Young Peach Tree trained as an 0b- Peach Tree trained as an Oblique
lique Cordon. lst year. A shows Cor‘lon. 2nd year’s pruning. The
the first pruning. leading shoot is cut at A, and the

side shoots at the cross-marks.

It should, however, be borne in mind that on very good
soils where the Peach grows very vigorously, it will not
suit so well as on poor ones where it grows slowly, and that
medium-sized forms may be adopted for the Peach as well
as for the Pear. The following is a description of the mode
of forming it after M. Lepére :—

368 THE PEACH AS A GORDON.

“ There are two modes of growing this form. One, which
was recommended by a professor of arboriculture, and
frequently put in practice by many amateurs, but which
I consider faulty, consists in planting the trees just as they
come from the nursery, and training them at once in the
oblique form. The inconvenience arising from this method
consists in being obliged to place the tree close to the wall,
which crowds the roots too much, preventing them from
affording sufficient nourishment to the tree. Besides this,
on account of the inclination of the tree, part of the roots
are directed towards the surface of the earth or placed in
an unnatural position, thereby preventing their full develop-
ment. By-and-by, the trees that have been planted thus
are cut to half the length that they were when they came
from the nursery, having a number of weak, useless branches
on the lower part, a condition which, as every one knows,
- is always unfavourable. The second method differs from the
first, inasmuch as the plant from the nursery is cut down
instead of being planted in an oblique direction. To obtain
the oblique form without planting the tree in a crooked
position, the stem is cut at eight inches from the graft, and
placed in the hole in such a position that the base of the stem
is four inches from the wall, with its extremity just touching
it. The roots are well spread over the hole and drawn as
much as possible towards the border in which the tree is
planted. Care is taken to leave a well~plaeed bud on the
side where the oblique branch is to be formed, and its de-
velopment must be encouraged by ruthlessly pinching off
all useless shoots. Under these conditions, the tree grows
as long during the first year as the one planted obliquely
and allowed to be of its full length from the first. This
method is also to be preferred, because the shoot thus ob-
tained the first year can be left intact and allowed to attain
a development equal to that of the tree planted according
to the first method. Besides this, the shoot is calculated
to grow faster in consequence of its bark being less har-
dened, and each year the terminal point may be allowed
to grow without cutting back. Sometimes the terminal bud
does not dcvclope owing to its having been killed with the

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SHORT PINCHING SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE PEACH. 369

cold. In such a case a stronger eye is chosen lower down
to make the desired prolongation.

“ As in the case of other forms of training, the branches
of the Peach cordons are allowed to grow in a more erect
position at first than they are finally intended to occupy.
I should advise this cordon form to be adopted in the ease
of gardens whose walls are on the incline, as often occurs
in certain localities, and for soil of inferior quality where
the Peach tree grows slowly, because under such circum-
stances it never attains its full development. The plan
does not answer where the ground is flat and the conditions
are such as favour the rapid growth of the tree.”

Some fruit growers think that there is no I .
occasion for resorting to this simple cordon in l
the case of the Peach, any more than in the case
of the Pear. My friend M. F. J amin, of Bourg-
la-Reine, plants in his fruit garden a form of
tree with three vertical branches, and if he wants
a great variety of fruit from a small space, works
a different variety on each branch. This figure
shows, on a small scale, the appearance of one of ’

. . . . . . Peach Tree
his young speCImens, trained on tlns prlllclple. with three
The U and double U forms, described in the Chap- $33)?“ (It:
ter on Montreuil, are also extensively adopted in ricty being
preference to the oblique cordon by many €231“! 0“
growers.

THE SHORT PINCHIXG SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE PEACH.—
The system generally known among us as that of M. Grin is
confounded by some writers with the cordon system, from
which it is entirely distinct. It has not in the least in-
fluenced the old way of growing the Peach in France, and
a commission of first-rate fruit growers sent to examine it,
reported that the system pursued at Montreuil is still much
the best. It may be shortly described as an attempt to do
away with nailing by a system of close pinching, and that
alone is sufficient to condemn it for our gardens, and also
for those of the French, for the wood to be well ripened
must be nailed in, and the pinching required to keep the
shoots from running away from the wall is something pron

B B

FIG. 168.

 

7" "' ,55“ ‘

370 SHORT PINCHING SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE PEACE.

digious. As the French fruit growers say—the cultivator
who pursues this method had better provide himself with
chairs, and place one before each tree to accommodate the
person who has to see that the pinching is done at the
proper time I The report of the commission sent to examine
this method is as unfavourable to it as anything can be. I
translated it with a view of giving it here, but space pre-
vents my doing so, and therefore I sum up its statements
in a few words. “ This system, which is an attempt to do
away with nailing in of the shoots, presents on the whole
no advantages over the one in common use, but, on the
contrary, certain drawbacks.” Having read so much about
the doings of M. Grin, I was asto-
F‘G- 169' nished at the very ordinary aspect
of his trees, and the by no means
remarkable result attained. The
individual who pays his penny to
see the “blue horse captured in
the Black Sea by Captain Jones of
the ship Adventurer the most ex-
traordinary monster ever seen,”
350., in the New Cut, and finds the
blue horse to be a puny young
seal, could not have been more
disappointed than was I at the as-
pect of the trees in this garden.
For when one reads of a method as
being about to supplant everything
else, it is quite natural to expect
that it must at all events possess
some merits over the older one;
but in this instance such is not the
case. Of course I speak of this
mode of pinching as a system.
Peach Shout om“. cum“, yum. It has one merit, however, and
IM'M'iHIJ it “l"“bt'l‘ “f M‘W'l- Inav be used incidentally with any
dary slioots—buurgwns an- ' .
“6,1,“. system of summer-prun111g. It
should be remarked that M. Grin

commenced by simply adopting a method of very short pinch-

 

 

0.35961“:

SHORT PINCHING SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE PEACH. 371

ing in of the shoot. He now depends chiefly on pinching
the stipulary leaves, as shown at A. This is the best
feature of the system, and chiefly in dealing with the little
lateral bourgeons anticipés that sometimes push forth on
the current year’s wood. By pinching the leaves of these
little buds just when they push, as shown in the figure,
the development of the shoot is not interfered with 5 but a
sufficient check is given to cause the eyes near the base to
fill and become fruit buds, as shown at A, Fig. 171. This
not done, the young shoot pushes away, and is often quite
naked of buds at its base.

To think of adopting the system of Grin in its purity
would be folly. As to training Peach cordons on this

Fm. 170.

 

Portion of Shoot of Peach Tree, showing the pinching of the
stipulary leaves.

principle, it is simply nonsense ; as well might we think of
repressing the flow of the tide as hope to succeed with
trees confined to a single stem, and pinched in quite close.
It is by no means a success even where large forms are
adopted; but with the cordon there is no outlet. The
cordons trained after this method in the public garden at
Chartres must have exhausted the patience of the cultivator,
for their shoots had started right away from the wall, and
grown as much as eighteen inches long!

“This,” said I, “ will never do for England.” “Nor

B B 2

372 SHORT PINCHING SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE PEACH.

for France l” added an eminent Parisian fruit grower. The
only chance of success with the Peach as a cordon is by
laying in the side shoots regularly. Since the above was
written a report on Grin’s method has been presented to
the Imperial Horticultural Society of France, and in this
also a very unfavourable account of the system is given.
There can be no doubt that as a system of pruning it is
ridiculously bad. From reading a book on Peach pruning,
by the Government reporter on fruit trees at the Paris Ex-

FIG. 17].

 

Result of pinching the stipulary leaves.

hibition, which was first published in one of our horticultural
journals, it is possible that some people interested in the
subject may suppose that this system of M. Grin, so highly
praised therein, is extensively practised and adopted instead
of the old way of laying in the shoots. The interests of
fruit culture compel me to declare that it is not practised
by any intelligent French fruit growers. It should by no
means be confounded with the true cordon system of growing
the Peach as it has been in the writings above alluded to.

373

CHAPTER XVI.
TRAINING.

TRAINING is very much better understood in France than
in the British Isles. In France the commonest labourers
frequently possess a knowledge of pruning and conducting
a tree, which we might look in vain for anywhere in this
country; and by way of illustrating their skill in this way,
we cannot do better than examine their means of forming
two of the most popular forms of fruit trees—the Palmette
Verrier and the Pyramidal Pear trees—chiefly after Du
Breuil. The Pear will serve to illustrate training and
pruning as well as any other tree, or better, and the
principles laid down will apply equally to other fruit trees.

THE PALME'I‘TE VERRIER.—\Vherever large wall trees are
grown, the simple and beautiful form known to the French
as the Palmette Verrier is sure to obtain a place among
them. It is indeed the finest of all large forms, and is pre—
ferred by many of the best French cultivators to any other.
They use it for other trees besides the Pear ; and by far the
finest Peach tree I have ever seen was trained after this
method near Lyons. The English reader may think it im-
possible to attain such perfect shape as is shown in the ac-
companying plate, and such perfect equalization of sap as
it suggests ; but I have seen several trees even more beau-
tifully finished than the one represented. This figure also
shows the advantages of the kind of support used in
France for espalier trees as compared with our own ugly
method of using rough wooden and iron posts and strong
bolt-like expensive wire. It will be seen that the tree
differs radically from the usual form of Pear tree that we
are in the habit of placing against walls, and it is easy to

374 THE PALMETTE VERRIER.

point out its advantages in securing an equal flow of sap to
all the branches.

In the common horizontal form strength and fertility
are apt to desert the lower branches, in consequence of
their not possessing a growing point to draw the sap through,
and particularly when constant care is not taken to nepress,
by summer pinching, the upper portions of the tree. The
form here figured, in common with all very large wall and
espalier trees, takes a long time to complete. Given a wall
10 ft. or 12 ft. high, and 20 ft. or 2—1 ft. long, to be covered
with a tree of this shape, it would require fifteen or sixteen
years to form it. By adOpting a more contracted form
based upon the same plan, we may cover the wall or trellis
more quickly.

The Palmette Verrier is named after the fruit gardener
at the Ecole Re’gionale de la Saulsaie, with whom it was first
observed. To form the tree, we have in the first instance
to plant an ordinary young plant of a desired kind, and of
course that should be of the primest kind, both as to
quality and constitution, as so much care is about to be
exercised to make it a handsome and long-lived ornament to
the garden and valuable aid to the fruit room. In forming
this as all other trees, the usual and most economical custom
is to choose plants about a year old from the time of grafting,
or what are usually callet “ maiden plants,” and which when
planted are cut down to within about a foot of the surface
of the soil. Three well placed buds are allowed to remain
and form three shoots. The two side ones go to form the
lowest and longest branches of this handsome form of tree,
and at the second pruning the young trees would have
somewhat the appearance of fig. 172. It is quite easy to
buy trees a little more advanced to make the same form
more quickly; but they will be more expensive the further
they are advanced beyond what is called the “ maiden”
stage. The young trees should he allowed to remain a year
or so in their positions before being cut, so that they may
have rooted well. At the first pruning the young tree is
cut down to within a foot or so of the ground, and just
above three suitable eyes, one at each side to form the two

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THE PALMETTE VERRIER. 375

lowermost branches, the other a little above them and in
front to continue the erect axis. Of course all the eyes,
except those that are to send forth the three first shoots,
must be suppressed in spring. Now, although the tree in
the plate looks so very exact and regular in its lines, and
the branches appear as if they had been “ bent in the way
they should go” at a very early stage, it is not so ; they are
at first allowed to grow almost erect, and are afterwards
gradually lowered to the horizontal position. During the
first year of the young tree possessing three shoots, care
must be taken (as at all times) to secure a perfect equilibrium
between them. If one grows stronger than the others, it
must be loosened from its position on the wall and lowered.

FIG. 172. FIG. 173. FIG. 174.

 

Second pruning. Third pruning. Fourth pruning

The Palmette Verrier.

This will divert the sap so as to strengthen the rest.
Nothing is more easily conducted than the sap when we pay
a little attention to it; if not, it soon rushes towards the
higher points, and spoils the symmetry of the tree.

We then, at the second pruning, have to cut them at B,
and also cut off about a third of the length of the side
shoots, as at AA, Fig. 172. If one side branch happens
to be stronger than the other, cut the stronger one some-
what shorter. In cutting and pruning wall trees the out
should be made above a front bud, so that the wound made
by the knife may be turned towards the wall, and away
from the eye, from which, of course, it soon will be effec-
tually hidden by this front bud pushing into a shoot, and

376 THE PALMETTE VERRIER.

thickening at its base. During the second year no more
branches must be permitted to grow, simply because the
trainer desires to throw all the strength he can into the
lower branches, which are to be the longest. Sometimes,
however, the strength of the lower branches will permit the
second stage of branches to be made during the second year
of training. At the third pruning the trees will present
somewhat the appearance of Fig. 173, the central stem
being cut at six inches or so above the previous incision,
which is indicated by a slight ring, and a third part of the
new growth of the side branches cut off, as shown on the

F10. 175.

 
  

:3 . _
“.344..- -

The l’almette Verrier. Fifth pruning.

side branches of Fig. 173. Here, again, we cut above and
inside of three promising eyes to obtain a new set of
branches, and each succeeding year add another series
until the tree is formed. Fig. 174 represents the aspect
of the young tree at the fourth pruning. At the end
of the following growing season the specimen will have
grown sufficiently to allow the lower branches to be turned
up towards the top of the wall, and begin to look shapely.
Fig. 175 is an exact representation of what it ought to be
at that stage A, and the cross marks, indicating where the
cuttings are to be made. Above all things is it necessary
to keep the growth and flow of sap equal, not only for the

 

 

THE PALMETTE VERRIER. 377

sake of symmetry, but also to insure perfect health and
fertility ; for if one part be allowed to grow grossly at the
expense of another, an awkward state of things will soon
take place. Sometimes, when the vegetation is very
vigorous, time is gained in the making of this form by
pinching the central growth at eight inches or so above
the highest pair of opposite branches. It then breaks
again, and care is taken to secure two side shoots and one
erect one. Thus, with care, and in good soil, two stages of
branches may be secured in the same year, but this must
not be attempted till the proper formation of the two lower

FIG. 176.

  
  

14-»:‘1’.’

  

Palmette Verrier, with weakly outer branch completed by grafting.

branches is secured. The dotted lines in Fig. 175 will
show the positions that have been successively occupied by
the branch B, when in course of formation, and that it is
by no means necessary to train a young branch from the
beginning in the exact position it is required to take. In
fact, this form is only to be well and easily perfected by
allowing the young shoots to first grow and gather strength
in an erect or oblique position. The branch E kept com-
pany when young with the central branch, and was at B ;
then it was lowered to C, next year to D, and finally to its
horizontal position. Some care is required to make the
bend of the shoots equal and easily rounded. If the tree

378 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE.

be trained on a wire trellis, it is best to place two bent rods
in the exact position necessary, and before we require the
shoot to be bent. They must be placed at exactly equal
distances from the main stem, and be equal in curvature.
Then it is an easy matter to gently attach the growing
shoot to them; it will soon harden to the desired bend.
Against a wall it will be easy to direct it with shreds and
nails; if the wall be wired the bits of bent twig may be
applied, as on the trellis. Like care should be bestowed
upon the other bends, as they require to be made; but of
course the outer and lower one is of the greatest importance.
As this form is not at all presentable if the outer branches
be incomplete, grafting by approach is sometimes employed
to repair this defect, as shown in Fig. 176.

The reader will observe that, in the formation of this
Palmetto V errier, the custom is not to attempt training the
young shoot in the position it is finally destined to occupy;
but, on the contrary, to permit it first to grow sometimes in
an erect, or at least in an oblique direction, so that the sap
may flow upwards without check. Nothing is easier than
taking down the shoots from time to time, as they become
strong and well developed. NOW this is a principle almost
unknown, and certainly not practised in this country; being
applicable to many forms of training, I can strongly recom-
mend it, having frequently witnessed the good effects pro-
duced by carefully carrying it out.

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.—Tlli$ culture
is, considered from the stand-point of beauty alone, as desir-
able as any with which amateurs interest themselves. I
have seen in the gardens of even very humble French ama-
teurs pyramidal pear trees, which, if they never afforded
a fruit, would be beautiful objects; and I have met with
few avenues that afforded me more pleasure than a short one
of pyramidal pear trees leading up through a little town
garden within the walls of Paris. “'0 will begin, then,
with the fully formed pyramid, and in addition to its
symmetry will be observed the straight clean growth
of each branch, springing at regular intervals from the
main stem, which is so erect and well furnished. From

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE. 379

the summit to the base such a tree ought to be garnished
with nothing but branches
well set with fruit spurs.
The greatest breadth of
the pyramid should equal
about one-third of its
height. Pyramidal trees
may be purchased in all
stages; but trees ready-
formed are costly, and
as many would prefer
training their own, and as
those who plant on a
large scale will find it
economical to begin with
trees a year from the
graft, we will commence
at the beginning with a
“maiden tree,” letting
it grow one year in the
ground before pruning it.

Fig. 178 represents
the first pruning of this
young tree, and its ap-
pearance one year after
being permanently plant-
ed, or two years from
the graft. B shows the
union of stock and scion ;
and the terminal bud A
just below where the
shoot is out should be
placed on the side oppo-
site to that on which the
scion was inserted, as
shown in the figure, so
that the stem of the
tree may rest perpendicu-
larly on its base. It is by attending to such little points

FIG. 177.

 

380 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.

as this that the French get that perfectly equal distribution
of sap which is so essential to the satisfactory management
and prolonged fertility of trained fruit trees. The summer
following the first pruning, the young trees push with great
vigour, and their shoots should be thinned when a few

FIG. 178. FIG. 179.

 

Pyramidal Pear Tree.
First pruning.

inches long, removing every
shoot ”from the base of the
stem to a height of about one
foot, and thinning out those

 

above this point to six, seven, 7
or eight shoots; reserving 0f 0

course the best placed shoots,
and taking care to have them TOIP 0*: You": Pear Tree- B, the

, eading shoot. A A, shoots re-
arranged as far as posslble at quiring to be Pincw,
regular intervals. Should they
in the course of the year assume an irregular develop-
ment, pinching with the finger and thumb must be resorted
to. This is shown in Fig. 179. The shoots, A A, have
pushed too much; and one of them rivals the leading shoot
B; they therefore must be pinched, merely taking an inch
or so off.

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE. 381

In the spring of the following year the
young trees should present the appearance
of Fig. 180; the cross marks showing how
the pruning is to be performed. This second
pruning has for its object the production of a
new set of lateral branches, and the further
development of those already obtained. It is
evident that to secure a beautiful tree, the
branches must spring forth regularly from the

main stem, which they

FIG- 180- are not likely to do

if the tree is left to
itself. Fig. 181 shows
the way in which the
careful cultivator fur-
nishcs his stem, as
regularly as could be
desired. The eyes
which he desires to
break strongly have
an incision made above
them, as shown in the
figure. This is parti-
cularly desirable as
regards the lower part
of each successive

Pyramidal Pear Tree. grOWth Of the ereCt

Second pruning. stem; the vigour Of

the rising current of

sap often pushing towards the higher buds,
and causing the lower part to be poorly fur-
nished. These incisions, A, A, A, must be
carefully performed on the young branch:
deep enough to penetrate the sap wood, and
yet not so deep as to hurt the slender rising
point. The top of this shoot, instead of being
cut off, has been barked for some portion of
its length above the bud that has been selected
to continue the growth of the coming summer.

1.

 

FIG. 181.

 

 

Leading shoot

of
sh

Pear Tree,
owmg inci—

sions A, A, A,
made above

th

e buds re-

quired to

br
1y

cak strong-

382 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.

To this the young shoot is trained, and a perfectly vertical
growth for what we may term the pillar of the tree is thereby
secured. The bark is neatly cut round above the upper
eye; the branch is cut off at about four or five inches above

 

FIG. 183.
F16. 18‘2.
‘in
/ v ‘32 i
at: ‘ f, "\
fj-NN‘\‘ |\
l A
‘9
i " \.
_ \ \ \‘
‘ V A l‘ f\ A, the best position at which to
A i l prune for the terminal bud.
, V FIG. 184. ,1
It ..

V W}

 

i \ ‘r\:-

B l ‘

A, part of old lea'ling shoot
barked and left to tie the
Young shoot 10. It is cut at
B when the shoot is arrived
at maturity.

 

A, B, C, incisions made above

and below branches and buds

to check their irregularity,
that point, and then the bark is taken clean off. When
the young leading shoot is long enough, it is fastened to
the bare portion of stem, as shown at Fig. 182. The portion
A is cut oil at B at the next winter pruning. This process
may be prolonged as long as necessary or convenient.

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE. 383

In pruning the tree considerable judgment is required,
so as to get the base of the specimen well furnished, and
secure fertility in the fruiting branches. Fig. 185 shows
how this is performed, and several of the following figures
well explain the principle. It is to cut them of the greatest
length at the base of the tree, and gradually shorten them
as we reach the top. The nearer they spring to the soil,
the longer they must be left, or, to be more precise, only a
third must be cut from the points of the lowest branches;
half the length may be taken from those situated between
summit and base; and
lastly, three quarters may FIG- 185-
be cut from the most
elevated. In cutting-in
the lateral branches, the
directly oblique direction
which it is desirable they
should take must be borne
in mind in the pruning,
and the terminal bud of
each left as far as possi-
ble, as at A in Fig. 183.
In case of a very irregular
development among the
laterals, incisions are made
above a weak branchlct
to encourage it, as at A, , ~ . .
Fig- 184‘: and below a Pyramidal Pear Tree. Third pruning.
strong one, as at C, to
retard it until the equilibrium of the branches is esta-
blished. At B this incision is made before a dormant
bud that has failed to become developed into a lateral.
This figure also shows the relative proportion to establish
in pruning irregularly developed branches springing from a
main stem that we wish to be equally balanced in all its
parts. The weak shoot is not cut, or but very little,- the
strong one is cut to below the level of the one it is desired
to encourage. These incisions should be performed with a
little saw, so that the cuts may not soon heal over. The

 

 

384 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.

incisions should penetrate suflieiently into the layer of

young wood to well in-

tercept the sap vessels.

If with all these precau-

tions there are objec-

tionably bare spaces on

the stem, they furnish

them by grafting by

approach, or in other

words, turn back a vigo-

rous branch to the main

r‘ stem, and graft it on to

'f the bare space; and if

' this cannot be done,

f insert a short ordinary

t graft in the stem. This,

however, with good ma-

nagement will rarely be
necessary.

Having trained the
branches straight, the
next point is to see that
they follow the desired

- Oblique line; and it will
Gmmng bigxpfixgfl’dffi §?r::“s.b“r° Spaces be seen by the cuts that
the disposition given
them is better than the one they assume under a less careful
svstem. The light enters freely to the stem, and illumi-
iiatcs all; the more important part of
the tree is under the command of the
eve and hand, and the top is pre-
vented from running away. This,
however, is more owing to the fine
formation of the lower branches than
to the position they assume, though
certainly such free and straight outlets
for the rising sap are very effective in ‘ 1- l
preventing a gross development above, Gigih'fid ‘i(:‘l‘\lzl::fi°‘mfi
and consequently in keeping the tree Espulier Trees.

FIG. 186.

 

FIG. 18?.

 

rYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE. 385

in the desired condition. During the summer following the
second pruning, the operations for maintaining the lead
with the vertical branch, and equality among the lateral
shoots of the new growth, must be carried out as before
described. The third pruning is shown at Fig. 185, and it
will be seen that here again the young lateral branches of

Fit}. 188.

 

Pyramidal Pear Tree. Fourth pruning.

the preceding summer are cut in much shorter than the
lower ones to favour the development of these.

At the fourth pruning the lower branches are not cut
nearly so long as in the previous pruning, because they have
now attained to almost the desired length and sufficient
vigour. The new branches of the second series are left
somewhat longer, and the pruner looks more to the top
structure, so to speak. The wisdom of well forming
the base at first will be seen at a glance. During the

c c

386 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.

summer following the fourth pruning before described,
attention should be given to the young branches at the
top of the pyramid, while the side ones will also require
it. As the lower branches will have attained to nearly
their full length, a too vigorous growth of the terminal
shoot of each must be prevented by pinching.

Fm. 189.

 

 

P 'mxnidnl Pear Tree. Fifth )runin".
C)

Fig. 180 shows the aspect of the tree at the fifth
pruning, and 110w the pruning is performed. As is
well seen by glancing from B to A of Fig. 189, the new
growth of the lower branches is cut very short, while
the higher the remaining superior branches are, the

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE. 387

longer they are cut. A careful glance at Fig. 189

FIG. 190.

111 a.

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

Figure theoretically indicating the Mode of
formlng a Pyramidal Pear Tree. (See p. 389.)

perfectly explains all this.
The succeeding prunings
difl'er nothing in principle
from the preceding, future
development taking place
principally in the middle
and higher parts of the
tree. Care should be
taken to guide in the de-
sired direction by means
of twine, and some-
times slender stakes, any
branches that may have
deviated from it. Thus
the pruning is carried on
till the tree becomes a
large and perfect pyra-
mid, the laterals being
well pinched in, and in

Fro. 101.

Young Pyramidal Pear
Tree.

002

388 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE.

every case a free terminal shoot being allowed to proceed
from each, so that the tree may be kept equally balanced

FIG. 192.

.\

? 2

”no
4 ,

‘22...) ‘

_ l “saggy"? ?

P.
pr

<~
EU
.—

4:,

 

 

 

Pyramidal Pear Tree with bent, branches.

and thc sap frccly conducted through each branch. They
may of coursc be cut back well every year: always,

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE. 389

however, at a bud likely to furnish a. good shoot for the fol-

lowing season.

FlG. 193.

L‘ A

 

 

  
    
  
 

I ~47»
e '_ “‘ Ill 1/
u.‘ '4\\ {d In
. ‘ T ‘ . I
.m“'_.,‘. '-« ’. . ‘ ;‘ .’ z
' \«x- . .u‘ ; r ,“X“..F..'-JA‘;:w ,1
N “V “3"" " "M"??? 4;.‘sw-mec‘mffi‘w’

“I
\‘14/ ,

 

Pyramidal Pear Tree of an inferior sort, out back and regrafted
with a. good variety.

Fig. 190 shows theoretically, first, the central stem A to
B, and its successive cuttings back, 1 to 12; secondly, the

390 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR TREE.

position successively occupied by the lower branches during
the first six years, during which they were successively
lowered and elongated from the point C to T ; and thirdly,
the lines from I to S show the lines of each year’s prunintr.
It is very questionable if the mathematically designed
pyramid here al-
FIG- 194- luded to be so de-
sirable for gardens
generally as a
flatter and less
pointed form. For
example, the pyra-
mid as represented
at the time of its
fourth or fifth
pruning is in out-
line preferable to
the tall and
finished pyramidal
tree depicted in
Fig. 177, and a
style somewhat
like that shown
in Fig. 191 will
prove easier to
‘ ’ ‘ form to those who
“'all Pear Tree rcgrafted. On each of the branches have no tune. to
A, ll, t‘, D, a graft has been placed. The graft at SPal‘C for the 111(30-
(3 failed, and consequently a shoot, 0, is allowed to tics of training.

ascend; so that it may be budded the autumn _
following the grafting. OccaSIOnally the

pyramidal Pear
has its branches bent downwards, as in Fig. 192, some
thinking that this induces a more fruitful habit. I never
saw any clear evidence of this, and believe the form to be
no better than the simple pyramid.

The excellent practice of cutting in pyramidal and other
trees that happen to be worthless varieties, and regrafting
them with superior kinds, is much recommended by the
French growers.

 

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING or THE PEAR. TREE. 391

This system is quite as applicable to wall trees as to

pyramids or standards. In numbers
of our gardens great good might be
effected by regrafting with good va-
rieties, and doing away with the worth-
less ones, so very common.

Fig. 195 represents a mode of train-
ing to be seen here and there in
France. The woodcut shows a fully
formed tree before the winter prun-
ing takes place, and, as will be seen
at a glance, it is an erect stem
densely furnished with short fruiting
branches.
better than the pyramidal one, where
saving of space is a consideration, and
where we do not wish the trees to
much shade the crops between them.
They are also well suited for small
gardens where space cannot be afforded
for a large number of varieties if
trained in the usual way. I have
thought it worthy of a figure, but
except on the Quince in suitable soils
it is not likely to present many ad-
vantages ; for if on the Pear and con-
fined thus closely to a fastigiate bun-
dle of shoots, it would in all probability
run too high to permit of proper
annual pruning or of the crop being
gathered with convenience. Judging
by the strength and thickness dis—
played by our old horizontal wall trees

grafted on the Pear stock, what should :7“:

we arrive at if we adopted a contracted
form like this with trees worked on
the Pear ? Why, in a few years, and

This form is considered ’

“JF’E-‘e
fl:

Fro. 195.

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Pear Tree trained in the
Columnar form.

especially with the cordons, we should have'objects more

like rustic gate-posts than trees.

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR TREE.

392

It is not uncommon in English gardens to train the

branches of the pyramidal Pear in a pendulous fashion; and

.028 539 :55 go. .mfizmwmfi mac—330A

 

 

 

 

 

 

.2: .9h

it is a system admired by some, though somewhat more

Fig. 196

represents a mode of applying a. modification of the same

troublesome to form than the simple pyramid.

PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR. TREE. 393

principle to the ordinary horizontally trained Pear tree. I do
not say that it is as good as it is graceful in appearance, be-
lieving as I do in simple easily-conducted forms, but as these
smaller arching branches may be established on kinds that
bear better on the young wood, or on trees with the branches
thinly placed, it may prove useful. The mode of formation
is so simple and so easily established that no further descrip-
tion is needed. However, I cannot say too often that the
simple and quickly-formed trees, described elsewhere, are as
excellent for walls as for trellises, combining as they do the
advantages claimed for the cordons with a not too con-
tracted, repressed development.

When the exact system of training described in this
chapter is well carried out, well furnished branches and
fruitful spurs are the rule. Should it not be so, the
growers frequently resort to grafting fruit-buds on the bare
spaces, as shown by the following figures :—

FIG. 19?. FIG. 199. FIG. 201.

 

Grafting to furnish useless water shoots
with fruit buds. A, short lateral
fruit shoot; C, incision to receive A;
1), operation completed (this graft is
performed in August, the buds fruit-
ing the following year); B, terminal
fruitbraneh; E,crown grafting offruit—
ing sheets on gross unfruitl'ul ones.

 

394 PYRAMIDAL TRAINING OF THE PEAR. TREE.

The greatest attention is paid to the proper and neat
pinching and pruning of the shoots, as shown by the
following figures :—

FIG. 202. FIG. 203.

     

Proper mode of cutting shoot. Shoot cut too long. Shoot cut too low.

FIG. 205. FIG. 206. FIG. 207.

     

Young shoot of Peer pro- Shoot of Peer pinched Result of over-pinching.
crly pinched at about too short.
Four inches from the base.

FIG. 208. FIG. 209. FIG. 210.

   

Another result of over- Pinching of the bourgcon The sti )uln ' shoots forced into

. . . . 1 ’3

pinching. antm )6, or second growth by the removal of the
growt of the Pear. principal sheet, A.

Cu
to
t‘ )I

CHAPTER XVII.
FIG CULTURE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD or PARIS.

FIG culture as practised in the neighbourhood of Paris is
very peculiar and interesting, as well as successful, and is,
I believe, perfectly well adapted for the southern counties of
England. As I have seen the Fig bearing well as a healthy
standard tree at Arundel and elsewhere in Sussex without any
attention, there cannot indeed be a doubt that the Parisian
mode is perfectly applicable in sunny spots in the south.
It might even be carried out on the railway embankments.
It may not be amiss to state that the culture is founded
upon the habits of the Fig in the climates of Paris and
London. In hot countries the Fig is an evergreen tree,
growing and bearing almost perpetually. In cold countries
the Fig loses its leaves in winter, and becomes in fact a
deciduous tree. Then the rudimentary figs borne at the
end of each branch, instead of falling Off prematurely as
most other fruits would do, seem to rest stationary; in the
spring they recommence their growth, and ripen off into the
large succulent and well-flavoured figs supplied to the Paris
market in summer. The French call those figs that require
part Of two years for their development figues—fleurs ; those
formed in spring and which ripen during warm autumns are
known as seeondes figues, or figues d’automne. These ripen
but rarely in the climate of Paris, and it is to the care of the
figues-fleurs, or figs formed in the preceding year, that all
attention is given. To protect them and the young branches,
the trees are trained in long sweeping shoots pretty near the
soil, and in such a form that they may be readily interred
in the ground when the winter and its dangers come. The
frosts are Often of great severity in the neighbourhood of
Paris; so great indeed that the Fig would have little or no

396 FIG CULTURE IN THE

chance if left exposed. So in autumn the sagacious culti-
vators throw the branches into four bundles, make a little
trench for each, and cover as shown by Figs. 214 and 217,
with small sloping banks of soil, protecting the crown of the
root by means of a little cone of earth, which merges
gradually into the four little ridges that protect the
branches. When the plantation
is made on deeply inclined
ground a somewhat different
system is followed, as is also
shown by the figures.

For the details of the culture
we will refer to Du Breuil’s
“Culture des Arbres et Arbris-
seaux.” In the climate of Paris
the Fig tree is grown as a low
shrub, with free sweeping bran-
ches arranged in single lines
or planted all together on a piece
of ground devoted to the pur-
pose, and which for a better
name may be called a “ figgery.”
The branches of these tufty
trees are not allowed to grow
longer than from six to nine feet,
so that the tree may be conve-
niently buried in the ground

. . during the winter. Those varic-
Branch of Fig Tree hearing the . . .

Figs formed during the preeed- thS WlllCll PrOduce rudlmentary

inf; your, 1’; 111050 formal figs in autumn in abundance

during the current year, A; and

rudimentary Figs, (,2 are the only ones grown, as

the figs of the current year
very rarely arrive at maturity. Argenteuil and La Frette
are the two most famous localities for the cultivation
of the Fig tree in the neighbourhood of Paris. Before
the southern railways were constructed, these two villages
used to supply the whole of Paris with all the green
figs that were seen in the markets. The introduction of
the Fig tree into Argentcuil appears to have taken place

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD or PARIS. 397

about two centuries ago. It is cultivated in orchards in
deeply dug and richly manured land, the soil of which is of a.
siliceous, calcareous, and clayey nature, well sheltered from
the north and north-west winds, and open to the south and
east. The cultivation of the Fig extends over a space Of
130 acres, the production being somewhere about 400,000
figs per annum. The variety grown in this locality is the
Blanquette or white Courcourelle, and the method of grow-
ing it is as follows :—

Layers raised in baskets or in the ordinary way are
planted in the month of March in holes about four feet

FIG. 21?.

 

Fig Tree growing on level ground.

six inches in diameter, and one foot eight inches deep, filled
with well manured mould. The planting is performed in
such a way that the roots of the layer are buried from ten
inches to one foot deep, and that the stem which springs out
of the earth inan oblique direction should be covered with
from three to four inches of earth. To form the stool
more quickly two layers may be planted in the same hole
instead of only one. In this case the two layers are placed
in lines parallel to those of the plantation at eight inches’
distance from each other, and in such a way that the stems
are opposed to each other in the direction of this line.

898 FIG CULTURE IN THE

The surface of the hole should be at least a feet below that
of the surrounding soil. The rest of the soil is arranged
slantwise round the stem of the layer, so that the rain-
water may be easily retained round the roots of the young
trees. The trees are planted five or six yards apart, the
lines being separated by a space of about four yards, so as
to form a kind of quincuncial arrangement. These young
plants are left to themselves during the whole of the
summer, care being taken to keep them from drought by
means of frequent watering and careful covering. During
the first half of November, when the first cold days set in
and the trees are completely bare of leaves, a dry day is
chosen when the ground is not too damp, and the young
branch is carefully bent downwards until it reaches the
bottom of the

F10- 913- trench. It is

' then covered up
g? with a layer of
, 5 ”4.4,” earth a foot deep
. Fm“ to preserve it
l;¢:#-.7<\:z from the cold.
,9/,/,/7M‘1/\77\<7/“”“'” Towards the end

Section showing Fig Tree growing on level ground. of February, as

soon as the
weather has become mild, the branches are uncovered and
the trench is arranged the same as it was before earthing
up. The development of the young plant is again allowed
to proceed during the summer, after which it is once more
earthed up in November.

The third spring after planting, a fine day is chosen to-
wards the middle of March—the young stem is cut at from
six to eight inches from the ground so as to favour the pro-
duction of a large crop of shoots, which will afterwards form
the principal branches of the tree. These shoots are allowed
to grow through the summer, and are earthed up in autumn.
This process is performed according to the following
directions :—A dry day is chosen when the soil is in a
friable condition, so that it will fill the spaces between the
branches without leaving any empty places. The soil used

   
      

NEIGHBOURHOOD or PARIS. 399

should be free from leaves, grass, and straw, which if they
were allowed to come in contact with the buried branches
would cause them to become rotten. It is also necessary
to pull off the half-grown autumn figs, which would rot in
the earth, and cause the same mischief as any other de-
composing vegetable matter. These precautions having been
taken, the branches of the tree are divided into four equal
bundles, each being tied together with string. As many
trenches as there are bundles of branches are then dug in the
ground. Each

trench com- F10“ 214-

mences at the "
foot of the tree,
and is made of
sufficient depth
to contain the
bundles of bran-
ches. They are
dug in different
directions, ac-
cording as the
ground is in-
clined or hori-
zontal. In the
formercase they
are dug all in

the same up- Showing the Mode of burying the Fig Trees cultivated
ward direction on level ground, to preserve them from being destroyed

_ _ by frost in winter.
as in Fig. 217 ;
when, however, the ground is horizontal, they radiate equally
from the centre. The earthing up of the branches being ac-
complished accordingtothesedircetions, each bundle is covered
with mould t0 the depth of eight inches, a small cone being
piled up exactly over the root.

Towards the end of February of the fourth or fifth
year of planting, a damp warm day is chosen for uncovering
the buried Fig trees. The sooner this operation is accom-
plished the more forward will be the growth of the tree,
and the ripening Of the fruit; but the early fruit is often

 

400 FIG CULTURE IN THE

destroyed by the late frosts. For this reason some growers
prefer to defer this operation until the end of March, al-
though the trecs frequently suffer from being thus suddenly
exposed to the heat of the sun, and the fruit does not
ripen so well. Others uncover one-half their trees at the
end of February, and the other half at the end of March.
By this means a better average crop is insured both in
quality and quantity. The branches are separated from
each other by equal distances so as to avoid confusion, as
well as to prevent
FIG- 215- the leaves from rub-
bing against the
fruit, which would
have the effect of
blackening them,
and render them
comparatively
worthless. Those
branches that are
too near the ground
are also held up by
means of forked
pieces of wood. The
soil is carefully le-
velled where the
ground is horizon-
. . ‘ tal, a little hollow

Fig Tree planted on sloping ground, wrtli Larth .
Basin on lower side to better retain the water. bClllg made round
the root of the tree
to hold the rain water. Trees that are planted on
sloping ground require hollows to he made in the
soil, so that the water which flows from the higher
ground may be collected at the root of each tree.
In this way a proper degree of moisture is insured
during the whole of the summer, besides which the
soil is prevented from being cut up by the rains.
This plan would seem to be peculiarly well suited
to plantations on the steep slopes of railway embank-
ments. IIcnecforward the young shoots growing from

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD or PARIS. 401

the stock are carefully cut off; otherwise they would
weaken the larger branches. These precautions are taken
during the fifth

year. FIG. 216.

Inthe spring
of the sixth
year the oldest
branches are of
the form shown
in Fig. 218.
The operation
of nipping off
the buds at the
end of each .1!
branch is per- “I,“

formed as soon
Section showing Fig Tree planted on inclined ground,
as the uncov‘ with Earth Basin to retain the w.atcr

ered trees begin
to show signs of springing into leaf, that is to say that
on some fine day the bud on the end Of each lateral
shoot is pinched off so- as to favour the formation of buds
on the wood
F‘G- 217- lower down, as
well as for the en-
couragement of
any young figs
that already
show signs of
making their ap-
pearance. About
one-half Of the
buds on the side
branches are
also pinched ofl',

 

 

F 1 Tree lanted on 510 inc; earth buried for the .
b p w1nter Iinanths ChOOSIIlg those

that are nearest

to the young figs. Two, however, are always left on near the

base of each branch, and one towards the tip,_ in order to draw

up the sap. The end shoot of each branch is treated in the
D D

402

FIG CULTURE IN THE

same manner but with this difference, that the bud imme-

FIG. 218.

 

Stem of Fig the sixth
'ear after planting.
The points of the
shoots A, A, A, A,
are pinched off in
spring to favour the
development of the
Figs, and also of
wood-buds at the
base of the shoots.

diately below the one at the end is allowed
to remain on, as well as one or two more
for the purpose of producing side branches,
which ought to be left about a foot from
each other on each stem. As soon as the
young shoots attain the length of about
two inches, the shoots on all the lateral
branches and on the end branch are nipped
off—a fine day being chosen for the purpose.
Of the former only a single shoot—the
one nearest the base of the branch—is
allowed to remain so as to replace the one
which bears the fruit of the year. The
shoot at the end of the terminal branch is
allowed to remain, and some of the lateral
ones intended to bear fruit in the follow-
ing year. These last are spaced out so
that they may receive an equal amount of
sunshine without being interwoven or rub-
bing their leaves against the fruit. As
soon as the proper number of branches
that each stool ought to bear is reached,

all new shoots growing on the parent stem are nipped off.
Although the figswhich make their

appearance during the current year FIG-1’19-

ripen with difficulty, a certain number
may be grown in favourable years.
To hasten their ripening you must
proceed in the following manner.
These branches which appear to be
most prolific are allowed to retain
two shoots at their base instead of
only one. The one nearest the base
is intended to produce the young figs
for the following year, the other the
autumn figs. In order to force
these latter into rapid growth the
end of the shoot must be nipped

 

Fig branch with young Figs.
The lateral side buds,
A, ll, B, B, are pinched in
spring—two at the base,
1), I), and one at the apex,

C, being left.

NEIGHBOURHOOD or PARIS. 403

Off as soon as it has attained the length of four or
five inches. As the process of forcing autumn figs
to ripen makes the trees weaker and less able to produce
the buds, or “fig flowers,” for the next year, only those
which are strong and vigorous should be chosen for the
purpose.

Should the late frosts destroy the crop Of figs, an
event which may take place before the middle of May,
summer pruning must be resorted
to, that is to say, each lateral Fm."o .
branch is pruned back to near
the stem. This Operation causes
the sap to flow to the old wood
and produce a large crop Of shoots.
This circumstance is taken advan-
tage of to fill up empty spaces, of
course taking care tO leave only
those shoots growing that are
really useful. The shoots are
thinned out according to the me-
thod already described.

After the figs are gathered,
each branch bearing fruit presents
the appearance shown in fig. 220,
or that in fig. 221, if the shoots Branch 9f Fig Tree after the
have been retained so that we $131333;ng t};§lf;f5-lyb§g§§
may have autumn figs. Towards some of__the lmvetlt‘igs may
the end 0f Augus" a dry day is $3323. lleileoi’lttititcytltZie t2:
chosen for cleaning the figgery. borne figsis cutatB-

The portions of the shoots which

have borne fruit are cut off as shown at fig. 220, and
useless shoots are taken away just above the lowest eye. If
this eye should develope the succeeding year it is disbudded
in its turn. Withered branches are also removed quite
close to the stem, care being taken to cover the open places
with grafting wax. Some growers leave this Operation until
the spring of the following year, but prunings made at that
time give rise to a much greater loss of sap, and the
wounds made in the tree heal up with great difficulty.

D 1) 2

 

404 FIG CULTURE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF PARIS.

In the spring of the seventh year the lateral branches of
each stem are treated like those of the preceding year.
The other operations are similar to those already described.
The principal branches are allowed to grow longer every
year, taking care to allow the fruit-bearing shoots, which
are replaced from year to year, like those of the Peach tree,
to remain at regular intervals. When the branches have
grown to the length of from six to nine feet, their growth
should be checked, other-
wise the sap will desert
the fruit-bearing branches
at the sides, and so cause
them to wither away.
\Vhen sufficiently long
the principal are treated
in the same way as di-
rected for the side
branches.

The earthing up to
which the branches of the
Fig tree are subjected
every year causes them
to grow in a horizontal
direction a foot or eigh-
teen inches from the

.. n _ ground. This is an ele-

”$323.53’31‘liftiiiffiryfil‘fgfififift‘fififif ment of for

coming year‘s crop; l) is pinched back the one hand the fruit
to help the ripening of some of the Figs

of the current year; and the fruit has nearest to the ground

been gathered from the nakedshoot,\\'hich receives the greater part

is cut at l). ,

of the heat and ripens
readily, and on the other the sap is more evenly distri-
buted amongst the different side branches. The Ar-
genteuil Fig trees begin to bear when they are six years
old, and are in full perfection at ten years. They live a long
time, but it is necessary to renew the long and old stems,
which wear out every twelve or fifteen years. For this pur-
pose the rcquisite number of shoots are allowed to grow on
the parent stem to replace those which are cutaway in the

1710.252].

 

PRESERVING GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER. 405

August following. The soil round the trees should be dug
up every year in the spring after having unearthed the
branches and before covering in the trenches at the foot of
the tree. They should also be well watered several times
during the summer and manured every three years. The
practice of putting a dr0p of fine oil into the eye of
the fruit just as it colours and shows signs of opening, to
hasten its maturity, is employed about Paris, especially during
cold summers.

Preserving Grapes through the Winter without letting them
hang on the Vines.

The preservation of grapes through the winter with the
least amount of trouble is one of the most important of all
matters to the British grape grower. Every cultivator,
young or old, knows to his cost what a task it is to keep
grapes hanging all the winter after they are ripe, especially
in places where there are a good many houses devoted to
vines. The latest books on the vine give directions for
regulating the vincries so as to preserve the grapes on the
vine after they are ripe, and every calendar of operations
tells us how to manage them in that respect, though I fear
the directions are not always intelligible. Ilere, for
instance, is an extract from a recent issue of a leading
garden paper :——“ Those who wish to keep grapes hanging
as fresh and plump as possible to the longest possible period,
must take care not to afford them too much heat, as an
excess of this, no matter how dry the structure may be, or
how favourably treated otherwise, is sure to cause them to
shrivel more or less prematurely. Give only just such
warmth to the pipes or flues as will insure sufficient buoy-
ancy to any humidity (!) which may arise in the house as to
enable it to make its escape. Independently of the ill
effects caused by actual heat, a too warm atmosphere, even
in the driest house, will cause a correspondingly excessive
evaporation and consequent condensation.” Then of course
we must have fire heat and give air when foggy days occur,
“ as,” says Mr. Thompson of Chiswick—“ the mean tempe-

406 PRESERVING GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER

rature of this month (November) is on the average little
above 40°, and the air is generally saturated with moisture.
When this is the case, moisture will be deposited on all
substances exposed to the air, if they are not warmer than
it is. Grapes that are ripe should therefore be kept
warmer than the air, otherwise they will be liable to damp.
The application of fire heat would effect this : but if it were
applied suddenly, and without air being given at the same
time, the heated air would deposit moisture on the berries ;
for although these would ultimately acquire the same tem-
perature as that of the air surrounding them, yet for a time
they would be colder, and so long as this is the case they
would act as condensers of the moisture in the warmer air
in contact with them. The more rapidly the air is heated,
the greater for a time will be the difference between the
temperature of the fruit and that of the air, and of course
the slower the heating the less at any time will be the
difference. Give therefore in damp weather, a little fire
heat in the morning and admit air. If the nights are cold,
the temperature of the house should not be allowed to fall
lower than 45°.”

Here then are nice operations and a lot of trouble to
bestow on perhaps half a dozen houses during the winter
months! If the vineries are shaky and badly heated, the
task is most difficult and annoying; in the best constructed
ones it is a great and needless labour. The trouble of
regulating the atmosphere, the expense for fire heat, and
the necessity of keeping the house almost entirely devoted
to the grapes, must render any improvement very acceptable.
Several times during the spring of 1867 I noticed grapes
hanging from branches the ends of which were inserted in
vases of water—grapes which the exhibitors described as
having been for a long time so preserved in a fresh state.
From such few specimens I did not derive sufficient confi-
dence in the method to speak with certainty of its merits,
but having since then visited a good many gardens in which
the method is practised, I found that it is accepted as a great
boon by some of the best gardeners in France, and their
system of keeping grapes has been altered accordingly.

WITHOUT LETTING THEM HANG ON THE VINES. 4:07

The best example in a private place was in the gardens of
Ferriéres, the magnificent country seat of Baron Rothschild.
Here they have constructed, in addition to very fine and
well filled fruit rooms, a grape room, which is filled with
stands thickly hung from top to bottom with all kinds of
grapes. M. Bergman, the manager, was cutting down all
his grapes in harvest fashion, and would in a few weeks, as
soon as the latest houses were ripe, have his many and
well managed vineries to do as he pleased with: ripen the
wood, prIme and clean the vines, or utilize the cleared
space of the houses for any purpose that might be con-

FIG. 222. FIG. 223. FIG. 224.

1r :1:

     

Thomery mode of fixing I‘erriéres mode of fixing Portion of upright
the bottles. the bottles. used in Grape-
room at Ferriéres.

venient, not fearing as we do to spill a drop of water or
make full use of the house.

The grapes are cut with a considerable portion of the
shoot attached, much as if one were pruning the vine ; the
shoot is inserted in a narrow-necked and small bottle con-
taining water, and these little bottles are fixed firmly along,
so that the bunches hang just clear of each other. In the
first instance two pretty strong uprights are erected,
each supported on three legs. Then from one to the other
of these, on both sides alternately, are nailed sets of strong
laths, two for each line of bottles. These laths are kept an
inch and a half or so apart by a piece of wood at each end ;
in the inner one are made incisions, into Which the bottom

408 PRESERVING GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER

of each little bottle fits, and then the outer lath has a con-
cave incision in which the side of the bottle rests, so that,
caught in the inner and leaning firmly on the outer lath, it
holds the stem and stout bunch quite firmly. I thus par-
ticularize it from having seen other ways of doing the same
thing less neatly and simply than this. “'alking space was
left between the walls of grapes ; for six or seven rows were
arranged one above another on both sides of each support.

Charcoal is mixed with water, allowed to stand for some
time, and then the water is strained off to fill the bottles.
But there can be no doubt that to put a pinch of animal
charcoal in each bottle would prove a better plan of guarding
the water from any impurity from the slight deposit of or-
ganic matter that might be expected,- at least, it does not
seem very clear how charcoal removed from the water before
the vine—stem is put in can have much effect in keeping it
pure. However, this is not an important matter, and it is
certain that a pinch of animal charcoal, which is very cheap,
will keep the water quite sweet. One cultivator who keeps
grapes on a large scale by this method, never uses any char-
coal at all, but simply fills his little bottles almost full with
water, and then inserts the branches, which nearly close the
necks of them. He appeared quite as well satisfied with
the plan as those who had taken more pains to keep the
water sweet. In case evaporation should cause the water
in the bottles to fall below the bases of the shoots it is
simply necessary to add a little more.

Of course it will be understood in a moment that with
one-tenth the amount of expense and trouble that is now
necessary in large grape-growing places, we may in a grape-
room like this maintain conditions infinitely better calculated
for the preservation of the fruit than the atmosphere of any
vinery can possibly be. \Ve may keep the fruit dark, pre-
serve the necessary amount of dryness in the atmosphere,
and keep up a temperature constantly equal—all of which
are essential to the well-being of fruits, and none of which
can possibly be attained in the house in which the grapes
are grown. It would of course be wise, in arranging a room
of the sort, to have hollow walls and other contrivances to

WITHOUT LETTING THEM HANG ON THE VINES. 409

attain the conditions under which fruit is known to keep
best.

M. RoseCharmeux, the great grape grower of Thomery,
was, I believe, the first to try this plan. Now, as we grow
by far the best and largest quantity of hothousc grapes of
any country, this method will prove of far more use to us
than to the‘ French. I was told by experienced French
growers who have adopted the system, that they keep the
fruit as long this way as upon the vine, with fewer mouldy

FIG. 225.

 

 

Interior of Grape-room in which the System described is carried out.

berries, and almost without trouble ; and it is not likely
that a man would cut down half a dozen houses of fine
grapes at the beginning of October unless he had already
proved it to be a good system. The advantage of having
all the stock of grapes safely housed and away from the
attacks of vermin and other interlopers, is another of the
many presented by this plan, which I now leave in the
reader’s hands for trial, confident that it will prove a great
boon to the grape grower, and tend to make that fruit—

410 PRESERVING’ GRAPES THROUGH THE WINTER

every day growing in popularity—a great deal more enjoy-
able and obtainable in the winter and early spring months.
For if it be a process requiring much care in large well-eon-
ductcd gardens, how much more difficult must it be for the
large class of amateurs and small gardeners to preserve their
fruit in good condition? In places where the stock of grapes ‘
is not sufficient to require a special room for their keeping,
part of the fruit room might be adopted, or even a dry
cellar or store-room.

The above was written previous to visiting M. Rose-Char-
mcux, with whom the system originated. I have since seen
his grapes stored for the winter; the method was in full
working order, and even more simple and effective than could
have been supposed. He began by having a stove and a
couple of chimneys to try to regulate the atmosphere of his
large grape-room; but finding that the grapes keep very
much better without this, he now simply devotes to his
winter stock a large room in his house, fitting it up in all
parts to accommodate handily the little bottles before spoken
of, padding the inside of the windows so as to exclude light,
and obviate, as far as possible, changes of temperature. The
grapes are cut in October, and preserved in good condition
until April, when his earliest are ripe. He has frequently
shown them in May, and even later, and has kept them till
August; but of course the quality cannot be expected to be
good after such very long keeping, which is merely done for
the sake of show. A small room in M. Rose-Charmeux’s
house illustrates to a nieety the fact that a similar one in
most houses may be made to answer the purposes of keeping
grapes. It has no windows, and scarcely any means of ven-
tilation. The house is heated by hot air; but while there
are openings in the floor of the passages and other rooms
to admit this, there are none in this little room in which the
grapes keep perfectly. Thus it is clear that the ordinary
dwelling house will present suitable conditions for the long
preservation of grapes. The system was attractive enough
when it was considered necessary to construct a room specially
to carry it out; it is much more so now when it has been
proved that not only is it not necessary to take any special

WITHOUT LETTING THEM HANG ON THE VINES. 411

means to warm or ventilate the structure, but that the grapes
keep much better without that trouble. The first result of
the method was a gain to the village of Thomery, which
is almost wholly occupied with grape culture, of from
100,000 to 150,000 francs per annum. The system enables
the cultivators to keep their grapes much later than of old,
and thus to add considerably to their revenue.

Since the above was written this system has been tried
and favourably reported on by Mr. Hill of Kecle Hall, the
famous grape grower, and by other practical men. Mr.
TVhittaker of Crewe Hall sent some to a meeting of the
Horticultural Society, but he had taken unnecessary trouble
by corking and sealing the bottles. The insertion of the
shoot into a bottle of water is all that is required, and as
the bottles used are little more than wide enough at the
neck to admit the shoot, the evaporating surface exposed is
very small. It was urged against the method at this meet-
ing that the grapes “lose their sugar.” This is not the
case unless the fruit is kept a very long time. The French
in carrying out their experiments have kept some of their
grapes as long as they could, and have frequently shown
them in a nice plump condition long after they ripen their
early grapes—just for the “ honour of the thing.” In these
instances a loss of sugar was no doubt perceptible; but
what kind of flavour would berries possess if left hanging on
the vine till the summer months when the Frenchmen ex-
hibited their grapes? The necessity for keeping the grapes
till they lose their sugar does not exist. In most of our large
gardens grapes are forced early, and would be ripe before the
fruit of the previous year had lost its virtues in the least
degree. And in our comparatively small gardens, containing
perhaps a vinery or two, how many bunches of grapes are
left after the; consumption of the winter months? To be
able to clear the vincries of grapes for two months before
the ordinary time would be a decided gain to thousands of
gardeners in this country.

“About the 15th of April,” says Mr. Thompson, “the
sap began to rise in the vines, and some of the berries that
were a little shrivelled suddenly got plump, while others

412 THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY.

that had shown no signs of shrivelling burst their skins,
and the sap of the vine that had forced itself into them
began to drip from them!” Surely even in such a case as
this it would be a gain to the grape grower to cut his grapes
a few weeks before any danger of such a thing existed, and
thereby keep them a little longer from bursting their skins
and giving forth what cannot be very rich in sugar! The
expense and care required to keep grapes during the dull
and cold months of winter in the ordinary way is very con-
siderable, and the inconvenience and loss of space are great.
The latest writers among grape growers recommend the
surface of the “interior borders to be kept perfectly dry
and to remain so all the winter, care being taken that as
little sweeping or raking takes place as possible, for by this
means dust is raised which settles on the bunches.” Prac-
tically speaking, houses treated in this way are nearly use-
less for anything except keeping the grapes, consuming
fuel, and wasting labour. Remove the necessity of keeping
grapes on the vines long after they are thoroughly ripe,
and the houses may be filled at a season when every inch of
the room in vineries is wanted for storing plants.

The Culture of the Vine at T lwmery.

At first I had intended to say nothing whatever about
the grapes grown against walls in the open air, but further
consideration has shown me that the culture of the
grape in this way may be attempted with profit over
a large part of the southern and midland counties
of England, and therefore an account is given ’of the
successful and highly interesting culture of the Chasselas
Grape near Paris, where it must be grown against
walls as well as with us. Respecting this grape, it
may be well to notice that when well ripened against
walls the French think it the best grape ever grown, and
superior to our hothouse grapes, fine as they look. Here
I am simply stating an opinion without endorsing it,
merely addingr that this estimate is not solely confined
to those who have no opportunity of judging both sides

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 413

of the question, but was held by the late Baron Rothschild,
who grew all our finest grapes. Grape culture is often
successful against houses with us when it receives mere
chance attention from cottagers and others. By selecting
the soil and position, and really paying some attention to
protecting and cultivating the Vine, we may grow capital
grapes against our walls, even in many places where ground
vineries are now resorted to. Should any person doubt
the possibility of cultivating the Chasselas and others of
our best hardy grapes in the open air, I have merely to

FIG. 226.

 

 

 

 

“'all of Chasselas at Thornery, showing the Vines trained as Horizontal
Cordons, and both in a pruned and unpruned condition.

refer him to the horticultural papers for the autumn of 1868.
They contain abundant evidence that even with the rough
treatment grapes now receive in the open air, it is quite
possible to grow them of good quality on walls. Grapes
are already grown well in the open air in a few places—
by Mr. Darkin, at Bury St. Edmunds, for example ; and by
Mr. Penn, in the Rectory Garden at Woodstock; so that
there can be no doubt about the possibility of ripening good
grapes over a considerable portion of England and Ireland.

It is necessary to observe that the plan is only recom-
mended for warm soils and positions, for gardens not having

414 THE CULTURE or run VINE AT THOMERY.

much glass and yet some wall space, for covering cottages,
out-offices, &c., and not in any way as a substitute for Vine
culture indoors. It may, nevertheless, be added that I
have never yet tasted the Chasselas de Fontainebleau or
Royal Muscadine nearly so

FIG- 227- well flavoured as when

grown in the open air, and
that all who admire this
grape would do well to
attempt its culture on warm
walls. The culture of the

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIG. 228.

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

 

 

‘F‘y <~W> V- _

 

 

 

 

‘(J K-“

 

/"‘

 

 

 

 

 

 

’-/F\'\ r"

in

H-
y
I

Vines trained Vertically with alter-

Rose-Charmeux’s System of Vertical nated spurs, wires nine inches apart
Training. The Vines are planted at on wall; Vines about twenty-eight
sixteen inches apart. inches apart.

Chasselas de Fontaineblcau at Thomery and other places in
the vicinity of Paris is the best example of open air culture
anywhere to be found ; and this variety, more generally
known in England as the Royal Muscadine, is also far the
best for culture in the open air in this country.

 

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 415

An account of the grape growing at this place from the pen
of M. Rose-Charmeux is likely to convey the most practical

information on the
subject, and the fol-
lowing is translated
from his “ Culture
de Chasselas z”—
“At Thomery the
soil is of a sandy and
clayey nature, and
mixed with pebbles
in those parts which
are near the river.
The soil is at all
times easy to work.
Near the Seine it
lacks depth—so much
so, indeed, that be-
fore cultivation it has

FIG. 229.

 

Low Double Espalier, and Mode of Protecting

‘the Vines.

to be dug and trenched so as to remove some of the stony
subsoil. Everywhere else the layer of vegetable mould

F IG. 230.

 

Section of top of wall at Thomcry, showing
the projection of the temporary coping.

measures from four feet
six inches to six feet in
thickness. This layer
lies on a reddish clay of
about the same thickness,
and beneath the clay is a
broken-up stratum of
building stone filled. with
fissures. This building
stone is easily extracted.
The grapes ripen a fort-
night earlier in the flinty
districts than in those
parts in which the soil
is deeper and richer.

“The gardens at Thomery, taken altogether, present
much the appearance of those of Montreuil-sur-Bois.
There isnnothing but walls in all directions, distant from

416 THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY.

each other about forty feet, and ten feet high. This
height has only obtained during the last fifteen years,
before which period they were rarely higher than six
or seven feet. The change has been advantageous for
two reasons; first, the grape growers have been able to
increase the space required for their purpose by taking pos-
session of a larger portion of air instead of having to buy
fresh ground; and secondly, the high walls

are found to improve the appearance and FIG-232-
quality of the grapes. The walls are built of 1
hard stone quarried in the neighbourhood,

FIG. 23].

 

 

 

Sulphur Distributor employed at Thornery.

the stones being laid with mud only. The

face of the wall is then covered with a

mortar made of lime and sand, and is mulling *0 obtain
, . tie two arms of

finally covered with the same material um Cordon.

thinned to a cream.

“ Every wall is topped with a roof of pantiles, surmounted
by a row of gutter tiles. These roofs project about ten inches,
and below them are fixed at every yard iron rods, inclined
slightly downwards. These supports project about twenty
inches beyond the edge of the tiles, affording altogether a
support of at least two feet six inches wide. Upon this is
fixed, when occasion requires it, a coping of bituminized felt,
or, where economy is necessary, a piece of thin plank. The

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 417

bituminized felt is stretched on frames of wood, about
ten feet in length by eighteen inches in width, the felt
being fastened to them by means of small nails. These
frames are chiefly used when the grapes are perfectly ripe,
which is generally about September 15, or when there
is danger of the fruit being spoilt by heavy rains. Formerly,
before these methods of shelter were employed, large quan-
tities of grapes were continually
lost through becoming rotten with 13‘19‘234-
the wet; since their adoption,
however, there is no fear of such a
result. The size of the temporary
copings to be used is always de-

‘M
V'-

M

 

 

Low Espalier of Vines trained vertically,
four feet high.

pendent on the aspect and height
of the walls. “'ith walls facing
the south and ten feet high,
frames containing felt at least
thirty inches in width ought to be
used. \Vith a western aspect, they
ought to be even wider, in order to avoid all danger from
the heavy rains. “’ith the old low walls, frames twenty-
four inches wide for the south, twenty-eight inches for the
west, and sixteen inches for the east, were found to be quite
sufficient.”

“After selecting a proper position and soil, the most
important point is the sulphuring to prevent the Oidium.

E E

 

Layer of Vine raised and
planted in basket.

418 THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY.

Sulphur is the effective cure for this pest, and it should be
applied directly after the first pinching of the shoots, at a
temperature below 96° Fahr. in the open air. If the heat
is too great, the young skin of the grape is liable to become
decomposed. In full sunshine at noon the fruit would be
burnt up in an hour’s time. Sulphuring may be carried
on while the dew is falling. There is no fear in this case
of soiling the grapes. The operation should not be deferred
until the Oidium has made its appearance. The second

FIG. 235.

 

‘J._

Mun-able Scatlbltl used for thinning the Grapes.

sulphnring should be performed when the grapes are about as
large as a pea, or even earlier ifthc Oidium has appeared at all.
lt would be preferable to sulphur while the \‘illCS are in flower.
The operation is performed with sublimated sulphur, blown
upon the vine with a pair of bellows (Fig. 231) specially
contrived for the purpose. It may be effectively done with-
out the operator standing an instant in one spot, but passing
quickly along the line. In these latitudes heavy rains
destroy in part the effect of the sulphur, and it is nearly
always necessary to repeat the operation three or four times.

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 419

If the grapes themselves are attacked, it is on them that the
flowers of sulphur should be applied. It has been remarked
that under sunshine the Oidium may be totally destroyed in
one hour, a result that may be attributed to the speedier
disengagement of sulphurous acid gas by the heat of the sun,
but it is dangerous to apply it if the sun is too strong.”
The pruning of the vine is so well understood in England
that it is needless to give it here in the full detail with which
it is honoured in M. Rosc-Charmcux’s book, the “Culture
du Chasselas.” Indeed, after having translated his direc-

Fie. 236. Fm. 237.

 

Frame for carrying small bas-
kets filled with Grapes from
the walls to the store-rooms :
four feet high at back,

Shade to protect the Grape-thinners from thirty-one inches wide, and

strong sun. ten inches and a half deep.

 

tions their painful and unnecessary minuteness and great
length have obliged me to omit them. The system as shown
in Figs. 227 and 228 is simply the well known spur pruning
practised in nearly every English vinery. There are indeed
several modifications of training ; but this as everybody knows
is of no real importance. In this case, as with the vine
indoors, the selection of a proper medium for the roots is of
far greater importance than anything else, while the
simplest form and the best system of pruning are without
doubt the same as those seen in our vincrics—an erect
E E 2

420 THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY.

stem with the side shoots annually pruned in. At Thomery
the vine is frequently trained as a horizontal cordon line
over line; but to execute this form well requires time and
skill, which only eultivators who devote themselves specially
to it can afi'ord, and it may be safely said that letting the
vines run straight up the walls and with their spurs at each
side is better than any less simple mode. The really im-

FIG. 238. F10. 239. FIG. 240.

   

   

4'

 

' ‘7‘ "(-94 t;

 

Mode of Grafting the Mode of Grafting the Vine, by Gouge used in

Vine at Thomery. approach, practised at Tho- Grafting theVine:

nu-ry. ten inches long.

portant points to bear in mind are—first, the warmer the
exposure is, the better for the grape; second, that the walls
are white, or nearly so, as the vines get more heat on such
walls than they do on dark ones, and are maintained in
better health; third, that wide and efficient eopings are
used to permit the fruit to thoroughly ripen in autumn,
and prevent its being spoiled by heavy rains; and that the

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 421

higher walls are found to possess an advantage over the
lower ones. The plants are frequently raised in rough
baskets for convenience of removal and sale. Several of the
appliances here in use are sensible ones, which might be
found useful in other ways than that of vine culture. I
allude to the moveable scaffold to facilitate the labours of the
women who attend to the walls in summer (Fig. 235), the
shade to shield them from the sun (Fig. 236), and the frame
for conveying a number of small baskets laden with grapes
from the walls to the grape room (Fig. 237).

Grafting is frequently performed, and chiefly to replace a
bad by a good variety, or to hasten the fructification of a new
one. The plant is cut down
to within nine or ten inches FIG. 241.
of the soil, and with the
gouge (Fig. 2440) an incision
is made on the smoothest side,
a corresponding cut being
made in a scion or in the
stem of a young plant, both
of which methods are shown
in Figs. 238 and 239. The
grafting is performed as soon
as the sap begins to move in . _ ‘ .
sprlng, and the grafts.are tled Small Pit used for Forcing the
and covered w1th graftlngwax, Vine.
as shown in Fig. 239.

A particularly noticeable feature in the cultivation, is
that the young vines are as a rule planted at a considerable
distance from the wall—say a little more than three feet,
and the stem laid into the ground to near the base of
the wall. Sometimes the stem is allowed to rise some
distance from the wall, and in the following year when it
has grown a little it is again lowered and taken to the wall.
This method is obviously pursued to secure a number of
vigorous roots spread over a large surface. Where the
ground is stony and poor it is probably a good plan.

As regards the forcing of grapes at Thomery, I need
hardly say there is little to note of any importance to

 

422 THE CULTURE OF THE VINE AT THOMERY.

the British grape grower, who is certainly in advance of
all others as regards the indoor culture of this old and ever
popular fruit. Nevertheless, M. Rose-Charmeux’s garden
exhibits such an advance on the ordinary style of forcing
grapes around Paris that it deserves a few words. “ The
walls of the pits are of brick; the highest, towards the
north, measures about five feet in height; the front
wall being only about two feet high. The width of the
hothouse at its base between the walls is about four
feet six inches, and the length indefinite. The higher wall
is covered on the top with a deal board a foot wide and

FIG. 242.

w“. \ 1“?“ »: ‘\ m . “\‘s‘

\ V \\ ~7“~ .. . ~.~‘T‘s ‘sm ‘~‘L‘

—\ \x » » \ .‘e" .. s ,
\ ‘v ,\ . , -\‘ r“ J ,«. a '.. ’ ,_ ,:_, ..
as A x . :*\.4.s..f\ ..g§?s'i . V. W. “o-

Small span-roofed house for forcing the Vine : ten feet five inches wide,
and live feet five inches high.

projecting towards the south ; the lower wall is covered in
the same way with a board five inches wide. The walls
ought to be rough cast, and kept perfectly white like those
of the gardens. Bars of iron serve as supports to the frames,
and to keep the walls in their places when the frames
are taken away, and rods provided with holes are placed
in the middle of each frame so that they may be opened to
different heights according to circumstances. A copper
hotwater pipe, four inches in diameter, serves to warm the
structure, and an entrance-door is constructed at each end.
Grape forcing begins from the 15th to the 25th of December,
in order to have ripe fruit by the end of April. During

 

THE CULTURE or THE VINE AT THOMERY. 423

the first fortnight the heat is not allowed to rise
above from 58° F. to 65° F. The fortnight after it is
allowed to rise to 78° F. or 80° F., from which time until
the grapes are ripe the heat is maintained at from 80° F.
to 88° F. The time of flowering requires a great deal of
attention, for on it depends entirely the success of the
result. In order that fecundation should take place under
the most favourable circumstances, and that the grapes
should be well formed, it is absolutely necessary that the
temperature should be maintained between 78° F. and
88° F. ; also that the vine should have plenty of light
and dry air.”

“ The low span-roofed house is constructed in the following
manner :—On the east and west are built two small brick
walls twenty—eight inches high, and in the centre of the
enclosed space are placed strong posts about five feet high,
and distant from each other about three feet. A plank
fourteen inches wide, nailed 011 the top of these posts, ties
them together solidly and forms a sort of coping. This
plank is covered with sheet zinc, and bars of iron are carried
from it to the walls serving as supports to the lights. At
each end a door is constructed for the attendants to go in
and out, and on each side is a thermometer for regulating
the temperature. The interior of the hothouse is about
ten feet wide at the base, so that the rows of vines are
distant from the side walls about eighteen or twenty inches,
and one side gets the effect of the sun in the morning,
the other in the afternoon. Two rows of pulleys are at-
tached to the wooden coping for working the straw mats,
which ought to be taken off every morning and replaced in
the evening.”

Thus M. Rose-Charmcux speaks of his forced culture of
the vine. In addition to the houses here figured and a1-
luded to he employs a well constructed portable lean-to
house—portable because the French yet believe in the
virtue of the plan of alternately forcing and resting their
trees, a system which we have long ago proved to be
worthless.

424

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE IMPERIAL FRUIT AND FORCING GARDENS AT VERSAILLES.
-—THE NEW FRUIT GARDEN OF THE CITY OF PARIS IN THE
BOIS DE VINCENNES.

THE imperial fruit and forcing gardens at Versailles form a
large establishment, not so costly nor nearly so fine as
Frogmore, but containing a few things novel and instructive
to the English visitor. Generally the crops do not display
the high cultivation nor the surface the rapid rotation to be
seen in the market gardens round Paris, but in the culture
of hardy fruits there is something to admire. It is a forcing,
culinary, and fruit garden solely, therefore there are few
pot plants to be seen, the houses being nearly all devoted to
the pine-apple. Some years ago the culture of this fruit
was considered by some of our gardening authorities to be
better understood in France than in England; but though
very fine pines are grown in the neighbourhood of Paris,
our pine growers are on the whole the best. Such growers
of the pine-apple as Mr. James Barnes of Bicton, Mr.
David Thompson, Mr. Rose at Frogmore, and many other
English gardeners, afi‘Ord us the best example of how to
produce it in the highest degree of perfection. The forcing
department is usually well-ordered and neat so far as the
more permanent houses go. In them the back walls may
be seen very prettily covered with the two well-known
Vincas, alba and roszea. To cover the walls of all kinds of
glass-houses devoted to ornamental purposes is an object
with most people who possess such things. It is very rarely
well accomplished, mostly from using a bad selection of
vigorous growing plants, which often get covered with insect
filth, and become a capital breeding place for it, or perhaps
never yield flowers. If anybody possessing a stove, pinc-

 

THE IMPERIAL FRUIT AND roacnie GARDENS. 425

house, or intermediate house, or any other warm structure
with a back walk and a border against it, will plant in it
and train against the wall the two pretty subjects named
above, plant for plant, the result will prove strikingly
pretty. The plants are always glossy and full of flower,
may be kept at two feet or allowed to grow six feet high,
and are always free from insects or vermin of any
kind. They keep neatly to the wall with but little trouble,
and bloom all over the surface, top as well as bottom.
They are in this state very useful for cutting, and the effect,
when you enter the house, is of the most pleasing kind.
Their culture in this way is far more satisfactory than in pots,
and in almost every warm stove or forcing house in France
you see them trained against the back walls. The system
of forcing grapes and early vegetables in very small rough
frames is extensively practised here.

The fruit growing department is undergoing a gradual
and complete alteration, especially as regards the choicer
Pears trained as espalicrs. So satisfactory is the system
adopted, that I am certain if English cultivators gene-
rally could get an idea of its excellence it would lead to a
revolution in our fruit culture, and a great improvement in
the appearance of our gardens. I know of no way whereby
we may so highly improve the garden culture of the Pear
than by paying more attention to it as an espalier tree. This
is also the opinion of many of the best fruit growers in
Britain, who agree that there is no finer fruit than that
gathered from well-managed espalicr' trees. It is well
known that some pears lose quality by being grown against
walls. It is equally certain that a fuller degree of sun and
exposure than the shoots and fruit get on a pyramidal tree is
very desirable in many parts of this country, especially for
particular kinds. Many sorts grow beautifully as pyramids ;
others, to be had in perfection, must be grown upon walls ;
but by means of the improved espalier system the majority
of the finer kinds may be grown to the highest excellence.
If the French can teach us nothing else they can certainly
give us a lesson as to the improvement in appearance,
cheapness, and utility of the espalier mode of growing

426 THE' IMPERIAL FRUIT AND

fI'Uit: CSpecially as regards the finer varieties of Pear
trees.

It should be borne in mind that the good opinion of espalier
trees given by British cultivators has been won by them under
great disadvantages, for nothing can be uglier or more inefli-
cient than the usual mode of supporting and training espaliers
in our gardens. It is generally so costly and disagreeable to
the eye, that it has been done away with for these reasons
alone in many gardens. I know some important ones near
London, and indeed in many parts of Britain, where the
espalier support is the most unworkmanlike and discredit-
able affair to be seen in the place. Great rough uprights
of wood, which soon rot and wabble out of positioh, thick
and costly bolt-like wire, cumbrous and eXpensive construc-
tion, and, in a word, so many disadvantages as would suffice
to prevent the prudent cultivator from attempting anything
of the kind. The form of tree used, too, is such that the
lower branches become impoverished,and often nearly useless.

To support his espalier fruit trees the Emperor’s gar-
dener, M. Hardy, has largely adopted a system which is at
once cheap, neat, and almost everlasting. Instead of em-
ploying ugly and perishable wooden supports he erects up-
rights of T-iron, and connects these with slender galvanized
wire. These are tightened with the little raidisseurs before
alluded to, and then there is an end of all trouble. He
manages to erect this trellising nine feet high for less
than a shilling a yard run, but it could not be done
so cheaply in smaller quantities. Then, instead of adopt-
ing the common form of espalier tree, with horizontal
branches, he more frequently uses trees of which each
branch ascends towards the top of the trellis, and thus
secures an equable flow of sap through the tree. The
accompanying figure (243) will give a better idea of both
trellis and tree than any description. There is no more
important matter connected with our fruit culture than this
very point, and therefore I should be much obliged to all
my readers, both amateur and professional, if they will give
the subject attention, as I am sure that by doing so they
will be led to largely adopt it, and much improve their fruit

 

FORCING GARDENS AT VERSAILLES. 427

culture. The finest stores of pears I have ever seen were in
gardens with a good length of tree trained in this manner;
and I know few places in France where the espalier
system is so extensively and so well carried out as here.
The form here represented is much better than the cordon
or singlebranched Pear tree, because a more free and
natural development is allowed to the tree, and at the same
time the trellis is covered quickly, and a considerable variety

FIG. 2-13.

 

w
J

 

 

‘

.4
W‘ TV‘I’

L

ra\

 

A

 

.‘WF

 

 

j

 

..—14

 

 

 

\W wav

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trellis fer Pear Trees : ten feet high. Uprights and stays of T—iron, horizontal
lines slender galvanized wire; vertical lines, pine-wood half an inch square
and painted green: to these the ascending branches are trained.

of fruit may be obtained from a small space. It is very
extensively adopted by M. Hardy, upon walls as well as on
the neat and elegant trellis, of which he has constructed so
much. Of course the Palmette Verrier, the fan, or any
other form, may be trained on these trellises, but decidedly
the best are such as combine the advantages of quick
covering and early productiveness claimed, for the cordon,
and the fuller development and more pleasing appearance

428 THE IMPERIAL FRUIT AND

of the larger forms. It should be borne in mind that
planting erect cordons close together, as they must be
planted, involves a great expense which is avoided by
using trees of a fuller development. It takes a good many
years to form the large style of tree usually adopted,
and therefore I advise the general planting of these inter-
mediate forms.

Nothing can be neatcr alongside garden walks than lines
such as these trained on the trellis alluded to. There is
no shaking about of rough irons or wooden beams, no
falling down or loosening of the wires,- the fruit is firmly
attached and safe from gales, the wood is fully exposed,
and the trellis when well covered forms an elegant dividing
line in a garden. The best way to place them is at from
three to six feet from the edge of the walk, and if in the
space between the espalier and the walk a line of the cor-
dons elsewhere recommended be established, the effect and
result will prove very good indeed In some cases where
large quantities of fruit are required, it may be desirable to
run them across the squares at a distance of fifteen or
eighteen feet apart. The principle is quite simple, the proof
of which is that the trellises at Versailles were erected
by the garden workmen. M. Hardy, the head gardener at
Versailles, is the son of the celebrated writer on fruit trees
of that name, and has had much experience in fruit growing.
“ These trellises,” says he, “ are the cheapest as well as the
most ornamental that we have yet succeeded in making,
and the trees which I plant against them are of the form
that I prefer to all others, for promptly furnishing walls
and trellises, and for yielding a great number of varieties in
a comparatively restricted space.” The mode of employing
the uprights of pine wood painted green and reaching from
the top of the trellis to within six inches of the ground, is
not a common one, though very desirable where the erect
way of training the shoots is practised. The reader will
readily perceive that this system combines the advantages of
the cordon and the large tree. Of course many other
forms, or any form, may be used with this system of trel-

lising, with slight modifications to suit different kinds of

FIG. 244.

FORCING GARDENS AT VERSAILLES. 429

trees or different forms. The double trellis shown is simply
a modification of the preceding, and is not only desirable
where space is limited, but also for its economy, for one set of
uprights supports the two sets of wires simply by using cross

Double Trellis for Pear Trees, constructed on the same principle as that shown in the
preceding illustration.

 

bits of iron about eighteen inches long, and at the desired
distance apart. However, the engraving (fig. 244) shows
this at a glance.

The Pear as a low cordon is found to succeed very badly,
and to plant it as an oblique cordon at fifteen or eighteen

430 THE IMPERIAL FRUIT AND

inches apart is considered much too close and very unwise.
A white wall fourteen feet high covered with Easter Beurré
Pears was very fine indeed. The trees were mostly on the
Quince stock, a few on the Pear, but all bore equally well.
They were all trained in the five-branched form usually
adopted here, and had almost covered the tall white wall.
The fruit-growing foreman insisted very strongly on the
necessity of having white walls for fruit trees, and stated
that dark ones injured both fruit and leaves, while white
ones benefited both. White walls, apparently well lime-
washed every year, are to be found in every good establish-
ment, whether for peach, grape, or other wall fruit
culture. The Easter Beurré may be seen here double-worked
on the Cure. On one wall the trees are established and in
good bearing; on another they had been budded last year
only. The Curé is first grafted on the Quince and allowed
to form five vertical branches before it is budded. The
Easter Beurré is found to do best when double-grafted,
though the trees directly on the Quince and Pear seemed to
do well. The naked parts of the stems of fruit trees in this
garden were in many cases protected from injury from a
strong sun by being neatly covered with straight straw,
tied with willow twigs. Neatly done, it seemed better
than the commoner plan of placing slates or boards before
them. Brackets to support straw mats in spring are placed
on every wall at a little more than a yard apart.

There are a great many old and worn-out trees in the
garden which have a bad effect on its appearance here and
there, but the gradual adoption of the new trellises will
much improve matters. The Pear makes as strong a growth
here as I have ever seen it make in Britain, though some
of our growers are continually saying that quite a different
and very much more fruitful kind of wood is formed in the
fine climate of France. There are a few specimens of
forming letters with trees to be seen here, as in many other
French gardens.

\Vhen I last visited this garden 3T. Hardy had commenced
carrying out a system of protecting his espalier trees. The
plan is simply to st ‘ain lines of galvanized wire above the

 

FORCING GARDENS AT VERSAILLES. 431

top of the espalier, so as to form a low span when covered
with rough canvas. The sides are not covered, but the
protection at the top is sufficient to prevent

radiation, and to throw off heavy rains when “0- 945~
the trees are in bloom. If there is a wall //"\
running at right angles with the lines of fl
espaliers, wires are stretched from it so as :W

to form a light support over each espalier ; Section of pram
if not, a post is driven in so as to support tim} used for HB-
, , aher Trees at
and stretch the w1re 1n the firmest way. The 'ersainw
lower of these two lines may be sup-
posed to represent the top of the espalier, the upper a line
firmly supported at a few inches above it. ‘Vires are also
stretched at each side of this, at about twenty inches from it, so
as to form the outline of a very low span-roof of strained wire.
It is a matter of little difficulty to stretch cheap canvas of some
kind over these wires, letting it be an inch or two narrower
than the breadth between the outer wires, so that it may be
strained tight, say a yard for the canvas, and two inches more
for the wires. The outer margins must of course be firmly
threaded to the outer wires with twine or any convenient
tying or rough sewing material. Here they simply use
the stems of the glaucous or Hard
FIG-1’46- Rush (Juncus glaucus), which grows
wild all over Britain, and find it
answer admirably. A neat ridge is
then arranged over each line of espa-
liers, which throws off the rain and pre-
Q. _ , vents radiation, thereby saving the
k ide View of protecuon to , .
double line ot'lispaliel's. bloom from frost and 1nsur1ng a crop.
The protection is put up before the
buds are liable to be injured, and removed when the
fruit is set, and all danger has passed away. Thus a
very cheap and effective protection is secured. The old
trellising used for fruit growing in these gardens is
inferior compared to the new. The kinds of pears mostly
grown here are Easter Beurré, by which several walls
are covered ; Duehesse d’Angouléme, of which there
is a square of trellising in all nearly 600 yards long, and

 

 

432 THE IMPERIAL FRUIT AND FORCING GARDENS.

about nine feet high; Beurré Diel, and Louise Bonne
d’Avranchcs.

The Peach is well-grown and trained in some parts of the
garden, a form with five main branches being adopted with
success. It is analogous to the form used for the pear in
the same garden, and is very readily made.

In addition to the trellises above described, the most re-
markable feature of this garden is the presence of a vast
number of horizontal cordon Apple trees, both in single
lines and in superimposed ones of two or three stages, all
on galvanized wire. The trees are on the Paradise stock,
and nearly always confined to a single stem. These trees

FIG 247.

 

w» ,

larder of Superimposed Cordons at Versailles.

bore an enormous crop during the year 1868, but the fine
apples were nearly all destroyed by the worm. At the end
of September, the display of fruit was quite remark-
able, although much had fallen before that period, and the
year had been too hot for the perfect development of the
Apple. One border devoted to cordons is 300 métres
(98L feet) long, and altogether there is 4000 nletrcs of
cordon apples in the garden. As the greater portion of this
length is composed of two and three lines of wires placed at
distances of a foot one above the other, there is really quite
8000 meu‘es, or more than five miles of horizontal (or
French) cordon Apple trees on the true Paradise stock, and

 

THE NEW FRUIT GARDEN or mars. 433

the plantations are being extended as often as circumstances
will permit. It should be observed that though the cordons
are often grown in lines one above the other, one plant does
not furnish more than

one line except at the FIG-248-

ends. There, however,
it is necessary to take
several branches from
one plant to fur-
nish the two or three
lines of wire starting
from the same post. , , ,
Here; as in many Other Section of preceding.

gardens superintended

by experienced fruit growers, this’ mode of Apple growing
is preferred to any other, but the enormous number
planted best speaks of the estimation in which it is held.
The cordons, though generally well-managed, are not quite
so good as I have seen them elsewhere, and apparently
from being too closely confined to the main stem. I have
always noticed them best and most satisfactory when allowed
to form a free and regular bush of spurs along the stem.
The soil is as cold, stiff, and disagreeable for fruit culture
as could well be devoted to that purpose.

 

The new Fruit Garden of the City of Paris in the
Bois de Vincennes.

Not long since it was determined to make a new school
of fruit culture for Paris, and in the spring of 1868
the first trees were planted. Naturally there is but very
little to be seen as yet ; but, nevertheless, a description of
it can scarcely fail to be of use. As to plan and arrange-
ment it is almost identical with that given overleaf, and
recommended by M. Du Breuil for the north of France. It
is situated near the Avenue Daumesnil entrance to the
Bois de Yincennes. The first thing remarkable about the
new garden is its walls ; they are of felt, supported on a rough
wooden framework. The felt is first nailed on frames of

F F

434 TIIE NEW FRUIT GARDEN OF THE CITY OF PARIS

FIG. 249.
ANorth-

 

 

   
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IN THE BOIS DE VINCENNES. 435

wood about six feet long by four feet wide, which are
dropped into a groove made in the uprights, the stronger
framework being based upon a few inches of masonry; the
felt is whitened over, and the whole surmounted by a little
ridge-like coping. This peculiar form of wall was erected
in consequence of the objection of the authorities to have
any walls of solid materials in the neighbourhood, which is
so near the fort: but this merely helped to prove that in
cold northern countries we may hope to grow good fruit
by means of something less expensive than well-made brick
walls. These walls are about nine feet high, except at the
north end, where they are more than twelve feet high.

The garden, which is not a yard larger than is necessary
for the purpose to which it is devoted, is in two divisions——
one to illustrate the practical and profitable culture of fruit for
market, the other all the important modes of fruit culture,
the various curious and useful forms of wall and standard
trees, and, in a word, most things necessary to know con—
cerning the subject. The division devoted to illustrate the
mode of culture best calculated to afford a quick and certain
return is planted almost entirely with the finest of all winter
Pears, Easter Beurré, and that well-known Apple the
Calville Blane, one of the best of all Apples for either dessert
or culinary uses. The Pears are all cordons, either planted
against walls or espaliers, and the Apples are all the low
horizontal cordon, the form I have so often recommended.
The most valuable and excellent fruits are the only ones
cultivated. Most of the cordons against the walls are
oblique (thus, / / / / ), except at the high end wall, where
they are vertical. The Professor’s reason for adopting this
form, is that the walls are more readily covered by it, and
a much quicker return obtained; and of course he thinks
these advantages compensate for the expense of planting so
closely, or any other objection that may be urged against
the system. Between three and four thousand trees of
Easter Beurré, and the same number of Calville Blane, are
planted here in this small garden. The trees have done
very poorly indeed, having been planted too late, and it is
to be feared many of them will die, so that much in the

r r 2

436 THE NEW FRUIT GARDEN OF THE CITY OF PARIS

way of healthy and fertile specimens will not be seen for
some years.

One thing cannot fail to strike the British visitor who
takes an interest in fruit growing, and to give him a valu-
able lesson at the same time; precautions to protect the
trees effectually from wet and frost are taken, which are
never seen or thought of in British gardens. All round
the walls iron brackets project from immediately beneath
the permanent wooden coping, to receive wide copings made
of felt nailed on a cheap wooden framework, in lengths
about six feet long and over two Wide. These are slipped in
under the short permanent coping, and rest on the bracket,

the hooked point of which holds
1:10.250, them in position. A small eye
‘ /; is at the under side of each, so
’ " as to thoroughly fix the coping
by attaching each length with
a piece of wire to another eye
near the upper portion of the
wall. Thus a most effective and
excellent protection is afforded
the delicate blossoms and fruit

Galvanized iron bracket, more than . . . . .

two feet wide, for supporting a 1“ sprlng. Thls IS agalnSt the

temporary coping of biturninized “'alls) where the British cu]_

iclt. A Wll‘c passes through at . .

A for supporting curtains, where thatOl‘ occaSIOHally takes 8-

”‘050 ““3 “00°95“?- littlc trouble to protect his

I trees from the cold rains and
frosts of the budding and flowering season. Equal care is
taken to protect the espalicr trees—a thing which has never
yet been attempted by British fruit growers, who, however,
are not slow to contrast the difficulties they have to contend
against with those of the French, for whom of course the
climate is said to do everything. The protection for the
cspalicrs is afforded by iron rods projecting from the top of
the pine posts that are used to support the double cspa-
licrs, and running through them are six lines of galvanized
wire, forming a sort of span over the trees. A little above
these wires runs a stronger one, connecting the posts
beneath it, and resting on the lower wires are two lines of

 

IN THE 1301s DE VINCENNES. 437

neat thin frames of straw, each at least a yard wide. These
are firmly fixed down to the wires, so that in spring the
trees are placed under what may be called a neatly-thatched

FIG. 251.

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit tree in the Vase form,——0ne of many forms more curious than useful.
A7 Stake; B, B, Crossed sticks to sustain hoop in position. To form a.
handsome tree of this kind, eighteen or twenty branches are required.

‘

shed. No doubt some other material would look better
than the straw, but it is cheap, and when nailed firmly
between laths does not look untidy; and, moreover, it is
the object of the place to show the cheapest as well as the

438 THE NEW FRUIT GARDEN or THE CITY or PARIS

best modes of protection, and also the best way of applying
those most commonly in use; and the use of neat straw
mats for protecting walls is very common in France. Posts
of pine wood five or six inches in diameter are employed
to support the espaliers, because they are cheap; and, to

FIG. 25?.

7 .5

 

\ - a

.\- K; \‘ /‘ ,L’fi

., v" ;
\ . , .-
"X-ukh "3t "

  

Pear trained in Vase form, with the branches crossed. The branches are
grafted by approach where they cross each other, and the tree rendered
selllsnpportiug. It is somewhat better than the preceding form, and as
easy to make.

secure their durability, they are thoroughly saturated with
blue vitriol before being erected. This is a eumbrous
and bad plan, the kind of fruit trellises employed at Ver‘

sailles being neatcr, more durable, and in every way so
superior that I am astonished that anybody who has seen

 

IN THE BOIS DE VINCENNES. 439

the Versailles trelliscs could think of erecting such things as
these.

In the garden devoted to teaching purposes only, all the
lines which the branches of the wall trees are to pursue
when fully formed are indicated by small rattan canes—
accurately placed, so that as the tree grows the trainer has
no hesitation as to the exact position each branch should
take, but merely has to attach it to the rods so definitely
laid down. The larger trees against the walls are mostly
those I have figured as the Palmette Verrier. This is how-
ever occasionally trained “ double,” that is, it has two vertical
stems instead of one. Useless as well as desirable forms are
shown; for instance, trees formed like a goblet, with the
branches crossed or ascending vertically, or sometimes like a
goblet reversed. These are all useless for practical purposes,
though they may serve to amuse an amateur; who, however,
would do better to amuse himself with trees more beautiful,
productive, and easy to train. The way of making a hedge
of Pears—a hedge that when once made, and with its
branches crossed and intertwined, will support itself—is also
shown; and without doubt neat and productive screens may
thus be made in any garden, and the trees kept quite as
neatly as if supported by expensive trellising. Altogether
the place will prove an instructive one after a few years to
the British visitor, and particularly in convincing 'him of
the necessity of protecting our finer wall fruits ; but as a
fruit garden it is quite unworthy of the city. There are
amateurs’ gardens about Paris better arranged and more
instructive than this, specially designed to illustrate fruit
culture in the capital of La Belle France, “ the orchard of
Europe!” Such was my impression when I visited it in
September, 1868.

440

CHAPTER XIX.
THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

THE finest supplies of Peaches for the Paris market do not
come, as perhaps many would suppose, from the sunny
south or the balmy west, but from within a few miles of
Paris, where they have to be grown on walls furnished with
good copings, and receive in every way careful protection
and culture. Approaching Montreuil the country is seen
covered with good crops of vegetables and fruit to the tops
of the pretty, low hills in the neighbourhood. All the crops,
however, are divided into small plots, showing how each
person has his own little portion, and has it moreover for
ever if he so chooses—land being bought and sold here as
simply as an overcoat is in England. But getting nearer
still to the village, a great number of white walls, about
eight or nine feet high, are seen, enclosing rather small
squares of land, and almost entirely devoted to the Peach.
As the walls are netted over many acres in some parts, the
effect is curious when you look over them from a distance.
In the squares are small fruit trees and all sorts of garden
crops. rl‘o the visitor who takes a general look at the plan-
tations here, it is quite apparent that it is not to the climate
that the best growers owe their success. Among the two
hundred and fifty cultivators having Peach gardens here,
there are many with very shabby-looking trees on the walls,
while those in some of the best gardens are perfect models
of health, fertility, and skilful training. It will be seen by a
glance at the cuts that the French mode of pruning the Peach
tree is quite different from ours, inasmuch as they always
aim at securing straight, well-formed, well-furnished, and
equidistant branches, and always spur in the shoots rather
closely in spring. The cuts showing their mode of pruning,

 

441

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1" “Ii-u

THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL.

g bare spaces on the stem, &c., scattered

ing, coverin

disbudd

fully explain the regular and close-.

pruning French system—any garden wall with a Peach tree

throughout this chapter,
will illustrate our own.

 

 

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( ”I- NHHI .\. i NH. “Vlmfllwnmmn‘t . “winnfinnl’. l. 1..“ ,3. v fun...” ,
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1 .1». \I. \ «I .111 1 i -

 

 

.mcm .2:

 

Fig. 25 7 shows a shoot that on its first pruning was cut back to

four orfi

hes, bore two good fruit, and furnished four shoots.

ve inc

442 THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

How these are to be dealt with is explained in the illustration,
and all other important operations in those that follow it.
The garden of M. Chevallier is less extensive than that
of the better known M. Lepére, but certainly displays
examples of cultivation not anywhere to be surpassed; and
no person interested in fruit-growing should visit the town
without seeing it. The first impression is very good, for the
outer side of the walls is covered with admirable specimens
of Peach trees, the narrow strip forming the border in which

FIG. 254. F 10. 255.

 

Leaf of Peach Tree attacked by the Peach Shoot attacked by

Clcque, a disease caused by sudden Cloque.

cold at the commencement of

vegetation.
they are planted being cut off from the road-side by a
fragile fence covered with vines. To merely walk along this
wall, without entering the garden at all, would repay the
visitor, so perfect are the trees in health, bearing, and
training. Overhead is a permanent coping of plaster, and
immediately beneath it, and at intervals of three or four feet,
the spokes of old wheels project eighteen inches; on these
are placed the temporary copings of boards or mats in spring
in this very paradisiacal climate. In the garden the same

THE PEACH GARDENS 0F MONTREUIL. 443

admirable culture everywhere prevails. The walls are as
white as snow,——they are whitewashed every year, with a
view to the extermination of insects,—and the trees are of
the brightest and healthiest green—quite a pleasure to look
upon. The knuckle end of the leg-bone of a sheep projects
from the wall, at intervals of a couple of inches only, and
at about a foot and a half from the top of the wall. These
are placed so as to firmly fix the temporary coping in
spring. The boards or neat frames of straw are placed be-
neath the permanent coping and on the supports. The space
between coping and brackets being very narrow, there is
considerable support afforded the temporary
covering, especially at the back part; by at-
taching an eye to its under surface, and
firmly tying it with a twig of osier, wire, or
strong twine, to the bone projecting so neatly
and firmly below, it is perfectly secured
from all danger of removal by winds. The
cold rains which occur during the several
months while the trees are in bud and flower,
and all the time the shoots and newly formed
fruit are tender, run off the plaster coping
on to the temporary one, and from it safe Vang/=72
beyond the trees, while radiation and conse- 8’13“]! WOOden

. Coping used to
quently frost are effectually prevented from protect young
doing harm. Peach Trees in

C . . . smug-

To suppose that thls thoughtful protection IS
merely necessary for the flowers and to secure fruit is a fallacy;
a little temporary coping is improvised here even over quite
young trees without a fruit on them, simply to guard their
leaves in spring from the maladies consequent upon the
extreme cold and many vicissitudes of the French climate at
that season. This extemporized coping is simply formed by
placing little wooden brackets against the wall at about four
feet from the ground, and placing thereon a thin rough
board. Such a thing is never thought of in England, where
there is of course quite as much necessity for it. The effect
of the sun on the stem and larger branches of the tree is
also guarded against, pieces of bark or boards being placed

FIG. 256.

   

444 THE PEACE GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

before the short bole or base of the tree, the main branches
on the upper parts being carefully shaded by training over
them the young branches of the current year’s wood.

The black marks seen on the White walls are lines
which the main branches of the trees are to follow. In

some cases they are quite
FIG-257' simple vertical or horizon-
tal lines, according as the
form to be attained may
require; in other places
they form crowns, eagles,
initial letters, flourishes,
8:0. ; for though the culti-
vator generally prefers sim-
ple and definite forms, he
is also proud of his skill in
overcoming difficulties of
training, and shows it by
these curiously and very
successfully trained trees
against his walls. M.
Chevallier is, however, a
younger cultivator than M.
Lepére, and has not his
curiosities in this way per-
fect as yet, but there is
every sign that his fancy
Second PruningofFruiting l’eaeh Branch. trees “ill be CVCII more
If islcut at l) I‘llHH't'lW‘O\\'()(3(1‘l‘lll}§'t9 elaborate and remarkable
32:13:11.5???3:53?23,1“2-33321.363,; than those of M. were.
shoot iseut _at A. Cut 1‘]. would only It is OlllV just to state that
he apphcd 1f shoot B did not bear ' ,
”0“.” buds. these elaborately - trained
trees bear freely and well;
but except for curiosity’s sake or for show, they should
not be attempted.

Branches of trees like that in Fig. 253, fifteen feet long,
were, three inches higher at the apex than at the base, a diffe-
rence which scarcely removed them from the horizontal posi-
tion, and yet sutlieed to give an easy ascent to the sap, and

 

 

THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 445

prevent all tendency of the branch to shoot vigorously from
any point near the base, as is sometimes the ease with the
branches when placed exactly in the horizontal position.
Apart from this, the growing point of each main branch is
allowed to push freely a little upwards, so as to encourage the
sap to flow regularly through the branch, and not halt at any
one point to the detriment of all. Grafting by approach is
practised to cover naked branches. Four to five hundred
fruit are gathered from the best trees, or an average of about
ten fruit per metre of fruiting branch. Cheap and rather
thin planks, about twenty inches wide, are preferred for the
temporary coping; walls twelve feet high would be bene-
fited by a few inches more. Cor-
dons of Calville Blane and other F‘G- 258-
fine Apples are planted plentifully
on the spaces between the trees;
no matter how well the walls
are covered, there is always space
for cordon trees between them, in
consequence of the branches having
a very gradual upward inclination.
M. Chevallier’s garden is one of
the most interesting and instructive
I have ever seen, and the trees in -
it are models of beauty and of Mode 0f Preserving the Lower
_ , Part of the Stems from the
perfect tralnlng. heat of the Sun.
We will next visit the garden of
M. Lepere. It is large, and consists simply of a series of oblong
spaces which are surrounded by Peach walls, both walls and
ground being well covered and cropped—neat, clean, and
in all respects satisfactory. The Peach is the favourite
subject, but neat pyramidal and cordon Pear and Apple
trees are also to be seen, and the place is altogether
many degrees above the ordinary type of French fruit or
kitchen gardens. There are two entrances to M. Lepére’s
establishment, and it may not be amiss to say that the finer
examples of cultivation are those nearest the one approached
by a narrow lane-like road, which is margined on each side
by Peach walls. Outside the entrance of the walls there

 

446 THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

is a small corner of ground, where against a wall may be
seen several capital examples of Peach trees, the finest being
trained after What is called the Carré form. This is much
admired by the best cultivators, but they prefer and gene-
rally adopt the Palmetto forms, and say they are the best.
The Candelabrum form is also to be seen in fine condition in

 

Fruiting l‘n‘unch of Peach submitted to the third year‘s pruninz. ll. which
has home the fruit ot'the past year, is cut at A 2 the \Vood-lvlnls below F
will furnish fruiting shoots for the following year; and C bear the fruit
ofthe coming summer.

this out.of-the-way nook; it is simply trained by raising
vertical branches from horizontal ones running along near
the bottom of the wall. But as to the form itself, it is not
a matter of so much importance—the two chief points are

covering the walls and the treatment of the fruiting branch.
Yet. it is interesting to notice the forms adopted by the

THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL. 447

most successful growers, who, however, are sure to have
several trees most fantastically trained. They will tell you
that form is not a matter of so much consequence, but,
nevertheless, certain forms are preferred, and certain prin-
ciples strictly adhered to.

A very old man, dressed in a blouse, is moving along the
walls nailing in the shoots here and there, and with him a
dozen young men, his pupils. This is M. Lepére, who has
a class twice a week. Incidentally I may say that the

FIG. 260. FIG. 261.

 

Pruning to replace old fruit-spur: Result of the preceding operation. Bis
weed—buds are dcvelnped at the cut at C; E bears fruit, and G wood-
base, anl all the shoots are cut buds; and thus the spur is renewed.
sharp off, as at A.

principle of giving a full explanation of their system of
doing anything well, animates all French gardeners more
or less. Did anybody ever hear of an unusually successful
English market gardener or fruit grower calling a class
round him at a low fee, or no fee at all? The French,
though proud of their success in this way, are careful to
give it the fullest possible ventilation; and those who attend
here cannot fail to learn the culture of the Peach as well as
need be, if so disposed, for the master glides along the wall,
and stops and nails in the shoots, and cuts out the foremost

19m. 2432‘

 

The Napoleon I’cm'h Tree.

THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 449

branches here and there that are not wanted for next year’s
work ; and, in short, does and explains everything before his
pupils. He has been cultivating Peaches here for a couple
of generations, and certainly has reason to be proud of the
result. He inquired as to the state of gardening in England,
and I told him we could beat him in most things, but not
with the Peach, and that he was indisputably the Emperor
of Peach-growers.

Entering the garden, your eye for a moment rests upon
the perfectly-covered walls, but presently the famous Napo-

FIG. 263.

 

 

 

 

 

Peach Trees trained to form their Owner’s Name against Garden Wall.

leon Peach presents itself. It is in good health, but looks
a little weak about the central letters. It is, I need scarcely
add, beautifully trained, and a striking evidence of What
may be done by a skilful pruning. Looking in another
1 direction another specimen quite different from the Napoleon
presents itself, and it takes the form of the letters of the
owner’s name—LEPERE. It is against a high and very
white wall, and at a long distance the letters stand out
quite clearly, while, upon approaching the tree, the
abundance of fruit and regularity of good wood are equally
satisfactory. The letters complete, a shoot is taken from
G G

450 THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL.

the top of each, and these are united in a somewhat arching
line above, and spread out again into a crown over
the name, while on each side a single tree springs up, and,
forming a border for the letters, spreads out above into a
triple flourish on each side of the crown. It is a finer object
than the Napoleon, and bears a splendid crop. The sketch
gives but a very poor idea of the beauty of the tree, which
I by no means figure here by way of recommending it or
similar curious forms, but simply to show the mastery at-
tained over the trees. Such a fanciful form is interesting
in a great Peach garden, where the grower wishes to show
his skill, but is useless for private gardens or for general
purposes. It should be added that the formation of the
LEPERE was much easier than that of the NAPOLEON
tree, inasmuch as a plant is devoted to every letter in the
former.

The well-made walls all run cast and west, and are placed
within about ten yards of each other. This proximity of
the walls makes the scene quite different from what we have
in England. It is done so that many walls may be accom-
modated on a comparatively small space, and they are also
effective in concentrating the heat and for sheltering. The
ground is thus divided into very long narrow strips, the‘white
walls covered with the fresh green of healthy Peach trees, and
the ground planted with fruit trees, Strawberries, and Aspa-
ragus. The soil is of a calcareous nature, and the long
strips enclosed by the walls are generally about fourteen yards
across. The syringe is rarely or never used, sulphur being
the remedy for spider. The ground was in all cases mulehed
near the trees, a wide alley being left; and for preparation
of the border they simply trench and manure the ground a
couple of feet deep, and about six feet wide. The trees are
pruned on the spur system, and as for their shapes, they are
many, in addition to the alphabetical ones alluded to above.
The Taille en (‘andelabre is one of the handsomest and most
useful. To form it two branches are taken to the right and
left along near the bottom of the wall. From the uppermost,
single, shoots are taken at regular intervals to the top of the
wall—the lower branch simply running along to the end and

rm; PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 451

rising to the top of the wall, or in other words, forming a
great oblong frame for the interior. Then there is the Taille
a la Montreuil, a sort of fan-tail, but with the divisions some-
what far from the base in most cases, and several modifica-
tions of the common horizontal mode of training, which we
employ so much for the Pear, but never for the Peach. These
seem favourite varieties, and by their means the walls are
perfectly covered—if indeed one can draw any distinction

Fm. 264.

 

r ‘ .

Spring aspect of Fruit Garden formed in North Germany by M. chere fils,
on the same plan as the best gardens at Montreuil.

between the walls here, which are all as fresh-looking as a
meadow in May.

A form presenting the advantage of the cordon, without
its too confined and unnatural development, is very common.
It is properly termed the U, bearing a considerable resem-
blance to that letter much elongated. Frequently this is
doubled, and a tree with four ascending branches obtained.
These forms are excellent for poor ground, or that in which
the Peach grows with but little vigour. The number of
fruit borne by the finer examples of trees here rusn from

a G 2

452 THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

four to five hundred, and this without injuring the tree in
the least degree. As to the pinching of the summer shoots
after they are laid in, it is done according to their strength;
but the greater number are pinched at from six to ten
inches, and the lateral branches that spring from these are
of course pinched also, while weak shortish branches are
allowed to grow to their full extension. The pruning is
distinct from ours in this : it is done on the spur, and not
on the cutting-out principle. \Ve generally léave the shoots

FIG. 265. FIG. 266.

   

Mode of Pruning to cover bare Result of preceding operation, second year.
spaces on the branches of A, B, C, D are the shoots developed from
Peach trees, first year. The the buds to which the same letters refer in
shoots arising from the buds the preceding figure. This figure shows
A, B, C, and l) are allowed the appearance of the branches before the
to grow freely, and are nailed pruning.

in during the summer.

of the past year long, and cut away a good deal of the old
wood; here the branches are conducted in straight lines
and regularly spurred in every year, fruit and wood buds
being left at the base according to the judgment of the
cultivator. The wood of the current year is laid in against
the wall with nails and shreds just in our own way, only
thicker, as of course must be the case when a close array of
spurs along each shoot has to be obtained. There can be

 

THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 453

little doubt that this system is better than our own, and
perfectly suited for our wants, provided we take care to
protect the young shoots and flowers in spring, as common
sense directs.

In passing along by the walls, grafting by approach may
be seen in operation here and there, with the object of
covering naked spots, strengthening shoots, and even adding
a young shoot to the base of an old spur that has become
too long. An interesting example of its utility was shown

FIG. 26?. FM. 268.

 

Shoot of Peach without Fruit: the

Summer management of the Peach.

The shoots above the fruit are re-
tained and stopped, A, A removed,
and the two lower shoots furnish
the fruiting wood for the following
year.

branches A, which would have been
retained had the shoot borne a crop,
become useless, and the shoot B is
cut at C to favour the development
of D, D, which will be the fruiting

branches of the following year.

by the outer branch of a tree. It is considered very
desirable that the lower and outer branch of a Palmetto
Verrier should be the strongest and highest of all, so as to
secure a flow of sap to the lower parts of the trees, instead
of allowing it to flow rapidly towards the higher parts, and
thus spoil all. In one case, one of the outer branches
was feeble and delicate, and did not seem to push much
more than to the bend, from whence it ought to have grown
strong to the top of the wall. A healthy and vigorous

THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL.

454

shoot of a neighbouring tree was worked on it by approach, ‘

and in' the course of a single season the desired strength 5

  

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was obtained, and the shoot went vigorously to the top of

Not only are the pruner’s best precautions taken

to secure abundance of vigour and sap in the lower parts

the wall.

THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 455

of the specimen, but slow-growing and not very vigorous
kinds are grafted a little above the middle of the tree,
so as to prevent in the completest manner the tendency
which the sap has to rush towards the higher points. To
show the difference between cultivators, it is sufficient to
mention that M. Lepére considers this precaution indis-
pensable; while another distinguished cultivator in the
same neighbourhood does not practise it at all, but pinches
the upper shoots and deprives them of leaves when too
vigorous, and thus preserves the most perfect health in his

FIG. 270. FIG. 271.

     

Disbudding of the Peach, second year. Disbudding of the Peach, second year.

C and A are removed; B, B, fur- If no fruit be borne on E, it is cut at
nish the wood for the following F, leaving G to furnish the fruiting
year. wood for the f0110wing year.

trees. This repulsion of the sap t0 the lower parts of the
trees is also slightly effected by the use of the Wide
temporary coping, which guards against frost and keeps the
growth down by partly excluding light from the upper
part of the wall. When it is removed, and when all
danger of frost is past, the sap has flowed so freely
into the lower branches that but little trouble is required
to keep the tree in a perfectly equable state, all parts of
the wall doing a full amount of work. I noticed some
walls alongside a road at Montreuil made of blocks of
plaster two feet long, one foot high, and five inches

456 THE PEACH GARDENS 0F MONTREUIL.

thick, forming a strong and presentable wall. The bloclis
are sold at sixty francs per hundred. The walls are
about nine feet high, and have a coping of plaster
six inches wide. Plaster is very cheap in the neigh-
bourhood, being dug up in quarries quite near to the gardens,
and thus it is easy to form a neat and thin projection from
the ridge of plaster which forms the top of the wall, by
placing boards underneath till the coping sets. This pro-
tection is more necessary at the west and south than at the
cast, the cold rains being more feared than frost, and more
difficult to guard against; for while a narrow coping will

FIG. 272.

 

Grafting by approach to furnish hare spaces on the main branches of the
Peach Tree. The second spring after grafting, when the Craft has
firmly united, the shoot I) is cut at C, and l} forms a well-placed shoot.

save the trees from frost, it is not so effective against
driving cold rains. A finer crop could not be desired
than was visible everywhere here on the day of my visit,
5th July, 1868. It is particularly noticeable that, no matter
what form of tree is adopted, all the fruiting branches are
higher at the apex than the base, instead of pursuing the
horizontal line, as is the case with us. Perhaps to the
passing visitor some of the trees in their full sunnncr dress
might appear to have their branches horizontally placed;
but even in cases where there is most room for the

THE PEACE GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 457

supposition, theouter ends of the shoots are several inches
higher than where they spring from the ascending axis.
Many cordons are to be seen in abundant bearing in
the garden, both against the walls and in the open. The
Calvilles against the walls were very good, and were
not always confined to a single line, but were superimposed.
It is a better plan to confine them to a single stem, allowing
that to elongate as much as space will permit, that is, if
the space to be covered is a mere narrow strip of wall, as is
the case under these Peach trees, and the object be to secure
a crop of the finest fruit. Some of the Calville and other
Apples to be seen here on cordons have nut-brown scars

Fm. 273.

 

Multiple Grafting by approach, to furnish bare spaces on the stems of
Peach Trees. A, A, A, ligatures of Grafts.

near the apex, showing where the destructive worm has
been cut out; by taking it in time the fruit is saved,
and this attention, which would be ridiculous in the case
of ordinary fruit, is repaid in the case of the Calville,
for the very finest specimens of which four francs each
are sometimes received by the owner of this garden.
It need hardly be added that this price is for fruit quite
exceptional both as to appearance and size. There
are specimens of the Peach trained as cordons bear-
ing plenty of fruit, but they present few advantages
in this case that should make them be preferred to
forms that are more fully developed. It is not with them,

458

THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL.

as with the Apple on the Paradise stock, a union that induces

FIG. 274.

 

Details of the preceding Figures: C, in-
cision of bare portion of stem; D, pre-
paration of shoot intended to furnish it.

well trained tree

in full bearing -

a very dwarf development,
but, on the eontrary, in con-
sequence of being confined
to a single stem, they are
apt to push too vigorously.
M .Lepere had not a word to
say in favour of the system.

The U form is so pretty,
successful, and generally
adopted that the followingon
its formation by M. Lepére
can hardly fail to be useful.

“This graceful form is
very easy to establish, and
I strongly recommend it
to those amateurs who have
but little wall space to
devote to Peach-growing.
Peach trees planted in this
way afford the means of
growing a number of varie-
ties in a small compass,
and of speedily obtaining a
After having chosen

healthy trees eighteen months 01‘1 full 0f buds at the base,

they are cut down to within
eight inches of the graft at the
time of planting. “'hen the
first leaves begin to appear, two
well placed shoots situated about
six inches above the graft are
chosen, one on each side of the
stem. These are intended to
form the two main branches that
are afterwards to be trained in
the U shape. The ends of these
two branches are then turned
directly upwards, care being

 

Nail Basket used instead of
Nail Bag.

 

THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL. 459
taken that the extremities are perfectly free, so that their
development may not be interfered with.

“ The space to be given in planting when the soil is of the
best kind is about a yard to each tree, which will leave
an interval of eighteen inches between each principal vertical
branch, thus allowing sufficient room for nailing in the sum-
mer shoots. When the soil is not so favourable for Peach-
growing, the trees can be planted
two yards from each other and
trained in the form of the double
U. In this case, as in the other,
the principal branches will be
eighteen inches apart. Three
years ago I planted on a southern
aspect some Peach trees in the
form of the single U. They yield 1; I
on an average one hundred \. ‘
Peaches each every year. The '
wall against which they are E I
trained is ten feet high, and , , r
they were in full bearing the '. 2 ‘1'
third year. I

“ I give the preference to this . ‘,
form over the oblique cordon be- K
cause, the principal branches be- 4“
ing trained in a perfectly upright
position, the sap is more equally ,3 a
divided amongst the smaller 7

Flu. 276.

 

 

Peach Tree in the double U form.

shoots, and if a tree or two
happen to die in a fully formed
plantation, the place they oc-

One side is left unfurnished to
show the practice of marking
on the walls the outline which
the tree is to assume before he-

Cllpy on the wall Which thus be- ginning to train it.
comes empty is not shaded by the
branches of the neighbouring trees. The dead trees can
therefore be easily replaced by young subjects from the
nursery. This is a great advantage for amateurs, who
have not always full grown trees to fill up bare spaces.
In the oblique form the inclined position which each

tree is subjected to at the time of coming into leaf, causes

460 THE PEACH GARDENS or MONTREUIL.

a disturbance all along the upper edge of the branch when
constant watehfulness of training is not pursued. Besides, if
several trees happen to die, and the only trees available
to replace them are those from the nursery, the place they
will occupy on the wall will be shaded by the branches of the
old trees, and the young ones will be injured for 'Want
of light and air. As I have already said, the U form is
the most easy to train, the most graceful to the eye, and
more prolific than the oblique.” I have in many parts
of France seen fine results obtained by trees grown on
this simple principle. Occasionally the points of trees
trained in the U and double U
forms are united by grafting by
approach. This does not in
their case seem to be any ad-
vantage.

The reason Why the Peach
is so successfully cultivated at
Montreuil is, that the cul-
tivators pay thorough and con-
stant attention to its wants,
with which a life-long experience
has made them familiar. The
trees are at all times well at-
. , - , ~ tended to. I believe that quite
Peaehtrninedin the Doublel' form, as gOOd and as certain results

With the points of the branches , ,

united bygmmng. could be attained With the

Peach in many of the southern
parts of England and Ireland, particularly if its culture
were made a speciality of, as it is in France. When
cultivators devote themselves entirely to a subject, they
soon learn all its wants, and moreover, attend to them
at the right moment—a great point. But it is very difl'e-
rent with private gardeners generally, whose hands are
very full of other matters in spring and early summer, a
time when the Peach requires much attention; the
result being that it is too often neglected for a week or two
at that season, with a consequent loss of health to the trees.
There does not seem much help for this in private gardens,

FIG. 277.

 

THE PEACH GARDENS OF MONTREUIL. 461

and the only hope is that, by the cropping of the borders as
elsewhere suggested, gardeners generally may find it worth
while to devote more attention to walls than they usually do.

I think it a matter for regret that public attention has
been to some extent called away from the many uses and
advantages of walls in our climate, and that we have made
no progress in protecting or managing wall trees corre-
sponding with our advances in other respects. Some persons
have gone so far as to say that garden walls ought to be
abolished altogether. One cannot believe that such people
can ever have seen the excellent results produced by well-
managed garden walls—results as beautiful as profitable.
Why, even if we could erect glass-houses by the economical
aid of a magic wand, the good fruit-grower would still find
uses for a large extent of wall surface. As things are at
present, all should aim at greater success in the protec-
tion and management of wall trees—a thoroughly practical
and attainable aim. Our chief want of success now is due to
not preserving the flowers and tender young leaves from
the sleet, cold rains, and frost, during the cold and change-
able spring common to northern France and the British
Isles.

462

CHAPTER XX.

THE MARKET GARDENS 0F PARIS.

IT has been frequently said that the minute division of
property in land retards the improvement of agriculture in
France. It may be so with farming, but it certainly does
not hold good with market gardens. Those in and around
Paris are very small, but they are the best and most
thoroughly cultivated patches of ground I have ever seen.
Every span of the earth is at work ; and cleanliness, rapid
rotation, deep culture, abundant food and water to the
crops—in a word, every virtue of good cultivation—are
there to be seen. I doubt very much if such good results
could be obtained by a larger system, and certainly in no
part of Britain is the ground, whether garden or farm, so
thoroughly cultivated, or rendered nearly as productive, as in
these little family gardens, as they may be called, for
they are usually no larger than admits of the owner’s eye
seeing the condition of every crop in the garden at once.
The Paris market gardeners as a class keep to them-
selves, marry among themselves, and seem content with
about as much ground as gives occupation to their family.
They are as a rule a prosperous class. The gardens vary
in size from one to two, and occasionally three acres,
are usually walled in and furnished with a cottage, a few
sheds, and a well.

In the neighbourhood of our English cities the price of
ground is high according to our scale, that around Paris
is very high indeed. From information gathered on the
spot, during September last, I may say the rent varies
from 2-11. to 331. per acre. On entering a market garden
the tenant has to pay in addition to his rent from 2001. to

 

 

THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS. 463

6001. for stock, fixtures, Ste. It is necessary to dig deep
to get a return under these conditions!

Manure forms a very considerable item in the ex-
penses of these gardens. One market gardener of the first

Fm. 278.

  
 

Z i “4‘; «, class paid 500 fr. (20].) a

i ' month for manure. His
gardcnx 'as about three Eng-
lish acres in extent, which
is much beyond the average
size. Manure would appear
to be dearer than in Lon-
don, from three to four francs
per horse being paid for it.
Five francs a month are paid

 

 

 

'7 s .
a / , '1”, /;\~, for that of each omnlbus
// « ,, I "1/": ' Ix/ ' x . . .
52 /57‘ .5 horse. These bemg 1n Paris
all strond lar rc well-nur-
Pump USed in the Market (Gardens 23., é ’.
01- Paris. turcd stalhons,thc1r manure

is the more valuable It is
usually piled in heaps near the entrance to the market
gardens. Some of the crops are absolutely growing in nothing
but decomposed manure; and it is used profusely for every-
thing. From the beginning of May to the end of Novem-
ber the market gardeners have no use for hotbcds, and yet

464 THE MARKET GARDENS OF PARIS.

 

2.» 3
3.5, .

every day there arrives one or more loads of stable manure, F“;
all of which is piled into rick-like heaps, to be used chiefly in
winter and spring. In November they commence to make
the hotbeds, and as hot dung arrives every day they mix
with it that which has been gathered during the summer—
thus insuring beds giving a moderate degree of heat.

But a more important and expensive item is the watering.
The Parisian market gardener, if not a scientific man, would
appear to be fully aware of the fact that by far the most
important constituent of vegetables is water. As a rule, the
less of this they contain the worse they are. It is owing to
the abundant watering of the market gardens, more espe-
cially than to anything else, that the Paris markets are in
all sorts of seasons and summers better supplied with

crisp, fresh, and delicious vege-
F’G- 279- tables than those of any other capital
in Europe. Every market garden
has its pump worked by the horse
of the establishment—the Naudin
system being generally preferred.
From this the water is con-
dueted into old barrels nearly
\Vatering-pot used bythe Market plunged to thClI‘ .I‘lmS 111 the
Gardeners “page, ground at regular intervals over
the garden, and from these
barrels distributed by watering pots. These are always,
of copper—the best I saw being flat-sided and oblong
instead of round-bodied. The handle springs clean from
the top to the back of the vessel, so that when filled
and carried by the workman to the spot he wishes to water,
he merely has to pitch the pots (he always uses two at a.
time) forward a little and let his hands fall back, so as to
hold the pot in the position which most favours the pouring
out of the water. The pipe being very wide, and the rose
broad and freely perforated with large holes, the water is
discharged almost in an instant, and the workman again
proceeds to his barrel close at hand, and always kept tilled
from the pump. Thorough watering is thus effected, but
it involves a considerable expenditure for labour, one or

 

THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS. 465

two men being nearly always employed at it in each little
garden during the sunny months.

The system of watering with the hose, generally adopted
in the city of Paris, could not fail to attract the attention of
the market gardeners: it is already used by several of them,
the old system of pots and tubs being done away with. In
these cases the pump is again employed to elevate the water
to a cistern placed a few yards above the highest point of
the garden, and near the manure heaps and sheds of the
establishment. I examined a garden thus arranged, and
found the system very satisfactory. Twenty—seven outlets
for the water were established over the surface of a garden "
about two acres in extent. To these a hose of india-rubber
is attached, with a few feet of copper tubing and a large
profusely perforated copper distributor or rose at its other
end. From this, when the water is put on, it flows in a gentle
but dense shower ; and the apparatus may be managed by
aiwoman or a boy. The hose is not on little wheels as is the
one used in the roads and parks, nor can it be by any means
or in any shape dragged over the growing crops that occupy
every inch of the ground except the very narrow alleys
between the squares or large beds; therefore there is a little
contrivance to facilitate its use without injuring any of the
plants. The outlet, we will say, is on an alley crossing the
garden, and the operator wishes his hose to play say thirty
feet from the outlet, and up one of the narrow footways
that leads from the alley. Three little wooden rollers held
together on one piece of iron enable him to do this. The
following simple diagram will explain it : H . There is a
little wooden roller on the cross bar, and one short one
with a margin on each of the upper limbs—the lower points
form the teeth, and are stuck in the earth. Through this,
placed at the mouth of the alley, the india-rubbcr hose glides
as easily as a snake, without hurting a leaf. The mechanical
arrangement of each outlet is such that a twist of the base
of the hose which fits it is made to turn the water off or on
in an instant. This very satisfactory apparatus cost its
owner about 3000 francs. Having his own pump there is
nothing to pay for the water.

11 H

466 THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS.

Nobody could pass suddenly, as I have done, from our own
markets and market gardens to those of Paris in the middle of
any but a wet summer without being forcibly taught how
advantageous it would be to be able to command water in
our gardens. It is the custom, and a very frequent one,
among the horticultural community, to grumble about
our climate-the “ dull,” “ cloudy,” “ changeable” climate
of Britain ; to speak of that of other countries as paradisaical,
and to attribute all our failures to “ want of sun.”

In 1868 we had sun enough to satisfy an Arab, and what
was the result? The worst ever remembered in the garden.
It was natural to think the soft, green vegetables would suffer,
but everybody hoped the heat would prove favourable to
such useful members of the Solanum families as the Potato
and Tomato; whereas the Potatoes proved worse than if
badly blighted, and even the heat-loving Tomato dropped
its flowers before setting. Radishcs disappeared with the
dew of May. The Cabbage tribe presented, everywhere
that they had not completely perished, a sad spectacle—a
mere bony framework of glaucons vegetation, with all the
softer parts gnawed away by hungry tribes of vermin, the
only things that flourished with the heat. In this condition
the llrassieaeeze were sold, and—the fact speaks well for the
appetite of the public eaten. An extensive London market
gardener showed me a field of Celery with not a single plant
in it good or large enough to be culled for seasoning, and at
nearly every root grubs gnawing away the plant. Those who
are accustomed to realize hundreds of pounds for a crop,
gathered barely as much of it as would make it worth while
sending to the market ; while the private growers were quite
as badly off. During the month of July, and when Cauli-
tlowers in British gardens had almost disappeared, I mea-
sured them in the market gardens of Paris a foot in diameter,
of that pure creamy white and perfectly dense and firm
texture which admirers of the Cauliflower like so much.
Strange as it may appear to some, during the whole of the
hot weather vegetables of the primest and the most delicate
quality were to be had in the Paris markets, where even
greater difficulties had to be met by the cultivator.

 

 

THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS. 467

Be it observed that this is no contrast of 1868 ; it is the
same thing, to some extent, every year. The year 1867, for
example, was anything but a dry one 3 yet, in passing through
the central markets at Paris during the month of July, 1867,
with an excellent cultivator who has every convenience and
good ground in the prettiest and richest part of Surrey, he
was more surprised with the Radishes and young Turnips than
with anything else. “\Ve cannot get anything like these
at this season,” said he. Of course not, and simply because
we do not take the simplest precautions to secure them.
We have them when the weather is dcwy and favourable,
and where the climate and soil are moist; but a few weeks
of dryness puts an end to all such luxuries, and should the
drought continue, everything becomes worthless and uncat-
able, as during the past season. But are we in a position
to boast of our horticulture while this is the case? Does
the routine work, which merely waits upon the seasons thus,
deserve the name of skill? I think not, and moreover that
it is absurdly unsatisfactory to reflect that the very things
which our watery and cloudy clime is supposed to be most
favourable to, are to be found in greatest perfection with the
French, in the drier and, for vegetables, less favourable
climate of Paris! The secret of it all is that the French
market gardener, in addition to tilling and enriching his
ground in the best manner, waters thoroughly and repeatedly
every crop that requires water for its perfect development.

Our gardens are no more prepared to encounter a great, or
even an unusual scarcity of water, than they are to meet a
second deluge. The practice of dragging water considerable
distances in pots and barrels is a very doubtful good ;
watering is useless if not thoroughly done. I need not
remind the reader of the many things to which water is
almost the life. Extract the water from a juicy Lettuce,
or any other appreciated vegetable, and how much remains?
Our soils are of course saturated with water in winter, when
plants do not want it; but it is often absent when they
would absorb it as thirstily as the hart the cooling stream,
and when the absence of it leaves them mere accumulations
of tough fibre. I am not sanguine enough to hope that any

H H 2

468 THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS.

words of mine can induce cultivators to adopt something
like a system for watering gardens effectively ; but there can
be no doubt whatever that it would be a decided advantage
to establish immediately in every large kitchen garden a small
department near the best supply of water, to make it rich
and light, and keep it thoroughly moist during the dry and
warm months; so that a few crisp and delicate salads and
vegetables may not during a dry season he as impossible
with us as upon the Sahara. This small division might be
established in most places without any but the most trifling
cost, and the result would be very satisfactory indeed. Even
a few very rich and light beds, closely cropped and looked
after, and placed near a good supply of water, would repay
the cultivator, and perhaps soon lead him to adopt the same
plan of giving abundance of food and water on a larger
scale. It need hardly be added that it would not be neces-
sary to make any such arrangement in any very moist
districts in the British Isles; but although theoretically our
climate is very moist, there are many parts of the southern
and midland counties where a modification of the Parisian
plan would prove a decided advantage.

In addition to the abundant watering and rich manuring
the Parisian market gardeners owe a great deal of their
success to a close system of rotation, eight crops per year
being frequently gathered from the ground. “'ere it not
so the cultivators could not exist, so very limited is the
ground each possesses. A considerable portion of the surface
in one garden I visited was devoted to Cos lettuce, and
very fine specimens of it; but beneath them there was a
dark green carpet of leaves very close to the ground—the
leaves of the Scarolle, which forms such an excellent salad,
and is indeed one of the very best of all salads, and not yet
sufficiently grown in England. The young plants have
plenty of room to grow now amongst the closely-tied up
Cos lettuce ; but the moment the Cos is cut for market, the
Scarolle has full liberty, and with abundance of water soon
makes wide heads. Then perhaps some young plants of
another vegetable are slipped in at regular intervals in the
angles between four plants of Scarolle, which crop will be

THE MARKET GARDENS OF PARIS. 469

vigorous and halfway toward perfection when the great
smooth Endive is ready for the market. As an illustration
of the cropping, the cultivator described to me that of a
portion of his ground for the past year. In the earliest
spring the ground was occupied by Cos lettuce, and from
between them a crop of Radishes was gathered. Cauli-
flowers were planted early among the Cos, and as they ap-
proached maturity the ground was of course wholly occu-
pied by them, as one could not well put anything beneath
a crop of perfectly grown Cauliflowers. When they were
cut in May and June, an opportunity occurred of giving
the ground that thorough culture and preparation which
such a course of heavy cropping demands. Then a crop
of Spinach was sown, and in the Spinach Cos lettuce. As
soon as the Spinach was cleared off, a crop of Endive was
placed alternately with the Cos. Then small Cauliflower
plants were put in, yielding a fine crop in the autumn,
and after them a small quick crop like Corn salad, and
afterwards the ground was covered with frames.

Like everything else in Paris, and in France generally,
the condition of these market gardeners has much improved
during the past generation. Their houses are humble
enough now, but I am told by BI. Courtois Gerard, a
capital authority on the subject, that they are palaces com-
pared to what he remembers them to have been. Some
of the crops, and particularly the forced crops, are now
brought to invariable perfection in low narrow wooden
frames. Eighty or ninety years ago, however, the market
gardening of Paris was much less perfect; fewer crops were
gathered during the year, the art of forcing early vegetables
and salads was in its infancy, and the most advanced market
gardeners had not gone beyond the use of the cloche to
force their vegetables. It is not that frames were not
known at the time, as they were known in Royal and other
private places, but they had not entered the market
garden. In 1780 a cultivator named Fournier first used
frames, and with such success in forcing that a great
number of his fellows soon imitated him. It was the
same individual who first introduced the culture of the

470 THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS.

Cantaloupe Melon, and he also first grew the Spanish or
Sweet Potato. The first who forced white Asparagus was
one Quentien, about the year 1792; the green Asparagus
was also first forced by the same about 1800. One Bas-
nard first forced the Cauliflower about the year 1811. The
first forced Cos lettuces appeared about 1812, and the
Endive about the same time by Baptiste Quentien. The
Carrot was first forced in 1826 by M. Gros.

The workmen employed in these market gardens work,
like their masters, very hard, but are pretty well paid.
From inquiries made from different eultivators, the wages
are from fifty to seventy-five francs per month with
board and lodging. They have no fixed hours for work as
with us, but in summer begin with the dawn and in winter
hours before it. They often commence work at three in
the morning, and continue it till eight in the evening in
summer. In the dark winter mornings they cannot of
course work in the gardens, but they can take the produce
to market and go for the ever necessary manure. After
a visit to one of these places I was invited by the pro-
prietor to take a glass of wine with him. Hardly were we
seated to this before he spoke some words from the door,
and presently in came his two workmen, sunburnt, strong
men, working barefooted in the soft moist soil of the garden,
and they also had their glass of Bordeaux, touched our
glasses, and again went out to work. I afterwards learnt
that this was the rule with them anything the master has
the workmen partake of. Under these circumstances the gulf
of distrust, and consequently other evils that exist where
the workman is treated as a far inferior being, cannot be.
M. Courtois Gérard says that to cultivate a garden of two
and a half acres devoted to forcing in frames, and open air
culture, it is necessary to have five or six persons—that is
to say, the master and mistress, two men, a girl and a boy.

As to the masters, I was informed that many of them
could not read or write ; but noticed notwithstanding a good
barometer in each house. They well know the value of this
instrument, and I was told by one of the very best of them
that it was of the greatest use to him in his cultivation, by
helping him to take precautionary measures and adapt his

 

THE MARKET GARDENS or PARIS. 471

labour to the weather. This individual had worked four-
teen years at the business, and was desirous of disposing of
his garden, feeling rich enough to retire and live on the
fruits of his labour. These men have their vicissitudes not-
withstanding the vigorous industry and excellent system
of culture which is general with them. Some that I
visited devote a considerable portion of space to a diliicult
crop—Cauliflower seed. This takes a long time—more than
a year—to bring to perfection; one market gardener who
had been in the habit of growing large and precious quan-
tities of it for Messrs. Vilmorin, Andricux, and Co., had
scarcely gathered two pounds of it in consequence of the
great heat of the season of 1868.

There is a “ Société de Sécours Mutuel” among these
market gardeners. To give an example of the way they
work, I have merely to state that when a body of pro-
vincial cultivators were almost ruined by inundations, the
Paris society sent them more than 1200 lbs. weight of seeds
to begin again with. Generally they seem independent,
and are said to accumulate money; but their houses do not
show the comfort that one could desire. However, few
will doubt that it is better to have a large class of small
proprietors in a thrifty and independent, if very humble
condition, than one individual with his hundreds of acres,
and every soul employed by him without a single thing in
the world to call his own, except it be misery, poverty, and
degradation. The Paris market gardener is very far from
being mistaken for a “ genteel” person, or putting in the
smallest claim to the

“Grand old name of gentleman,
Detained by every charlatan,
And soiled by all ignoble use ;”
but he is a thousand degrees better than the poor wretch
working in a London market garden, who is practically a
slave, and a very wretched, badly-fed, badly-housed, and
badly-clad slave too.

The cultivation of the Mushroom is of vast importance
about Paris; and I will next deal with the doings of the
Champignonnistes, a class of men who devote themselves
entirely to its culture.

472

CHAPTER XXI.
MUSHROOM CULTURE.

MUSHROOM growing as carried on around, or rather beneath
Paris and its environs, is the most extraordinary example of
culture that I have ever seen either above or below ground,
under glass or in the Open air. To give the reader as good
an idea Of it as I can we must visit one of the great
“ Mushroom caves ” at Montrouge, just outside the fortifica-
tions of Paris, on the southern side. The surface of the
ground is mostly cropped with “'heat; but here and there
lie, ready to be transported to Paris, blocks of white stone,
which have recently been brought to the surface through
eoalpit-like Openings. There is nothing like a “ quarry,”
as we understand it, to be seen about; but the stone is
extracted as we extract coal, and with no interference
whatever with the surface Of the ground. \Ve find a
“ Champignonnistc” after some trouble, and he accompanies
us across some fields to the entrance of his subterranean
garden. It is a circular opening like the mouth Of an Old
well, but from it protrudes the head of a thick pole with
sticks thrust through it. This pole, the base of which rests
in darkness sixty feet below, is the easiest and indeed the
only way by which human beings can get into the mine.
I had an idea that one might enter sideways and in a more
agreeable manner, but it was not so. The artist who after-
wards descended tO take the sketches here engraved was in
such a state Of trepidation when he got to the margin and
looked down, that my friend M. Durand of Bourg-la-Reine.
who was kind enough to get these two sketches taken for
me at very considerable trouble to himself, seriously medi-
tated having him slung in cords. Down the shaky pole
our guide creeps, I follow, and soon reach the bottom, from

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 47 3

which little passages radiate. A few little lamps fixed on
pointed sticks are placed below, and, arming ourselves with
one each, we slowly commence exploring tortuous passages
as dark as night and as still as death. I have heard that
the first individual who commenced Mushroom growing in
these catacomb-like burrowings was one who, at a particu-
larly glorious epoch of the history of France, when a great
many more brave garcons went to the fight than returned
from the victory, preferred, strange to say, to stay at home
and hide himself rather than form a unit in “ battle’s mag-
nificently stern array.” Industrious and discreet youth!
You deserve being held up as an example almost as much
as the busy bee that improves eac “ shining hour.”

The passages are
narrow, and occasion~ FIG. 280.
ally we have to stoop. ’
On each hand there
are little narrow beds
of half- decomposed
stable manure running
along the wall. These
have been made quite
recently, and have not
yet been spawned.
Presently WC arri"e at Mouth of Mushroom Cave at Montrouge.
others in which the
spawn has been placed, and is “ taking” freely. The spawn
in these caves is introduced to the little beds by means of
flakes taken from an old bed, or, still better, from a heap of
stable manure in which it occurs naturally. Such spawn is
preferred, and considered much more valuable than that
taken from old beds. Of spawn in the form of bricks, as in
England, there is none.

The Champignonniste pointed with pride to the way
in which the flakes of spawn had begun to spread through
the little beds, and passed on—sometimes steeping very low
to avoid the pointed stones in the roof—to where the beds
were in a more advanced state. Here we saw little, smooth,
putty-coloured ridges running along the sides of the pas-

 

47 4 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

sages, and wherever the rocky subway became as wide as a
small bedroom two or three little beds were placed parallel
to each other. These beds were new, and dotted all over
with Mushrooms no bigger than Sweet Pea seeds, and
affording an excellent prospect of a crop. Be it observed
that these beds contain a much smaller body of manure
than is ever the ease in our gardens. They are not more
than twenty inches high, and about the same width at the
base; while those against the sides of the passages are not
so large as those shaped like little Potato pits, and placed in
the open spaces. The soil with which they are covered to the
depth of about an inch is nearly white, and is simply sifted
from the rubbish of the stone-cutters above, giving the
recently made bed the appearance of being covered with
putty.

Although we are from seventy to eighty feet below the
surface of the ground everything looks very neat—in fact,
very much more so than could have been expected, not
a particle of litter being met with. A certain length of
bed is made every day in the year, and as they naturally
finish one gallery or series of galleries at a time, the beds
in each have a similar character. As we proceed to those
in full bearing, creeping up and down narrow passages,
winding always between the two little narrow beds against
the wall on each side, and passing now and then through
wider nooks filled with two or three little beds, day-
light is again seen, this time coming through another
well-like shaft, formerly used for getting up the stone, but
now for throwing down the requisite materials into the
cave. At the bottom lies a large heap of the white earth
before alluded to, and a barrel of water—for gentle water—
ings are required in the quiet, cool, black stillness of these
caves, as well as in Mushroom-houses on the upper crust.

Once more we plunge into a passage as dark as ink, and
find ourselves between two lines of beds in full bearing,
the beautiful white button-like Mushrooms appearing every-
where in profusion along the sides of the diminutive beds,
something like the drills which farmers make for green
crops. As the proprietor goes along he removes sundry

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 47 5

bunches that are in perfection, and leaves them on the spot,
so that they may be collected with the rest for to-morrow’s
market. He gathers largely every day, occasionally sending
more than 400 lb. weight per day, the average being about
300 lb. A moment more and we are in an open space, a
sort of chamber, say 20 feet by 12, and here the little beds
are arranged in parallel lines, an alley of not more than
four inches separating them, the sides of the beds being
literally blistered all over with Mushrooms. There is one
exception; on half

of the bed and for Fm. 291.

about ten feet
along, the little
Mushrooms have
appeared and are
appearing, but
they never get
larger than a pea,
but shrivcl away,
“ bewitched” as it
were. At least
such was the in-
ference to be
drawn from the
cultivator’s ex-
pressions about it.
He gravely attri-
buted it to a ridi- View in Mushroom Cave.

eulously supersti-

tious cause. Frequently the Mushrooms grow in bunches
or “ rocks,” as they are called, and in such cases these that
compose the little mass are lifted all together.

The sides of one bed here had been almost stripped by
the taking away of such bunches, and it is worthy of note
that they are not only taken out, root and all, when being
gathered, but the very spot in which they grow is scraped
out, so as to get rid of every trace of the old bunch, and
the space covered with a little earth from the bottom of the
heap. It is the habit to do this in every case, and when

 

476 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

the gatherer leaves a small hole from which he has pulled
even a solitary Mushroom, he fills it with some of the white
earth from the base, no doubt intending to gather other
Mushrooms from the same spots be'fore many weeks are over.
The Mushrooms look very white, and are apparently of
prime quality. The absence of all littery coverings and
dust, and the daily gatherings, secure them in what we may
term perfect condition. I visited this cave on the 6th of
July, 1868, and doubt very much if at that season a more
remarkable crop of Mushrooms could be anywhere found
than was presented in this subterranean chamber—a mere
speck in the space devoted to Mushroom culture by one
individual.

When I state that there are six or seven miles run of
Mushroom beds in the ramifications of this cave, and that
their owner is but one of a large class who devote themselves
to Mushroom culture, the reader will have some oppor-
tunity of judging of the extent to which it is carried on
about Paris. These caves not only supply the wants of the
city above them, but those of England and other countries
also, large quantities of preserved Mushrooms being ex-
ported, one house alone sending to our own country no less
than 11,000 boxes annually. There were some traces of
the teeth of rats on the produce, and it need not be said
that these enemies are not agreeable in such a place; but
they did not seem to have committed any serious ravages,
and are probably only casual visitors, who take the first
opportunity of obtaining more varied food than is afforded
them by these caves. To traverse the passages any further
is needless—there is nothing to be seen but a repetition of
the culture above described, every available inch of the cave
being occupied. “'0 again find our way to the bottom of
the shaft, carefully mount the rather shaky pole one by
one, and again stand in the hot sun in the midst of the
ripe “'heat. lu traversing the fields, two things relating
to Mushroom culture are to be observed—heaps of white
gritty earth, sifted from the débris of the white stone, and
large heaps of stable manure accumulated for Mushroom
growing, and undergoing preparation for it. That prepara-

 

l XLV.

PLAT!-

 

I.\' FULL BEA RING.

BF. [ )S

“‘ITII

MUN'I ROUGE,

CAVES UNIHJx'

I.\' ML'SHIU )() \I

,,

 

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 477

tion is different from what we are accustomed to give it.
It is ordinary stable manure, not droppings, or very short
stuff, and it is thrown into heaps four or five feet high, and
perhaps thirty feet wide. The men were employed turning
this over, the mass being afterwards stamped down with
their feet, a water-cart and pots being used to thoroughly
water the manure where it is dry and white.

As many will feel an interest in the cave culture of the
Mushroom, and perhaps wish to see it for themselves, I
may state that it is difficult to obtain permission to visit
the caves, and many persons would not like the look of the
“ladder” which affords an entrance. Even with a well-
known Parisian horticulturist I had some difficulty in
entering them. We were informed that one Champignon-
niste in the same neighbourhood demands the exorbitant
price of twenty francs for a visit to his cave. As the visit
is a work of some little time, no visitor should, put the
cultivators to this trouble without offering some slight re-
compense—say five francs. The above cave is but a sample
of many in the immediate neighbourhood of Paris.

“'0 will next visit a Mushroom cave of another type
at some little distance from that city. It is situated near
Frépillon, Méry-sur-Oise—a place which may be reached
in an hour or so by the Chemin de fer du Nord, passing by
Enghien, the valley of Montmorency and Pontoise, and
alighting at Auvers. There are vast quarries in the neigh-
bourhood, both for building-stone and the plaster so largely
used in Paris. The materials are not quarried in the ordi-
nary way by opening up the ground, nor by the method
employed at Montrouge and elsewhere in the suburbs of
Paris, but so that the interior of the earth looks like a vast
gloomy cathedral. In 1867 the culture was in full force
at Méry, and as many as 3000 lbs. a day were sometimes
sent from thence to the Paris market; but the Mushroom
is a thing of peculiar taste, and these quarries are now
empty—cleaned out and left to rest. After a time the
great quarries seem to become tired of their occupants, or
the Mushrooms become tired of the air; the quarries are
then well cleaned out, the very soil where the beds rested

478 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

being scraped away, and the place left to recruit itself for a
year or two. In 1867 M. ltcnaudot had the extraordi-
nary length of over twenty—one miles of Mushroom beds in
one great cave at Méry, last year there were sixteen miles
in a cave at Frépillon. This is a clean, lonely village, just
touching on the gigantic cemetery which M. Haussmann
has projected.

The distant view of

 
      

1‘“ 9393 the entrance to the
~\\‘\~«§\\\\\:\\\\:\\W\\\\\ \\ \ ‘ .---».- quarries has much the
\ > 5. ‘.

.4 _ \ \ “ “ \ appearance of an ling-
‘ lish chalk pit. But
there is a great rude
arch cut into the rock,
and into this we enter,
meeting presently a
waggon coming forth
with a load of stones,
the waggoncr with
lamp in hand. To the
visitor who has seen
the low Mushroom
caves near Paris, where
it is sometimes neces-
sary to stoop very low
to avoid knocking
one’s head against the
roof rocks, the surprise
12-» ' ‘ is great on getting a
lintranee In large Subterranean Quarry. little way ill. At least
it is so as soon as one
can see; the darkness is so profound that a few candles or
lamps merely make it more visible. The tunnel we traverse
is nearly regularly arched, masonry being used here and
there, so as to render the support secure and symmetrical,
the arches being llat at the top for six feet or so, and about
twenty-five feet high; sometimes five feet higher.
Presently we turn to the right, and a scene like a vast
subterranean rock temple presents itself. At one end

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 47 9

are several of us with lamps, admiring the young Mushrooms
budding all over the rows of beds at our feet, which, serpent-
like, are long and slim, and coil away into the darkness.
At about 150 feet distance there is a group of three men and

FIG. 283.

 

 

 

 

 

l __ 7“,- h, _ b __v ______

Plan of large Subterranean Quarry at Fortes Terres, Frépillon. S, S, S, represent
the plan of the bases of the huge supporting pillars, and the dotted lines their
union with the roof. I), C, shows the line of the section shown in the following
cut, and P, place for preparing the plaster.

a boy, each with a lamp, again dispelling the darkness from
the Mushroom beds, and occupied in placing small quantities
of a sort of white clayey sand in the spots whence gatherings
have been made a few hours previously. From both sides
of this gloomy avenue the dark openings of ”others depart at

480 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

short intervals, and the floor of all is covered with Mushroom
beds, sometimes running along the passages, sometimes across
them. These beds are about twenty-two inches high and
as much in diameter, and are covered with silver sand and
a sort of white putty-like clay in about equal proportions.
In some parts of the cave the work of ripping out the stone
by powder and simple machinery continually goes on. The
arches follow the veining of the stone, so to speak ; their lower
parts are of hard stone, the upper ones of soft, except the
very top, which is again hard. There is but a slight crust
of stone above the apex of each arch, and above that the
earth and trees. Running along in parallel lines, and dis-

Fm. 284.

 

Section following the line C, D, in Fig. 283.

appearing from view in the darkness, one knows not what to
compare them to, unless it be to barked Pine trees in the
hold of a ship.

Everywhere on the surface of these little beds small
Mushrooms were peering forth in quantity; as the beds are
regularly gathered from every day, no very large ones are
seen. They are preferred at about the size of a chestnut,
and are removed root and branch, a small portion of finely
sifted earth being placed in each hole, so as to level the bed
as in the eaves at Montrouge. If the old superstition that
a Mushroom never grows after being seen by human eyes
were true,the trade of a Champignonniste would never answer
here, as the little budding individuals come within view

- MUSHROOM CULTURE. 481

every day during the gathering and earthing operations.
The most perfect cleanliness is observed everywhere in the
neighbourhood of these beds, and the whole surface of each
avenue is covered by them, leaving passages of ten inches or a
foot between the beds. At the time of my visit (Sept. 29,
1868) the crops of the cultivator were reduced to their lowest
ebb, and yet about 400 pounds per day were sent to market.
The average daily quantity from this cave is about 880
pounds, and sometimes that is nearly doubled. It may be
supposed that the profits from such an extensive culture are
great; and so they are, but the expense is great also. The
proprietor informed me that culture on a more limited scale
than he pursued last year at Méry gave the best return in
proportion to expense, the care and supervision required by
so many miles of beds being too great.

All the manure employed is brought from Paris by rail,
as the place is twenty-five miles from that city by road.
In the first place, so much per horse per month is paid
in Paris for the manure; then it has to be carted to the
railway station and loaded in the waggons ; next it is
brought to the station of Auv'ers, and afterwards carted a
couple of miles to the quarries, paying a toll for a bridge
over the Oise on the way. That surely is difficulty enough
for a cultivator to begin with! Then it is placed in great
flat heaps a yard deep by about thirty long and ten wide,
not far removed from the mouth of the cave, and here it is
prepared, turned over and well mixed three times, and as a
rule watered twice. About five or six weeks are occupied
in the preparation, long manure requiring more time than
short. The watering is not usually done regularly over the
mass, but chiefly where it is dry and overheated. Every
day manure is brought from Paris; every day new beds are
made and old ones cleared out—the spent manure being
used for garden purposes, particularly in surfacing or
mulching, so as to prevent over-radiation from the ground
in summer. The chief advantage the cultivator here has is
the facility of taking his manure or anything else in or out
in carts, as easily as if the beds were made in the open air.
Near Paris, on the contrary, everything has to be sent up

I I

482 MUSHROOM CULTURE. -

and down through shafts like those of old wells, and the
men have to creep up and down a rough pole like mice.
Many men are employed in the culture, the daily examina-
tion of sixteen miles of beds being a considerable item in
itself. Here and there a barrier in the form of straw nailed
between laths may be seen blocking up the great arch to a
height of six feet or so. This is to prevent currents of
air wandering about
through the vast pas-

\§\\\'~ _. \\.\_\\\ \\\ -_ \‘ ~. sages.
"if W The mode of pre-
paring the spawn here
is entirely different to
ours. They prefer
virgin spawn—that is
to say, spawn found
naturally in a heap
of manure. But as
this material cannot
be obtained in suffi-
cient quantity to meet
the wants of such ex-
tensive growers, they
put a small portion of
it into a Mushroom
bed to spread, and
instead of allowing
this bed to produce
Mushrooms it; is all
. . ‘ used as spawn, and

Extracting the Stone in Subterranean . .

mum“ IS valued more than
any other. Of course
abundance of spawn occurs in the old beds, but it is never
used directly. It is, however, frequently employed to
spawn a small bed when virgin spawn cannot be obtained.
In this case the small bed devoted to the propagation of
spawn is placed in the open air, and covered with straw,
and as soon as it is permeated with the spawn it is carried
into the caves and used. As the making and spawning of

Fm. 285.

 

..\_ 1‘... \\\.\

s

-, rt;

‘~_m f_,, d_.;§

\

. ,. ' t
W a $3

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 483

beds is a process continually going on, a bed of this sort
must be ready at all times. It is never made into bricks
as with us, but simply Spread through short, partly-decom-
posed manure.

I was informed that coal mines are not adapted for grow-
ing Mushrooms, and the smallest particle of iron in the beds
of manure is avoided by the spawn, a circle around it
remaining inert. It is said to be the same with coal. If
an evil-disposed workman wishes to injure his employer he
has only to slip along by the beds with a pocketful of rusty
old nails and insert one here and there.

Fm. 296.

 

View in old Subterranean Quarries devoted to Mushroom Culture, and in
the occupation of M. Renaudot.

The beds remain in good bearing generally about two
months, but sometimes last twice and three times as long.
A useful contrivance for facilitating the watering of the beds
has lately been invented,- it consists of a portable water-
cistern to be strapped to the back and fitted With a rose and
tubing, so that a workman may carry a larger quantity of
water, and apply it more regularly and gently than with the
old-fashioned watering-pots—while one hand is left free to
carry the lamp. An iron frame has also been invented, in
which the bed is first compressed and shaped, the frame
being then reversed and the bed placed in position.
Another invention for earthing the beds over as soon as the
spawn has taken will soon be in operation, if not already so.

I I 2

484 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

As on an average 2500 yards of beds are made every
month, simple mechanical contrivanecs to facilitate the
operation will prove of the greatest advantage to the
cultivator.

In addition to the caves in the localities above alluded to
there are other places near Paris where the culture is carried
on—notably at Moulin de la Roche, Sous Bicétre, near St.
Germain, and also at Bagneux. The equability of temperature
in the eaves renders the culture of the Mushroom possible at
all seasons ; but the best crops are gathered in winter, and con-
sequently that is the best time to see them. I, however, saw
abundant crops in the hottest part of the past very hot season.
These Mushroom caves are under government supervision, and
are regularly inspected like any other mines in which work
is going on. As regards the depth at which this culture is
carried on, it varies from twenty to one hundred feet, some-
times reaching one hundred and fifty and one hundred and
sixty feet from the surface of the earth. They are so large
that sometimes people are lost in them. In one instance
the proprietor of a large cave went astray, and it was three
days before he was discovered, although soldiers and volun-
teers in abundance were sent down. Is it possible that in
a great mining and excavating country like ours we cannot
establish the same kind of industry?

Culture in Cellars and in. llze Open Air.

Of course they are only professional Mushroom growers
that carry on such extensive operations as those just (le-
seribed, but the Mushroom is
FIG-287' also grown extensively in cellars
and like places. As an analo-
gous mode of culture is more
likely to meet general wants, the
following observations on the
subject may prove acceptable.
They are by M. Laizier, the Pre-
sident of the Mutual Aid Society formed among the Paris
market gardeners.

 

 

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 48-5

“The manure to be used for this method of cultivation
should be prepared in the same way as that for the open-air
system described further on. Preference should be given
to a cellar producing
saline efflorescenee; it FIG.288.
should be as dark as pos-
sible, and exposed to no
draughts. The warmth
generated by the fermen-
tation of the manure will
subside, and the sewing
of the spawn must not .
be commenced until the Mushroom Red on rude Shelf against

\V all of Cellar.

temperature of the bed
has fallen below 76° Fahr.; if it is above this the layers
of spawn are liable to be burnt. Beds can be made in
cellars in many ways. Those made in the middle should
always be formed with two sides,
FIG- 239° while those against the walls should
only be half as thick, on account
of their having only one useful
side. It is also possible to arrange
them on shelves, one above the
other. For this purpose strong
bars of iron are driven into the
, _ walls, upon which are placed
1 shelves of the proper size covered
vith earth, upon which is formed
a bed, that is treated exactly as
those made upon the ground.
These beds are just as productive
as any of the other kinds. They
may even be made on the bottoms
of casks, which should be at least

 

 

P 'd.lM h B d . . .
y mmlfioor (1,1; Chili: e on two feet Six in diameter; and

they are built up in the shape of a
sugarloaf, about three feet in height, and the pieces of spawn
are placed an inch and a quarter deep,and sixteen inches apart.
A barrel is sawn crossways into two pieces, each forming

486 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

a tub. Holes are made in the bottom of each, and a
thin layer of good soil is Spread over them inside. They
are then filled with good well prepared stable manure, just
like that used in the case of ordinary Mushroom beds,
the different layers of dung in each tub being well pressed
down. Vthn the tub is half full, six or seven good pieces of
spawn are placed on the surface, and the remainder is piled
up with manure, which is well pressed down, the operation
being completed by giving to the heap the form of a dome.
The tubs thus prepared are placed in a perfectly dark part
of a cellar, and eight or ten days afterwards the dung
is taken up until the spawn is visible, in order to see
whether it has com-
menced to vegetate
and developc little fila-
ments. If the spawn
has struck, the surface
must be covered with
soil, care being taken
to use only that which
is fresh and properly
prepared. The ne-
cessity of procuring
good Mushroom
spawn cannot be too strongly insisted upon, this being
the indispensable condition for arriving at a good re-
sult. An excellent kind is sometimes met with that has
been formed spontaneously in some old dunghcap, which
is called virgin spawn. “'hcn this cannot be procured,
excellent spawn may be formed in the following manner z.—
A little bed of stable manure is prepared, either in a
cellar or in the open air, and sown with good ordinary
Mushroom spawn, the proper amount of care already
described being bestowed upon it. As soon as the Mush-
rooms appear on the surface of thebed the spawn remaining
must be speedily removed and placed in a dry, airy situation.
The spawn thus prepared can be preserved for two or three or
even four years. Specimens have been kept as long as four-
teen years, from which excellent results have been obtained."

Fm. 290.

 

Mushrooms grown in bottom of old Cask.

MUSHROOM CULTURE. 487

We will next turn to the culture of the Mushroom in
the open air. In old times the market gardeners of Paris
used to grow the Mushroom amongst their ordinary crops
with great profit, but since the Champignonnistcs cultivate
it under no danger from cold in the caves, the market
gardeners, who used to raise it to a great extent in the open
air, do so now in a lesser degree. They begin with the
preparation of the manure, and collect that of the horse for
a month or six weeks before they make the beds; this they
prepare in -- some firm spot of the market-garden, and take
from it all rubbish, particles of wood, and miscellaneous
matters; for, say they, the spawn is not fond of these
bodies. After sorting it thus, they place it in beds two feet
thick, or a little more, pressing it with the fork. When
this is done the mass or bed is well stamped, then thoroughly
watered, and finally again pressed down by stamping.
It is left in this state for eight or ten days, by which
time it has begun to ferment, after which the bed
ought to be well turned over and re-made on the same place,
care being taken to place the manure that was near the
sides of the first-made bed towards the centre in the turning
and re-making. The mass is now left for another ten
days or so, at the end of which time the manure is about
in proper condition for making the beds that are to bear
the Mushrooms. Little ridge-shaped beds about twenty-
six inches wide and the same in height—arc then formed in
parallel lines at a distance of twenty inches one from the
other.

In a. market garden they may stretch over a considerable
extent. Their length being determined by the wants
of the grower. The beds once made of a firm, close-
fitting texture, the manure soon begins to warm again, but
does not become unwholesomcly hot for the spread of the
spawn. “’hen the beds have been made some days, the
cultivator spawns them, having of course ascertained be-
forehand that the heat is genial and suitable. Generally
the spawn is inserted within a few inches of the base, and
at about thirteen inches apart in the line. Some cultivators
insert two lines, the second about seven inches above the

 

488 MUSHROOM CULTURE.

first. In doing so, it would of course be well to make the
holes for the spawn in an alternate manner. The spawn is
inserted in flakes about the size of three fingers, and then
the manure is closed in over, and pressed firmly around it.
This done, the beds are covered with about six inches of
clean litter. Ten or twelve days afterwards the growers visit
the beds, to see if the spawn has taken well. When they see
the white filaments spreading in the bed they know that
the spawn has taken; if not, they take away the spawn
they suppose to be bad and replace it with better. But,
using good spawn, and being practised hands at the work,
they rarely fail in this particular; and when the spawn is
seen spreading well through the bed, then, and not before,
they cover the beds with fresh sweet soil to the depth of
about an inch or so. For cover, the little pathway between
the beds is simply loosened up, and the rich soil of the
market garden applied equally, firmly, and smoothly with a
shovel. “'ith these open-air beds they succeed in getting
Mushrooms in winter. A covering of abundance of litter is
put on immediately after the beds are carthed, and kept there
as a protection. They have not long to wait till the beds
are in full bearing, and when they are in that state it is
thought better to examine and gather from the beds every
second day, or even every day where there are many beds.
And thus they grow excellent Mushrooms, and in great
quantity, all the further attention required being to renew
the covering when it gets rotten, and an occasional watering
in a very dry season.

489

CHAPTER XXII.
THE CULTURE or SALADS.

THE culture of salads for the Paris market is not merely
good—it is perfection. Not only do the French gardeners
supply their own markets with delicious salads all through
the winter and early spring months, but also, to a consider-
able extent, those of some other countries, and send vast
quantities to the English markets. Now it will probably
occur to the reader that climate is the cause of the supe-
riority of the French in this respect, and, indeed, some prac-
timl men repeatedly say so. Nothing can be more fallacious
than this belief; and I have no hesitation in affirming that,
by the adoption of the method to be presently described,
as good salads as ever went to the Paris markets may be
grown in England and Ireland during the coldest months
of winter and spring. It is simply nonsense to say that it
is the effect of climate ; the winters in northern France are
severer than our own, and I know many spots in England
and Ireland which are preferable to the neighbourhood of
Paris for this culture. Near that city I have often seen
beautiful Cos and Cabbage lettuces looking as fresh under
their coverings in the middle of winter, when the earth was
frost-bound, as the budding Lilac in May: had they been
treated as ours usually are, they would have presented a
very different appearance. At all times of the year the
gardens in which salads are grown round Paris are
beautiful examples of cultivation. In the spring and
summer, when they are grown in the open air, nothing can
look more healthy; but it is their condition in the cold
season, when little or nothing can be done with them out
of doors, that demands most attention from us. As very
ordinary cultivation suffices to grow them with us in the

490 THE CULTURE or SALADS.

favourable parts of the year, and in the other our markets
are supplied from France, it is obvious that it is as regards
the winter and early spring supplies that we want improve-
ment. That improvement is easily secured.

The first and the chief thing to do towards it is to pro-
cure some of the large bell glasses (cloches) used by the
French for this purpose, which are more fully described
in the chapter on lhorticultural implements. They are
cheap—and they require no repairs, and are easily cleaned
and stored when not required. The troublesome task of
giving air is done away with in their case. \Vithout air
on “ every possible occasion ” the British gardener attempts
nothing under glass. By adopting this simple article, he
may forego that ceaseless trouble
throughout the winter and early
spring. In the hotter weeks of
autumn, these glasses are tilted up
on one side for an inch or so, with
a bit of stone placed underneath;
but when once winter comes in
‘ earnest, then down they go quite
close, and are all through the
Fourplants ofthc Lettuce Petite winter in the same condition 33

None under the L‘loehe early - .
in October. what we call “ ardian cases. By
the way, the French recognised
this principle long before we did, and what is more, have
made a far more practical use of it. For all sorts of winter
salad-growing this huge bell glass of theirs is infinitely su-
perior to anything that we use for like purposes. The
plants get full light at all times, and, while perfectly pre~
served from the filth and splashing of the rains in winter,
are not in the least “ drawn ” or injured by the confinement,
the light coming in so freely at all points.

The glasses are nearly sixteen inches in diameter, and
about as much in height. For the winter work they are
sometimes placed on a sloping spot with a sunny aspect, or
the ground is thrown into beds, each wide enough to
accommodate three lines of glasses. In early autumn these
beds are made and the plants placed upon them, so that

FIG. €391.

 

THE CULTURE or SALADS. 491

_ they can be readily covered by the bell glasses when the
time comes that growth is checked in the open air. It
should be added that the ground chosen is thoroughly rich,
light, and well and deeply stirred, and the Lettuees are sown
at intervals of a fortnight or so, so as to secure a succession,
and to provide for the wants of the various kinds. The
plants put out in September for the early and mid-autumn
supply may not require to be covered if the weather be fine ;
and if they do, the glasses are tilted up a little as before
described. But when the sun begins to fail and the cold
rains to cheek growth, about the end of October, then the
crop to be cut in the following month must be covered;
and when towards Christmas the frost begins to take hold
of the ground, the glasses must be firmly pressed down, and
a deposit of leaves and litter placed around them.

FIG. 29‘}.

sfr. '
Sloping Bed for three rows of Cloches.

Thus, while everything else is at rest in the grip of ice,
the plants will be kept perfectly free from frost, receiving
abundant light from above, and growing as fresh as April
leaves. Of course a deeper layer of this surrounding litter
will be necessary in case of severe frost than in early winter.
Covering them a little more than half-way up with a rather
compact body of leaves and litter, effectually secures them
from sharp frosts. When very severe frosts occur, mats
made of straw are spread over the tops of the glasses; and
should heavy falls of snow occur while these mats are on,
they will enable the cultivator to carry it bodily away from
the bed or beds; for it should not be allowed to melt on
the beds or in the alleys between. In late spring the cloche
is not required, nor is it for any except these crops that
require artificial assistance. Thus the March and April

492 THE CULTURE or SALADS.

supply is planted in October on a bed of light soil, with a
surfacing of an inch or so of thoroughly rotten manure or
leaf mould. These little plants are allowed to remain all
through the Winter unprotected ; and when in spring the most
forward Cloche Lettuces are cut, the glasses are immediately
placed over the most advanced and promising of the little
ones that have remained exposed. By that time they have
begun to start up, encouraged by the early spring sun, and
from the moment they receive the additional warmth and
steady temperature of the cloche they commence to unfold
the freshest and most juicy of leaves, and finish by becoming
those great-hearted and tender products which one may
see in such fine condition in the Paris markets in early
spring. In the first instance three or five little plants may
be put under each glass, and these thinned out and used as
they grow, so that eventually but one is left, and that,
without exaggeration, often grows nearly as big as the glass
itself. Happily, no water is required, as the ground
possesses sufficient moisture in Winter and spring, and eva-
poration is prevented by the glasses and the protecting
litter that covers the space between them. Thus a genial,
agreeable moisture is kept up at all times, and the very
conditions that suit Lettuces are preserved by the simplest
means.

\Vith the same glasses the various small saladings may
be grown to perfection, or receive a desirable start. Thus,
for instance, if Corn Salad be desired perfectly clean and
fresh in mid-winter, it may be obtained by sowing it between
the smaller Lettuces grown under these glasses 3 and so with
any other small salad or seedling that may be gathered or
removed without loss before or at the time the more im-
portant crop requires all the room. These bell glasses will
he found of quite as much advantage in the British garden
as they are in the French; they will render possible the
production of as fine winter salads in our gardens as ever
the French grew; they will enable us to supply our own
markets with an important commodity, for which a good
deal of money now goes out of the country 3 and, not least,
their judicious use will make fresh and excellent salads

THE CULTURE or SALADS. 493
possible in winter. At present the produce is so inferior
and so dirty at that season, that it is generally avoided, and
rightly so ; for Lettuces when hard and wiry from alterna-
tions of frost, sleet, and rains—slug-eaten and half-covered
with the splashings of the ground, above which they hardly
rise—are not worth eating or buying. And though they
may be grown well in frames and pits, the method herein
described is better and simpler than that, and the Lettuccs
thus produced are far finer than those
grown in English gardens in winter.
My first acquaintance with this
mode of growing salad was made
early in 1867. Since then I have
had further opportunities of studying
the subject, and it now appears to
me that to discuss it in a general
way is not suflicient. To under-
stand the eloche and its use will

FIG. 293.

 

Diagram showing the seve-

not sufiiee ; we must observe the cul-
ture of the varieties suited for each
season, beginning with the Lettuce
Petite Noire, a distinct winter kind,
and requiring peculiar treatment.
CULTURE OF THE LETTUCE PETITE
Nome—This kind is grown to an
enormous extent. Before leaving Paris
in the first week of October last I saw
beautiful crops of it growing, four plants
under each cloche,each about five inches

ral stages of Lettuce Cul-
ture under the Cloche.
The minute dots represent
the seedlings, which are
pricked ofl' when very
small, as shown in the
circle with twenty-four
asterisks. The central
ring is the plan of a
Clochc with one Paris Cos
Lettuce in the middle,
and five Cabbage Lettuces
around it; above it, one
with four plants of a
\Vinter Cabbage Lettuce;
and beneath it, one with
three plants of the C09.

across, and without a speck of disease or

dust. These plants, sown in August, are fit for cutting about
the end of October, and prove very different to the rabbit food
that serves us for salad as soon as the cold rains of autumn
prevent its growing naturally to perfection. But this crop
was an exceptionally early one; few sow it before the first
days of September. It is sown on light, rich ground, well
and deeply stirred, and covered with an inch, or a little
more, of thoroughly decomposed and fine stable manure.
The surface is made level and a little firm, and the impres-

494 .THE CULTURE or SALADS.

sions of the number of eloehes it is intended to sow made
upon it. One clochc will prove sufficient for a private
garden at one sowing; a few suffice for the wants of a
market garden. The Lettuce seed is then regularly sown
within the ring formed by the impression of the large bell
glass, and covered with a very slight coat of thoroughly
rotten manure—a substance that is always used in quan-
tities in Paris market gardens. Then the clochc is put on,
the rim being gently pressed into the light, dark manure
mould. Shade is given when the sun shines strong in
early autumn, but air is never given. A peculiarity of this
excellent Lettuce is that it grows best without air.

As soon as the seedlings are strong enough to transplant,
they are prieked out, about thirty under each cloche. This
transplantation is done at a much earlier stage than is the
case with us. They do not let them wait to get crowded,
and then transplant them, tall and drawn, into their places,
but take them up gently and without disturbing the roots,
soon after the cotyledons are developed and when the first
leaves are beginning to appear. In transplanting, a sur-
facing of very fine and thoroughly rotten manure is placed
over the earth to the depth of an inch, and the earth is
often thrown into beds sloping to the south, so that the
eloehes may enjoy the full sun. “'hether the beds are flat
or sloping, they are wide enough for three ranges of eloehes
placed in a quineunx manner, so that very little 'spaee is lost
between them. Before transplanting, the ground is marked
by the impression of a clochc, and the little seedlings are
inserted by the finger in the soft mould. Instead of getting
drawn, as would be the case if they were left together for a
longer period, the plants spread out into neat and firm little
rosettes, their leaves lying close to the ground, for the light
comes freely through the clean clochc, and there is not a
sign of ill-health or speck of dust to be seen on the leaves.
The first crop mentioned is not a general one, as there is
abundance of open-air salad to be had about the time these
will be cut ; but the strongest batch of those that in
September were in the rosette stage, under the eloehes,
are transplanted into their final places before the 15th of

THE CULTURE or SALADS. 495

October, planting four under each cloche, and they supply
a great want, coming in in perfect condition towards the
middle of winter.

Sometimes the crop is planted out in the narrow frames
common to Paris market gardens, turning over the old
dung beds before planting. The frames being narrow and.
shallow, the plants are near the glass, and as soon as they
are planted the lights are put on, and, instead of giving air
by the aid of these lights, the greatest care is taken to keep
it out. No matter whether under clochc or frame, the
Petite Noire must never get any air. Should severe frost
occur, the glasses may be protected with straw mats. It
must be observed that when the plants are transferred into
the places where they are to attain their fullest size they
are removed with good balls, and with some care to check
their growth as little as possible. The plants pricked out
in October are ready to cut at the end of November or
commencement of December, which are the seasons when
this Lettuce begins to come into general use. In addition
to the crop put out during the first half of November,
another is sewn at that season, in the way before described,
and in like manner. Should very severe weather render
the Lettuces liable to suffer, dry litter is placed between the
cloches, and higher up at their north side, so as to prevent
the frost from entering the ground, and the contents of the
cloches are daily exposed to the light and sun, except when
they are frozen, when the covering is kept on or increased.

The forced culture in the same narrow frames usually
begins about the end of November. At that period a hot-
bed is prepared, sixteen inches thick, and about 55° F. in
temperature, spreading on it some of the never-failing,
crumbling, thoroughly rotten manure, and on it is planted
seven lines of Petite Noire. This plantation requires
greater care than those placed under the cloche, in con-
sequence of the warmth and humidity ; decaying or spotted
leaves have to be picked off when they occur, and the
plants must be protected with the mats more than those
not excited by heat. The frames are surrounded by hot
dung, and a dryer mass of it fills up the alleys between the

496 THE CULTURE or SALADS.

little frames to the very edge of each. At the end of
January or beginning of February the last forced crop of
Petite Noire is planted, under elochcs placed on a gentle
hotbed a foot deep, and covered with about four inches of
the same mould-like manure, the bell glasses as usual being
placed in three ranks. The bed for them may be made
Wide enough for six (three lines on each side of a narrow
alley), or for three only. In this January or February
planting, four plants of Petite Noire are planted under each
cloehe, and one Cos in the middle. The tender Petites
Noires are good to gather in February and March; the
Cos remains a little later, nearly filling up the glass, and
forming one of those superb Lettuces to be seen in all our
great towns in early spring, and which are usually supposed
to come from some paradisiacal climate, instead of the hard,
cutting, and most ungenial winter climate of Paris. Cer-
tainly the climate that would produce them without garden-
ing skill at the periods spoken of should be as mild and
smiling as that in which

“' O’cr the four rivers the first roses blew."

LAITUE VERTE MARAiCiIiflE—This Lettuce is sown about
the first fortnight in October in the open air or on a sloping
bed under a clochc. It is pricked out, and twenty or thirty
are generally placed under one glass, which is taken off every
time that the weather permits. As it often happens that,
in spite of the care taken with it, this Lettuce will grow too
tall, it is generally taken up, and immediately transplanted
during the course of the month of November. For this pur-
pose a new sloping bed is prepared and the plants are pricked
into it immediately, in which case only eighteen or twenty
are put under each glass. From this moment they receive
the same care as the other Lettuces sown at the same time.
Towards the end of December or the beginning of January
planting in frames and under elochcs is begun. In the
former case eight rows are placed in each frame, each row
consisting of twenty-five plants, so arranged that there is
alternately a Petite Noire and a. Cos lettuce in each row.
Under the elochcs they are arranged so that there are four

THE CULTURE or SALADS. 497

of the former to one of the latter. The Cos lettuces thus
grown may be gathered at the beginning of February.
After they are gathered the beds are planted a second time,
and towards the end of February or the beginning of March,
that is to say, when the severe cold is no longer to be
dreaded, a single plant is pricked out in the little spaces
between the clochcs. As soon as the Cos and the Petite
Noire lettuces planted beneath the bell glass are gathered
these latter are used for the second crop. By this method
they may be gathered about three weeks after. At
the same time warm borders on the south side of walls
are also planted with Cos lettuces. Ten or twelve rows
are drawn according to the size of the border, and
planted with Cos lettuces about twelve or fourteen
inches apart. After this crop has been planted out a few
Radishes, Leeks, or Carrots are sown between the Lettuces.
Generally speaking, these Cos lettuces are fit to gather
towards the end of April or the beginning of May. Some
market gardeners also sow Cos during the month of August,
which, planted out in hotbeds under bell glasses, are gene-
rally fit for gathering in December and January.

LAITUE Gone—This Lettuce cannot be raised in the same
way as the Petite Noire, because it will not come to per-
fection without plenty of air. It is not so early as the
Petite Noire, but is much esteemed, growing larger and
more perfect than its congener. The Laitue Gotte is sewn
from the 20th to the 25th of October, on a sloping bed,
and the same method of after-treatment is adopted as in
forcing the Petite Noire, although it is less damaged by
frost. Being a later kind, it may be left in the sloping
bed until the Petite Noire is all gathered, when it may be
used to fill the vacant places in the hotbeds. The manure
of the hotbeds should be left undisturbed, but the soil in
the frames should be well forked and made even. Towards
the end of January or beginning of February the L. Gotte
should be planted in the frames. It should have plenty of
air, whenever the weather will allow it, by propping up the
back of the light. If the Lettuce does not heart early the
light should be removed as soon as the fine weather makes

K K

498 THE CULTURE or SALADS.

its appearance, so as to allow it to come to perfection in
. the open air. Instead of planting the Laitue Gotte in a
frame, it may be planted on a hotbed under cloches ar-
ranged in three rows, three plants being placed under each,
taking care to preserve them from frost in the usual way,
and to give them air whenever the weather will allow of it.
The Laitue Gotte may also be planted in the open ground
under a cloche. The earth is well dug and raked, and an
inch and a half of well decomposed stable manure thrown
over it, smoothed and flattened. The cloches are then
placed in alternate lines, with three plants under each.
“'hen the plants have struck, air should be given them
whenever it is possible. The Laitue Gotte, when planted
in frames at the end of January, arrives at perfection by the
end of March ; those planted under cloches in February, at
the beginning of April ; and those planted under cloches or in
frames at the end of February, towards the middle of April.

Tm: PASSION LETTUCE—Laitue de la Passion as it is called
—-is the only winter Lettuce grown in the neighbourhood of
Paris in the open air. It is sown from the 15th of August
to the 15th of September, according to the soil which is
to receive it, and is prickcd out rather thinly in October.
It is generally left unprotected through the winter; how-
ever, it is prudent to defend it against severe frosts by
covering it with long litter, which is taken off and put on
again as it is required. This Lettuce is generally fit for
gathering towards Passion \Veek, from which circumstance
it is called Passion Lettuce by the Parisians.

CORN SALAD on MRCHEr-This plant is very much used in
Paris, and is excellent as a salad. It is peculiarly agreeable
when mixed with a sprinkling of Celery. The culture is of
the simplest kind, the seeds being often sown amongst other
crops, which must he placed somewhat thinly, and the
Corn Salad is gathered before the other requires all the
ground. They begin to sow the Ronde variety about the
15th of August, and continue at intervals till the end of
October. That sown in August comes in for the autumn con-
sumption ; that sown in September for winter use; and that
sown in October is Used in spring. During hard frosts the

THE CULTURE or SALADS. 499

crops to be gathered during winter are covered with long litter.
Italian Corn Salad or Mfiche Régence is sown in October, and
is sown more thinly than the preceding; it is considered the
best variety. It may also be raised in the spare places between
the plants, under cloche, in any open surface between plants
in frames, or any cool light garden structure.

THE BARBE DE CAPUCIN is the most common of all salads
in Paris in the winter and early spring, and for its culture
the cloche is not required. It is perhaps too bitter for
some tastes, but is sometimes used by English families, and
is well worthy of culture in small gardens, being so very
easily forced when other salads are scarce. This salad is of
all others that which may be had with the least amount of
trouble by any person in possession of a spot of rough
ground, a cellar, or any dark place where a little heat
might be used to start the blanched leaves of the Chicory
in winter; it is therefore desirable that it be brought
into common use. Should the taste be too bitter to those
unaccustomed to it, or who do not like bitter salads, the
addition of Corn Salad, Celery, or Beetroot, improves and
modifies the flavour, and makes it a very distinct and agree-
able salad. The gardeners of the commune of Montrcuil
sow every year a large quantity of wild Chicory for the
purpose of forcing the Barbe de Capucin. For this
purpose the crop is sown in April. It is sown both
broadcast and in drills, which are traced at a distance of
eight inches from each other. At least nine pounds of seed
per acre must be used. In the course of the summer the
ground should be turned up several times ; when the frost
sets in the roots are taken up with the fork, care being
taken not to break them. They are then laid by the heels so
as to have them always ready for use; and in the course
of the month of October, the season when such work is
usually commenced, a hotbed about sixteen inches deep is
prepared, the heat of which is from 65° to 80° Fahr.
The most favourable position for such a hotbed is in a
cave or in a deep cellar without light or air.

“'hen the heat of the bed has somewhat abated, the
plants are tied up in bundles, having first carefully removed

K K 2

500 THE CULTURE or SALADS.

all the dead leaves and other portions liable to produce
mouldiness, after which they are placed upright on the bed
and watered frequently with a rose watering-pot ; but, as
usual, the waterings must be adapted to the heat of the bed.
From the time the Barbe begins to grow, these waterings
ought to be performed with great judgment, so as to prevent
the interior of the bundles from rotting. At the end of
fifteen or eighteen days, the salad is long enough to be
gathered. From the time given above the Chicory can be
blanched up to March and April; after every gathering
however, the spent dung should be removed, and replaced
by a fresh supply, so as always to keep the bed at the same
degree of warmth. ‘

In the market gardens of Viroflay large quantities of
wild Chicory are cultivated. It is sown broadcast towards
the end of the month of May or the beginning of June.
The following February it is covered with an inch
and a half of leaf mould, or, if that cannot be procured,
mould from the pathways. Ten or twelve days afterwards
it is cut just where the two kinds of earth join. Two or
three gatherings are generally made, after which it is
allowed to remain until the following year.

SCAROLLE (Broad-leaved Batavian Endive).—This fine salad
forms a very considerable item in the culture of the Paris
market gardens. It is deserving of being generally grown
in England, being easy of cultivation, very large, and form-
ing an excellent salad; indeed, it is on the whole perhaps
the best we have. The mode of blanching is very simple:
the leaves of the plant are gathered up, and then a single
straw tied around them. This is only done five days before
the Searolle is ready for market. A crop of this was nearly
ready to blaneh in September, it was the second crop of the
same plant that had been on the ground—the first and best
having been gathered a few weeks. Some of the finer
specimens of this second unblanched crop measured twenty
and twenty-one inches in diameter on September 7th, 1868.

501

CHAPTER XXIII.
ASPARAGU s CULTURE.

ASPARAGUS is grown much more abundantly and to a much
larger size in France than it is in England. The country
is half covered with it in some places near Paris; small and
large farmers grow it abundantly, cottagers grow it—every-
body grows it, and everybody eats it. Near Paris it is
chiefly grown in the valley of Montmorency and at Argen-
teuil, and it is cultivated extensively for market in many
other places. About Argenteuil 3000 persons are employed
in the culture of Asparagus—at least so I was told
by the son of the cultivator who took the best
prizes for Asparagus at the Exhibition. His father not
being at home, I traversed a considerable portion of what
may be termed the region of Asparagus with this youth,
who was of the intelligent type, and understood all about
this dainty vegetable. I first saw it growing to a large
extent among the vines. The vine under field culture, I
need scarcely say, is simply cut down to near the old stool
every year, and allowed to make a few growths, which are
tied erect to a stake: they do not overtop the Asparagus in
any way, but on the other hand the strong plants of that
show well above the vines. It was not in distinct close
lines among the vines, but widely and irregularly separated,
say six or seven feet apart in the rows, and as much or
more the other way. They simply put one plant in each
open spot, and give it every chance of forming a capital
specimen, and this it generally does. When the stems get
large and a little top-heavy in early summer, a string is put
round all, so as to hold them slightly together (the careful
cultivator uses a stake), and the mutual support thus given
prevents the plant from being cut off in its prime. We

502 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

all know how apt it is to be twisted off at the collar by
strong winds, especially in wet weather, when the drops on
every tiny leaf make the foliage heavy. The growing of
Asparagus among the vines is a very usual mode, and a
vast space is thus covered with it about here. But it is
grown in other and more special ways, though not one like
our way of growing it, which is decidedly much inferior to
the French method.

Perhaps the simplest and most worthy of adoption is to
grow it in shallow trenches. I have seen extensive plant-
ings that looked much as a Celery ground docs soon after
being planted, the young Asparagus plants being in a shallow
trench, and a little ridge of soil being thrown up between
the lines of Asparagus. These trenches are generally about
four feet apart, sometimes less. The soil is rather a stiff
sandy loam with calcareous matter in some parts, but I do
not think the soil has all to do with the peculiar excellence
of the vegetable, and am certain that soils on which it
would flourish equally well are far from uncommon in
England. It is the careful attention to the wants of the
plant that produces such a good result. Here, for instance,
is a young plantation planted in March, and from the little
ridges of soil between the shallow trenches they have just
dug a crop of small early Potatoes. Now, in England,
the Asparagus would he left to the free action of the breeze,
but the French cultivators—like the old Scotchwoman who
would not trust the stormy water and God’s goodness as
long as there was a bridge in Stirling—never leave a young
plant of Asparagus to the wind’s mercy whilst they can
get hold of a bit of oak about a yard long. But when
staking these young plants they do not insert the support
eIOse at the bottom, as we are too apt to do in other in-
stances, but at a little distance off, so as to avoid the
possibility of injuring a fibre; each stake leans over its
plant at an angle of 1-50, and when the sapling is big enough
to touch it or be caught by the wind, they tie it to the
stick as a matter of course. The ground in which this
system is pursued being entirely devoted to Asparagus, the
stools are placed very much closer together than they are

ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 503

when grown among the vines, say at a distance of about a
yard apart. The little trenches are about a foot wide and
eight inches below the level of the ground—looking deeper,
however, from the soil being piled up.

The young plants are placed in these trenches very care-
fully. A little mound is made with the hand in each spot
where a plant is to be placed so as to elevate the crown a
little and permit of the spreading out of the roots in a per-
fectly safe manner. In fact they seem to be about as par-
ticular as regards depositing the young plants in the first
instance, as a good grape-grower is about his young vines.
They plant in March and April—using any kind of manure
that can be had, but chiefly here, so far as I could see, the
refuse of the town—the ashes,
old vegetables, rags, and other
matters, that the people throw
before their doors, and which Q
the dust-carts take away in the
morning. They are very par-
ticular to destroy the weeds, \ , .
and they also take gOOd care to This figure shows the depth of the
destroy all sorts of insect successive annual earthings given

- - - to the Asparagus. After four or
enemles In the mornlngs) espe- five years’ growth the ridges dis-
cially during the early summer. appear. and the highest POints 0f

- the grounds are those over the
Between the lines of Asparagus crowns of the roots.
they plant small growing crops
on the little ridges during the first years of the plantation, but
are careful not to put the large vegetables there, which would
shade and otherwise injure the plant. “rhen they plant
they spread a handful or so of well-rotted manure over each
root, and they repeat this every year, removing the soil very
carefully in the autumn down to the roots, putting on them
a couple of handfuls of rotten manure, and spreading the
earth over again, so that the rain is continually washing
nutriment to the roots. When doing this they notice the
state of the young roots, and any spot in which one has
perished, or has done little good, they mark with a stick, to
replace it the following March. Early every spring they
pile up a little heap of fine earth over each crown. When

FIG. 294.

    

504 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

the plantation arrives at its third year they increase the size
of the little mound, or, in other words, a heap of finely
pulverized earth is placed over the stool, from which some,
but not much, Asparagus is cut the same year, taking care
to leave the weak plants and those which have replaced
others, to themselves for another year.

They would appear to cut the best of it when it is about
an inch and a half out of the ground—and here is the only
objectionable thing about their system. The top is very
good, but as a rule too short; but such a handle as they
give you to it! Now, it may be desirable to have some-
thing to take hold of, but to cut it as they do here, and as
we often do in England, is not wise, or conducive to the
thorough enjoyment of the vegetable. However, it is
simply a matter of the amount of covering given, or of the
depth at which it is cut, and therefore of the simplest
management. The care and culture may be applied as
described, and the Asparagus cut at pleasure. To procure
it in a thoroughly blanched condition, the French pile 11p
these little mounds of fine earth, which enables them of
course to get it much longer; besides, they can pull away
the soil conveniently, and get at the rising stems as low
down as they like. It is not, however, the fault of the cul-
tivator that the Asparagus is so much blanched, for I have
been told by the first fruit and vegetable merchant in Paris
that his customers would not buy the finest Asparagus ever
grown if brought in a green state. This is why you see it
with a shaft like ivory and with the point of the shoot of a
red, rose, or violet tinge. Then again, some contend
that Asparagus blanched after the French fashion is far
more delicious than when it is eaten in the green state, while
others in England say it is worthless. From what I know
of their arguments, however, it is clear that those who say
French Asparagus is worthless, mostly know it from some old
bundles bought and eaten perhaps a fortnight after they
were cut in France. Let us hear the French side :~—“ In
certain localities they do not yet value the distinction
between blanched and green Asparagus, and occasionally
prefer the last. That is an error very prejudicial to the

ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 505

consumer’s interests. In the green Asparagus there is only
the point edible; in the white it is often entirely so, and,
moreover, it is infinitely more tender and delicate. All
Asparagus cut when it is green is not fit to be eaten in the
ordinary way, but may be used cut up small as an accompani-
ment to other dishes. To serve up green Asparagus is to
dishonour the table! In the markets of Paris the green
Asparagus is worth one franc a bunch, when the blanched is
worth three francs ; they do not eat it (the green Asparagus)
—it serves for the manufacture of syrup of Asparagus—V. F.
LEBcEUF.”

When the plantation reaches its fourth year the little
mound of blanching earth is increased to fifteen inches in
height, for then they expect to out something worth while,
and these mounds are made in the early part of March; and
even after this, as they grow stronger the little mounds are
increased; and they always keep a look-out for the feeble
plants, with a View to replace them. To have Asparagus as
it ought to be, they say you must out every day, or every
two days, according to temperature, so that it may be
obtained at the right moment; indeed if they do not do
this, the shoots become too high and too green. They place
great importance on obtaining strong and healthy plants ; and
in the establishment which I visited they have three kinds,
l’Ordinaire, La Hollande tardive, improved, and La Hfitive
d’Argenteuil. The first is described as very fine, the second
very strong, and the last as the earliest, most productive and
best. Of course there are various modifications of the plan
described herein, and in several instances I saw two rows
placed in a rather wide trench in an alternate manner. As
to the size and quality of the Asparagus produced by this
method there can be but one opinion. Mr. Veiteh and
many other English horticulturists, who know what garden-
ing is, as well as it is possible to know it, have been, with
myself, surprised at it. The same difference holds good
in ,the forced Asparagus—the slender pipe-shank produc-
tions of the English forcing-house being miserable compared
to it.

Concisely: the French mode of cultivating this delicious

506 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

vegetable differs from our own diametrically in giving each
plant abundant room to develope into a large healthy speci-
men, in paying thoughtful attention to the plants at all
times, and in planting in a hollow instead of a raised bed,
so that as the roots grow up they may have annual dress-
ings of enriching manure. They do not, as we do, go to
great expense in forming a mass of the richest soil far be-
neath the roots, but rather give it at the surface, which is con-
sistent with the nature of the root. And in this way they
beat us with Asparagus as thoroughly as Messrs. Meredith,
Henderson, or Miller, beat them with hothouse grapes. A
man who knows how to spend two and a half francs for his
dinner in Paris enjoys Asparagus for a longer time and of
much better quality than many a nobleman in England with a
bevy of gardeners. In the first-class restaurants you usually
pay high for Asparagus, as you do for all other vegetables,
but it is served very cheaply in many respectable ones—so
much so, indeed, that it is partaken of by all classes.

As the culture of this vegetable is so important, and the
French manage it so well, I venture to go further into
detail by giving the following account, written by a well-
known and very successful cultivator of Argenteuil, and first
published in the Gardener’s Chronicle. I have made some
few alterations, with a view to rendering the meaning
simpler and clearer to the reader 2——

“ PREPARATION or THE Gnounn.—\thn a convenient piece
of ground has been selected, it is first of all to be mellowed
by spreading on its surface a good dressing of horse or
sheep manure. The ground is to be dug up to a depth of
sixteen inches in fine weather at the beginning of winter,
during which season it is to be left at rest. In the month
of lf‘ebruary following at least, as soon as severe frost is no
longer to be expected the ground is to be laid out in
furrows and ridges, in order to shape shelving beds, and the
excavations which are to receive the plantations. For this
purpose the following operations are to be performed.
First, there are to be drawn the whole length of the ground,
and by preference from north to south, two lines, leaving
between them a space of fourteen inches, intended for the

 

 

ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 507

site of the first half-shelving bed. Reckoning from the inte-
rior base of this half-shelving bed, a distance of twenty-four
inches is to be measured for the first trench. The earth
taken from it will serve to form the shelving bed. The

1s)econd shelvmg bed, Wthh Wlll \ \\\s
e a large one, ]S to measure \\
twenty-eight inches in width at §

its base, and fourteen inches in - ‘
height. Next comes the secOnd
trench, then the third entire
shelving bed, and so on, until the
whole piece of ground has been
occupied. Thus, the first half-
shelving bed will measure in
width fourteen inches, and
in height eight inches; the
first trench in width twenty
four inches, the second en-
tire shelving bed in width
twenty-eight inches, and in
height fourteen inches, &c., as
shown in the accompanying figure.
The earth of the shelving beds
being intended to cover over the

, with plant set on

the hillock.

FIG. 295.

a. One of the shelving d. Ground or trench
beds.

       
  

who thus describes his culture,
we are bound to respect his dia-
gram; but a readier and less precise method is more gene-
rally pursued, such as that indicated by Fig. 296, roughly
drawn from memory]

“ FIRST YEAR—The first plantation is to take place during

plants from time to time, these "2-5
beds will gradually diminish in Eé
height, and the whole piece of C;
ground will become nearly level i 'Q
at the end of five years, when E
the Asparagus plantation will be a i”
in full productiveness.” [In 1;
justice to the extensive market xi E
grower and successful prizetaker \\\\\§‘> 3

» sis? \\ 4

\ \

508 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

the months of March or April, and should be performed in
the following manner :—In each trench, through its entire
length, small holes, eight inches in diameter and about four
inches deep, must be formed about thirty-six inches distant
from each other. In the centre of each of them a small
hillock of earth about two inches high is to be raised, upon
which the Asparagus plant is to be laid down, care being
taken to divide the roots equally in every direction; the
roots are then to be covered over with half an inch of earth;
and one or two handfuls of very good manure are to be
added, and covered over with about an inch and a half of
earth, at the same time forming a small hollow of about an
inch deep over each plant, to indicate its position. In order
exactly to know the position of the plants, and to shelter
them and their shoots from accidents, a small stake is to be
set to each, inclining it at an angle of 45°, in order not to
Fm. 296. injure the roots, and placing it
' > ' a little away from the plant.
“ Every morning, towards
the months of April and
Common mode of forming an )[ayi Slugs and 8113118 are
Asparagus plantation. to be carefully lOOde for
and destroyed. Beetles are also much to be feared in
the Asparagus plantations. Twice every day during
a fortnight it will be well to pursue these insects with rods,
so as to hinder them from depositing their eggs 011 the stalks
of the Asparagus; these eggs develop at the end of three
weeks into black maggots or worms, which prey upon
the Asparagus stems and dry them 11p. Yet these
insects are not the only ones which are to be dreaded. The
white worms (or maggots of tree beetles) are very dangerous,
and it will be well constantly to put in use the most proper
means to get rid of them, for they eat the roots and destroy
the plants. It will be useful also to set mole traps, for
while tracing their underground roads the moles cut the
roots. 1*‘1'cqucntly during the season the plantations should
be thoroughly cleaned, taking care to never bruise or in any
way injure the young plants, for any accident to these is of
course directly prejudicial.

 

ASPARAGUS CULTURE; ‘ 509

“Common vegetables, such as late Potatoes, Cabbages,
8m, ought not to be planted on the ridges of beds, which,
however, may be made useful (but only'during the first
years) by growing on them early Potatoes, Lentils, Kidney
Beans, Salads, and such other vegetables as are of little
inconvenience from their dimensions. In the month of
October, during fine and dry weather, the small stalks of
the Asparagus are to be cut off at six inches above the
ground. The ground is to be lightly cleaned, and the
shelving beds must be dug up to a depth of twelve inches,
maintaining their conical shape. The Asparagus is to be
lightly covered with manure, the plants being laid bare with
a flat hoe, for a diameter of eight inches, and 11p to the
crowns. Proper care ought to be taken not to injure the
roots with the implement. On each plant lay one or two
handfuls of good manure, free from all noxious substances.
“’hile spreading the manure, mark out with a small stick
the site of the plants which have failed during the course
of the year ; these must be renewed in the month of March
following. The manure is at once to be covered over
with about three inches of the best mellow earth at hand,
and over the plants is to be made a small conical hillock
about two inches high. This operation isthe last to be
performed for the year.

“ SECOND YE.\R.—In March or April begin by replacing
the plants which have failed in the preceding year, selecting
vigorous plants a year old, and setting them in the same
manner as recommended for the first year. Stakes are to
be placed near the foot of each plant, always at an angle of
45°. In the beginning of April a cleaning is to be made
on the shelving beds and on the grounds ; it will be well to
perform this operation the day after a sprinkling of rain, in
order the more easily to break the clods. As soon as the
Asparagus stems become firm, fasten them to the stakes, in
order to protect them against the wind, which might break
them. In the month of October the dry stalks are to be
cut off at eight inches above the ground; the shelving beds
are to be turned up, always lightly hollowing out the
trenches. Manure is to be spread on the shelving beds,

510 ASPA RAGUS CULTURE.

which are then to be dug up. The stakes, having become
useless, are to be taken away. Lastly, the laying bare
of the roots is to be done by taking away the earth, as
already directed, the dressing of decomposed manure placed
over them, and lastly, the manure is in its turn covered
with a couple of inches of the finely pulverized soil.
“THIRD YEAR—In the middle of the month of March,
during fine weather, small knolls, from six to eight inches
high, are to be made over each plant, taking nevertheless as
a basis the comparative strength of the crowns, more or less
large, or of a more or less determined development; those
which may be too feeble, or having served the preceding
year to supply the bad ones, or those which had failed, are
to be covered over with a hillock of only four inches high,
and should then be left to themselves. From the other
plants, three, or at most four Asparagus heads may be
gathered ; but they are not to be cut off with an Asparagus
knife, but removed with the fingers. However, there is a
particular sort of knife, square-shaped at the end, and having
teeth on one side, forming a saw, which will be useful to
take away the earth about the stalk, and will make it easy
for the fingers to reach the subterranean stock, which care
must be taken not to injure. ‘Vith regard to the gathering,
one finger must be got behind the Asparagus stem at its base,
and by bending it, it will easily come off the stock. In
this manner all injury to its neighbours, which may easily
happen with an Asparagus knife, will be avoided; and there
will not be left any wounded ends, from which the sap will
flow and spread around, occasioning rapid decay. Care
should be taken to close 11p the hole made for the gathering
of the Asparagus, and the knoll is at once to be formed
anew. In the month of April, the stakes are to be again
used, and the stems fastened to them in due time. After
having, in fine weather, done all that is necessary in the
way of cleaning, in the month of October the dry stalks are
to be cut off about ten inches above the ground, and the
dead rubbish thrown out of the Asparagus plantation. From
the whole surface of the trenches, and to a depth of four
inches, the earth is to be taken away and thrown upon the

ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 511

ridges ; this earth is to be substituted by a layer of very
good manure, which layer is to be of a thickness of about
an inch and a half, if night soil is made use of, or of about
two inches if it is only common manure. At the same
time a portion of the end of the old stalks is to be taken
away, preserving that nearest to the crown, so as to indicate
the exact site of the plants for the fourth year. After
having spread the manure, the ridges must be dug up, and
the manure covered with an inch or two of earth from
them, a small hillock being left over the crown of each plant.

“ FOURTH YEAR.—Ab0ut the middle of March, in dry
weather, or the day after a sprinkling of rain, knolls of the
height of from ten to twelve inches must be formed over
each plant with the fine earth from the sides of the ridges.
The feeble plants marked with a small stick at the pre—
ceding laying bare, are to be covered over with hilloeks of
a thickness of from four to six inches only. While earthing
up the Asparagus the ends of the dry stalks are to be taken
away. The gathering is to take place from the largest speci-
mens during one month at the most. Then they are to be
left to run to seed. The most feeble ones are to be spared
in order to strengthen them. At the second dressing in the
month of May, earth is taken from the shelving beds, in order
to cover over, to an extent of an inch or two, the whole surface
of the grounds, so as to protect the Asparagus plantation from
the dryness of the summer. The stakes should be five feet
high. In the month of October the stalks of the Asparagus
are to be cut off at fourteen inches above the ground, and
the plantation is to be cleared of the rubbish; manure is to
be spread on the ridges, which are to be made up from the
knolls in the trenches; and are then to be dug up to a
depth of sixteen inches. Notwithstanding the manure laid
upon the shelving beds, the roots of the Asparagus are to
be laid carefully bare in the manner already described.
Upon the crowns are to be put a few handfuls of good
manure, which is to be covered over with two inches of
good mellow earth,- the little knolls which are to be formed
over the centre of the plants, are to be over three inches in
height.

512 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

“ FIFTH Yum—The making of hillocks on the Asparagus
is to begin in the month of March,- they are to be fourteen
inches high, and their diameter is to be in conformity with
the diameter of each specimen or ‘ stool.’ The gathering is
to consist of the heads on all the large plants, and of some
only on the feeble ones ; the gathering may last two months
at most. In order to get fine Asparagus, the heads are to
be gathered once every day, or every other day, or every
third day at farthest, according to the degree of tem-
perature. This is the way to obtain rosy, red, or violet
Asparagus. In order to get it green it will be sufficient to
let the heads grow during four or five days more; they will
lengthen and become green. The second dressing is to be
made as in the preceding years. The stakes are to be put
in as soon as the necessity is felt, and the stems, having
regard to the increase of their height and weight, must be
firmly tied, so that the wind may not disturb them and
that they may not be broken. In the month of October
following, the dry stalks are to be cut off at fourteen inches
above the ground. The plantation is to be cleared, and
the ridges are to be replenished by adding to them the
earth of the knolls which have been raised on the plants
for the gathering. Then the manure is to be spread in the
manner already indicated; and the digging up of the ridges
is next to take place.

“SIXTH Yuan—\Vhen the Asparagus plantation shall have
reached its sixth year, it will then be in full productiveness.
The forming of knolls is to take place in March during fine
and dry weather,- the knolls must always be fourteen inches
high, reckoning from the subterranean stock. The care to
be taken is to be the same as in the preceding years, par-
ticularly with regard to cleanliness and staking. As for
inseets, they will be, less to be feared than during the first
years of the establishment of the plantation. The beetles
can no longer lay their eggs on the stalks, since they are
cut during two months, and when allowed to start up the
time of the laying of eggs is past. In the month of October
the shelving beds are to be turned up in conformity with the
manner shown for the preceding year; the shelving beds and

ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 513

the plants are to be manured, as has been explained for the
fourth year. As the Asparagus plantation may last fifteen
or twenty years, the operations and the care to be taken
are to be repeated from year to year in the manner above
indicated. Generally, in a well established Asparagus plan-
tation, the gathering, reckoning from its beginning, is to
take place during two months, whatever may be the climatic
circumstances under which the plantation is placed. It
must have been seen that the expense is not very great;
the chief object is the care which must be taken. The
main point is to get good plants, in order to obtain good
produce. By properly following the rules laid down here,
satisfactory results will be obtained.”

The mode of forcing Asparagus chiefly consists in digging
deep trenches
between beds “(L297-
planted for the ; '
purpose, covering :
the beds with the :7
soil and with
frames, filling in _ _

Preparatmn for forcmg Asparagus. The trenches

the trenCheS be' are dugr out and filled with stable manure, the earth

tween the beds being heaped on the beds. These are covered with

. rouwh frames, up to the edcre of which the heatinv
Wlth Stable ma' mataerial is piled. O D

nure, and pro-

tecting the frames with straw mats and litter to keep
in the heat. In the beginning of November the pathways
between the beds of Asparagus are dug up about two feet
deep, and as much wide. Divide the soil coming from the
pathway very carefully, and put about eight inches thick of
it on the surface of the bed. Fill up the trench with good
new horse-dung, and place frames on the bed. The manure
should rise as high as the top of the frames, and the lights
be entirely covered with mats and litter to prevent the heat
accumulated in the frame from escaping. About a fort—
night or three weeks after, the Asparagus begins to show
itself on the surface of the bed. Many market gardeners
cover the whole of the bed inside of the frame to a thick-
ness of three or four inches with dung to force more

L L

 

 

514 ASPARAGUS CULTURE.

quickly the vegetation, but in this case the manure must
be removed when the Asparagus begins to shoot. When
the shoots are about three inches out of the ground they
may be cut. The mats must be taken off in the day-
time, but the heat must be well kept up or the roots and
buds will fail to push. The beds are forced every second
year only. The gathering of the Asparagus may continue
for about two months, but no longer, or the plantation
would be injured. “hen the gathering of the Asparagus
is over, the frames and dung linings are taken away, and the
soil which has been dug up from the alleys is put back again.

The preceding note applies to the forcing of the better
qualities of Asparagus chiefly. I visited last September
a place at Clichy in which quite a specialty is made of
forcing the smaller sized Asparagus. It is the garden of
M. Caucannier, Place de l’Eglise, and contains a number
of iron houses, just on the same plan as those in the
Jardin Fleuriste, already described. Indeed, if I mis-
take not, those in the Fleuriste are copied from them.
There are frames within each house, just as in many
propagating houses in England, and beneath them the
Asparagus is forced for the markets, and in incredible
quantities. The houses are heated by hot water, and the
culture in other respects resembles that which is practised
in forcing gardens in England—that is, when the plants are
taken up to be forced indoors or in pits. The disturbance
weakens the roots a good deal, and by this method the
large table Asparagus is never forced. M. Caueannier
and other glowers produce it specially in a. small state for
cookery.

515

CHAPTER XXIV .

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE VEGETABLES OF THE PARIS
MARKET —- CULTURE OF THE SMALL CARROT— THE CAR-
DOON—FORCING THE CAULIFLOWER—THE SWEET POTATO
—-EARLY POTATOES—OLEANDER CULTURE—CULTURE OF
THE ORANGE—SHO“'I.\'G ROSES IN FRANCE—FORCING THE
“'HITE LILAC.

A v1s1'r to the markets of Paris is sufficient to interest
many in the vegetable culture of that capital. There is
so much difference in the supplies to that market and the
London one that there is certainly much to be learnt
'on both sides. That so great a difference should exist
in the supplies of cities so near each other is somewhat
remarkable. The Parisians make as much use of that
delicate, wholesome, and excellent vegetable Seakale as
we in England do of the Bread Fruit Tree; and the
Briton who leaves London in a hot and dry July,
having failed to get a tender vegetable or salad at dinner,
arrives in Paris next morning, and finds the streets in the
neighbourhood thickly strewn with every variety as tender
as if the climate were a perpetual May.

But, although abundant intercourse has long existed
between the two countries, the fact that the observers are
rarely practical men, and therefore not capable of seeing
differences and their value and causes, and the difficulty of
getting information about the subjects, noticeable improve-
ments have not been exchanged from side to side. There-
fore, in addition to dealing with the subjects in which
the French are far ahead of us—Salads, Asparagus, and
Mushrooms, for example—I have thought it well to speak
of any varieties of vegetables with which we should be
better acquainted, or which are likely to prove useful, and

LL2

516 OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE

to add a few remarks about the culture of any of them
where desirable. In this I simply do the best I can
for the time, and believe the subject is far from being
exhausted. My acquaintance with it only began in 1867.
To save trouble in inquiries, I add that, should any reader
find difficulties in getting seeds of any subject mentioned
in this book true to name, he may be certain of getting
them of the best quality from MM. Vilmorin, Andrieux,
and C0., of the Quai de la Mégisseric, or of MM. Courtois-
Gérard and Pavard, Rue du Pont Neuf, Paris.

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME or THE VEGETABLES or THE PARIS
MARKET—The Cardoon is much more grown and eaten in
France than in England, and its culture is well understood.
The variety most grown and usually considered the best is the
Cardon dc Tours (a spiny var.). A spineless variety, Car-
don Plein Inerme, is not sufficiently known. It is as good
as the former, and preferable on account of not being fiercely

.armed with spines. The Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)
is grown to a very much larger extent in France than in
.lCngland, and its culture is said to be attended with much
profit. It is used in every Parisian restaurant. The variety
considered best is the Gros Vcrt dc Laon. Camus de Bre-
tagnc is the kind that is often used raw. Of Asparagus
most people agree in considering that of Argenteuil the
best, though of the distinction between the several varieties
there is little certainty. Of Bectroots, there is nothing to
surpass our English varieties; the best French one is the
Longne. It is cultivated to a large extent at Les Vertus,
near St. Denis, and brought to market cooked, so that the.
smallest portions may be sold with salad. It is used much
more than with us by the poorer classes, especially with
Barbe dc Capucin in the winter.

The little Carrot which is grown to such nnvarying per-
fection is the Rouge Courte a Chassis. This and the so-
ealled ehoiee varieties of ('arrots are far from being always
obtained true. Cultivated as it is in Paris it is infinitely
preferable to the larger and coarser sorts grown with
us, but the difference is chiefly owing to the mode
of growing it. The best salads known are grown in

VEGETABLES OF THE PARIS MARKET. 517

the vicinity of Paris, and among them the various Endives
assume a great importance. Chieorée Fine d’Eté and
C. Rouennaisc are the best summer kinds ; C. de Meaux is
the large one, used in a cooked state as we use Spinach ;
and C. de la Passion is a very large variety, passing through
the winter well without protection. The Searolle for winter
or autumn salad is a really noble kind of Endive, with
smooth leaves, a vigorous constitution, fine flavour, and
every good quality that such a plant should possess ; and
yet it is not at all sufficiently known or grown with us.
The best. kind is the Ronde or Verte, but the Blonde is
also good. Of the wild Chicory there is an improved variety,
Chicorée améliorée, which forms little heads four inches or
so in diameter in early spring, and is then very acceptable
in a salad-loving country. By putting a cloche over stools
of this variety, these little heads, may be had all the winter.
To blaneh them slightly is an improvement, but this variety
must on no account be employed to yield the Barbe, that
popular Parisian winter salad. That is simply the common
Chicory. It is grown in vast quantities near Paris, and
prepared for use chiefly in caves at Montreuil—Montreuil
of the Peaches.

Of Lettuces, as of Endives, the best known are found in
and sent from the Paris market. The earliest is the Crepe,
or Petite Noire and the Gotte or Can; a fine variety for
summer use is the Blonde d’Eté; the Palatine or Laitue
Rousse is also a most tender and delicate variety, keeps
long, and is worthy of general cultivation; and the Laitue
de la Passion is an excellent winter kind, that may be
grown without a cloche through the winter. In summer
and autumn the Grosse grise or Brune paresscuse is also
an excellent variety, forming a good heart. Of the Cos
lettuces, the Verte Maraichere is the one so largely grown
and exported for spring use, and the Blonde Maraichere is
the summer kind preferred and grown by the market
gardeners. Radishes, we need not say, are found better in
Paris than anywhere else. The Radish of the Paris markets
has lately been sent out by English houses under the name
of French breakfast Radish. The French name of the best

518 OBSERVATIONS ON SOME or THE

variety of this is the Rose Demi-long a bout blanc. The
earliest Potato is the Marjolin, the source of an important
culture on the slopes of the hills above the Bois de B011-
logue. It is kept all the winter in the light, and yet free
from frost, so that when planted in spring marketable tubers
are quickly produced, and the ground when cleared of early
Potatoes is fit for Haricots in May. Good King Henry (Che-
nopodium Bonus Henricus), a really good and delicate herb,
is used to some extent in private gardens, but does not form
a product of the markets. Arroche or Orach, both of the
red and white varieties, is much grown in private gardens.

Of Chervil there are quantities grown which to us seem
incredible. It is much used in salad. One seed house
alone sells about 1000 lb. weight of seed of it per annum.
Bulbous Chervil is an excellent vegetable not found in the
markets, but which ought to be grown in all private gardens.
Such leguminous plants as have curious snail-like seed-
vessels are occasionally grown under the name of Chenil-
lettes, to decorate salads and form imitation snails. They
are of no importance, and with us are rarely seen out of
botanic gardens, and not often in them.

The Ciboule, or “'elsh Onion, is grown in quantity for
salad. Tarragon is grown in great quantity for use in
vinegar, and also in a lesser degree for salads. The Girau-
mon Turban Gourd (or Potiron Bonnet Turc) is much used
where the Potiron would be too large. Salsify and Scor-
zonera are both grown in much larger quantities than with
us. Of Corn Salad, so very important an article in the
winter salad consumption of Paris, the Mache Ronde or
Doueette is the best variety for autumn and winter, and
the Macho Régence d’Italie for spring use. “'ith Cucumbers
we are far ahead; with Melons we go in quite opposite
grooves. The English Melons would not find buyers in the
Paris market, nor probably would the French in ours.
They are eaten in quite dill'erent ways in the two countries
-—in France with pepper and salt; and some people, for
whom the rich flavour of the English Melons is too much,
can enjoy those of the Paris restaurants. The large kind
grown by all the Paris market gardeners is M. Cantaloup,

VEGETABLES on THE PARIS MARKET. 519

Prescott Fond Blane. Of the long Turnips, or Navets, the
long Hétive des Vertus and de Croissy are the best varieties.
Small Onions are largely used with Peas, the kind preferred
being the Blane Hative, sown in August—this is a good
kind. Of their keeping Onions, J aune des Vertus is con-
sidered the best. Sorrel is of importance in the Paris
markets, being largely used somewhat as we use Spinach.
The variety preferred is the Large de Belleville. Of the
Dandelion there is an improved variety, good for winter use,
like the improved Chicory; the common kind is very largely
used.

The Potiron Gros J aune is the enormous gourd of which
the finest specimen is annually crowned in the market, and
is the source of some amusement. It is sometimes grown
about 200 lb. in weight, and last year a specimen was in
the market which reached 250 lb. It is largely used by
the poorer classes for making soup in winter.

In Peas and in Cabbages we are in advance of the French.
It may, however, be worth noting that a superior and very
hardy variety of the Choux de Milan—the Grros dcs Vertus
-——is grown to a vast extent in the neighbourhood of Pon-
toise, and sent to the Paris market in March and April.

Brussels Sprouts are grown to a vast extent near Paris,
especially about Bosny and Noisy. The variety is the
ordinary one. They are used in much greater quantities
than with us.

The Cauliflower is cultivated to great perfection around
Paris, the varieties used being the Petit Hatif or Petit Sa-
lomon for earliest use; the Demi-dur or Gros Salomon for
summer; and the Lenormand for autumn. Brocoli is not
grown by the Paris market gardeners, the market being
supplied with Cauliflowers from Brittany in spring.

It need scarcely be said that Haricots are grown and used
in France to a degree of which we can have but a poor
conception. They are used every day in Winter, in the
smallest as well as the grandest restaurants in Paris; the
earliest is the Nain Hative de Hollande. The one which
supplies the quantities of ordinary Haricot is the Flageolet
Ordinaire, or de Laon. The Bagnolet, or Suisse Gris, is

520 CULTURE or THE SMALL CARROT

excellent for using green, and for making conserves, and is
largely grown for these purposes ; and the Beurré, or Ha-
ricot d’Algcr Noir, is the excellent mange-tout, which is
not at all known with us. The pod is quite tender, of
a yellowish white, and it is allowed to become larger than
those of fully grown Scarlet Runners, and then cooked entire.
This vegetable is both distinct and good, and deserves uni-
versal cultivation in the British Isles. A new variety, called
H. Cosse violcttc, with violet pods, is also very tender and
of good flavour.

CULTURE or THE SMALL CARROT or THE PARIS MARKET.—
Every visitor to the IIalles of Paris or the streets near them
during the earlier hours of the day, must have noticed
vast quantities of pretty, dwarf, tender little Carrots. They
are always fresh, always to be had, and never contain a
particle of the tissue which makes the coarser Carrots so
much less valuable. Even when we do grow the best
varieties of dwarf Carrots in this country, they never present
the cleanly appearance of those of the Paris market gardens,
nor are they so tender and good; the following article,
therefore, on cultivating them both out of doors and in
frames, by M. Courtois-Gérard, of Paris, may prove useful
to admirers of this vegetable in its most perfect condition.
Practically, and in a few words, the success of the Paris
gardeners with the small Carrot results from sowing it, both
in frames and in the open air, on very rich friable ground—
the surface for a couple of inches being purely decomposed
stable manure, and from giving it abundance of water when-
ever it requires it—thus securing quick unchecked growth
and tenderness of texture. However, we will let this ex—
perienced cultivator speak for himself:—

“ The common Carrot has produced several varieties, but
the early or Dutch red, introduced into France about 1800,
the Demi-long, and the Rouge Courtc a Chassis, are the
chief kinds grown in the market gardens of Paris.

“ Cl‘l.Tl‘RE 1N FRAMES.—-At the beginning of December, a
hotbed is prepared of fifteen or sixteen inches in thickness,
the heat being allowed to rise to from (35° to 80Q Fahr.
The frames are next placed in position, and filled with

or THE PARIS MARKET. 521

manure rotted into the state of mould, mixed with earth to
the depth of six inches. By using this soil we obtain
Carrots of a brighter red and better quality than when
grown in garden mould only. \Vhen the heat has reached
a genial point the seed is sown, and seven rows of the
Petite Noire Lettuce are generally pricked into each frame.
But although by this method we get two crops from the
same frame, we do not think that there is much advantage
to be gained from it, for it is not certain whether the
Lettuces produced compensate for the harm that they do to
the Carrots. These Lettuces are fit to cut in January.
After they have been gathered, a little mould is spread over
the place they occupied, and if the weather is dry the
Carrots are given a slight watering. In the course of
January, when the crop has grown up, the linings of the
frames are turned over and raised as high as the top of the
frame, so as to increase the heat of the bed. At the begin-
ning of January, a second crop of Carrots is generally sown,
but in this case a less amount of heat is required, and a
sowing of Radishes is substituted for the Lettuces. When
proper pains have been taken, the first Carrots may be
gathered in the first fortnight of April. If the weather is
fine during the latter half of the month of March, and the
frames that cover the Carrots are required for other subjects,
they may be taken off, in which case the Carrots may be
gathered later. In February and March Carrots are again
sown on heat, but in the open air. After this period straw
mats are sufficient to preserve the sowings from the frost.
These Carrots succeed those which were sown in December
and January, and prepare for those sown in the open air.
After the Carrots sown in February and March are gathered,
Radishes are sown, and after they are gathered, turnip-rooted
Celery.

“ Sowrxe 1x THE OPEN AIR.—The first sowings in the open
air are made in September. In the eastern districts they
sow large quantities at this period. From the commence-
ment of the earliest frosts care is taken to cover the sowings
with litter, which is taken up whenever the weather is fine
enough. “'hen this sowing is successful, the Carrots may

522 THE CARDOON.

be gathered towards the month of May. Other sowings
are made in February and March, from which time they
may be continued regularly until July. But at whatever
time the sowing takes place, the ground ought to be well
prepared, and the seed sown broadcast, in the proportion of
about nine pounds to every acre. After the seed is sown
the ground is slightly covered, and then trodden down with
the feet, after which a layer of fine and thoroughly rotted
manure is spread over the whole; the ground is then raked
lightly, and watered whenever it is necessary. As soon as
the young plants make their appearance, the crop, which is
generally too thick, is carefully thinned out. Three months
after the time of sowing, the more forward Carrots may be
gathered, the results of the latter sowings being left until
November. “hen the Carrots are gathered, the neck of
each is cut, and the roots are prepared, after which they are
covered with long litter, or else placed in ahouse for storing,
so as to have a ready supply during the winter. In the case
of light and fertile soils they need not be pulled up, as it will
he only necessary to cover up the Carrot beds, so as to be
able to gather them when wanted. The market gardeners
of Mcaux preserve their early Carrots by digging trenches in
the autumn three feet wide, two feet six inches in depth, in
which they place their Carrots, and cover them with straw
during the frosty weather. In this way they are able to
keep them until the end of February or beginning of March,
which is the time at which they begin to sell.”

Tm: C.-Utl)()()N.-—-Tllc Cardoon, being a plant of very vigor-
ous habit, must be grown in the best and richest soil of the
garden, and well watered frequently. If it is sown in April
and not watered abundantly many of the plants will go to
seed during the summer, for which reason it is better to
defer the sowing of it until May, when it may be performed
either in the open ground or in a seed bed. It is better
to adopt the former method, as the Cardoon having a very
smooth, tibreless, conical root is ill adapted for transplanting.
Those, however, who prefer the latter method may sow it
in a seed bed and plant it out when old enough. In a
well-dug bed about seven feet wide, two furrows are traced

THE CARDOON. 523

at a distance of about four feet from each other. Marks
are made along these furrows three feet apart, and three or
four seeds planted at each spot thus indicated. ' If the soil
renders it necessary a spitful of earth may be removed and
replaced by well rotted manure, and the seeds sown about
an inch deep. The seeds should be sown in quincunx
fashion. If the weather is dry and warm, the seeds should
be well watered, and they will strike in a few days. As
soon as the little plants are above the ground, the weakest
should be carefully removed.

Those who prefer sowing in a seed bed should wait till
the plants are four or five inches in height and then trans-
plant them into the open ground with great care, the little
root being already pretty long.
The earth round them should be
well pressed down and watered, and
the plants shaded until they have
again rooted. As it is not until the
month of August that the Cardoon
begins to be vigorous, crops of salads
may be sown and gathered in the
meantime. It cannot be repeated too
often that the finest Cardoons can
only be obtained by frequent and for Blanching.
copious watering, the dose being
increased as they grow larger. If the weather is warm
and dry, at least a wateringpotful of water should be
given to each plant every other day. In the month of
September the blanching process is commenced, and this is
done in quite a different way to that practised in this
country. The plants are simply tied up rather closely, and
then a lot of long litter placed round each in a close tidy
way, the straw or long litter being tied by small hands of
the same material. The longest leaves of the head are left
free above this blanching material. But the Cardoon is so
fiercely armed that it requires a little care to get at the
great plants to tie them up, &c., without being severely
pricked. To obviate this three sticks are used—one of
them short, and connected with the other two by strong

FIG. 298.

 

524 FORCING THE CAULIFLOWER.

twine. The engraving will show this simple contrivance
and the mode of using it at a glance. The workman
standing at a safe distance pushes the two handles under
the plant, and then going to the other side and seizing them,
soon gathers up the fiercely armed leaves. Another work-
man then ties it up in three places, and then the straw is
placed around so as to quite exclude the light, and also tied
up like the Cardoon itself. In three weeks the vegetable is as
well blanched and as tender as could be desired. Toblanch
the Cardoon properly and render the leaves perfectly tender,
it should be deprived of light and air for at least three
weeks. It is then cut just below the surface of the earth,
and divested of its straw covering; the withered leaves are
sliced off and the root trimmed up neatly. If it is desirable
to preserve the Cardoon for winter use it should be simply
tied up, as before directed, in the month of November, and
uprooted carefully with a ball of earth attached to it, and
plunged in fine rotten manure or leaf-mould in a dark
cellar. The decayed leaves should be removed every week
or so. Under this treatment they become sufficiently
blanched in a fortnight, and may be preserved in a good
condition for at least two months.

FORCING run CAULIFLOWER.—Tl10 best Cauliflower forced
around Paris is the Petit Salomon. It is sown in the
open air during the first ten (lays of September on very rich,
light, and fine earth. When the young plants are well up
—that is to say, commence to show the first two leaves—
they are prieked out into shallow frames, surfaced with a
couple of inches of thoroughly rotten manure. They are
very particular about transplanting them when very young,
and before they are drawn, watering before moving the
young plants, so that they may be removed with the least
possible mutilation of the roots, and they are pricked in
with the finger at about three inches one from the other.
At the end of November the plants are strong and hardy,
but they must not be allowed to grow too quick, and
therefore they are again transplanted, leaving a little more
space between them. This second transplanting is to pre-
vent the too rapid growth of the plant, and to enable it

THE SWEET POTATO. 525

better to resist the cold. So long as it does not freeze, it
is better to leave the plants exposed to the air. When it
does freeze they are protected as much as need be, opening
the frames, so that the plants may enjoy the sun, and taking
care to protect them carefully with straw mats at night,
sometimes surrounding the sides with litter to prevent
the entrance of cold in that direction. In February these
Cauliflowers are planted on gentle hotbeds from which
Lettuces have been cut. Between the Cauliflower plants
are placed the Lettuce known as the Gotte and the Petit,
and Gros Salomon Cauliflowers are planted alternately, so as
to insure a succession. Other kinds of vegetables are placed
between by some, but the Laitue Gotte is considered the
best and most profitable for this purpose. Gradually as
the season advances more air is given to the plants, and
when they get too near the glass the frames are elevated
by placing stiff wads of straw under their corners. About
the beginning of April, if the weather be fine, the frames
are removed, that they may be used in the culture of Melons.
In case of late frosts, an arrangement is made to give some
protection by means of straw mats. About the 10th or
12th of April the hearts are seen forming in the Petit
Salomon, and eight days afterwards in the Gros Salomon.
Theneeforward the Cauliflowers are visited every two days,
and when the heart of one is seen formed as big as a
hen’s egg, some leaves of the lower part of the plant are
broken and laid upon it, so that it may be deprived of
light and thus kept perfectly white. When these leaves
wither or shrivel they are taken off, a. fresh one put
over the heart, and then the old ones laid on top. They
are thus regularly watched, blanched, and cut when at
perfection.

THE SWEET Porno—Louis XV., it is said, was exceed-
ingly fond of this vegetable, and had it grown for his table
in the gardens of the Trianon and Choisy-le-Roi. From
his day until about the year 1800 the Sweet Potato was
relegated to hothouses and botanic gardens, but about the
last named period M. le Comte Lelieur, who was appointed
manager of the royal gardens, had some grown at St. Cloud.

526 THE SWEET POTATO.

The Sweet Potato soon became fashionable once more, and
the many market gardeners of the day grew the vegetable
largely. Later its cultivation was again abandoned for the
sake of more profitable plants, and at the present time
MM. Découfflé and Goutier are the only persons who pay
any attention to it.

Instead of stopping to inquire into the modifications that
the cultivation of the Sweet Potato has undergone, we will
confine ourselves to saying that at present three varieties are
cultivated—the red, the yellow, and the New Orleans violet.
They are all grown in hotbeds, and they are propagated in
the following manner :—At the beginning of January a few
tubercles are selected from those which appear to be the best
preserved, and planted in a hotbed, the frame of which must
be covered with mats during the night. In the course of a
short time they begin to grow, and the young buds must
be taken off when they reach the height of from two
and a half inches to three and a half inches; they are then
pricked into pots of about two and a half inches in dia-
meter, which are plunged in heat and covered with a
bell—glass, after which they may be watered as they
require. As soon as the young plants strike, an event
that soon takes place, the bell-glass must be lifted gradually
until they are strong enough to dispense with it altogether
without drooping.

Such readers as care about this root—~whieh, by the way,
is of agreeable flavour when well cooked—may grow it most
readily and effectively by placing it in a frame or pit after
the spring crop has been taken out ; or, indeed, on a ridge
like the ridge Cucumber ; but the pit or frame is the safest
way generally—the lights being taken off. As pits and
frames are frequently empty from about the 1st of June till
autumn, room might be readily spared for it without loss,
and a useful vegetable added to our stock, which, fine as it
is, is yet in want of variety. The roots may be bought in
Covent-garden. The red variety is the best. The way to
treat them is to pot them about the end of April; start
them in a gentle heat, and have them fresh and stubby for
planting out in the pit or fram‘e about the 1st of June.

EARLY POTATOES. 527

They would be the better for the lights for a few days. In
this way they will be found to do better than when grown
in a stove, and probably prove a more grateful vegetable
than the Chinese yam in its best state.

EARLY Por.\rons.-—The supply of early Potatoes for the
market is an important branch of industry about Paris, a
considerable portion of the slopes of the hill sides to the
north of St. Cloud being devoted to it. I only speak of
the subject here to point out that the cultivators commonly
allow the Potatoes to sprout vigorously indoors before plant-
ing them out, and thus secure crops so early as to have
them out of the ground in time to put in summer crops.
Some of the houses of the cultivators are stored with
Potatoes freely exposed to the light in winter. It matters
little where they are placed,
provided they enjoy plenty FIG- 299-
of light and are kept per- ' " '
fectly free from frost. The
usual plan is to have a room
fitted up with rough shelves,
and placing the Potatoes in
the old oyster and fruit
baskets of the markets,
store them on the shelves
till ready to plant out’.
Or the shelves may be dispensed with, and rough wooden
trays, with feet like those shown in the accompanying figure,
used instead. These may be piled one above another, and
may be quickly made out of old boards by the commonest
workmen.

Only one layer of tubers should be placed in each basket
or box. The variety used is a Kidney Potato, the Marjolin:
the roots are in preparation as described so early as No-
vember, and are planted out in February, the crop being
gathered in May and June. There is no need to warm the
place they are in, except indeed to keep the frost from
getting in, as the tubercles get on very well without it. In
case they show signs of weakness, the windows of the house
should be opened whenever the state of the weather allows

 

Early Potatoes arranged for “ Sprouting ”
indoors.

528 OLEANDER CULTURE.

it to be done without danger. Planted with all the pains
necessary for the preservation of the young shoots, Potatoes
treated in this way come to perfection much sooner than
those which are planted without any previous preparation ;
indeed all the gardeners who supply the Paris markets with
early Potatoes prepare their seed in the way we have de-
scribed above.

OLEANDER Commie—Visitors to the Continent in the
summer months can hardly fail to be struck with the em-
ployment of certain plants for decorative purposes, of which
we in this country make comparatively little use. Here, if
a few Orange trees or Portugal Laurels, perchance a
Pomegranate, are grown in tubs and put on the terrace in
summer time, it seems to be considered that enough has
been done in that way. There is no reason, however, why
many other plants should not be used in the same manner.
Some may remember the beautiful efl'ect produced on a quay
fronting the lake of Lucerne by a number of standards of
this kind, including not only the plants mentioned, but
Pittosporums, Yellow J asmines, Evergreen Oaks, Euonymus,
Aucubas, and Figs. At Vienna a similar assortment may
be seen in front of some of the principal eafés, where one

my sit in the open street under the shadow of the Pome-
granate and the Oleander.

This latter plant, too, is an immense favourite with the
Parisians. 'In fact, the Oleander forms, with the Myrtle and
the Pomegranate, one of the most important articles of
Parisian commercial horticulture. The reasons for this are
obvious—the elegant habit, glossy foliage, profusion of
bright rosy or white flowers, endowed, moreover, with an
agreeable almond-like perfume, offer recommendations
hardly to be exceeded by those of other plants. The
culture, moreover, is easy. Indifferent as to the treatment
it receives in winter, it may be kept in cellars or garrets—
almost anywhere, in fact; hence its frequency abroad in the
windows of the artisan and at the doors of the merchant’s
otlice. 'l‘he shrub may be propagated either by layers or by
cuttings; but of late years, in France, the former method
has been abandoned, as it is found that cuttings produce

OLEANDER. CULTURE. 529

plants of better habit, and in greater numbers. In this
country the Oleander is rarely seen in perfection, and most
probably because it is generally grown indoors. The treat-
ment given it on the Continent insures the plant a perfect
rest in winter: as it cannot grow in the cellars, caves, and
dark orangeries in which it is placed. Therefore, when put
in the open air, the accumulated growing power of the
plant pushes forth equably and immediately: the shoots,
being produced in the open air, are perfectly indifferent to
any changes they may have to undergo therein, and the
plants enjoy the full sun and uninterrupted light.

It may be noticed in two different conditions about
Paris—in the large specimen form in tubs of various sizes,
and as small neat plants in six-inch pots. These last
are sold in great numbers in the markets, and flower as
abundantly as the best managed of the large specimens.
The finest examples of large specimens I have ever seen are
those in the garden of the Luxembourg Palace, and I have
much pleasure in giving the following account of their cul-
tivation by Monsieur Riviére fils, son of the talented and
excellent superintendent of the Luxembourg Gardens.
Judging by the habit of the Oleander, as generally seen
with us, it might be supposed that it would not make an
ornamental tree for a terrace, but nothing can be finer than
the immense specimens seen in the Luxembourg Gardens,
the heads being as round and dense as a Pelargonium grown
by Mr. Turner, and sometimes as much as ten feet through ;
and as for the little plants grown in six-inch pots, nothing
can be prettier. They are certainly far handsomer objects
than Orange trees, grow equally well or better in tubs,
and are more worthy of culture in this way.

“ This beautiful shrub is a native of Algeria and the south
of Europe. In a state of nature, it prefers damp and
fresh soil; it is consequently found in abundance on the
banks of rivers and the edges of marshes. In the wild
state it rarely reaches the height of more than from three
to five feet, but under cultivation it may grow even to nine
or ten feet. Its flowers are of a delicate rose colour, and
from seed horticulturists have succeeded in obtaining yellow,

M M

530 OLEANDER CULTURE.

white, and double-flowering varieties, which form some of
the most beautiful ornaments of our gardens. This plant
contains abundance of sap, which is very poisonous, and
consequently very dangerous; it is therefore advisable never
to put any of the flowers in the mouth, and to take care
that no children should be allowed near the plants. The
hotter the district in which the plant is grown, the more
poisonous is the sap.

“The Oleander puts forth its flower-bearing branches a
year in advance, and then blossoms for two consecutive
years, so it is as well not to cut them down in the autumn
after the first time of flowering. The beautiful specimens
so much admired in the Gardens of the Luxembourg during
the fine weather are from sixty to one hundred years old.
They are grown in tubs three or four feet square, and in a
compost made in the following proportions : half soil and cow-
dung, a quarter rotten stable manure, a quarter turfy heath
mould; the whole being well mixed at the time the tubs
are filled. The operation of re-potting should be performed
every five years, about the month of May. The sides of
the tubs being moveable, the earth is taken away from the
roots of the tree, which is itself lifted 11p about three inches,
so as to remove the soil all round it. This being done,
broken flower-pots, or similar substances, are thrown into
the bottoms of the tubs for the purpose of drainage, as is
usually done with large shrubs planted in this manner.
The shrub is then lowered into its former place, and covered
up with the mixture just described.

“ The Oleander is generally placed out of doors about the
10th of May, and as this plant grows naturally under a
burning sky, it is adn'sable to give it as much sun as pos-
siblc. A few days after it is put out, the surface of the
soil in the tubs should be covered with cow-dung, and
during the whole of the summer season they should be
copiously watered at least three times a week. As soon as
October comes, the watcrings are diminished, and all the
dung that is not entirely decomposed is taken away, the
surface of the soil bein0r stirred lip with a pointed stick to
make it more permeable. The Oleander being extremely

OLEANDER. CULTURE. 531

sensitive to cold, the plants should be taken under cover
once more about the 15th of October, where they must
remain until the 10th of May, during which time they
ought not to be watered more than three or four times
every month. In France the Oleander tree is attacked by
a parasite called the Chermes nerii, which does it a great
deal of injury. While in the greenhouse no pains should
be spared to deliver it from its enemy by means of a stiff
dry brush. The mischief caused by this insect will often
kill the tree; prompt means must therefore be taken to free
the trees from this pest as soon as it makes its appearance.
If, in spite of all your care, the Chermes still keeps up its
depredations, you must not hesitate to prune out all the old
wood that is attacked. By this means the evil may be
entirely remedied, a new set of shoots appearing and bearing
flowers the following year.”

The preceding details refer exclusively to the treatment
of the larger specimens. The pretty little free-blooming
Oleanders are grown about Paris in pots, five or six inches
in diameter, in sandy soil, and these pots they very soon
fill with roots. They are plunged all the summer in the
open ground, and grown at all other seasons near the glass
in those low houses so much in vogue in Parisian nurseries
and gardens. They flower profusely, and receive the
same treatment as Orange trees, as regards housing in
winter. They are allowed to rise with an undivided stem
for about four inches, and then break off into several
branches. There should be no difficulty in growing them
wherever there is a sunny shelf in the greenhouse, by
securing a clean, while discouraging a soft or luxuriant
growth, giving them a rather dry rest in winter, and
abundant water and light in summer. In winter any .0001
house will do to store them, or even a shed.

CULTURE or THE ORANGE—In the following account of
the cultivation of the Orange by Mr. H. Jamin fils, the
son of the most successful cultivator of it in Paris, it will
be clearly seen why and how we fail, and Why a person
with an old coach-house or any other rough structure with
a few sashes or windows on its north side may grow hand-

M M 2

532 CULTURE or THE ORANGE.

somer Orange trees than those with the fairest of conserva-
tories. It should be understood that it refers to the culture
of Orange trees for placing in the Open air in summer, and
not with a View of growing them for the sake of their
fruit. Where fruit is required from Orange trees in this
country an entirely different system must be pursued, and
there are signs that before long all the finer Oranges will
be abundantly grown under glass With us.

“ The Orange is propagated by grafting on the stock raised
from seeds of Citrus Mcdica (the Common Lemon), or from
those raised from seeds of the Common Bitter Orange. For
the trade, plants grafted on the Lemon stock are the most
suitable, the Lemon growing more vigorously than the wild
Orange tree ; but to secure the plant long life, the latter
is the most preferable. The reason of this will be easily
understood; the difference between the Lemon and the
Orange is much the same as between the Quince and the
wild Pear: like the Quince, the Lemon makes all its roots
at the surface of the soil, the wild Orange goes deeper, and
consequently the tree is better able to resist the Wind and
the vicissitudes of the season; naturally there is more
analogy between the two woods, and the result of experi-
ments is that the plants live much longer. An Orange tree
grafted on the Lemon may live about a hundred years ;
after that time it decays and pcrishes; an Orange grafted
on its wild congcner may live over 300 years—witness the
Grand Bourbon in the Orangcry at Versailles, near Paris,
which tree is now more than 400 years old, and is grafted
on the wild Orange.

Sow the seeds early in the spring in a light but not too
sandy soil, and in pots (twenty-five to thirty per pot); put
the pots upon a dung-bed (lukewarm), and keep the soil
fresh, but do not have any steam in the frame, and to pre-
vent this give a little air. “hen the seeds have come up,
encourage them to grow to three or four inches high.
Afterwards put them in a warmer bed, and keep a damp
warm atmosphere in the frame; shade them against the
burning rays of the sun; and when they are seven or eight
inches high, give them a little air, increasing it as they get

CULTURE or THE ORANGE. 533

stronger. Let them pass through the winter in a green-
house, where the temperature must not descend lower than
40° Fahrenheit, and in early summer put them on another
hotbed in the open air plunged in leaf mould or cocoa fibre.
Leave them plunged on this hotbed through the summer,
and give them plenty of water, and from time to time a
little liquid manure.

About the end of August in the same year graft them by
the same method as that practised for Roses in the winter,
and put them on a hotbed, keeping as much damp vapour
about them as possible. Shade them during the sunshine,
cover at night, and keep them close as long as the grafts
are not well united together; they will be safe long before
the early frost. Keep them in the frame during the winter,
and the next spring divide and pot them in rich light soil
mixed with a very little silver sand to prevent the soil be-
coming hard: put the pots on a hotbed in a frame, and
after they are rooted give them plenty of air. In the
middle of June, make a hotde in the garden and put them
on it without any covering whatever, giving plenty of
water during the hot weather, and three or four waterings
of liquid manure to encourage active growth. Before the
first frost they must be housed, and they will do through
the winter in a greenhouse where the temperature is kept
three or four degrees over the freezing point.

During the spring of the following year pot the plants
afresh, and place them on a hotbed covered with a frame;
keep it close until the roots begin to shoot, and give
air carefully; shading the frame against the burning rays
of the sun, and when frosts are no longer to be feared,
taking the lights off entirely. When they have done their
growth, and the wood is sufficiently ripened, pot them afresh,
and leave them in a greenhouse for a week or two. In
June make a hotbed in the open air, covered five or six
inches with dung-mould or cocoa refuse, and put them in
it. This is the last season during which the Orange need
be grown upon a hot dung-bed. The greatest obstacle to
the success of the Orange as a terrace-plant is the persis-
tence of the gardeners and nurserymen in treating it as a

534 CULTURE or THE ORANGE.

greenhouse subject. I do not mean to say the Orange should
be treated like common shrubs, but it is possible, with very
little care, to grow them in England almost as well as in
northern France.

Many writers on this subject give the south exposure as
the best for an orangery, and therein is the mistake. To
insure the success of Oranges grown in boxes or in pots,
they must not in any case be allowed to grow in the
houses; all their growth must be made out of doors. It
is a matter of fact, that if the orangery is to the south, no
matter what the trouble you take to prevent their starting,
the plants will begin to shoot a long time before the
weather is mild enough to permit of their being placed in
the garden. A good orangcry should have a northern ex-
posure, with plenty of windows to admit the light, and
every convenience to give full air when it is not frosty.
It will be very easy to heat the orangery in such a position,
as the temperature required is only two or three degrees
over the freezing point. It must be remembered that
Oranges are grown out of doors all the year round in parts
of France and Spain where it freezes every winter. If the
plants, after all the care taken to prevent their growth in
the houses, begin to vegetate, and if the young shoots are
more than an inch in length, it would be far preferable to
cut them back than to let them retain a growth which is
sure to be disfigured and spoiled in the open air.

The watering must be very carefully done, as too mueh
water would be more pernicious than too little, and espe-
cially for the large plants, where the soil is in greater
quantity; one or two injudieious watcrings are enough to
kill the best established plants. Good drainage in the
bottom of the box or pot will prevent many accidents. In
the winter they want very little water. Before watering them
the grower should feel the leaves of the tree, and if flabby,
as though on the point of flagging, it is time to give them
water. This applies only to the large plants, the large
quantity of soil employed for them keeping its moisture
for a long time. The small plants must be watered more
frequently, but still with great moderation in winter. During

SHOWING ROSES IN FRANCE. 535

the summer water must be given freely, but not in excess.
The best time to give it is in the morning; and at night
the plants will require a little syringing on the leaves, but
only in the hottest time of the year. Liquid manure given
with great moderation will do them good and quicken their
vegetation. The small plants which have passed beyond the
hotbed stage should be potted in a very rich light soil, and
not too sandy, say nine parts of soil divided as follows :—
Three of maiden loam, two and a half of yellow loam, one
and a half of old dung mould, one of peat, and one of sand.
In potting plants of a larger size, the soil should be a little
stronger, and be composed as follows :—Three and a half of
maiden loam, three of yellow loam, one of thoroughly rotten
dung, a quarter of peat, and one part of sand.”

SHOWING Rosss IN FRANCE.—A Rose-growing friend has
suggested to me that it might be well to mention any
novelties in arrangement adopted by the French in showing
Roses, but I know of little worthy of recommendation.
The great exhibition of Roses at Brie Comte Robert—sur-
prising accounts of which appeared in the daily papers at
the time—was, in some respects, a very different affair to
what might have been expected from the reports of it
spread abroad. Brie Comte Robert is situated in a very
pleasant country, twenty miles or so from Paris—a country
without hedges or ditches, yet picturesque and pretty from
the number of fruit trees dotted over the land, and with (at
the time of my visit) the ears of ripening wheat bending
into the straight well-made roads—a country with rich sandy
loam and gentle hills, like parts of Kent, and for the main
part covered with wide level spreads of wheat and vines.
Brie Comte Robert is an ordinary and rather straggling
little French town, with an interesting old church traced
with the beautiful art of the olden time, and grey with the
lichens of a thousand years ; and finally, Brie Comte Robert
has a féte and a great Rose—show, as all the world has been
informed.

The Rose-show, although pretty and remarkable of its
kind, is not quite a marvel, but simply an adjunct to the
village fair. Now, the féte of a small place like this is not

536 SHOWING ROSES IN FRANCE.

at first sight, or when examined in detail, a thing to be
enraptured with. Imagine a grassy yard or small field, in
the centre of which are a few tables, and the little hut of a
person who divines the future; and all round the margin, 3
lot of small, meagre, dirty, canvas tents occupied with
various things, from temporary restaurants and gingerbread
stalls down to diminutive billiards and little games in which
the yokels of the district invest a sou a time, and now and
then win a trifling work of art worth about a centime.
Imagine, in short, the mildcst and smallest corner of Donny-
brook fair, with every drop of “ divilment” squeezed out
of it, and you have a pretty good idea of the sight that
greeted my eyes as I entered the show-yard of Brie Comte
Robert. But at one end there was a very large oblong tent,
and on entering that a very different sight presented itself.
Here all was fragrance and beautiful colour. All the Roses
were placed on the ground—no stages of any kind being
used. First of all, there ran right round the great oblong
tent a sloping bed of sandy earth, about five feet wide, covered
with young Barley, the seed of which had been sown eight
or ten days before. ()n this were thickly placed the Roses
—eight rows deep, or thereabouts. They were for the
greater part shown in small earthenware bottles, about five
inches high, with long narrow necks and wide globose
bases; and, placed amongst the Barley-grass, they looked
very well indeed. Generally three or more Roses were
placed in each bottle, which was made of ordinary garden-
pot stuff, and of the same colour; and they looked so much
better than those of glass used by some exhibitors, that
their use should be made compulsory. Thus the most con-
spicuous thing in the tent was a dense bed of Roses around
its sides. In the central parts of the tent there were beds
of various shapes in which the Roses were plunged in moss,
and mostly arranged in masses,- for example, a bed of
700 blooms of General Jacquemiuot, edged with a line of
Aimee Vibcrt; a bed of Madame Boll, edged with white
and red Roses, all the flowers plunged singly in dark green
moss, and so on. The competitors vied rather in quantity
than in quality, and one exhibitor showed as many as 600

FORCING THE WHITE LILAC. 537

varieties or supposed varieties—certainly he had that
number of bottles. Others showed large numbers also, but
in most cases the Roses were inferior to those seen at an
English show. As for the varieties, they were chiefly such
as abound in England. There were quantities of that fine
Rose, Maréchal Niel, to be seen, one bed of it being ten feet
in diameter, the blooms plunged singly in moss. The
largest exhibitor grouped his flowers very prettily by arrang-
ing wavy lines of yellow and white varieties through the
long mass of rose and dark-coloured ones.

FORCING THE “'HITE Limo—The production of the white
Lilac seen so abundantly in Paris during the winter
and spring is often a source of curiosity. To meet
with a mass of it in October, quite white and deliciously
sweet, is a pleasant surprise to the English visitor. You
may see large bunches of it in every little flower—shop
in the month of January, and it is always associated
with the early Violet and the forced Rose. This Lilac
is the common kind, and yet it is perfectly white.
French florists have tried the white variety, but they do
not like it—it pushes weakly and then does not look of so
pure a colour as the ordinary Lilac one. They force the
common form in great quantities in pots, and to a greater
extent planted out, as close as they can stand, in pits for
cutting.

The plants that are intended for forcing are cut around
with a spade in September, to induce them to form flower-
buds freely, and they are at first judiciously introduced to a
cool house, but after a little while given plenty of heat, in
fact, from 25° to nearly 40° C.-——77O to 1040 F. At the
same time abundant humidity is supplied, both at the root
and by means of the syringe, but the chief point is, that
from the day the plants are placed under glass they are not
allowed to receive a gleam of light, the glass being com-
pletely covered with the paillassons, or neat straw mats, such
as are much used for covering frames, pits, and all sorts
of garden structures in winter. Thus they get the Lilac to
push freely, and gather its white blooms before the leaves
have had time to show themselves. The great degree of

538 FORCING THE WHITE LILAC.

heat—a degree which we never think of giving to anything
of the kind in England, and the total shade to which they
are subjected, effect the bleaching. The French commence
to cut the White Lilac at the end of October, and continue
the operation till it comes in flower in the open ground. In
the same establishments enormous quantities of Roses are
forced, small, pretty, and unopened rose-buds being in great
demand in Paris.

539

CHAPTER XXVI

“ \Vent out at early morning, when the air
Is delicate with some last starry touch,
To wander through the Market-place of Flowers
(The prettiest haunt in Paris), and make sure
At worst that there were roses in the world."
E. B. BROWNING.

FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS—LIST 0F PLACES
IN WHICH THE MORE INSTRUCTIVE FEATURES OF PRACTICAL
HORTICULTURE MAY BE SEEN—THE CLIMATES 0F PARIS AND
LONDON COMPARED.

SOMETHING about the markets is surely not out of place in
a book on the gardens of Paris, for all places where the pro-
duce of gardens is to be seen in its fullest perfection ought
assuredly to be as interesting as any garden, and so they
are when orderly and spacious enough to be seen by others
than the porters and small tradesmen who force their way
in daily. No garden in existence possesses half the interest
of the flower, fruit, and vegetable departments of the fine
Halles Centrales, and it is an interest that is perpetual, for
every day brings its fresh materials, every week its changes
of supply. About twelve o’clock at night, before Paris has
gone to bed, the growers have already arrived on the spot
and begin to expose their freshly gathered produce in the
market or on the Wide footways of the streets around, and
for eighteen hours after that time the whole scene is one of
animation and bustle.

There is no market where wholesale business is better
arranged or more expeditiously done than here ,- but
what interests us most are the provisions made for the
retail trade—for the purchases of the general public.
In Paris far more than in London it is the custom to
go or send to the market daily in every class of house,
rich or poor. Thus they are not dependent on the

540 FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS.

greengrocer, whose stock is often yellow on his hands, but
go where numbers of competitors are placed side by side,
and where from the nature of the arrangement the majority
of vegetables exposed must be fresh. To secure them in
that state is our chief want. As regards the quality of
the products when delivered by the grower, there is rarely
anything to complain of, for the market gardener is usually
an excellent cultivator; but the bruising and filth and delay
they encounter before reaching the customer in London
often render them barely edible, while the very poor, in
buying the cheapest, often get that which is less fitted for
human food than the garden refuse thrown to the pigs in
many country places. Everybody knows the utility and
even the necessity of abundance of fresh vegetables to
keep man in perfect health. I believe that the propor-
tion of vegetables eaten by the humbler classes of Paris
and London is as seven to one, while all the advantages of
as perfect freshness and wholesomcness as can be secured in
a great city are with the former. The arrangement of the
markets has much to do with this difference.

Our people are great consumers of the universal Potato,
which suffers little from carriage or keeping ; but it is almost
impossible for them to use any other vegetable as a regular
article of food, while the French workmen have a daily
variety. There is no country in the world where vegetables
can be grown more abundantly and cheaply than in the
country round London, which can pour its produce into
the great centre in an hour or two by rail, and yet for the
want of a sutlieiency of markets, space, and order, the public
is to a great extent deprived of a benefit second to none
other. As for our chief fruit and vegetable market, our
famous Covent Garden, it is a disgrace to civilization. So
long as the largest and richest city in the world depends
upon Covent Garden as at present arranged, for its fruits and
vegetables, so long must it find them very deficient. Why,
the want of room alone is sufficient to frequently make
important differences in the prices, not to speak of the
treatment the produce gets at all times, and especially in wet
weather, the piles of baskets that convey it to market being

XLVI.

PLAT H

 

THE IIALLES CENTRALES.

.w i. V
, wig?“ ‘5

,1

 

FLOEWR, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS. 541

invariably heaped up over loads of dung. What a contrast
between the central market in Paris and this famous spot!

Can we not secure a good wide market accessible to river,
rail, and streets somewhere on the new Embankment, and
leave Covent Garden to some one branch of the trade?
Can we do nothing to remedy a state of things which is not
only discreditable to our system of managing such matters,
but must have a positively bad effect on the supplies of
almost every family that invests in a Cauliflower? The
new cattle market at Islington and the new meat market
in the City are things to be proud of—they, like the
Thames Embankment, are really worthy of London and
the Victorian age; but as yet we do not seem to have
moved a step towards the establishment of a fruit, vege-
table, and flower market. \Vere this done with as broad
and excellent an aim as has been shown in the two markets
just named, we should have a feature added to London
which from its nature would assuredly be of the greatest
utility and benefit to the public at large. We should also
have a grand exhibition of all that is fresh and lovely,
indicative of the fecundity and beauty of nature and the
industry of man throughout the year, and presenting new
objects of interest every day.

In the Paris market, in addition to every provision for
wholesale trade, there are streets of stalls containing every-
thing the purchaser requires, classified so that the neat and
well-to-do market women who vend the same sorts of produce
are brought into close proximity and competition with one
another. The advantages gained by the public are obvious-—
the thrifty housewife has not only the opportunity of pur-
chasing everything good and at a moderate price ; she also has
an immense variety to choose from, and can compare prices.
But it is needless to enumerate all the blessings that a good
retail and wholesale market confers upon its neighbourhood.
One of them, however, we do not often think of, and might
omit were it not that Mr. Sala admiringly alluded to it
recently in London. Above all advantages, said he, is that
so plainly written in large letters—No CREDIT! In those
little streets of neatly arranged stalls in all the Paris markets

542 FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS.

the name and number of the occupant is plainly printed;
there is usually a free passage between each two rows,
along which the purchaser can leisurely walk and survey
the produce, and in fact there is every convenience for
both purchaser and seller. The adoption of the same
system of stalls in our grand new fruit and vegetable
market, which we may, I trust, look forward to, would be
a great improvement ; but London is now so vast in extent
that nothing less than a good series of well-managed
markets will ever supply its population with a sufficiency
of fresh vegetable food, which is the most wholesome and
necessary of all.

The history of the Halles Centrales illustrates to some
extent the essentially practical turn changes and improve-
ments have taken in Paris of recent years. At one time
the site was occupied by a vast graveyard, where the greater
portion of the dead of Paris were gathered for centuries.
At one time it lay outside the walls, but Paris gradually
surrounded it with its narrow old streets, and eventually
the place became a horrible nuisance. Then the govern-
ment caused the vast accumulation of human remains to be
removed by night in covered carts, escorted by chanting,
torch-bearing priests, to the subterranean quarries that lie
under Paris, and which, now filled with the piled bones of
millions of men, are known as the Catacombs.

Some of the pavilions are not yet complete, but they will
be on the same plan as those already in existence. The most
noticeable and admirable features of this great covered market
are the neat stalls for retail dealers before alluded to, light-
ness of design and good ventilation, and the roomy, airy
character of the whole. It is constructed so as to be a
protection against extremes of weather at all seasons ; it is
cool and shady in summer, the system of cellars under-
neath roomy and good, and with many useful arrangements
for storing away the provisions, both live and dead. The
roof is of zinc, the flooring partly asphaltc, partly flags, and,
like every new building, or avenue, or wide street in Paris,
trees adorn the margin of the wide footways around it,
shading the scene of almost ceaseless animation beneath.

XLVH.

l‘LA'I‘I-I

 

INTERIOR OF T1112 HALLI-LS CENTRALES.

 

FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS. 543

There are many other markets in Paris, but all of them are
smaller than the Halles, which offer most interest to the
English visitor. A good deal of the choicer produce is,
however, taken to the Marché St. Honoré, after having been
sold wholesale in the central market. When finished, the
Halles will cover about five acres.

There are thousands of Parisians whose garden is the
window-sill, or a basket mossed over in the sitting-room, or

Flo. 300.

.A

.422:

/ 71%”

 

The Flower Market at the Madeleine.

a glazed case, and to most of them the flower-market is a
nursery; and an excellent nursery too, for they can get
numerous pretty plants in them in the best of health for a
trifling sum. Considering that a few miles of sea have for
ages separated many marked customs of both peoples, for
good and bad, and that 14,000 miles of sea have not pre-
vented English habits, that have never crossed the Channel,
from spreading to the Antipodes, it is vain to hope for the
adoption of such a feature as the flower-markets of Paris in

544 FLOWER, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE MARKETS.

our great towns; yet few could be more agreeable or useful.
They are in themselves, as Mrs. Browning remarked, the
“ sweetest spots in Paris,” and certainly do good by enabling
the poorer classes to freely enjoy things that are generally
admitted to have an ameliorating influence. In Paris the
larger flower-markets are not in permanent buildings, but
occupy spaces which may be compared to that in Trafalgar-
square—the plants being placed in groups on the gravel or
flags, and the flowers and choicer plants under temporary
tents. The market once over, the space is cleared. In the
great central market and in the minor markets there are
also rows of stalls for flowers; shops vending them are
numerous, and occasionally a solitary stand with abundance
of them is seen here and there in the streets. The regular
flower-markets are held at the Place de la Madeleine, the
Chateau d’Eau, the Quai aux Fleurs, and in the Place St.
Sulpice—twice weekly in each place.

They usually show in abundance all popular flowers—from
spring flowers to Chrysanthemums ; but Palms and fine-leaved
plants generally—Cactuses, Mesembryanthemums, &c., in va-
riety,are also to be seen; as well as young vegetable plants,pot-
herbs, Shrubs, Roses, Oleanders, and Pomegranates. Oranges
are also sold in quantity. Flowers ready cut for bouquets and
room decoration are particularly well done and very abundant.
The distinctive feature of the whole of these markets of cut
flowers consists of flowcr-buds—these are sold in quantities,
and arranged in a way that is unknown to us. Bunches of
Roses may be seen all of one kind and colour, and all young
unopened buds. Of some of the very dwarf Roses they pick
buds little bigger than a half-developed Fuchsia flower. All
are very pretty, from little pink and white ones to the large
golden cones of such Roses as Maréchal Niel. Sometimes
the white Roses are surrounded by a band of Forget-me-not
flowers; oftener the Myosotis is sold in bunches alone, and
so is nearly every other pretty garden flower; sometimes
they are mingled with grasses and the spray of such small
profuse flowers as Gypsophila, and common, but none the
less pretty flowers, such as Forget-me-not, Lily of the
Valley, and “'oodrufl‘.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE OF THE OPEN SPACES USED AS BI-WEEKLY FLOWER MARKETS.

THE PLACE ST. SULPICE.

 

LIST or PLACES or PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE. 545

List of places in which the more instructive features of
practical horticulture may be seen.

It is so much better to illustrate a subject by eye-proof
than by any other, that I venture to give a list of gardens
in which visitors to Paris may see for themselves some of
the things spoken of in this book. We may breakfast in
London in the morning and dine without inconvenience
in Paris the same evening, so that those wishing to examine
for themselves any of the subjects discussed will have little
difficulty in doing so.

FRUIT CULTURE .—M. Nallet, Brunoy, Seine-et-Marne: This
station is passed on the way to Fontainebleau and Lyon, and
is also that at which you alight to go to the great Rose-
show occasionally held at Brie Comte Robert, so that
numbers of English travellers have an opportunity of visiting
it. Nobody taking an interest in fruit-culture should pass
the station without seeing it. It is within an hour or so of
Paris, should a special visit be paid. The garden is within
a few minutes of the station, and M. Nallet is a most
obliging and amiable amateur.—The Imperial kitchen and
fruit garden, or Potagerie, at Versailles (for Pear culture on
trellises in open quarters, winter Pear culture against walls,
and horizontal cordons).—M. Chardon-Chatillon, Fontenay
aux Roses, a little to the south of Paris—Rothschild, Fer-
riéres, Seine-et-Marne: This noble place has a fruit garden
which though not very extensive, is exceedingly well managed.
The fruit room is the best structure of the kind yet made,
and usually stored with a fine stock. The Grape-room, in
which the Grapes are preserved in bottles on the system
previously described, is also worth seeing.

M. Rose-Charmeux, Thomery, near Fontainebleau: This
garden is entirely devoted to Grape culture against walls and
also in houses. The village is celebrated for furnishing Paris
with a great quantity of its favourite Chasselas (le Fontaine-
bleau; indeed popularly it is supposed to supply all; but this is
not the case, the next-mentioned place supplying a good deal,
though hardlyknown. Nearlyall the ground aroundthevillage
is netted over with walls devoted to Grape culture. In fact it

N N

546 LIST or PLACES IN WHICH THE MORE INSTRUCTIVE

is as much devoted to the production of Grapes as Mon-
treuil is to Peaches—MM. Crapote et Cirjean, Conflans,
St. Honorine: A very interesting establishment for vine-
culture in the open air.—M. Lepére, Montreuil: This is
the well known Peach-grower, and it need scarcely be
remarked his garden is worth seeing at all seasons—M.
Chevallier, Boulevard de 1’H6tel de Ville, at Montreuil:
This place is by no means so well known as M. chere’s,
but very well worth seeing. It is not nearly so large
or so long established as the garden of M. Lepére, but
it would be difficult to find more perfectly beautiful wall
trees than are here to be seen. The ground all round this
village is devoted to Peach culture—M. Bac-Ivry, near
Vitry: This is the garden of an amateur containing very
nice examples of the horizontal cordons, pyramids, and trel-
lised trees. It is but a few miles from Paris, the omnibus pass-
ing the door.—Of amateurs successfully cultivating fruit trees
in small gardens in Paris, M. Laclaverie, Avenue du Roule,
and M. Mattifat of Ncuilly, may be mentioned.

Of nurseries near Paris where fruit culture is practised to
any extent, the following are the most worthy of being seen—
J amin et Durand, Bourg-la-Reinc. The partnership existing
between MM. J amin et Durand will be dissolved during the
present year, and in future two separate nurseries may be
looked for at Bourg-la-Reine. Attached to each will be found
an interesting “school” of fruit culture—i.e.,a garden devoted
to fully grown specimens of fruit trees both against walls,
trellises, and in the openr—M. Croux, nurseryman, Vallée
Daulnay, Seeaux: He has also a very interesting fruit
garden.—M. Cochet Suisnes, Brie Comte Robert, Seine-et-
Marnc: Horizontal cordons and Pears in the columnar
form, and young trained trees are here in very good condi-
tion.—M. Deseine Bougival, Seine-et-Oise: Here there are
large nurseries and also a school of fruit culture. There are
in France many other large nurseries very interesting to the
fruit-grower, such as Baltet’s at Troy, Leroy’s at Angers,
Oudin’s at Lisieux, Leeontc’s at Dijon, but only those
within easy reach of Paris are named.

The Fig is grown best in the neighbourhood of Argenteuil,

FEATURES OF HORTICULTURE MAY BE SEEN. 5457

by various cultivators. Its culture is well worth seeing. The
Apricot is very extensively cultivated in the neighbourhood of
Frieul, Vaux and Meulan, Seine-et-Oise. It is, however,
needless to mention instances of culture away from walls
and which do not afford us any practical lessons. Of
governmental schools for fruit culture that nearest to Paris is
in the Bois de Vincennes. It is quite new, and is described
elsewhere.

I have been informed that the agricultural school 01
Grignon has a very good fruit garden, but I have not
visited it. The nearest example to Paris of the planting of
railway embankments with fruit trees is on the line from
Gretz to Colommiers, Chemin de Fer de l’Est.

VEGETABLE CULTURE—The finest examples of the culture
of vegetables are found in the market gardens round Paris.
The best are near Asniércs, and also near Grenelle and
Vaugirard. A ready way to get a general idea of their
state, is to take a seat in the upper story of one of the trains
of the railway that runs round Paris.

M. Courtois-Gérard, the well-known seedsman and writer
on market gardening, has been kind enough to furnish me
with the following list of representative market gardens :—
M. Pinson. 88, Rue de Charonne, Paris. M. Ponce, 53, Route de la Révolte,

M. Julienne-Hichelle, 105, Rue de Clichy.
Beuilly, Paris. M. Dupont, 50, Rue de Hartre,

M. Ledru, 16, Rue Mongallet, Paris. ’ Clichy.
M. Dagorno, 30, Huede Pic-pus, Paris. 3 M. Crosnier, 30, Route de Chatillon,
M. Dulac, 18, Sentier St. Antoine, ‘5 Montrouge.

Paris. M. Leger Claude, 237, Avenue de
M. Hebrard, 70, Rue du Pot au Lait, . Paris, St. Denis.
Paris. .’ M. Chevalier, 10, Route de St. Denis,

M. Marie, 4, Rue des Plantes, Paris. St. Denis.
M. Cunard Louis, 5, Rue Voloutaire, M. Chevet pére, 1, Rue Valentine,
Paris. Bobigny.
M. J. Lecomte Impasse Maconnais, M. Chevalier, Rue Montpensier, Vin-
Boulevard de Poissonniers, Paris. cennes.
M. Gros, Rue de Paris, Charonnes. M. l’ivert, Rue des Vignerons, Vin-
M. Langlois, Rue Croix Nivert,Vaugi- cennes.
rard. M. J olleaume, 23, Rue des Marais de
M. Dumier, 16, Rue de Beuilly, Cha- Villers, Montrenil St. Cors.
renton. M. Duloc, 2, Rue de Montempoivre,
M. Stisvn'lle ainé, 12, Rue de Beuilly, St. Mandé.
Charenton. M. Houdart, 2, Rue de la. Grange, St.
M. Noblet, 18, Rue Bouery, La Cha- Mandé.
pelle.

 

Asparagus is grown to the greatest perfection at Argenteuil,
N N 2

548 THE CLIMATES 0F PARIS AND LONDON COMPARED.

and in the valley of Montmorency. Among the best cul-
tivators in the former town are M. 1’ Hérault, of the Rue de
Calais, and M. Lerot-Salbmuf, Rue de Sannois. Asparagus
is forced both at Argenteuil and in the market gardens
within the fortifications of Paris. M. Caucannier, Place
de l’Eglise at Clichy-la-Garonnc, has a curious and inte-
resting establishment for forcing Asparagus on a large
scale in houses and by means of hot-water pipes.

THE CLIMATES 0F PARIS AND LONDON COMPARED.——MOSt
people who have visited Paris are under the impression
that for clearness, salubrity, dryness, and heat, the climate
of the fairest of European cities is incomparably superior to
that of London. The idea has no doubt arisen from the
fact that most visitors to the French capital choose either
summer or autumn for their trip. At these periods even
our own smoky metropolis is at its best; but the hard-
working citizen, who for the first time finds himself walking
down the boulevards or the Rue Royale upon a lovely June
or August afternoon, sees the Paris climate in its fullest
perfection. The air is free from smoke, the buildings and
houses are either (lazzlingly white or of a delicate cream
colour, and even the mud itself is of a clearer and brighter
hue than the greasy, metallic-looking paste With which the
Londoner is so familiar. Let him, however, choose No-
vember or December for his excursion, and he will soon
discover that Paris can be as cold and cloudy, and even as
foggy, as our own city. A few figures from various unim-
peaehable sources, both French and English, will, it is
hoped, do much to dispel the prevailing notion of the great
superiority of the climate of Paris over that of London.

The climate of Paris may be taken as being typical of
that of the whole of the north-west of France, its change-
ableness, however, being somewhat less than that of the
districts bordering on the sea. In general characteristics
it may be said to stand midway between the climate of the
north-east portions of the Continent and that of the shores
of the Channel. It is less cold in winter than the former,
being warmed by the breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, but
colder than the south and west. In summer it is more

THE CLIMATES or PARIS AND LONDON COMPARED. 549

temperate than the south and east, but hotter than the ex-
treme west. The mean temperature of Paris, taken from
a series of official and private observations running over
thirty-six years, may be taken at 51'55° F. The lowest
temperature observed during fifty-two years was 2° below
zero F. ; the highest during the same time was within a
fraction of 99° F.

These figures are worthy of a little consideration. For a
similar period the averages of the observations taken in
London by the officers of the Royal Society are as follows:
Mean temperature 5050" F.; highest temperature, 97° F. ;
the lowest, 5° below zero F. The mean temperature of
Paris is therefore a fraction over 10 F. higher than our
own, while the highest temperature only exceeds ours by
something less than 2° F.

It will be also instructive to compare the mean tempera-
ture of the four seasons in both places with each other.

Paris. London.
Fahr. Fahr.
Mean Temperature, Spring . . . . . . 50‘0 . . . 49‘0
,, Summer . . . . . . 64‘8 . . . 62'5
,, Autumn . . . . . . 52’0 . . . 51'0
,, Winter . . . . . . 39‘5 . . . 390

It must, however, be borne in mind that in the suburbs
of London the mean temperature is 2° F. below that of
the city, and that on winter nights, when Jack Frost is
striving his hardest to destroy all the vegetation within his
reach, there is often as much as 4° F. difference between
the thermometers of the city and the suburbs. The cause
of this variation is twofold. In the summer a large quan-
tity of heat is radiated by the masses of brickwork every-
where to be found about the city, to say nothing of the
amount absorbed and given off again during the night;
while in the winter the city is obviously warmer during
both day and night, on account of the extra heat caused by
the numerous fires, both industrial and domestic, that are
constantly burning within its walls. Paris, as a city, being
under precisely similar conditions, we may feel safe in as-
suming that the same difference exists between the mean
temperature of the Observatory and Montreuil as there

550 THE CLIMATES or PARIS AND LONDON COMPARED.

does between that of Somerset House and Tottenham for
instance. Luke Howard, one of our first and most acute
British meteorologists, on the strength of many thousands
of observations made at Plaistow, Stratford, and Tottenham,
gives the difference between the mean temperature of
London and the country at 2° F. exactly, and a careful
examination of his data has proved his figures to be correct
within a fraction. This difference sinks to less than half
a degree in spring; it increases in summer and autumn,
and often rises on winter nights to as much as 41.0 F. It
is a singular fact that towards the end of spring, when the
fires are being discontinued, and the sun has not yet reached
his full power, it sometimes happens that the day tempera-
ture is somewhat greater in the country. This is doubtless
to be attributed to the veil of smoke and cloud that is
hanging over the metropolis. The effects of the higher
mean winter temperature in the city are singularly apparent
in the earlier budding and blooming of the trees, which
frequently begin their spring life several days before their
suburban cousins—a fact which may be easily verified by a
walk from IIaverstock-hill to Tottenham-eourt-road, just as
the Elms are beginning to bud, or when the Pear trees are
putting 011 their early spring livery.

The amount of annual rainfall in London only slightly
exceeds that of Paris, although any unprejudieed person
would feel inclined to give it as his opinion that the num-
ber of rainy days in London greatly exceeded those in
Paris. The French authorities that have been con-
sulted differ somewhat in their calculations, owing possibly
to having collected the rain with dissimilar instruments.
The English figures are from Luke Howard, the French
from Gasparin and Bouvard.

Gasparin. Bouvard. Howard.
Inches. Inches. Inches.
Rainfall in Spring . . . . . . 5'6 . . 4‘0 . . 5‘0
,, Summer . . . . . 6‘8 . . 6‘0 . . 6'5
,, Autumn . . . . . 5‘3 . . 6'4 ' . 7'5
,, “inter . . . . . . 4‘6 . . 4'8 . . 6'0

 

 

22‘3 21"! ‘25")

CHAPTER XXVI.
HORTICULTURAL MACHINES, IMPLEMENTS, APPLIANCES, ETC.

TRANSPLANTING LARGE Times—Not the least remarkable
feature of the public gardening of Paris is the excellent
system of removing trees there practised. For the following
article on this subject I am indebted to my friend M.
Edouard André, the talented designer of Sefton Park at
Liverpool :—

“The city of Paris, prior to having formed the large
parks and public gardens which she now possesses, had no
regular system of transplanting large trees, with the excep-
tion of the old-fashioned carts which had been used at Ver-
sailles and the other royal parks, and at M. de Rothschild’s
Chateaux at Boulogne and Ferriéres, principally for the pur-
pose of removing large Orange trees in tubs, and occasionally
for transplanting old and valuable trees.

“ These carts were designed and constructed in the time of
Louis XIV., and it may be well imagined that they were
extremely cumbersome and inconvenient. In recent days,
however, when the chief gardeners and the city architects
were often called upon to extemporize shady avenues in a few
days, it became absolutely necessary for them to put their
heads together to invent some new machine which would
work more easily and with less damage to the lives of the
trees. The first apparatus built consisted of a frame bearing
two moveable wooden rollers, one on the fore-carriage and
the other at the back, each provided with holes in which to
place the ends of the levers when hoisting up the tree. A
round case made of sheet iron was hung in the centre sus-
pended from the rollers by chains, which, when the tree was
raised up by the levers, held the earth-ball and roots.

“ We do not intend reviewing all the improved means

552 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

successively employed prior to the actual model now
in use (Fig. 301) being adopted; but confining our-
selves to the apparatus figured here, we have only to state

2’7,”7§//’/’

Side Elevation.

FIG. 30!.

 

Tree-lifting Machine

 

the way in which the removal of large trees is managed in
Paris.
“ \Ve take, for example, a specimen tree, thirty years old,

TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 553

thirty feet in height, the trunk of which has a circumference
of three feet at a height of three feet from the ground,
its total weight with the earth-ball being nearly two tons.
The operation is commenced by staking out, round the
stem, the circumference of the earth-ball, which will be on
an average about four

feet in diameter for

most species, and

larger according to the 4 '7‘ = "i is
size of the trees to be I C,
removed. A second
concentric circle is
then made about two

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fl
feet outside the first, 32
the space between 8.
which will be the 5
place for the trench : 77777 . A 5
to be dug for pre- C ‘» 77"“le J" A, 3;:
paring the tree. 35 (l; “Mg” . gill“; A;
The soil is then re- ‘3 “3 /l 3‘: 33,11; :5
moved from this I; ‘5”; ",5 . 5 Q _ H 3511' ll g
trench to the depth of _ j , T '\ q ; ”‘1‘“ "go
three feet, and the ', ‘4 » rA,‘ ;;:\ 3:
small and delicate ‘ 0" iii"; -..:1=_,;~}_o:__q__ft §
roots are drawn out of . 7,; i U a:
the earth, left hang— ii , ‘H- 5
ing, and carefully pre- ' “I“ 3*

served. The earth- , “
ball is then under- ’
mined to prevent the
roots from adhering to
the subsoil ; two thick
planks, a foot wide, l
and a little longer

than the ball, are placed underneath parallel with the
width of the cart, so that they sustain the weight of the
earth when the tree is lifted. Privet stems are now placed
vertically, close together, all round the earth-ball, tied at
the top and bottom with ropes, so as to prevent the earth

 

554 TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

from crumbling away, and also to protect the small roots
from the inclemencies of the weather.

“ The removal of the tree is then commenced in the follow-
ing manner z—Two stout thick planks, strong enough to sup-
port the cart with the tree slung in it, and a little longer than
the entire excava-
tion, and having
iron plates about
two inches higher
than the surface
bolted on each side
so as to prevent
the wheels from
slipping off, are
placed parallel to
each other across
the excavation with
the exact width
existing between
the wheels. The
moveable bars at
the back of the
cart are then re-
moved, and the
cart is backed into
the ways until the
trunk of the tree is
exactly in the cen-
tre 0f the frame.
_ The moveable bars
\a\ are then put in
their place again so
as to strengthen
the back of the wheels, which do not run on an axletree, but
are fitted in wrought~iron frames hanging from the upper
part of the cart, as shown in the woodcut. The chains at-
tached to the rollers on each side of the cart are now lowered
and passed under the planks before described, which are
placed under the earth-ball. “'hen all is fast, four workmen

 

 

Tree-lifting Machine : back View.

TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 555

begin simultaneously to turn the handles attached to the
cast-iron cog-wheels, by which great power is obtained on
the rollers. The tree is raised slowly and steadily until it
just swings clear of the ground, and then nothing is left to
be done but to steady the tree before it is hoisted up to its
proper height. For
this purpose there F‘G- 304-
is at each corner
of the cart 3 strong
wrought-iron
hook, to which is
attached a block,
through which
runs a strong rope
fixed at the other
end to a leather
collar. These four
ropes are then
raised up together
and the collar
firmly fastened on
the stem of the
tree about seven
or eight feet from
the top of the
earth-ball. The
tree can be now
easily removed
without fear of its
falling over.

“ The horses are ,
then attaChed t0 Tree-lifting Machine: front View.
the cart, which is
drawn slowly off the ways, and the tree can be removed with
safety to its future resting-place. If the tree be vigorous and
healthy, a hole a little wider than the one from which it
has been removed should be dug beforehand, the earth being
placed carefully on one side if it should be of a kind to
suit the tree about to be planted, and if not, it should be re-

 

 

556 TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

placed by suitable soil. The average dimensions for the
hole, for an earth-ball of four feet in diameter, should be
about seven feet, so that eighteen inches are preserved all
round the tree to be filled up with good vegetable soil. The
depth should be equal to the height of the earth-ball, or a
little more if the tree be of a species with tap roots. The
bottom of the excavation should be filled in with a little
good soil, which will allow the top of the earth-ball to be
a little higher than the surrounding ground, in accordance
with an instinctive notion, which almost invariably induces
us to place trees used as isolated specimens in lawns on
small hillocks.

“ When this is done the planks or ways are placed in posi-
tion as before described, and the cart is very carefully
drawn on them until the earth-ball is exactly in the centre
of the hole. The tree is then slowly lowered, and when it
touches the ground the guy-ropes from the corners of the
cart are pulled tight, so as to have the tree perfectly upright
and steady; the chains are unfastened and hoisted up round
rollers; the two planks beneath the earth-ball are under-
mined and removed, and the privct shoots taken off. They
then proceed to fill up the hole, particular attention being
paid to the small roots, which are each separately covered
in. \Vhen this is finished and the tree is considered
sufficiently steady, the ropes are removed ; the bars are
taken out of the back of the cart which is drawn away, and
the bars having been refixed all is ready for another
removal.

“ An abundant watering, if the removal has been made in
the growing season, will be the end of the operation. The
tree must be now protected against the wind, being as yet
merely dependent upon its own gravity, as the roots take
time to get hold of the ground. This result is obtained by
placing at about half-way 11p the stem of the tree a padding
of straw, round which three or four long pieces of wire-ropc
are attached ; these are carried out 011 all sides of the tree
and firmly fastened to strong stakes driven in the ground.
“'0 may then bid defiance to the strongest winds that

blow.

TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. . 557

“ If drought is to be feared, the stem and main branches
of the tree can be surrounded with plaited straw watered
from time to time, or by a coating of clay mixed with cow-
dung and covered with rough canvas, which is much about

the same 0010111‘ as the bark. Sometimes in the Boulevards
of Paris they

water trees sur- Fm. 305.
rounded in this
manner by pour-
ing water through
a funnel from the
top, between the
clay and the
trunk of the tree.
These auxiliary
means for keep-
ing the tree alive
may be supple-
mented by many
others, such as
covering it en-
-tirely on the
south side with
canvas, to pre-
serve it from the
sun anddrought if
it is of arare kind ;
by watering the
ground wellif it is
dry, or by drain-
ing the hole with

rubbish or drain- Trunk of large Tree recentlv planted enveloped in Moss

. . . and Canvas, to preserve the Stem from the action of
plpes 1f the $011 be the Sun.

too damp, 8:0.

“ The ordinary season for transplanting large deci-
duous trees is from October to April, and from March to
April or August for evergreens. But with sufficient
care it is quite possible to transplant trees all the year
round, provided the weather be suitable, the roots un-

 

‘.
’1
:1
» . ..
t
\
v
\ _; »
~‘.f'\
‘._
t
u
"iwl‘f
W,

3:13;;

    

558 TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

injured, the soil good, and that they be kept well sheltered,
and watered.

“ In choosing the tree to be transplanted, its age and
species must be duly considered. For instance, it is useless
to remove a tree that is sixty or eighty years of age, as it
will never produce as fine foliage as it did before its re-
moval, nor will it make any remarkable progress in size.
It is better only to remove those not more than fifteen years
old and under without any earth-ball at all, taking especial
care to preserve all the roots intact. The best age for trans-
planting larger trees is from twenty to thirty years. The
number of species ordinarily removed is limited, as only the
more common kinds of trees are subjected to the process,
no one caring to run the risk of losing a rare and valuable
tree. In Paris, experiments made on various species have
given the following results :—

“Sueecss nearly always certain: Elms, Planes, white
and red, Horse-chestnuts, Limes, Ailantus, Catalpa,
Paulownia, Ccltis, Planera, Sophora, and Willows.

“ Success uncertain but sometimes satisfactory: Poplars,

Sycamores, Maples, Alders, Mulberries, Beech, Ash, Mag-
nolias, American Walnuts, Cercis, Diospyros, and several
other exotic trees not yet sufficiently experimented
upon.
“ Success very rare : Robinias, Cratzegus, Hawthorns,
and nearly all the Rosaeeae, Birch, Laburnum, and many
Leguminosze, Oaks (European and American), Pavias, Elms,
and Gleditschias.”

With respect to the value of this machine as compared
with any in use in England, there can be no doubt that the
Paris machine is the best. Trees are there removed daily
without the least difficulty or fuss, that, if removed in this
country, would probably be honoured with a notice in the
local papers. The best of our English machines must be
taken to pieces for the removal of every tree: the beams
have to be taken off in order to bring the wheels in position,
then they have to be replaced in position, as well as the
lifting apparatus. Besides, the machines are unwieldy and

awkward. The advantage of the French machine is, that

TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 559

by removing the iron rod which connects the hind Wheels
and the hind cross-beam, the machine is put to the tree
without trouble or awkwardness. The lifting power is by
means of racks, pinions, and levers.

Besides the above-described excellent method for the
removal of
large trees, FIG-306-
there is a very
good method
employed for
the transplanta-
tion of small
trees, specimen
conifers, ever-
greens, and like
subjects. Round
each tree a cir-
cular trench is
opened large
enough for a
man to move
about in it at 4“?
his ease. The '
depth should be 4,
equal to that of ' A
thedeepcstlargc 3““
roots, and aball ““-
Of earth large
enough to in—
sure the safe

$i; \‘~ \‘ :42:- V r L ‘ _ . . \C‘L‘

\‘. 1‘ \ )1 5. ...;-_“_“f.-‘~\"i 5- ~ . \ \x"

removal of the \i \~:\ ifx'v “‘ “fits \ \E‘X‘
:9 x ~ -- 1m.- {NV \. \{5 \‘xx \ \

tree should be in: \“Q‘ ‘ \.“§‘\\\-W‘\ f>\§ l?

 

 

‘ ~n‘?:\w\ FT“ >\':\ \’ < “ ' “a V \\ A \l \ \\‘ \\:\‘\‘
, ,fill‘li § xyp}: n\\\\§\‘\§ “ . ‘7 \' *\.\\\ \\\:\\’ \ \\ i“:
left. 11 All tl;e ~ ‘3‘ (~65: \%‘\\13 ‘r\\\ {VRQE‘N j \\\\\\\\\I\\§\
$1113 er r00 S
found in the Small Machine for Lifting Specimen Shrubs

and Conifers.

trench should be

carefully preserved. The ball is shaped into the form of a
truncated cone, with its smallest portion below. It is next
surrounded with light deal boards, separated from each

560 TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

other by the distance of three-quarters of an inch or so,
like the staves of a barrel. They are next secured tem-
porarily by a suitable rope. A man then descends into the
hole and fixes the rope by means of the screw apparatus
shown in Fig. 307, so as to press the planks firmly against
the soil of the ball. The press is then removed and the
same thing done higher up, within say four inches of the
top, an ordinary cask hoop being first nailed round the
planks before the screw is unfixed. The ball being firmly
fixed in its proper position, it is hove over so as to get
to its underneath part. The bottom of a cask having
its boards fastened together with a circular piece of sheet
iron rather larger than itself is passed under, the iron being
pierced with two or three holes and turned up so that it

FIG. 307.

 

 

Screw used in preparing specimens for removal, as shown in the
preceding Figure.

may be nailed against the planks. In some cases the stem
of the tree should be fixed by iron wire to the sides of the
improvised cask.

“'hen it reaches its destination it is gently inclined to
one side and the bottom boards removed. The hoops are
next unfastcned, the boards removed, and the roots carefully
arranged in their natural position, some good earth being
spread over them. The amount of success capable of being
attained by this method may be seen throughout the squares
of Paris, hardly a single trcc having been killed during the
plantation of the myriads now growing so luxuriantly in
that city. Some at Vineennes have died, it is true, but
after having been transplanted in the rough and ready way
usually resorted to.

CARRIAGE FOR MOVING ORANGE TREES. 561

The apparatus costs a mere trifle, as will be seen from
the following estimate. A press made of oak and beech,
with the rope included, only costs eighteen francs; if it
were made of iron it would possibly cost less. For a ball
six or seven feet in circumference and eighteen to twenty
inches high, the boards, hoops, cask bottom, sheet of iron,
and nails would cost less than a couple of francs. If still
greater economy is desirable, what are known as Yankee flour
barrels may be used, if they are cut in two and taken to pieces.
W'ith these simple appliances two men can prepare five trees a
day ready for hoisting on to the cart intended to receive them.

CARRIAGE FOR TRANSPORTING ORANGE Trams—The fashion
of growing large Orange trees in tubs is so general in France
that some efficient means of moving them from place to
place becomes necessary. Many contrivances have been
tried, and several are in use, but the best and handiest is
that employed for the carriage of the large specimens in the
gardens of the Tuileries. For the following notice of it I
am indebted to my friend Mr. John Gibson, the able and
deservedly popular superintendent of Battersea Park, who has
long taken a deep interest in the public gardening of Paris :—

“The machine used in the gardens of the Tuileries for
removing large Orange trees in tubs, of which a longitudinal
representation is given on the next page, is the most use-
ful contrivance I have seen in use for this purpose. Its
simplicity and the facility with which the tubs are lifted for
transit are its chief recommendations; no taking to pieces
or removal of the side beams, prior to load-
ing, is necessary, beyond the removal of FIG- 308-
the hind axle, which consists of a strong
wrought-iron bar with a hook at each end, [gr—2:;
the hooks fitting into an eye fixed onthc in-
side of the stock of the hind wheels. They are made fast with a
pin through each hook; when this bar is removed the machine
is backed to the tub, one of the hind wheels passing it on
each side until the tub is midway between the fore and hind
wheels where the lifting apparatus is fixed. This being done
the axle bar is fixed and the machine is ready for loading.

“ The stirrups attached to the lower end of the upright

o 0

562 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

lifting rods are now lowered to the bottom of the tub by
means of the rack and pinion machinery until the two iron
bars, which are previously pushed under the tub, can be
placed in the four stirrups ; this being done, all is ready for
Fm. 309' lifting the tub

o A in an upright

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

position by the

a rack and pinions,

which are worked

, . by a man on each

2:” H H side. When the

' tub is high enough

for travelling it is

m 4a secured by means

. of a pin through

Carriage for transporting Orange trees. the four upright
1. Fore carriage. 2. Side-beams. 3. Lifting screw. lifting rods in-
4. Stirrups for carrying tub. 5. Pine. serted at 5’ the

tub being lowered on to the pins for travelling. The
whole operation does not occupy the three men required to
work it more than two or three minutes. The machine is
drawn by one horse, and it will be seen how easily and
quickly the magnificent Orange trees alluded to are brought
from their hibernatory in the spring to their summer

FIG. 310.

 

Truck for moving Plants in tubs and large pots.

quarters, and as easily taken back in the autumn. The fore
part of the machine is made to ‘lock’ so that it turns in
little more than its own length. It is in every respect a
most complete apparatus for this and for like purposes.”
TRUCK FOR TUBS on VERY LARGE Pors.—This very handy
little truck, Fig. 310, is what the French use for moving large
plants in tubs and large pots. It would be difficult to find

GARDEN CHAIRS AND SEATS. 563

anything more useful in its way. Large specimen plants
are quickly and easily moved by this means. The pot or
tub is caught by the little iron feet, then thrown on its
side and tied firmly if a long distance has to be traversed.

Tt‘Bs FOR ORANGE TREES, Ste.
—Oranges, Oleanders, &c., are
so much grown on the Continent
that good kinds of tubs are of
high importance. There can be
little doubt that the square tubs
now employed in the public gar-
dens of Paris are the best and
most durable. I mean those with
the hollow east-iron frame and
bottom, and wooden sides. In Tub for O'angc from
their case renewing the sides from time to time is not a
matter of much expense. The tub here figured is a well-made
wooden one, with a wide ornamental margin of metal. The
effect with good specimens is superior to that of the square
ones in common use, but it is very expensive.

GARDEN CHAIRS AND SEATs.—The kind of chair shown
in Fig. 312 is seen in quantities in all public places in Paris.
It has a convex seat made of flexible strips
of metal springing from the sides and
joined together in a little central piece.
These chairs stand any weather, and are
nevertheless as elastic as a drawing-room
one. A very neat, elegant, and com-
fortable conservatory, pleasure-ground,
or summer-house chair is composed of
three of these seats united in one, the
larger framework of the back and Sides
being made of rustic iron about as thick as
the thumb, the smaller spray beingr tied to the larger by imi-
tation osier twigs. This is made by M. Carré, the maker of
the greater number of chairs in this way.

There are many modifications of this kind of chair. One
on much the same principle, but with the elastic bands cross-
ing from side to side instead of all ending in the centre,is made

0 o 2

 

FIG. 31?.

 

 

564 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

by Tronehon, of the Avenue d’Eylau, who has a large collection

.,. vi“
.9. u

. o_’.
'2

6
.

3:

.,.
.

a

:.
.
.

 

Seat with box for climbing plants.

of such articles. His modification
of the elastic chair is certainly
stronger than that of Carré, but for
durability and general good quali-
ties the chairs made in imitation of
split. cane work are the best of all.

Fig. 313 shows a combination
of moveable seat and shallow
bower, with a box at the back for
planting climbing plants where-
with to cover the trellis work. The
best plan would be to train some
graceful and rapid growing annual
creeping plant on this. So shaded

and deeoratcd,it mightprove veryacceptablc in some positions.

The next illustration shows a form of seat seen at the Paris
Exhibition of 1867. It consists of a not uncommon form of
garden seat with a tent—like shade supported as shown in
Fig. 314. This shade can be rolled up in a moment by means

FM. 314.

 

\...__ ..~

Seat with Tent-like Shade.

of the chain at the ends, and let down with equal facility.
This seat would seem to be a want out of doors in summer,
and also in conservatories and like structures in winter and
spring; that is, where people sit and read in them. There is a
modification of it in which the back of the seat is reversible.

GRAFTING MASTIC. 565

GRAFTING Mastic—The thorough knowledge of grafting
possessed by the French has long ago led them to invent
various kinds of grafting wax or mastic, which greatly
facilitate grafting. These, while distinct improvements for
propagators and practical gardeners having much grafting
to do, render grafting on a small scale and in the gardens
of amateurs a pleasant and interesting operation. The mix-
ture of clay, dung, &c., commonly employed for grafting in
this country is not such as many amateurs care to make,
and it is scarcely worth while doing it for the sake of a
graft or two. The best of the French compositions for
grafting is that called [Mastic l’Homme Lefort—an awkward
name for an excellent article now sold in this country by
Messrs. Hooper & Co., the seedsmen, of Central Row,
Covent Garden, W.C. One of the most able fruit growers
and horticulturists in the country has recently given his
opinion on this article in the Gardener’s Chronicle :—

It is a substance of about the consistency of common white lead, somewhat
resembling half-melted gutta~pcrcha, and having a very pleasant and agreeable
perfume. It is quite easy of application, being readily spread over the parts
with the blade ofa knife or a flat piece of wood, like butter on bread. Although
in the box, away from the air, it will keep pliable and moist for many years, it
very soon hardens on the outside after being exposed thinly on the graft, and,
as it were, hermetically seals up the point of junction, and thus prevents all
access of air to the cuts. It is at the same time quite elastic, and easily re»
moved when required. It was largely tried in various ways in the Royal Hor-
ticultural Gardens, Chiswick, by Mr. Thompson, who reported favourably on
its merits. I have myself used it in grafting all sorts of hardy fruit trees, and
approve of it very much indeed. In grafting tall standards it is better than
clay, which it is difficult to fix at all times. This, on the contrary, can be ap-
plied with the greatest ease in any position, and a very little of it sufiices
spread thinly round about the junction of the scion with the stock. I Wish
particularly to recommend its use in grafting Vines. For this purpose it is far
superior to clay, or any other article that I have used—and I have grafted some
hundreds. The objection to the use of clay or moss is that in general when the
Vines are growing a moist atmosphere is maintained in the house; in fact, to
induce the scion to break strongly it is regularly syringed. The clay, &c., is
thus kept continually moist, and roots are emitted into it from the stock, and
frequently from the scion also. \Vhen this takes place, and I have seen it many
times, there is but little chance of the graft succeeding. \Vith the Mastic,
on the contrary, no roots are possible, however much the moisture and heat
applied externally to the graft and stock, and, as a consequence, success in
Vine grafting becomes almost a certainty. I have also found the Mastic useful
in placing over wounds or bruises on plants generally, thereby enabling them
to heal quickly. For this purpose, for Vine grafting, and for all the more
delicate operations of grafting, I strongly recommend it: further, it is very
handy, always ready for use, and so easily applied. With a. sharp knife, a bit
of matting, and a. little sixpenny box of Mastic l’Homme Lefort (at which
price sufficient for 100 grafts can be purchased) any gentleman or even lady
can go grafting trees, at any moment, with the greatest facility, and finish the

566 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

operation without soiling the fingers. B.—It has a distinct advantage over
other kinds of grafting mastic, inasmuch as it may be used cold, whereas other
kinds have to be heated before being used.

IMPROVED FRUIT SHELVES.—In the Pear-room at Baron
Rothschild’s at Ferriéres there is a new and excellent plan

FIG. 315.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portion of l’ear stand at Ferrieres. End View of Pear stand.

   

for arranging the fruit—the successive shelves of splendid Pears
being so formed that every individual one can be examined

Fm. 317.

 

Position of each line of
Penn: In the Fruit room
at Femercs.

without touching any. I need scarcely
say that in the case of a fruit requiring
so much nicety of judgment and at-
tention as the Pear does, in the gar-
dener who makes the most of his
collection, and has each kind, or even
each perfect fruit, eaten at the right
time, this is an improvement. The
Pear-room in the Imperial garden at
Versailles usually presents a fine sight.
There the old flat form of bench is in
use, and all the shelves are closed in
by wooden doors, so as to exclude the
light from the fruit.

DRYING FRUIT Rooms—Chloride of calcium is sometimes

THE PANIER. 567

used by the French for drying the air of their fruit rooms.
Mr. Thompson recommends in his book chloride of lime for
drying the atmosphere in a fruit room, but he no doubt
means chloride of calcium, which is a much more powerful
absorbent of moisture. The fumes of chlorine given off by
the former substance, which is simply bleaching powder,

would be injurious to the
colour and flavour of the
fruit. Chloride of calcium
is a cheap salt, costing
only a few pence per
pound. It may be ob-
tained at any large opera—
tive Chemist’s or drysal-
ter’s, and should be pre-
served in well-corked jars.
For use, a pound or so
may be spread on plates
about the room,and should
be renewed as soon as it
shows a tendency to run
into a liquid. A few

FIG. 318.

          

__._...__
--..'~ Baffin ' . 3
\dey/flzy/

 

Arrangement for the use of chloride of cal-
cium in the Fruit room. A, Tray or box
about twenty inches square, and lined
with lead; B, Support; O, Slope on one
side ; 1), Outlet; E, Jar to receive liquid.

pounds of this material will be sufficient for a large fruit
room, for the whole fruit-preserving

FIG. 319.
season.

Its damp-absorbing power may

 

 

 

 

 

The Panier.

 

be renewed by heating the wet salt to
redness on a fire-shovel or old frying—pan ;
but it is so cheap, and so readily obtain-
able, that the process of renewal is
hardly worth going through. This sub-
stance gives ofi' no fumes of any kind,
and cannot be in any way injurious to
the Grapes, like the salt recommended by
Mr. Thompson.

THE PANIER.—This is the article a1-
luded to in the description of the garden
in the Bois de Boulogne. It is much
used for carrying vegetables, and also
frequently for conveying manure amongst

close rows of vines, and has many similar uses. At first it

568 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

appeared a ridiculously antiquated thing to me, but after-
wards I often saw it in efficient use. Where materials have to
be carried through houses, and in positions where barrows of
any kind could not be employed, it might be useful, and
there is no way by which one man can carry so many
vegetables as by using it.

PLOUGH-HOE.—This is used for cleaning the numerous
long straight avenues in the imperial demesnes. A few
men, each guiding one of these, clean the weeds from an

avenue almost as

1530-320- quickly as they

can walk along it,

but the texture

of many walks

would not permit

of its use at all.

At St. Cloud and

other places where

it is used, the

. _ . surface is quite

The Plough—hoe. sandy, and wher-

ever this is the

case it may be used with advantage, particularly in

places where many wood-walks and drives have to be kept

in order. They could not be used on such firm walks as
we have about London.

Tun Emma‘s—This is a handy implement that I think
would prove more useful for stirring the
earth between crops than anything we em- F‘G- 391-
ploy. It serves as a draw hoe, and the
forked portion is very eflieicnt in loosening
hard ground. There are various slight modi-
fications of the one here figured. The handle
is usually about as long as that of the common The Binette.
draw hoe.

191m.“ as FOR FORCING.—Tbe French market gardeners use
an immense quantity of frames, and it is by their aid they
procure most of the tender and excellent forced vegetables
sent to the markets in early sprin". These frames are made

 

 

MATS FOR COVERING PITS AND FRAMES. 569

of very rough wood; are narrow—not exceeding four feet
in width 3 and arranged in close lines completely immersed in
the heating material. They are usually about twenty inches
high at the back and fourteen in front. Undoubtedly the
principle is better and cheaper than our own. We employ
large and well-made frames in private gardens, and for the
most part place them so that all but the base is exposed to
the influence of the weather, and the plants therein are
more liable to changes of temperature and cold. By having
the frames narrow, all the sidework rough and cheap, and
the frames placed in close lines, we get the greatest amount
of heat at the smallest cost. By having nothing but the
surface of the glass

exposed, little heat is Fm. 32:).
lost, and when the
frames are covered by
the neat, warm, and
flexible straw mats,
they are as snug as

 

Narrow frames used for forcing by the market
could be desired. gardeners of Paris.

\Vhen it is simply

desired to preserve bedding plants through the winter,
the spaces between the rough-sided frames are merely
filled up with leaves and slightly heating materials. About
two feet of space is left between each frame, or just
enough for the convenience of the workmen. Generally
they are put together by the workmen of the market
gardens: two stout posts being driven firmly in at one
end, and an end-board nailed to them. Then at every four
feet or so minor posts are driven down, and the rough front
and back boards nailed to them. Numbers are also made
on a plan by which they can be readily taken to pieces and
stored in a small space while not in use. By this means
the ground covered by forcing frames in winter is cleared
for ordinary open-air crops in summer.

MATS FOR COVERING PITS AND Pajamas—In our cold
and variable climate, the winter covering for many minor
glass structures is of the greatest importance. It is a thing
at present managed in a very expensive and by no means

570 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

satisfactory way. The French mode of doing it is much
cheaper, neater, and more effective; and in passing through
their market gardens and forcing-grounds in winter, it is
one of the first things that seems to the English horti-
culturist as worthy of imitation. The covering used con-
sists of straw mats about an inch thick, the sides as neat
as if out in a machine, the mat knit together by twine,
and its texture such that it may be rolled up closely.
One of these mats, which is much better as a protection
than a bass-mat, costs about one-third the present price
of that, while in point of appearance and amount of pro-
tection given the advantage is all in favour of the French
paillasson. The figure given

FIG-323' represents a simple frame for

making these mats in the nurse-
ries of M. J amain, the celebrated
cultivator of Orange trees, and I
append his description of it.
There are several frames for this
purpose ; and there is also a ma-
chine for making these mats,
which are indispensable to the
French gardener; but the one
here described is the best and
simplest for private use. “ Get
two pieces of timber (1) about
Frame for making Straw Mats. three inches thiCk) four inches
wide, and as long as required.

Pierce these timbers, as shown in Fig. 323, and in-
troduce A in the holes to maintain the same width
between the sides,‘ and support the nails or screw, as
shown in the cut. These nails are to keep the string
tight (5). The board may be shifted from hole to hole
so as to make mats of any desired length. The length
of the string must be about three times as long as the
straw mat, and rolled round a little reel, shown at E. The
straw must be placed on the machine so as to have all its
cut or lower ends close against the sides, the tops meeting
in the middle, and so thick as not to have the mat

 

 

 

 

 

 

MATS FOR. COVERING PITS AND FRAMES. 571

thicker than three-quarters of an inch when finished. The
stitches must not be wider than three-quarters of an inch,
and be worked as follows (see F of the figure). Take a
little of the straw with the left hand, and work the reel
with the right, first over the straw, then over the bended
string, coming back underneath, and swiftly passing it
between the two strings, pulling tightly and pressing
the straw, so as to have a flat stitch, and not thicker than
three-quarters of an inch at the most. The same operation
is repeated until the mat is finished. The machine described
has been at work for the last twenty years in our nursery,
at Paris, and is still as good as new. An ordinary workman
may make daily from thirty to forty yards run of these
straw mats with

it.” Fm. 324.
All new or f
strange things of

this sort are adopt-
ed slowly by hor-
ticulturists ; but _
that they would \
immediately use
this, if they had ,
an opportunity of 31‘
seeing it in work- \7‘ 2
ing order, I have
no doubt 3 and I Straw mat (paillasson) used for covering frames.
hope yet to see it

in general use in British gardens. In France these mats are
found so useful that they are employed for many purposes
besides that of covering frames, and they even form a very
effective temporary coping for walls in some cases. I
doubt very much if anything I can say for them will give a
full idea of their utility. In all gardens where men are regu-
larly employed they may be made during bad weather in
winter; and as there is often a difficulty about procuring
enough of useful indoor work for men at such times,
the making of these mats will be a gain from that point of
View alone. In country places, where straw is abundant,

   

572 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

their cost would be a mere trifle. Around Paris so great is
the demand for these mats that, in addition to being made
abundantly by hand as described above, they are also made
by machinery. There is indeed an establishment for manu-
facturing them thus belonging to M. Dorlcans, 37, Rue du
Landy, Clichy. The nurseries of the city are supplied by
him, and many people find the machine mats cheaper than
those they make by hand.

THE NUME’wrung—Numbering instead of labelling is
now adopted in so many gardens and nurseries, that
this instrument cannot fail to be useful. The following
description of it originally appeared in the Gardener’s
Chronicle .'——“ Horticulture is a science so vast, and em-
braces subjects so different, that however good a man’s
memory may be it is insufficient, and hence it becomes
necessary to give it mechanical aid. Among the means
employed are tickets or labels written upon parchment or
paper, or small pieces of wood or zinc; but these are soon
efl'accd, and are very liable to get lost or displaced. A very
good plan frequently adopted consists in the use of small
hands of lead, which are rolled round the stems or branches
of the plants. Upon this lead a number is marked, corre-
sponding with a catalogue, in which the name and any par-
ticular remarks are entered. This method is sure; but to
carry it out several things are necessary. First, there is
wanted a series of numbers from 1 to 10, or rather from
1 to 9, the zero, combined with other figures, making the
numbers 10, 20, 100, 8:0. Then this series of numbers
must be fixed upon a block of wood, and the figures have
to be impressed upon the leads by means of a small hammer.
So that to mark the leads we want—-—1st, a pair of scissors
to cut the metal; 2nd, a set of numbers; 3rd, a block to
receive them ; and -1«th, a hammer to strike and indent the
figures in the leads. This apparatus therefore becomes
troublesome, especially when it is necessary to change its
place, as is the case when it has to be used in different
parts of a large garden, or in a field. Besides, it suffices
for one of the little figures to be lost to render the whole
series useless.

THE NUME’ROTEUR. 573

“A consideration of these inconveniences induced an in-
genious cutler, M. Hardiville, of the Rue St. Jacques, in
Paris, to invent the Numéroteur, or Numbering Pincers.
This instrument in its ge-
neral form resembles a large FIG- 395-
pair of scissors, in which
the blades instead of being ‘
cutting are flat and blunt,
with the upper extremity
prolonged. On the inner
side of the upper of these
blades is fixed a series of
ten figures arranged in
order, from 1 to 9, followed
by 0. These figures are
placed at the end of small
steel shanks screwed into
the blade, and upon the
opposite blade, which is flat,
the figures are marked in
hollows, so that, without
grouping, one is able to
eiiect with certainty any
necessary numerical com-
binations. A pressure of
the blades suflices to indent
the figure in the piece of
lead that has been placed
between them, and the lead
is then withdrawn and
placed in the same way be-
neath whatever other figure
or figures may make up the
numberrequired. Thebladcs
of these numbering pincers The Numf-mteur.
work upon a movement
similar to that of a pair of scissors, the alternate opening and
shutting of the curved portion or handle also opening and
shutting the two opposite blades, so that it is only necessary to

 

574 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

put the plate of lead straight with the figure which is wanted,
and then to make a pressure, to have this figure indented
on it. At the end of one blade, in a line with the
figures, is a small punch, with which, if necessary, to pierce
the lead, in order to admit of passing through it a wire
thread, by which it may be suspended. To complete this
instrument M.— Hardiville has added, on the side of one of
the branches, a small blade, which, by means of a spring
adapted to the other branch, forms a pair of scissors with
which to cut the leads. thn'the scissors are not needed,
the spring is unfastened, being made. to do so easily and
quickly, and the blade then tightens itself against the branch
of the pincer without any trouble. At the base is a move-
able spring which serves to open the branches. Thus we
see that this instrument is very complete, but its value is
augmented by its not being complicated, and especially by
its being of a reasonable price—ten francs.”

THE SiieA'rEUR.——Of garden cutlery I will only mention
the sécatcur, and this is an instrument that every gardener
should possess himself of at once. I know well the pre-
judice that exists in England among horticulturists against
things of this kind, and their almost superstitious regard
for a good knife. I also believed in the knife, but
when I saw how useful is the séeateur to the fruit
growers of France, and how easily and effectively they
cut with it exactly as desired, I became at 011cc eon-
vertcd. A séeateur is seen in the hands of every French
fruit grower, and by its means he cuts as clean as the best
knife-man with the best knife ever whetted. They cut
stakes with them almost as fast as one could count them;
they have recently made some large ones for cutting
stronger plants—such as the strong awkward roots of the
briars collected by the Rose growers. Of these Secateurs
there are many forms, several of the best being figured here.

First we have the Sécateur Vauthier (Fig. 326), a strong
and handy instrument. Its sloping semi-cylindrical handles
have their outer side rough, whieh gives a firm hold; the
springs, though strong, resist the action of the hand gently;
the curvature of the blade and the adjustment are perfect;

THE SFZCATEUR. 575

and lastly, the principal thing, the action is so easy as never
to hurt the hand. “ During the many years of myexpe-
rience,” observes M. Lachaume, a fruit grower who describes
this implement in the Revue Horticole, “ I have used tools
of all kinds, and

the tools have also F‘G- 326-

used me a little;
but I have never
met with anything
which gave me so
much satisfaction
as the Sécatcur
Vauthier. Every
desirable quality is
combined in it, and
I recommend it
with perfect confi-
dence The
strongest branch
will not resist its
cutting, nor a sin-
gle branch, how-
ever well concealed,
be inaccessible to
it. Moreover, the
double notch on
the back of the
blade and hook (in
which a wire is
shown in thefigure) The Sécateur Vauthier.

will enable the

operator when employed at his trellises to out every Wire
without using the pincers.”

The Sécatcur Lccointe (Fig. 327) is another variety
recommended by the leading French horticultural journal.
The inventor was led to devise this kind of spring in order
to avoid the annoyance arising from the frequent breakage
of the form usually employed. It is said that this form of
spring secures an easy and gentle action of the instrument,

 

576 HORTICUL’I‘URAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

and has the advantage of lasting longer than others, from
not being so liable to break, While it secures a. firmness and
evenness in working which is not otherwise attained. A
further improvement is pointed out in the fastening, which
consists of a stop which catches when the two handles are
drawn together, a projecting portion on the outside acting
as a spring which is to be pressed when the instrument is
required to be opened. M. Lecointe 0f Laigle is the
inventor.

Fig. 328 represents the sécateur of older date than the
preceding, and one more generally used. It is much

Fun. 327. FIG. 328.

   

The Secateur Lecointe. The Common Séeateur.

employed at Montreal]. There can be no doubt that
where much pruning of any kind is done, and particularly
pruning of a rather rough nature, the sé‘ateur is a valuable
implement. For pruning in which great niecty of cutting
is required a good and properly shaped knife is best. The
sécateur was first invented by M. Bertrand 0f Molleville.
Tm: ll.“mssnt'iL—This is the name for the little wire-
st ‘aining implement which plays such a very important part in
the wiring of garden walls, or erecting of trellises for fruit
growing in l“'ance. It is an implement which, though
insignificant in itself, is calculated to make a vast improve-

THE RAIDISSEUR. 577

ment in our gardens and on our walls. It will save labour,
time, expense, and make walls, and permanent trellises for
fruit growing infinitely more agreeable to the eye and useful
to the cultivator than ever they were before.

There are various forms which I need hardly describe, as
they are so well shown
in the accompanying F‘G- 329-
cuts. The first (Fig.329) . l
is a reduced fiaure of gi§7u§l< "
one about threeb inches 'mllil & “lilllll
long: and 0f WhiCh I The Raidisseur.
brought some specimens
from Paris. The engraver has placed it in the best position
to show its structure. The wire that passes in through one
end is slipped through a hole in the axle ; the other end is
attached to the tongue, as shown in the engraving, and
then by the aid of a key, Fig. 330, placed on the square

     
     
 

 
     

  

FIG. 330.

 

Key of Raidisseur.

end of the axle, the whole is wound much as a guitar
string is wound round its peg. The first form figured is
very much used in the best gardens, and always seemed to
me to do its work effectively.

The next figure is that of the Raidisseur invented by
Collignon and re-
eommended by Tim-331-
Du Breuil. It
does not differ
much from the
preceding. D _
ShOWS the POth Collignon’s Raidisseur.
of insertion of
the wire that has to be tightened; B the fastening of

P P

 

578 IIORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

the other end of the wire; and A the head on which the
key is placed. Fig. 332 is a side view of the same imple-
ment. The fore-
going kinds are
galvanized, just
like the wire.
. That shown by
Side View of Cellignon’s Raidisseur. Fig. 333 is a

very simple one,

not galvanized, which was much used in the fruit
garden of the Paris Exhibition. This last form is surely
such as can be readily and cheaply produced in any
manufacturing town. The best of these tighteners cost but
a few pence _; and if it were not so, it would still be profit-

Fm. 332.

 

Fm. 333.

 

 

 

Ruidisseur used in the garden of the Exhibition.

able to employ them, in consequence of the great saving
they effect, by enabling us to use a very thin wire, which is
quite as efficient and infinitely neater than the ponderous
ones now generally employed by us, where the nail and
shred have given way to some costly system of wiring.
Sinee writing the foregoing I have found a much im-
proved and very simple raidisseur in use at Thomery. Fig.
33‘}. represents its actual size. It is simply a little pieee of
east-iron eosting little more than a garden nail—so small that
its presenee on wall or trellis does not look awkward, as in
the ease of some of the larger kinds, and very effective.
I never met with it except in the garden of M. Rose-

7:

MATERIAL FOR. TYING PLANTS. O79
Charmeux at Thomery. The walls there are very neatly
wired by its help, and it is equally useful for espaliers. I
have indeed never visited a garden in which the walls and
trellises were so neatly done, and all by means of this
simple strainer and the galvanized wire. Fig: 334 shows
the wire strained tight, and is a little more than half the size
I recommend. Messrs. J. B. Brown and Co., of 90, Cannon-
street, have at my request cast a great number of these,
and can supply them in any quantity and at a very low
rate. They are made of malleable cast—iron, and are gal-
vanized. The edges of the division in the head of this
little implement being sharp, those of the specimen I
brought from France were filed to prevent them cutting
the wire in the straining; but any danger from this source

FIG. 334.

 

 

The simplest and best form of Raidisseur.

is quite obviated by allowing the wire to be loose enough
to permit of one coil being wound round the neck of the
raidisseur before the real strain is applied. It is almost
needless to add that the wire is simply placed in the groove
in the head of the raidisscur, which is then turned, and
finally tightened with a key like that for the other forms.
MATERIAL FOR TYING PLANTs.—The drop wears away the
stone in a far larger sense than is usually accepted with
this trite saying. Petty cares often help to wear away the
soul, and petty details occupy much of our life. Small
indeed, then, must be that which we can call beneath our
notice. The tying of plants, of fruit trees, of anything
and everything in a garden, is not often a conspicuous
cfl’ort ; but it occupies on the whole a great deal of time,
even in small places. In larger ones operations of this
P P 2

580 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

kind often occupy several men for weeks at a time. The
material usually employed with us is bass matting, and in
most large gardens a number of bass mats are annually cut
up and used for this purpose. Of late years they have
trebled in price. There is the labour of cutting them into
shreds, and of selecting the best strings for tying, but after
all the trouble a perfect and a cheap material is not the
result.

This expense may be done away with, and a much better
material secured, by simply planting a few tufts of the
common glaucous Rush (Juncus glaucus) in some moist
spot, or, where much tying is to be done, a fewdozen tufts.
The stems of this plant are smooth and ready for use at
any moment, and are suited for tying everything except
the strong or “ mother branches ” of fruit trees (for which
twigs of the yellow osier are best fitted) and the finest
and youngest shoots of hothousc plants. The Rush may be
cut green and used out of hand, or it may be cut soon after
flowering for Winter use in a dried state. When wanted
in winter it is desirable to steep it in water a couple of
hours before it is used, so as to insure the requisite flexi-
bility. It forms a neat and lasting tie, and is not knotted
like the matting, but simply twisted, then pinched off with
the nail or cut with the knife, and one of the ends turned
back a little. For tying the young shoots of fruit trees
to an cspalier it is admirable, as it is for most other pur-
poses of training. When men are accustomed to it, they
work with greater facility with it than with anything
else. \Vhen green it is a matter of no trouble for a horny
hand to pinch it instead of cutting it off ; thus the work-
man has not the trouble of employing a knife, and has both
hands free.

The dried grass of Lygeum Spartum is also used in
France to a great extent for gardening purposes. It is a
Spanish grass which I have grown pretty freely on cold
soils in England, and which will do well on warm ones
everywhere with 11s. It is suitable for very strong and
durable tying. Thus the two best materials for this purpose
may be grown in any garden without cost. If the expensive

MATERIAL FOR TYING GRArrs AND BUDS. 581

matting were as cheaply got as these, the fact that the Rush
and Grass are ready rolled in twine-like fashion, should make
us prefer them. In tying carefully it is necessary to twist
the matting, and thus a good deal of time is lost.

In addition to the above hardy plants, the “ grass ” of
which may be directly used for tying, the leaves of the New
Zealand Flax, Phormium tenax, are very largely employed for
that purpose about Paris. This plant is grown everywhere in
greenhouses for room decoration. The long leaves being
produced in great abundance, the old leaves that are cut
away are preserved,
thus securing a strong F’G- 335-
and excellent material
for tying.

MATERIAL FOR TYING
GRArrs AND Buns.—
The dried stems of
Sparganium ramosum,
the Bur reed, have re-
placed woollen thread
for budding purposes in
France. In texture they
are peculiarly suited to
this purpose, being soft,
dense, elastic, and tough,
so as to enable the ope-
rator to secure an effec-
tive tie. The plant is Sparganium ramosum.

a common waterweed,

growing everywhere in Britain along the margins of ponds,
streams, and ditches, and about three feet high. It is
therefore a very cheap material, and may be cut and stored
in any quantity for budding and grafting purposes.

I have seen it in extensive use in some of the largest
and best nurseries in France, and have no doubt that it
is an economical and real improvement. The stems of
the common Bullrush (Typha latifolia) are used for like
purposes, but not so extensively. By means of these,
many French grafters have been enabled to do away

 

582 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

with all expense for woollen and cotton thread. The Spar-
ganium is gathered in summer when fully grown ; the leaves,
which are united at the base, separated, and placed to dry
in a shed or barn hung up in bundles. When required for
use they are cut into the necessary length, from fourteen to
twenty inches, steeped in water for a few hours, and then
slightly dried by pressure or wringing. In large field
nurseries, where there is no water, bundles of the Bur reed
are simply kept moist and flexible by being buried in the
earth, and they may also be kept so by placing them in a
cellar. It' must not be used very wet, and if too dry it
is more liable to crack. It is found to bend best when ap-

   

    

 

      

Fm. 3' .
1 __1. m '1 111 11111111111171111.11111111111111111111 lllllllllfljllll 1
1,1 11111111111.11.1111‘l' 111111112111. A

      

1* 1'1Intlflth‘y'mm‘ |::;(n111111“r. "Hum 111111111

 

 

 

 

Mode of Protecting Walls. A, Paillasson or neat straw mat, two feet wide,
held between laths, for placihg under the pe1manent copings while there
is danger of frost.

plied edgeways to the body which it is to envelope, and
slightly twisted. For all kinds of budding and grafting,
except large cleft-grafting and the like, it is as good a ma- .
terial as can be found.

PROTECTION FOR. \VALL AND ESPALIER Times—Having
several times spoken of the deep temporary copings the care-
ful French cultivator uses for his fruit wall, I here give a
rough figure showing a section of the tile-coped wall, and
projecting from beneath it the supports for the temporary
protection. The Fleneh take a good deal of t10uble with
temporary copings, and find them of the g1eatest 1111111 in
getting regnl 11 mops; 101 the f1osts a1e severe in the

PROTECTION FOR WALL AND ESPALIER TREES. 583

northern parts and all around Paris, and, in fact, over nearly
all the region north of the river Loire—the most important
of France. The best appliance of this kind I have ever
seen consisted of narrow lengths of bituminized felt nailed on
cheap frames from six feet to eight feet long, and about
eighteen inches wide. The use of these on walls devoted to
the culture of choice Pears, Peaches, 850., would result in a
marked improvement. The temporary coping has a great
advantage in being removable, so that the trees may get the
full benefit of the summer rains when all danger is past,
and not suffer from want of light near the top of the
wall, as they would if such a

wide protection were perma- .. FIG- 337-

nent. I believe that similar . asuwaaymé ‘7
copings would be much “2:35 i i
more effective than any of
‘ the netting and canvas pro-
teetions now in use in Eng-
lish gardens.

The commonest temporary
coping seen in France is
made of straw nailed between , _-
laths; it seems t0 answer its \Vall with permanent coping of tiles,
purpose very well, but is Eiiilvlfliiiiitriiiitd Straw mats: and
not so neat and satisfactory
as that made of bituminized felt. W'hatever kind of protec-
tion be employed, care is taken to throw the wet well off
the wall ; the slightest experience of the effects of frost on
vegetation will show the wisdom of this course. Of what
does it avail to place a net or a few branchlets of trees
before a fruit wall, if we allow the cold rains and sleet to
dash on to every tender little brush of pollen-bearing stamens
on the wall? Even when the French do employ canvas in
front of a wall they usually use the wide temporary coping
too, thus keeping the wall dry and preventing radiation.

Whatever imperfect efforts we make to protect our
wall trees, nobody in England ever thinks of protect-
ing espaliers, but the French sometimes do it with
success. Fig. 338 shows a mode of arranging two

 

584 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

rows of trees in a manner different to that already shown
on the double trellis. The main supports are strong posts.
French gardens are usually surrounded by walls, and

FIG. 338.

 

r

 

Double l'kpnlier with a row of (‘nrdnns on each side, showing Mode of Protecting
the whole in Spring. A, \Vooden support; B, li, Supports for protection;
1“, 1“, Wide temporary copings of neat straw Inats, held by iron brackets;
11,“, Galvanized wires tixed at E, E, descending at intervals and fixed
in the iron posts. L, L, and to stones in the ground; G, One ofthe lines run.
ning across the lispaliers from the walls of the garden.

in establishing a system of trellising for growing the ehoieer
pears, it is considered wise to stretch an occasional wire from
the trellis to the adjoining walls, or from one trellis to

PROTECTION FOR WALL AND ESPALIER TREES. 585

another. Thus if a whole square is devoted to galvanized
trelliscs for Pears—at say nine feet high, and at from fifteen
to twenty feet apart, the intermediate space being cropped,

FIG. 339.

 

 

“‘all protected with wide temporary coping and canvas curtains. E, Iron sup-
port; 1), Horizontal Cordon Apple on Paradise Stock; B and C, eyes in the
iron to permit of galvanized wires being passed through. These wires support
the canvas which is stretched from C to B.

the trellises, in addition to being individually well supported,
afford each other a mutual support by means of strong
Wires running across all the lines of trellising, say at thirty

586 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

feet apart. At the bottom run rows of horizontal cordon
Apples of the most important kinds. The posts are placed

Fm. 340.

 

Mode of Fixing Iron Support, &c., shown

in preceding Figures.

closer together in erecting
the trellises than when the
trees are abandoned to the
vicissitudes of the weather.

I describe this more for
what it suggests than any-
thing else. Some similar
arrangement is badly
wanted with us, and should
not be difficult to contrive.
By having a few lines of
choice Apples trained on
the low cordon system at
each side, and two good
rows of Pear trees, a great
deal of valuable fruit could
be protected at the same
time by making some ar-

rangement whereby the whole could be covered with cheap

canvas.

SIIADING r011 CONSER\'ATOB1ES.—-A mode of shading con-
servatories and glasshouses by means of laths and slender

rods of wood is com-
mon in France, and
several inquiries about
it induced me to ob-
tain specimens of the
various kinds used, and
have them figured.
The illustrations repre-
sent small portions of
this shading of exactly

Fm. 341.

 

the full size. The large Portion of Lath Shade for roof of Conservatory:

one of latlis united by

full size.

wire is frequently used for the outer side of the roof of con-
servatories, in which position it is suppOsed to save a
great deal of trouble as compared with the common modes

ATTACHING WIRE T0 GARDEN WALLS, ETC. 587

of shading by canvas and like materials. It is sold in
lengths about a yard
wide, but may be
readily adapted to the
roof of a conservatory
of any shape, and fitted
into the smallest
nooks on curvilinear
roofs. The two smaller .
- Shade of very slender rods of wood and twme:
Sizes woven together full size.
by twine would seem
better adapted for the inner sides of windows in corri-
dors and conservato-
FIG- 343- ries. The three kinds
‘ are made by M. Mus-
serano, Rue du Fau-
bourg St.Denis, Paris,
and the large one, M.
Lebeauf, 6, RueVesale,
J ardin dcs Plantes.
ATTACHING W'IRE
TO GARDEN-WALLS,
TRELLISING, &c.—If
there be any one practice of French horticulturists more
worthy of special recommendation to the English fruit-
grower than another, it is their improved way of placing
wires on walls, or in any position in which it may be
desired to neatly train fruit trees. So many have been the
failures in British gardens as regards the placing of the
Wire to which to afiix the trees, that the system has been
given up as useless and too expensive, and many have said
that the old-fashioned shred and nail are yet the best.
But there is a very much better and sounder way, and I
am completely converted as to the value of the French
mode of Wiring here illustrated. In the first instance,
several strong iron spikes are driven into the brickwork
at the ends—in the right angle formed by two walls—
nails with eyes in them being driven in in straight lines,
exactly in the line of direction in which the wire is

 

 

 

Shade of small Laths and slender Rods united
by twine: full size.

588 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

wanted to pass. The wires are placed at about ten
inches apart on the walls, and the little hooks for their
support, also galvanized, are fixed at about ten feet apart
along each wire. The exact distance between the wires must,
however, be determined by the kind of tree and the form to
be given to it. If horizontal training of the branches be
adopted, the wires had better be placed to form the lines
which we wish the branches to follow; if the branches are
vertical, as in Fig. 243, we need not be so exact. The wire—-

._._.___.__________..______——__.__________-_

 

 

 

 

 

l
-1”

 

Mode of arranging wires on walls for training fruit trees with vertical or hori-
zontal branches. A, Position ofraidisseur; B, Nails with eyes, through which
the wire is passed.

about as thick as strong twine—is passed through the little

hooks, fastened at both ends of the wall into the strong iron

nails, and then made as straight as a needle and as tight as

a drum, by being strained with the raidisseur. The wires

remain at about the distance of half an inch or three quarters

from the wall.

If we consider the expense of the shreds and nails, the
cutting of the former, the destroying of the surface of the
walls by the nails, and the leaving of numerous holes for
vermin to take refuge in ; the great annual labour of nailing,
and the miserable work it is for men in our cold winters and

ATTACHING WIRE TO GARDEN WALLS, ETC. 589

springs,—it will be freely admitted that a change is wanted
badly. The system of wiring a wall above described is
simple, cheap, almost everlasting, and excellent in every
particular; and it must before many years elapse be nearly
universally adopted in our fruit gardens. A man may do
as much work in one day along a wall wired thus as he
could in six with the old nail and shred. As to galvanized
wire having an injurious effect on the fruit trees trained on
it, it is simply nonsense; I will not therefore waste space and
the intelligent reader’s time by discussing it. Given a
concrete wall, as described elsewhere in this book, smoothly

FIG. 345.

 

 

    

.‘ ' " i ‘§‘ ' v 1/ - ‘
. . fl, [g “E , _____
x —- , - ‘
w ,, 733‘ 5,14,”- x
v—“IL’ lf‘}g57‘;\\\\§.l\\ “
wag-“WW -,— ‘lgfig'fi‘wr‘T-‘fl
, ‘ , :__a_.

 

. n.-- -— ,—

“ _— _-_/ -. ,.,\ WV”

\Vall with Galvanized Wires for training Trees.

plastered, and wired thus, what fruit trees could be in a
more excellent position than those upon it? The tempo-
rary coping taken off after all danger from frost was past,
every leaf would be under the refreshing influence of the
summer rains, all the advantages of walls as regards heat
would be obtained, the syringing engine would not be
counteracted by countless dens offering dry beds and com-
fortable breeding-places to the enemies of the gardener and
the fruit tree, while the appearance of the wall would be all
that could be desired.

The wire and the raidisseur are also efficiently used so as
to do away with any necessity for nailing in training the

HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

590

Peach and other trees, when trained as cordons, as shown

When the lines which the

in the accompanying figure.

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.9 .0 .m .< .amE é o— 27;» 353m.“ mnowhoo o:

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L------:~1 -

 

 

 

 

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‘ L

1

fix 1?:

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wires are to follow are fixed upon, bolts and eyes are driven
in, the wire is fixed to and passed through them, and then

made firm, as shown in the illustrations.

GALVANIZED WIRE USED IN THE FRUIT GARDEN. 591

The French apply the term “ espalier” to their wall trees,
and in adopting the word from them we have transferred it
to trees standing in the open, but trained in a similar
manner. They term our espalicr “ contre-espalier,” but
the terms wall tree and espalier are distinctly and gene-
rally understood among us, and therefore it is better to
employ them in their usual sense. The simplicity and
excellence of their mode of making supports for espaliers
Will be better shown by the figures in the account of
Versailles than by verbal description. The mode of making
trellises for espalier trees now being extensively adopted
in France is far
superior to our FIG- 347-
own mode, and
owes its excel-
lence to the
abundant use of
slender galva-
nized wire and
the little tight-
ening imple-
ments, or rai-

 

disseurs.
The wire,
which is so uni- -71: f; ZM/mnwauaae,
versally useful wan Wired for Cordon Training.

for the fruit gar-

den, is sold in twenty-three different sizes. Of this an in-
termediate size, 12, 13, 01' 14, is that best suited and usually
selected for strong and permanent garden work, albeit a
mere thread to the costly bolt-like irons we use. The sort
suited for walls is sold at about 3l. 63. for 100 kilogrammes,
equal to a little more than 220 lbs. English. Each kilo-
gramme (a trifle more than 2 lbs. 3 oz.) of this afi'ords more
than 131 English feet of wire. The price given is that for
the second quality of wire,- the first quality of the same
pattern costs about 65'. 6d. more for the 220 lbs. Thus, of
this wire of the very best quality, and such as, if placed
properly in its position, is as permanent as it is useful,

592 IIORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

200 lbs. avoirdupois may be obtained for less than 41., and
220 lbs. will extend a distance of 13,123 English feet. This
size will also suit well for espaliers, No. 12 being strong enough
for the coarsest trees on walls or trellises, and 13 and 14 quite
large enough for general work. A size, or even several sizes
smaller, will suffice for dwarf trellises with three rows of wire
or so, to accommodate very dwarf trees of any shape the culti-
vator may desire. Since writing the above, I have been in-
formed by Messrs. J. B. Brown and Co. , of 90, Cannon-street,
that they supply the chief Parisian houses who furnish French
fruit-growers with this useful galvanized wire. The sizes
appropriate for cordons, trellises, &c., are sold at from 308.

FIG. 348.

 

Trellis for young Trees in Nurseries.

to 446. per mile, so that the material is cheap enough. It
is sold by weight, No. 12 size being 313. per cwt. of 1241
yards, and a smaller size 3-18. per cwt. of 2031 yards.
Those who merely want a little wire for experimenting with
cordons can buy it by length, the smaller size at 2.9. 3d.,
the larger at 38. 6d. pe1 100 y.ards

In some of the best fruit nurseries I noticed a simple and
efl‘eethc kind of trellising used for training young wall and
cspalier trees. It is useful in enabling the French to keep
in stock trees for these purposes to a greater age than is
the case in our own nurseries, and for various purposes
should prove useful to the grower of young fruit trees. A

EDGINGS FOR PARKS, PUBLIC GARDENS, DRIVES, ETC. 593

larger and modified application of the same plan would do
well for large espalier trees; indeed, I have seen it applied
with good effect, and it perfectly suits a method which is
not uncommon in France, of keeping the upper branches of
trees, trained horizontally, shorter than the lower ones (Fig.
36-1), so as to secure perfect vigour in the lower branches.
This trellis may be established at a trifling cost by using light
posts of rough wood, or, if permanent, and greater strength
be desired, of T-iron. In either case the posts must be
firmly fixed. The wire should be passed through a hole or
strong eye in the top of the pole, and fixed with stones
or irons in the ground. In order to train the shoots
straight, their rods may be extended from the post to the
wires with but little trouble. Other illustrations of the
neatest and best trellises in use in French gardens occur in
several parts of this volume. Those in the Imperial gardens
at Versailles cannot be surpassed for appearance and
durability.

EDGINGS FOB. PARKS, PUBLIC GARDENS, SQUARES, DRIVES,
&c.—The edgings in gardens have a very important bearing
on their general aspect, and often on their cleanliness. Hosts
of people with gardens are continually looking out for a good
edging, and many are taken in by the aspect of those made
of tiles, material, &c. Any variety of brick, imitation stone,
or terra-cotta edging, is the ugliest and most unsatisfactory
thing that can be admitted into an ornamental garden.
Massive edgings of stone around panels, in geometrical
gardens, are of course not included in those alluded to.
Pottery edgings are enough to spoil the prettiest garden
ever made, and are as much at home round a country seat
as a red Indian at a mild evening party.

Looking at them as they are carefully arranged by ex-
hibitors in one or two of our public gardens, you may
possibly think they are clean, symmetrical, and everything
to be desired. But when brought home and arranged
round the borders their true charms begin to display them-
selves. Being all of an exact pattern, they must be arranged
so as to look quite straight in the line. If they wabble
about, one this way and one that, the line is not agreeable,

QQ

594 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

even granting that the things themselves are tolerable. It
is difficult to “ set” them easily and cheaply, so that they
will remain erect. To have them set by a mason is a plan
resorted to by some; but it is simply a way of wasting
money. Of course, a good workman may arrange them
neatly enough by ramming down the soil firmly on each
side ; but even then, they are, after all, the worst variety of
edging known. They are also often of a texture that
cracks into small pieces with the first frost, though there
are some much more tenacious. The expense in the first
instance is heavy, and one way or another they become un-
satisfactory, till there is no tolerating them any longer, and

FIG. 349.

 

 

Showing the cfl’ect of Rustic Iron Etlgings in the public gardens.

they are thrown by with the old iron or the oyster
shells.

The reason why people have resorted to them is, that the
cdgings ordinarily used often prove disappointing and dirty,
and they long for something that will be neat and tidy at
all times. To abuse a bad thing without offering a better,
or any at all, is often no better than to stand still and tolerate
a nuisance ; but in this instance I am able to recommend a
capital permanent edging—everlasting, in fact, and with
nothing that could offend the most critical taste. It is
simply made of rustic rods of cast iron, in imitation of the.
little edgings of bent branchlets that everybody must have

EDGINGS FOR PARKS, PUBLIC GARDENS, DRIVES, ETC. 595

seen. They are evidently cast from the model of a bent
branchlet, generally about as thick as the thumb, but they
are of various sizes. The marks where the twigs are sup-
posed to have been cut off are visible, and altogether the
thing looks as rustic as as could be desired, is firm as a rock
when placed in position, and, in a word, perfect. These
irons are of course stuck in the ground firmly, and as shown

  
  

  
       

Fm. 350.
TWA/1i f“ m/
A 1 9 (/5 i
, . \. z'

.‘ ~ .. ‘ _ M3 'f .v‘_ v}? «\V: s. \xs‘xr :‘c V» “f“: ‘33 I: 5 3‘ 1 '
\Q‘ fgs ‘\ \“¥‘\\ Q} i\ .\§; \\ A?» $/ _‘~‘\ ‘ ,»/\ W}! \.\\ \.
V‘» .,'\ -\x ”5‘ _ . ., ~ 9. I, 5 \ \ 5".
\ij ‘ oss N35. :xN‘XV _. \‘\\\‘\ «:.-\\~\\~3§\
«\x‘. E \ \ > \‘x i.\;~\,\ Qv\\£.‘"‘ \\‘\\\‘\§ ~ ..-.\§_\\f\.\.\.\\§\\\\\\\

The large Iron Edgings (nineteen inches in span) used in the public parks.

in the figures. They may be set up by anybody. The fact
that they are not stiff and ugly tile-like bodies prevents
their ofl'ending the eye if one or two should fall a little out
of the line here and there. But this is nearly impossible;
for at the place where every two sticks cross each other they
are tied by a scrap of common wire.

They should be so plunged in the walk,.or by the side of

FIG. 351.

 

Cast Iron Edgings (twelve inches span) used in the public gardens.

the walk, that about six inches of the little fence appears
above ground. This, however, may be varied with the size
of the subjects which they 'are used to encompass; six or
seven inches is the height given for edges for ordinary pur-
poses. They are equally useful for the park, pleasure-
ground, or even the kitchen-garden. In parks and pleasure-
grounds, however, we usually have edgings of grass, and
Q Q 2

596 lIOltTICUL'I‘URAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

therefore it may occur to the reader that they are useless
therein 3 but the little fences of bent wood which furnished
the idea for these iron edgings were generally used to pre-
vent grass near drives and walks from being trodden
upon; and of course those now recommended will answer
the purpose better. However, it is in much-frequented
places along drives, and in public gardens and parks, that
their chief merit will be found. They may be seen in
every public garden in Paris, from the gardens round the
Louvre, where you may notice them obscurely running along
outside of the Ivy cdgings, to the slopes of the Buttes Chau-
mont and the more frequented parts of the Bois de Bou-
logne; and they must ere long be as widely adopted in
England, for it is impossible to find a better or more pre-
sentable edging. In all squares or lawns where croquet is
played they will, if set rather deeply, be found peculiarly
useful in preventing the balls from running over the beds
and breaking the plants. In some London squares I have
recently noticed the beds raised bodily to a height of fifteen
inches above the level, as a protection against croquet balls.
All this trouble might be saved in a few minutes by placing
these rustic iron cdgings around the beds.

Tun CLoeIiE.—-—This is simply a large and cheap bell-
glass, which is used in every French garden that I have
seen. It is the cloehe which enables the French market
gardeners to excel all others in the production of winter
and spring salads. Acres of them
may be seen round Paris, and
private places have them in
proportion to their extent—from
the small garden of the amateur
with a few dozen or score, to
the large one where they require
several hundreds or thousands of
them. They are about sixteen
inches high, and the same in dia-
meter at the base, and cost in
France about a franc a piece, or a penny or two less if
bought in quantity.

 

The L‘loehe as used in Winter-
Lettuee culture.

THE CLOCHE. 597

The advantages of the cloches are—they never require any
repairs; they are easy of carriage when carefully packed ;
with ordinary care they are seldom broken; they are easily
cleaned—a swill in a water tank and a wipe with a brush
every autumn clear and prepare them for their winter work.
They are useful for many purposes besides salad growing ; for
example, in advancing various crops
in spring, raising seedlings, and
striking cuttings; and finally, they
are very cheap when bought in
quantity. But of course it is only
in market gardens that they will be
required in numbers ; in some small
gardens not more than a few dozen
will be wanted. Every garden should
be furnished with them according to U _

, , llie Cloche as used in the
its Size; and when we get used to raising of seedling plants.
them and learn how very useful

they are for many things, from the full developing of
a Christmas Rose to the forwarding of early crops in
spring, I have no doubt they will be much in demand. It
is not only in winter that they are useful, but at all seasons,
both in indoor and outdoor propagation and seed sowing.
In France seedlings of garden crops likely to be destroyed
by birds or insects are frequently raised under the clocbe,
and the same practice will occasionally be found advan-

tageous in this country.

FIG- 354- Usually the cloche is made with-
out a knob, as that appendage renders
their package a much greater difficulty
and increases the cost, so that practical
men use onlythe one without the knob,
like the specimens first figured. One

Cloche with knob. with a knob may, however, be had,
but it is not to be recommended.

Allusion has been made at p. 146 to the use of small
bell-glasses with openings at the top. It would be a great
improvement if some cloches were made in like manner,
and this particularly for propagation in tan-beds and hot

 

 

598 HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, ETC.

pits. The opening would afford very slight though bene-
ficial ventilation, and give a means of carrying or shifting
the cloche with one hand only. I am informed that there
will be no difficulty in making them thus without additional
trouble or expense, as soon as the firm who will undertake
their manufacture in England have full preparations made.
When not in use the careful cultivator puts his cloches in
some bye place, in little piles of half a dozen in each, a
piece of wood not more than half an inch thick and an inch
and a half square being placed between each, so as to prevent
them from settling down on each other. Workmen used
to them carry two or three in each hand in conveying

Fm, 355.

 

The Cloche as used in the Propagating-house.

them from place to place, by putting a finger between each.
In commencing to use them in our gardens it would be well
to see that they are placed in some spot where they will
not be in danger of breakage. The cloche must not be
confounded with the dark and very large bell glass that was
in common use many years ago in our market gardens, and
which may yet be seen here and there. These were even
dearer than the hand-glasscs by which they were driven out
of use. The French cloche does not cost one-fourth so
much as a hand-light—and moreover does not, require both
painter, glazier, and plumber for keeping it in repair. It
will prove a distinct improvement in every class of garden.
How to procure these cloches has hitherto been the great

THE CLOCHE. 599

difficulty. Many have been deterred from employing them
by the trouble, expense, and loss consequent on ordering
them from France, and I have always despaircd of their
becoming useful to cultivators generally till they were pro-
duced in England at a cheap rate. Even if the carriage
was not as heavy as it is, the risk of conveying such very
fragile articles across the Channel is such as would prevent
us from getting them in a satisfactory way.

I am pleased to announce that Messrs. E. Breflit and Co.,
proprietors of the Aire and Calder Glass Bottle Company’s
\Vorks in Yorkshire, well known for its productions, are
making preparations for their manufacture on an extensive
scale. They will be able to supply them soon, and will have
an abundant stock by the time it is necessary to employ
them over next winter’s crops of Salads and other vegetables
requiring their protection. They propose to sell them at
from 10d. to Is. each, according to the quantities required,
and a small addition for package and carriage will put them
down in every part of the kingdom. Messrs. Breffit and Co.
have offices at 83, Upper Thames-street, EC. ; stores at
Free Trade Wharf, Broad-street, Ratclifi', E., 120, Duke-
street, Liverpool—the seat of manufacture being at Castle-
ford, near Normanton, Yorkshire. At any of the addresses
orders will be taken and executed as soon as possible. It
is fortunate that the manufacture of the clochc has been
taken up by a firm with every means of carrying it on in
the best manner, and with stores in the north and in
Liverpool, as well as in London. They will be supplied to
the nursery and seed as well as to the glass trades at whole-
sale prices. '

In consequence of the fact that many of the articles
mentioned in this chapter have not till recently been obtain-
able in this country, it may save trouble in inquiries to
state that Messrs. J. B. Brown 8: C0,, of 90, Cannon-street,
E.C., have undertaken to keep a stock of them, including
raidisseurs, chairs, shaded seats, iron implements, cdgings in
rustic iron, galvanized wire, and everything necessary for
the making of improved fruit trellises, etc.

600

CHAPTER XXVII.

NOTES or A HOMICULTURAL TOUR THROUGH PARTS or
FRANCE IN 1868.

DURING the past summer I visited various parts of France,
with the view, as usual, to observe interesting examples of
fruit culture and horticulture generally. These notes,
although dealing with several localities far removed from
Paris, will yet be considered quite admissible here, from
their relation to the fruit question in which we are all
so much interested.

LYONs.—Great improvements in the way of creating pro-
menadcs, parks, squares, and gardens are visible in this fine
city as well as at Paris, and the noble public garden situated
outside the city, near the banks of the Rhone, is one of the
finest I have ever seen. A detailed description of it would
require too much space, but a few notes of the chief points
observed during a hurried visit may be of interest. Enter-
ing it on a bright midsummer morning at seven o’clock, the
first thing that struck my eye was the feathery spray from
the quantity of self-acting hose employed in keeping the
turf green—no easy task in these parts. It is the same
plan as that used in Paris which is elsewhere described;
and it has the same agreeable result—fresh green grass
at all times. The place is different to any we have in
England, partaking of the characters of park, botanic
garden, and zoological garden, all so combined that a high
degree of beauty everywhere prevails. Here you get a
glimpse of a railed field, with cattle grazing as in a well-
kept pasture at home—a few minutes more, and an immense
garden comes in view, presently to be succeeded by a group
of conservatories, a fruit garden, a vineyard, a collection of

LYONS. 601

herbaceous and alpine plants, and so on, while frequently
magnificent masses of colour meet the view.

The purely scientific portion is not allowed to disfigure
the garden, while it is as useful as in public gardens where
it is allowed to destroy every trace of repose or naturalness.
It is arranged in circular beds, handy for reference and also
for keeping the plants distinct. The fruit garden is not
large, and aims more at showing the various forms of fruit-
trees than obtaining crops of fruit. Of course it is impos-
sible to get a good result as regards produce, and grow in a
small space many varieties in all sorts of forms. The vase
form was very perfect here; it seems more ornamental than
useful. A novel way of growing Peaches was in operation.
It was a trellis backed with the neat straw mats so common
in French gardens. At the top a slight provision was made
on which to place a narrow straw mat, so as to protect
the trees in spring. Lathyrus ensifolius, a fine hardy
perennial kind, was observed here in flower. There is a
good deal of glass in the gardens, the larger conservatories
having Palms and fine-leaved subjects planted out and
arranged with admirable effect. Some of the smaller houses
are on a plan analogous to the very useful ones at La
Muette—a house placed at right angles to the others offers
free communication to all, and the workan when removing
tender plants from one house to the other have not to
expose them to the open air. The houses are mostly
shaded with a very strong and thick but small-meshed net-
ting, made out of the fibre of Lygeum Spartum. It seems
a decided improvement on the lath shadings so often used
on the Continent.

There seemed great activity and good management in the
hot-house department, and a capital feature was displayed
near it—a large trial ground. This disposed in parallel beds,
contained numbers of most things in the way of ornamental
plants for summer gardens, from Pelargoniums to Cle-
matises. There is a memorial column in the garden,
and between the wide steps of this column and its actual
base, a rather narrow cavity is left, from which springs a
healthy ring of Laurel. It is a novelty, and in good taste.

602 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

In many of the well-planted and shady promenades of
Lyons white stone seats are adopted instead of wooden ones,
and very well they look—simple stone slabs, with stone
supports of course.

Towards the close of the Paris Exhibition of 1867, a
noble Peach tree was shown by M. Morel, trained as a
Palmettc Verrier, and so well trained as to excite the admi-
ration of all who saw it. M. Morel lives at Vaise, a
suburb of Lyons, and to visit him was one of the chief
objects of my journey to this city. He is not a grower for
the market, or a person who devotes himself exclusively to
the culture of the Peach, but a general nurseryman. The
wall on which his Peaches are grown is on an average
thirteen feet high, and it is made of very cheap material—-
the common earth of the garden. First of all a foundation
is made, and the wall raised a little above the surface of the
ground with stone, so as to guard the chief material from
injury by frost and wet. Then the earth is laid in and well
battered down between boards, and on every layer of earth
there is deposited about an inch and a half of mortar. The
layers in one wall were about one foot deep; in another—-
the better wall of the two—they were about two feet deep;
andbetwecn each layer the thin scam of mortar could be
distinctly seen. The walls are about eighteen inches thick,
and capped with a coping of tiles, under which are inserted
iron supports for protection in spring. Wires are run along
these, so that the mats may be conveniently supported.

It is worthy of particular notice that while the Peach does
very well about here as a standard tree, good eultivators find
distinct advantages not alone in growing it against a wall,
but also in well protecting it when in flower. M. Morel
considered that it is of decided advantage in three ways-—
firstly, in securing a crop by preserving the flowers from
destruction by frost ; secondly, by saving the trees from the
malady caused by frosts and sleety rains falling on the
young leaves and budding shoots ; and thirdly, by the ten-
dency which a wide temporary coping has in making the
tree push more vigorously in its lower than in its upper
parts. A wide mat at the top of the wall in spring

LYONS. 603

obscures the light to a considerable extent from the points
of the branches at the top, and this prevents the sap from
running to the top as it generally does. However, a.
good trainer can always take care of that, and I merely
mention these things to show that, even in a climate
much better than that of Paris, protection to the wall is
considered a necessity. The trees away from walls are often
attacked by gum and the “ maladies caused by the cold of
spring,” to use M. Morel’s words. Does not this suggest
the true cause of the miserable aspect of many Peach trees
where careful protection in spring is not resorted to? In
numerous large British gardens, with plenty of means
and time for less important objects than fruit culture,
the walls are often left exposed or with the most meagre
protection—a net, with a clear space at top, so that there is
nothing whatever to prevent radiation or the cold sleety
rains of spring from descending straight on the young leaves
and flowers; while in many continental gardens, with but
a solitary man to attend to them, careful protection is regu-
larly given.

Parallel with the Peach wall runs a trellis for training
espalier trees, and this is also protected in spring, and in a
very simple way. A cross bar is supported by the upright
of the trellis, and lines of wire are run through it. Two
double lines of wire are employed, so that the neat straw
mats used for protection may be inserted between them, and
be thus kept quite firm. The portions of the walls here
occupied by the old and established trees were perfectly
covered with the healthiest and the finest subjects I have
ever seen; even the bases of the stems and the branches had
shoots trained over them, so that their surface was not
awkwardly visible, as is too often the case. The forms most
employed are the Palmette Verrier and the Candelabrum,
which is simply made by training branches vertically from a
horizontal shoot running near the ground. The pruning is
done in winter, when time and weather permit, and not in
spring, as is generally the case. There can be little gained
by waiting till streams of sap are ascending through the
branches, and a very little discernment suffices to distinguish

604 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

the various kinds of buds in winter as well as in spring. The
walls of earth cost about a franc fifty centimes a metre; of
stone, five francs. The earth walls, when well made, last for a
couple of centuries. I saw a house near at hand constructed
in the same way, which had been erected one hundred years.
An important point in M. Morel’s culture, is that he does not
stop the leading shoots, except when one happens to be
weak. The main branches are left at a distance of about
twenty-two inches apart. As to the state of fruit growing
about here, it is still in want of much improvement. It is
not easy, as M. Morel remarked, to get a new idea into the
heads of the humblcr classes of people; but a considerable
advance has been made during the past generation. Thirty
years ago, said M. More], a small Pear, of moderate
quality, was sold for three sous—now it is worth about one.
This good result has been brought about by the populariza-
tion of really good varieties.

I was nmeh disappointed in the departmental school of
fruit culture here. The aspect on entering was most doleful,
and the walls in some places wretchedly covered. This,
however, was explained by the fact that ver blanc had nearly
destroyed the garden. This is a pest which we are spared
in England, and of its destructive nature English cultivators
can have no idea. Some Peaches against the walls looked
very well , but many had perished from the ravages of the
dreaded grub, as had numbers of Pears, Apples, and all
sorts of fruit trees. I learnt nothing in this garden, but
from its upper part the beautifully diversified nature of the
environs of Lyons may be seen, everywhere dotted by well-
built villas, and in the distance a ruined arch—one of the
many traces of the great aqueduct constructed by the Romans
to convey water to the city from the distant mountains.
llercabouts are also traces of the great Roman roads which
radiated from hence to the Pyrenees, the Rhine, the Atlantic,
and Marseilles. “'hat a mighty grasp these old Romans
had of the world! The efforts of modern conquerors seem
puny compared to those of the eivilizcrs of the olden
time.

L’licou; liiiGioxALE DE LA SAL‘LSAIE.—Tll€l‘c are many

L’ECOLE REGIONALE DE LA SAULSAIE. 605

small departmental schools established with a view to spread
a knowledge of rural pursuits in France—this is one of a
few establishments with a more extended aim. It is si-
tuated in the department of Ain, a couple of hours’ journey
by rail and carriage from Lyons, and is principally an ex-
tensive school of agriculture. M. Verrier, after Whom the
form of tree known as the Palmetto V crrier was named by
Professor Du Breuil, was chief of the fruit-growing depart-
ment; but at the time of my visit he had been dead for
more than a year. The first sight of this, and indeed most
similar places in France, is not assuring 3 there is a want of
the finish which we Britons are in the habit of putting on
country seats, farms, and gardens, and, if I may so speak, a
hungry look about the place. However, a garden is to me
interesting and worthy of notice according to what it teaches
or suggests, and, as great men have not been above accepting
lessons from very humble ones, we must not conclude that
because a place, from want of funds or other causes, is not
so perfect as we had been led to expect, that it is therefore
unworthy of inspection.

The first thing observable in the fruit garden was an
almost total failure of the Pear crop—cold rains at the time
of flowering had accomplished it. What a “ paradisiaeal
climate!” The situation here is somewhat elevated, and
thoroughly exposed, in consequence of being flat and not
surrounded by sheltering woods or forests, and, although
much further south than Paris, there can be little doubt
that many parts of England are far more favourable to the
production of fruit. Apples were a better crop, but they
too, strange to say, were a failure—in consequence of the
very strong sun. In any case, they had fallen off to a great
extent. The original specimens of the Palmette Verrier are
to be seen here, and very fine some of them are. A marked
difference existed between the Easter Beurré Pear against
walls and the same variety grown away from their shelter and
protection. Away from the wall and without protection the
trees were a total failure, or in cases where they bore fruit
it was diseased and useless. Against walls, where the trees
had been efficiently protected in spring, the trees and fruit

606 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

were in perfect condition. This speaks for itself, and tells
us, with many other things I have seen in France, that it is
to well-managed walls we must look for the main improve-
ments in the culture of our finer fruits. Here the French
actually find that walls are not only a benefit but a necessity
for some hardy fruits, yet we have been going on for years
planting Pears in quantities away from walls, and paying
little proportionate attention to the kinds that ought to be
planted against them.

As the place is very much exposed to storms, peculiar
expedients have been resorted to, so as to secure the trees
against their influence. The practice of training trees with
the branches crossed and intertwined by way of mutual
support, was to be seen here in a large way, both in the
case of Apples and Pears. Cheap laths and sticks are first
used to train the trees into shape, and after they have
attained their full size, crossing and supporting each other,
the other supports are removed or allowed to rot. There
were many Apple trees trained on this principle, and so well
and firmly that there could be no doubt whatever that it is
perfectly practicable and good, and that the objections which
have been urged against it were entirely groundless. It
was said by some that the branches would destroy each other
by friction 5 there was ample evidence here that this was
, not the case, even with the strong winds that are nearly
always blowing. “'hcn I mentioned the objection to the
chief he was much amused, and simply pointed to a fine
line of Apple trees, eight feet high, mutually supporting
each other without the slightest injury. It is thus clear
that we may not only much improve the appearance of
our espaliers by adopting the system which I have
figured and described elsewhere, but make the trees self-
supporting. Better formed or more presentable espalicrs
than these could not be seen, Lllld, as they were well inter-
laced one with the other, the strong wind blowing on one
of the first days of July did not affect them in the
least.

In the case of very large pyramids planted here, another
expedient to protect them from the wind was adopted. As

L’ECOLE REGIONALE DE LA SAULSAIE. 607

is not unfrequently the case in French fruit gardens, the
branches of the pyramids are brought regularly in straight
lines from the bole of the tree—that is, the branches form
four, five, or six wings, as the case may be 3 five is perhaps
the most usual number. In the case I am describing there
are four wings to each pyramid ; but the branches, instead
of being stopped, as is usually the case, are trained in
straight lines from one pyramid to the other, so that they
cross each other, forming a wall of trellis work, an opening
being left at the bottom under which one may pass. In
one spot there were regular little squares formed thus
between every four trees—in fact, a green wall of from
twelve to fourteen feet high enclosed the visitor. I never
met with this elsewhere, and it was very well done.

An expedient to give additional support and strength to
the espaliers was, when employing the double trellis, to
let the two sides meet at top and lean against each other—
thus, A—instead of placing them vertically, as is the custom.
A line of trees trained in the vase form were united one
with the other by a strong arched branch, the branch
springing from the top of the vase; and this simply because
the place is open to fierce winds, which would render
such exposed trees insecure without some support. I
question if any garden could afford a better test of the
effect of wind on trained trees. Some that were standing
singly looked like very neat summer-houses. They were
pyramids, with the branches brought out from the main
stem in six lines, the branches in each line being of course
placed exactly one above the other. Trees are trained
thus so that the air and light may fully benefit all parts of
them. The character of a pretty bower was imparted to
the space between every two wings of the tree by simply
carrying an arched branch from wing to wing overhead.

There is here a very well-furnished Peach wall, made of
common earth firmly pressed between boards in the making,
and with a foundation of rough stones to prevent the hu-
midity sapping the base. This kind of wall is good enough
for its object, will last for ages if well made, and may be
coated and c0ped so as to look as ornamental as any other.

608 NOTES OF A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

It is even cheaper than the system of concrete wall-
building elsewhere alluded to. About Lyons I saw miles
of wall built in this way, and numerous houses as well,
and I am certain that it can be employed with advantage
in growing fruit for the market, and for private use. The
earth must be well battered down between boards, and
it should not be either too sandy or clayey. The
coping here is of tiles, not sloping down on both sides
of the wall, but running clean from front to back, the
higher side being reserved for the most important crop.
Beneath this coping wooden supports, for accommodating
a neat straw mat in spring, project about twenty inches
from the wall. This may seem to the English cultivator
an awkward and untidy mode of protection, but these
mats are very neatly and cheaply made in France (as has
been already mentioned), and they are of great use in
many ways, from placing on the north side of a line of
espalier trees to covering frames, and making a temporary
coping for walls. For frames alone their introduction
would be a benefit to us, as they afford a much better,
neater, and cheaper protection than bass mats; and as
these have latterly become so dear, they should prove the
more acceptable. Espaliers are here occasionally protected
with the neat straw mats by simply projecting from the
main support two little stays of iron or wood, which
carry a rude and cheap span of framework, on which
the mats are so placed in spring that the wind cannot
blow them off. In looking at a fine specimen of Bcurré
(l’Anianlis here, twenty-eight feet long and eight feet high,
with three crowns wrought above the general level of the
espalier, and loaded with fruit, M. Morel, the Peach grower,
laughingly observed that that kind of tree was not at all a
good one for the nurseryman; the upright and oblique
cordons planted against walls, and closer than people plant
(.‘abbagcs, were far better.

A young plantation of Asparagus here looked somewhat
like one of Celery. Trenches and plants were so distanced
that each stool was a yard apart from its fellows in every
way, and each plant was as carefully staked as if it were a

DIJON. 609

Dahlia in the garden of a careful amateur of that flower.
There is a rather well-kept sort of botanical garden here,
for the purpose of showing native, useful, culinary and
other herbs, and when passing through this the superinten-
dent said, pointing at a solitary plant of Rhubarb, “ You
cat that in England !” \Vhat a difference a few miles or
mere accident sometimes makes ! Here is a vegetable
second to no other, and which a race-so distinguished in
the kitchen should best know how to appreciate, and yet
it is almost unknown to them ; and what a loss that is, we
only can understand. There is a School of Dendrology
here, with the trees planted in their natural orders, and,
generally speaking, good facilities for teaching young men
with a taste for rural pursuits.

DIJON.—Thc home nursery of Lecontc was the only one
I visited, and a very neat and well-kept one it is. It is an
oblong piece of ground, about four acres in extent, and
well walled in on every side, the walls being well coped
with overlapping tiles. All the space on both sides of the
walls was planted with oblique cordon Pear trees, trained
on single galvanized wires, attached to two strong nails in
the walls. They were young trees, but the walls were very
nearly covered; the crop was nothing to speak of. The
trees, however, are too young to judge much by at present.
A wall about fifteen feet high was nearly covered with oblique
cordon Pears, and as they had so much room to rise, the
position seemed particularly suited to them. Near at hand
they were grown to the same height by projecting a trellis
above the garden wall, so as to form a very high screen of
cordon Pears above it. This was done by erecting strong
uprights of iron to the required height above the wall, and
then running galvanized wires from the bottom of the wall
to a strong horizontal wire or rod passing from upright to
upright at the top. Looking along the long side or middle
walks, cordon Apples could be seen stretching without in-
terruption from one end of the garden to the other, the
effect being very pretty indeed. They were planted a few
inches inside the box edging, and between it and lines of
handsome pyramidal Pears, conifers, &c., and, as usual, chiefly

R R.

610 NOTES or A ~HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

to fill up neatly and permanently a space that otherwise
could not be usefully occupied. They are about three
years old, supported on the usual slender galvanized wire,
and in many parts bore a very fair crop, though in others
they were nearly ruined by thrip. The little Lady Apple
was particularly fine; but generally the apples were like
the pyramidal pears and apples, a failure as regards crop.
However, of the two the cordons bore the best crop. The
Pear, as a horizontal cordon, was not so good as the Apple;
in fact, a failure, as is usually the case.

ANGERs.—This famous old town is known almost every-
where for its vast nursery gardens; there are, it is said,
one hundred nurserymen, small and great, in its neighbour-
hood. It is a fine climate, this of Anjou—so genial as to
developc the Tea plant in perfect health out of doors, and
with sun enough to spice the air with the fragrance of that
splendid evergreen, Magnolia grandiflora, which may be
seen used as a promenade tree in the Place immediately
outside the main entrance to the nurseries of M. A. Leroy.
There are many noble specimens and lines of this plant in
the nurseries, which are of vast extent—too much so, indeed,
to permit of one visiting them, unless with plenty of time
to spare. The Camellia does perfectly well in the open air,
and is grown to an enormous extent, nearly two acres of
ground being devoted to the production of young plants,
25,000 being grafted every year. At the time of my visit
(July 18), nearly all the beds were shaded from strong sun
by a thin spray of branches fastened between hurdles.
Many other things are propagated in great quantity—Pears
for example. Of one single variety, Easter Beurré, the
enormous number of 40,000 plants are annually “ worked,”
to use a propagating phrase. Of Duehesse d’Angoulémc
25,000 are yearly required; of \Villiams’s Bon Chre’tien,
25,000 ; that excellent Pear, Louise Bonnc d’Avranches, is
also required to the extent of 25,000 annually ; and Doyenné
d’Aleneon to 20,000 plants—so that the number of one
kind of l’ear used is alone sufficient to form a nursery of
itself. Observe the enormous number of Easter Beurre
(Doyenné d’lliver) required. This is the Pear which we

ANGERS. 611

import in such vast quantities from France in winter. In
the region around Paris this kind must be grown against
sunny walls. I need not add that it is folly to attempt its
culture in any other fashion in England.

For three weeks before the date of my visit fifty work-
men had been employed in budding here. The fruit trees
are budded as we bud Roses, and those in which the
buds fail are grafted in spring. In this way a year is
gained. There is a splendid collection of pyramid trees
grafted on the Quince stock, many of them of great size
and perfect symmetry, the ground being rich and deep, and
suiting the Quince to perfection. Every kind of fruit sold
or recognised as a variety of any merit is grown here;
Pears to the amazing number of one thousand and twenty-
eight varieties ; Vines, five hundred and fifty distinct varie-
ties; Apples, eight hundred ditto; Peaches, two hundred
and fifty, including forty-five of the best American kinds;
and so on. The Apple is planted to a considerable extent
as a horizontal cordon, and many varieties bear abundance
of fruit, some of the finer Russian kinds being gathered
before the date of my visit, 18th of July, 1868. The
following varieties were bearing abundantly as cordons:
J oanneting, Astrakan, “Tinter Pearmain, Archduchess Sophia,
Court Pendu Plat, President Dufoy, several kinds of Reinette,
several kinds of Calville, Transparent, and many others. It
is scarcely necessary to enumerate kinds, as nearly every
first-rate variety does well when trained in this way and
grafted on the true French Paradise stock.

Of the 450 acres of nursery ground in M. A. Leroy’s
establishment much is devoted to the culture of Conifers
and ornamental trees and shrubs, the peculiar feature of
the culture being that the Conifers when young are grown
in pots, for the sake of securing safe transport. The pots
are all plunged in the earth, and when the plants become
large they are placed in rough baskets and plunged in the
same manner. This is a better preparation than that of the
pot, secures safe carriage, and does not cause contortion of
the roots as pots do. These baskets are made in quantity by

R R 2

612 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

the firm ; were it not so, the expense would prove too great
to admit of this mode of culture.

There is a specimen of Ccdrus atlantica, about thirty
feet high, a graceful open tree, quite silvery, and dotted all
over with little nipple-like male cones—one solitary and
large female cone standing alone amongst them. It is
found to grow very much faster than the Cedar of Lebanon
in these grounds, and is so beautiful as to recommend itself
to every lover of Conifers. Some plants grown indoors in
England do very well here out of doors—Poinciana Gilliesi
and Lagerstroemia indica being particularly beautiful in
July. Bambusa mitis grows very freely, and has here
proved the best of the hardy Bamboos. The culture of
fruit trees against walls is far from satisfactory. It would
appear that the fine climate affords an excuse for careless-
ness in this respect; but I made slight efforts to see
the fruit culture of the district, as the climate is so unlike
our own that observations made in it are not at all so
applicable to our own culture as those gathered in the colder
parts of France.

The public garden here is a purely scientific institution,
directed by M. Boreau, a botanist well known for his
knowledge of European plants. He is particularly fond
of the wild French Roses, and described one of his own
finding (R. conspicua) as the most beautiful and showy
of all the wild Roses. Another interesting native plant
was an unusually large and vigorous Solomon’s Seal, named
Polygonum intermedium a subject that would repay culti-
vation. St. Dabeoc’s Heath, found in Connemara, in Ire-
land, occurs in a wood about fifteen miles from this city.

The nurseries of M. Louis Leroy, in the Route dc Paris,
are also very extensive, though most of his ground is at a
considerable distance from the town. The standard Mag-
nolias in this nursery are excellent, and a singular graceful
(.‘onifcr \Taxodium sinensis) claims attention from its novelty.
.\ specimen of \Vcllingtonia here, only eleven years of
age, is superb—twentyfivc feet high, and a noble tree in
every respect. There is a small public fruit garden in the
town, quite recently planted, and promising to be useful

 

NANTES. 613

in the future. Here, again, the horizontal cordons were in
good bearing, though scarcely more than a year old.

I was much indebted to M. Anatole Leroy, of the nur-
series in the Route de Paris, for his valuable assistance in
enabling me conveniently to see the horticulture of this
neighbourhood, on the interest of which I have barely
touched.

NANTEs.—The Jardin des Plantes here is quite a change
from what we are accustomed to see in French towns, and
is well worthy of a visit and of imitation. It is a beautiful
garden, in the highest sense, while it is instructive at the
same time, and quite a credit to the town for the way in
which it is kept. It is distinguished from the old style of
French public garden by the almost total absence of straight
lines, being varied in all its parts, and well and tastefully
planted on that style for which the best name is the
“natural.” It is embellished by one of the finest groves
of standard Magnolias (grandiflora) in Europe, if not the
finest, and their noble flowers perfume the whole place.
The planting is very tastefully done on the grouping system,
while along some of the walks alternate beds of Camellias
and Azaleas are placed, each bed being edged with Hepa—
ticas. The grass was as green and as freely dotted with
daisies as could be desired—the London parks at the same
date being as brown and parched as the desert. This
results from the excellent system of watering everywhere
adopted in French gardens. Finc-leaved plants, Cannas,
Ricinus, and the like, are abundantly used, and effect a
noble improvement, as they everywhere do.

A particularly noticeable feature in the garden at Nantes
is the way the rockwork is managed. It is not suitable for
true rock plants, nor capable of being embellished by them,
but its artistic effect is good, because natural, and there is a
good deal of it. The principle adopted is that of letting
the rock suggest itself, rather than piling it up in wall-like
masses; solitary rocks peep out of the grass here and there
by the margin of the water, and presently a group appears,
the whole being intertwined by creeping and trailing shrubs
in a way agreeable to the eye of taste. The water is not

614 NOTES OF A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

so well managed, being rather formal and serpentine, not
following the true line of the brook or rivulct ; but this
fault is not so perceptible here as in other French gardens.
The quality that we know of as breadth—that which we miss
so much at Kew and many other fine gardens, and see so
well exemplified in others of much smaller dimensions—is
finely shown in this garden, the eye resting on Wide green
sweeps of grass, margined by varied and receding outlines
afforded by trees, shrubs, and flowers. Cercis australis
forms a very ornamental tree in these grounds, the long
shoots drooping gracefully. There is a small fruit gar-
den and a small but useful botanic garden, both wisely
and effectively cut off from the general scene, and not
thrust under the eye of the public, to weary it with the
sight of a scientific arrangement of plants, which is as un-
natural and ugly to the human eye as anything can well be.
“'here you plant like subjects together, it is almost impossible
to have any of the freshness or variety of a true garden.
Revert—This district is so near home, and its climate
so very much like our own, that even those possessed of the
erroneous idea that the climate of northern France is a para-
disiacal one will admit the utility of studying the culture.
I first visited the nursery of Mr. J. “'ood, an English
nurseryman, established here forty years. Speaking of
fruit-growing in France and England, these were his
words: “ For every single fruit tree sold in England there
are one thousand sold in France! Every eottager with
ten square yards of ground buys and plants fruit trees. If
it were not so you would not get so much French fruit in
linglam .” lene 'ally, he said, the culture of wall fruit was
carelessly performed in that region, with the exception of
the Fear. Fine old specimens of Pears against the walls
of Chateaux afforded quantities of good fruit. Some of the
walls here were covered with Pear eordons trained dia-
gonally. In reply to a query as to the merits of this
particular phase of the cordon system, Mr. \Vood remarked,
“ It has been a good thing for the nurserymen.” Precisely.
As a tree must be planted at every eighteen inches or so, it
is a very expensive proceeding; but a “ good thing for nur-

ROUEN. 615

scrymen,” of course. Alpine Strawberries are grown here
in considerable quantity, and preferred to the common kind.
By covering the ground with a little short manure to pre-
vent evaporation, and giving abundance of water in dry
weather, they get them to fruit from early summer to late
autumn, gathering plenty of fruit all through this prolonged
season. When gathered fresh from the plants, and used
with the usual accompaniments, the best varieties of the
Quatre Saisons are certainly excellent. They are insuffi-
ciently known in England, where they ought to be very
extensively grown, as the climate is even more suitable to
them than that of France, and they would form a very
agreeable addition to the dessert at all times, especially
when the other strawberries are past.

In the market here specimens of the Reinette Grise, an
excellent apple, were selling in J unc at three and four sons
each; they were perfectly firm, and the flavour of the best.
Considering how valuable is an apple that keeps in the con-
dition described to the month of June, we need scarcely say
that this deserves to be widely known in England. It
is well suited for culture on the cordon system. A
peculiarity in the mode of growing young Camellias and
Azaleas deserves notice. The spring after being grafted
they are planted out in pits or frames in light peaty earth,
and the result is that they form presentable specimens in
half the time that is usually required when they are grown
in pots. But they are all destined for pets, and this course
is pursued simply to get them ready in quick time. They
grow so fast that after six months they must be taken up
and replantcd at greater distances apart. This phase of the
culture chiefly concerns the propagator and nurseryman;
but when large plants become shabby from having been in
dwelling rooms or any other cause, they are cut down and
planted out in the pits in the same way, the result being
that they soon return to a perfectly healthy and vigorous
state, and may, after a year or so, be again placed in pots
or tubs. This hint should be useful to amateurs Whose
specimens are so frequently in that state when it becomes
doubtful whether they should be thrown away or kept.

(516 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

As at Paris, great numbers of Dracaenas and fine foliage
plants generally are grown here. These also are at first
planted out in frames and pits, in very light rich soil, and
thus grown into healthy little specimens before being potted
and used for furnishing. Weak and puny little plants put out
in spring become nice stocky specimens in autumn, and are
then taken up, potted, and placed on a gentle hotbed, where
they soon root vigorously into the pots. It needs very little
discernment to see the reason why things do so well planted
out thus. They are not liable to the vicissitudes which
things suffer in pots; they grow from a moist surface,
which, as every plant-grower knows, is so congenial to the
health of plants; and, to put it simply, they are under
much more natural conditions than plants confined in
pots.

.‘lpiphyllum trnncatum is grown here in quantity and
variety, there being a dozen kinds. As many know, this
is a first-rate plant for winter decoration. On its own
roots it pushes but little; grafted on the Pcriskca it makes
the free—flowering and vigorous plants which we sometimes
see in England, and which are becoming every day more
popular. Herc, however, they employ, in preference to the
spiny and slender woody stem of the Periskea, a species of
Cereus, with a thick roundish stem, which forms a worthy
pillar for the rich head of shoots this beautiful winter-
fiowering lactus makes upon it. This stock should be‘ used
generally in England for this purpose. The Epiphyllums
were tried upon Opuntias, but without success, the only kind
that would grow upon them being E. Ruekerianum.

()f the public gardening at Rouen, that which pleased me
best was a very small bit which formed a setting, so to
speak, to the statue to Pierre Corncille. It is placed half
way over the bridge, where that structure rests on the island
in the Seine. A space on a level with the bridge, like a
huge recess, is adorned with the statue. Around the stony
base on which it rests runs a border of glistening Irish Ivy,
elevated on a little plateau above the small lawn. The
grass is bordered by a line of dwarf bushy Roses, springing
from a band of the same “ould Irish” Ivy; behind all

ROUEN. 617

there is a belt of shrubs, and around all a gravel walk, the
little space being kept private. There were four large vases
in it, each containing a fine specimen of the New Zealand
Flax, but it is possible they had been placed here specially
for the Emperor’s visit. In any case, this mere spot, half-
way over a bridge, looked

one of the sweetest bits of FIG- 356-
town gardening I have seen. gr
In the Botanic Gardens «f

at Rouen the first things
encountered were some of
those enormous and un-
meaning masses of Cannas,
Tagetes, &c., which the
French sometimes make
cvenlarger and more hideous
than we do. There is, how-
ever, a neat fruit garden and
a good specimen of what
they call a school of botany
——i.c., an arrangement of
hardy plants scientifically
named and arranged. It is
only fair to say that the
plants are kept more dis-
tinct and well named in
those divisions of French
public gardens than is the
case in Britain, where they
are too often allowed to

grow Wild tlll‘Ollgh CilCh Pear Tree with the branches trained in
other. Sabal Adansoni is llnes exactly above each other, and all

_ the points united by grafting.

placed in the open a1r here

for the summer, and seems a palm of such rigid and
leathery texture that it should do for general use in
that way. The fruit garden contains a good many of what
are called model trees, and many cordons ; but on the whole,
while there is much that is curious, and this division is well
kept, it really affords little instruction. Specimens in the U

   
    

   

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618 NOTES 01" A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

form abound. The only noticeable feature was a trifling one
—placing willow wands in the exact bend and direction in
which it is desired to conduct the chief branches. That once
done, little remains but to tie the young shoots in the desired
direction. A great deal of the fruit had fallen, in consequence
of the extreme heat, and of the soil being sandy. There
was one pretty good specimen of a winged pyramid—£43., a
pyramid having the branches trained in five vertical lines,
and with the points united by grafting, as in Fig. 356.
Wide cdgings of Ivy are used as a margin to the Rose
beds, and with a very good effect. The rustic iron edgings,
so much used about Paris, are also employed here. Native
Orchids are grown in the botanical division, among them
the Lizard and others that are rare with us. The common
and the Irish forms of the Ivy are placed
under exactly similar circumstances, a por-
tion of each lying flat upon the ground, and
another being conducted up a stake. The
decided superiority of the Irish kind can
be seen at a glance. It is not without
reason they have selected it for the public
gardens of Paris. The better kinds of

 

Plan of precedin" _ .
figure. D herbaceous Paeomes were planth In the

grass at about a yard or so from the
margin of the shrubberies—a good position for them,
and when they decay no blank space is left. The hardy

 

Irises are grown in vases a plan worth pursuing where
early summer gardening is practised, but they should
be in all cases associated with and springing from dwarfer
plants. The contents of the houses here were perfectly
miserable. The ground was almost covered in some parts
with the dead bodies of eoekchafcrs, and along one part
of the railroad near Rouen I noticed a wood nearly a mile
long quite stripped of leaves by this post. Not long before,
I had thought, in passing through a rich, green, and well-
wooded valley, what a transformation it would be if we
could see the trees suddenly stripped of their summer robes
and made to stand bare as in winter ; and here it was with
a vengeance. It is no exaggeration to state that many

TROYES. 619

great towering Lombardy Poplars, Oaks, and Birches, were
stripped as bare as if it had been a December instead of"
a June morning.

The new garden in the centre of the town, named afte1
Solferino, is very pretty, the trees being apparently well
established, though it has been made onlyb five or six years.
This is in consequence of the e\cellent machinery for
removing large trees which is now in use in most large
French towns. The garden is embellished by a small piece
of water and a really well-constructed seam of rockwork.
A few boulders peep from the turf on one side of the water,
and on the off-side the high rocky bank seems to have been
worn away by time and water, every trace of art being
concealed by trailing Ivy and Evergreens. The beds of'
Roses in this garden were covered with green moss gathered
from neighbouring woods. It adds a good deal. to the
appearance of the beds, and by keeping them moist of
com‘se prolongs and improves the bloom.

TROYEs.—This old and interesting town, from which Troy
weight takes its name, is interesting to the horticulturist
and fruit-grower from the Brothers Baltet having extensive
nurseries in and near it. The home nursery, which is
situated in the town, is extensive and rich in advanced spe-
cimens of pyramidal and other Pear trees. Soon after enter-
ing, horizontal cordons are seen in large numbers running
along the back of the borders which margin, the sides of
the central walk, these borders being occupied by flowering
plants. The cordons form a neat finish at the back, and
bear a plentiful crop of fruit, though they are not established
trees such as one sees in a private garden, but on the other
hand subject to the transplantings, sales, &e., to which
nursery stock is liable. In addition to those in this position,
horizontal cordons were seen in many parts, and, where
established, bearing wonderfully well. Thus the Lady Apple,
well established on the Doucin stock, bore fruit almost as
thick as the pretty little Apples could sit on a cordon not
closely pinched in ,- but on the Doucin the shoots grew too
vigorously, and did not preserve that compact appearance
and habit which is so desirable in these trees. If the soil were

620 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

very poor and light and dry, the tendency to over vigour would
be repressed, and the Doucin prove the most desirable stock.

What a happy thing it is that stocks which possess
such admirable qualities are known and easily procured!
Your soil is rich deep loam, wet, cold, or stiff. Use the
French Paradise, and you obtain large and beautiful fruit.
But plant the same on a very poor, dry, hungry, or cal-
careous soil, and it is almost useless. But then we have the
Doucin, which suits the poor soils to perfection, to fall back
upon, and thus the best results may be produced on soils of
very diverse and even very bad qualities. I measured some
of the larger Apples here, and found that many were as
much as ten, eleven, and eleven and a half inches in cir-
cumference on the morning of the 13th of July, though
they were still green and swelling, and not to be gathered
till October. Spring frosts occur here frequently, and my
guide mentioned the absence of frost during the month of
May of the past year as a very extraordinary occurrence.
Here, as in every garden, the cultivator remarks, the cordons
“ are good and take up little space.” Of course, in a large
public nursery like this, little lines of trees under the eye
of numerous daily visitors, who may at times buy such of
them as they fancy, cannot be exhibited in the perfect state
I have seen them in private gardens _: besides, a number of
kinds are planted, and not those known to be best worth
growing, and yet suflicient proof of the excellence of the
system was here afforded.

The Pear was not growing as a cordon, although the
Apple was so abundantly grown in that way, the Pear being
considered unsuitable; and this I am strongly inclined to
think is the case, from having observed the results of 1111-
merous plantations of horizontal cordon Pears. 1 have,
however, known excellent crops to be gathered off Louise
Bonnc trained thus, and doubt not that a small and choice
selection would be worthy of planting, especially where they
could be safely protected in spring. One of the first things
that meet the eye of the visitor is a nice crop of Beurre
Clairgeau on a hedge formedof that variety. Several similar
hedges are formed beside it, and arranged rather closely

TROYES. 621

together, so that plants may be placed between them for
the sake of shade. As clipped hedges of arbor vitae are fre-
quently employed in France for giving shade in summer, it
need scarcely be remarked that the substitution of hedges
of good varieties of Pears would be an improvement. Of
course the thing could be done in England as well as here.
At first stakes are used to support the trees, and indeed,
some must be employed till they have attained their perfect
development; but afterwards, if properly trained, they will
support each other perfectly, and they may be pruned and
kept to look as neatly as if supported by a costly trellis.
Alongside one of the main walks a young specimen of a

  
  

 

 

Flo. 358.
‘
r . _‘ ‘i i
i a, , : gee-1;
1‘ ‘ i .
I I . A I '
' l ‘4 1‘
‘ ‘ 3 r4
\ 21 y.
y
< . , 3 ‘
V 3
. __ ‘ _t
; . a
'- v—a u u .1; >4 13...}:L‘IAM-w War
. A ' . a r: A , a ,n 411x 1

 

 

 

Name formed by Pear Trees.

very carefully and neatly made curtain of this kind may be
seen. These hedges bear as freely and well as any other
form of Pear tree whatever. The Beurré Clairgeau line was ‘
worked on Quince and Pear stocks alternately. The trees
on the Quince were little better than dead; those on the
Pear were fine, full of fruit, showing in a marked manner
that the variety requires the Pear stock. There are several
curious attempts at forming the proprietors’ names with
trees, and away from walls too, in this nursery, one
of which is here figured. There are, so far as I could
learn, no large gardens devoted to fruit culture in the
neighbourhood, but multitudes of small proprietors, with

6:22 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

specimens of good varieties in their gardens: many of
these send their surplus fruit to market, and the same is the
case over a large part of France.
If the Pear grafted on the Quince is planted in ground dry
and not fertile, the tree
Fm. 359. pushes with little vigour
and often makes hardly
any progress. It is apt to
carry when very young 3.
superabundant quantity
of fruit which soon ex-
hausts it, and it will live
but few years. This im-
poverishment maybe pre-
vented by “liberating”
Mode of inducing: a .sta'n‘cd Pear on thp the tree and bV causing it

Qumec btock to cunt its own roots. 1:, . “

Outline of mound of earth. to grow on Its 0WD l'OOtS
a practice much recom-
mended by M. Baltct. The process is as follows :—In spring
from three to six vertical incisions are made a little above
the junction of scion and stock, as herein represented, and
about an inch or so long, and deep enough to slightly
penetrate beyond the bark and slightly into the wood of
the tree. Afterwards a
little heap of light and 19"“ 300-
ricli soil is raised around
the stem sufficiently to
cover up the incisions.
It is then made pretty
firm and covered with
a couple of inches of
old dung, so as to
preserve it from getting
dried up by very warm Result of the Ol‘t‘l‘éltion-
weather. Roots will
quickly descend, and the tree will soon attain fresh vigour
on its own roots, and become quite independent of the
Quince. The old root and its influences will disappear in
course of time. As the union of stock and scion is usually

 

 

 

BOURG-LA-REINE. 623

placed a little above the surface, and as the new crop of
roots given off by the Pear will enter the ground from this
position, it need hardly be said that the surface must be
gradually raised towards the base of the tree by means of
suitable turfy 10am, so as to encourage the new roots.
Considering the inconsiderate way that the Quince has
been recommended for all soils, this mode should prove
useful. '

In another part of the town the Ecole Normale of the
department has a garden behind it for the purpose of
teaching the pupils fruit culture. Here double or super-
imposed eordons of the Lady Apple bore fruit in great
abundance. The walls were made of the dried stems of the
common Reed, nailed between rough and cheap wooden
framework, the mass of stems being about two inches thick.
A flat board nailed along the top at about seven feet from
the ground, afforded about eight inches of coping. The Wall
of the school for about four feet from the ground was very
neatly covered with dwarf Peach trees which bore a fair
crop, and neatly covered a space generally left naked.

Bocne—m-Rmxn—Thc very extensive nurseries of J amin
and Durand in this neighbourhood are full of interest to
the fruit-grower. In addition to the nursery proper there
are two fruit gardens—one belonging to M. Durand and
the other to M. J amin, both recently formed, and likely to
prove of much interest to the fruit-grower by and by.
Many French nurserymcn- have in addition to the
ground devoted to the raising and training of young
trees a private garden or “school” of fruit culture, in
which the various kinds may be seen in a developed
state. The garden recently established by M. F. Jamin
has been well walled in, the walls of stone having a
coping of overlapping tiles, which project about nine
inches. This is, perhaps, as cheap and good a coping
as any in use, and its effect is neat, much more so than
that of other tile copings employed here. The walls are
all wired closely and effectively with the galvanized wire
and the raidisscur. The walls with the warmest and best
aspects are planted with Peaches and winter Pears, and

624 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

'herein is an instructive lesson. “'hile continually talk-
ing of the fine climate of France, we have been going on for
years taking little interest in wall Pear culture, but planting
pyramids everywhere, and thus we have practically come
to be without a stock of the finer winter Pears, and com-
pelled to import enormous quantities of them frOm France
at high prices.

Here I found a most experienced fruit-grower—one
who has also lived in good fruit-growing establishments in
England—who said emphatically that it is absolutely useless
to attempt the culture of the finer winter Pears, the most
valuable of all, away from walls, and that it is neces-
sary to place such kinds as the Easter Beurré against
well-coped walls with a southern exposure, the soil being
of the finest description and the climate that of Paris. Of
course he could grow some of them in the open, but
then they would be uncertain and worthless; and he gives
an instance—Beurré Rance, which is first-rate against
walls. The collection of winter Pears had only been planted
a short time, and yet the crop was very good, every
young tree bearing as much as one could desire to see
upon it. It is finally intended that these Pear trees shall
assume the form known as the Palmette Verrier ; but at
present the branches are trained diagonally—another in-
stance of the excellent practice of allowing branches that
are finally to assume the horizontal position to grow first
in an ascending direction, so that they may be furnished
and formed with less trouble and in a shorter time, the sap
rising much more freely and naturally in young branches
that ascend obliquely than when they run in an exactly
horizontal direction. \Vhen the outer ones are long and
old enough to form the bend, and have their points directed
towards the top of the wall, then the current of sap is
drawn through as well as could be desired. Beurré Diel
is also planted against walls here—not that it may not be
grown in the open air, but its flowers are very liable to
be injured by frost in spring, and therefore it is placed on
a wall to secure a crop.

The mode of fixing the horizontal cordon here is the

BOURG-LA-REINE. 625

most permanent if not the cheapest I have seen. Figure
155, p. 354, renders a description unnecessary. Several
hundred feet of wire may be placed between two of these
supports with the greatest advantage, and nothing can look
neater. The appearance of the horizontal cordon is very
much improved by this mode of arranging it, which is
to be preferred to that of using wooden posts. The
trainer remarked that any required length of wire
might be supported between two of these supports,
“even five hundred or six hundred feet.” For short
distances it would not be necessary to have such strong
supports.

In this same garden the plan of adopting three rising
shoots from one base, instead of the cordon system, has
been carried out. It is applied to the Apricot and the
Peach, one kind being worked on each ascending branch,
and three kinds borne by one root. There was no indica-
tion of a disposition on the part of any of the trios thus
united not to grow agreeably together; indeed, they were
as equally balanced and healthy as could he wished.
“'here it is desired, by nurserymcn or private growers,
to have a goodly number of varieties in a restricted
space, this is proved here to be the best plan of all.
“'estern and southern walls require more protection
and wider copings than those with northern and eastern
aspects, the abundant rains being more dreaded than
the frost, and the western walls here have several inches
more coping than the eastern. It seems odd that culti-
vators living in such a perfect climate should take more
precautions against cold rains than we do in these watery
islands l

)I. Durand’s garden contains a collection of the choicest
grapes grown in France, and though quite recently formed,
already contains promising trees of many kinds. This
plan of devoting a special garden to fully formed fruit
trees is worthy of imitation by our nurserymen. I am
particularly indebted to M. Durand for valuable assistance
in seeing the gardens of the neighbourhood—those below
ground as well as on the surface—for we descended to-

s s

NOTES OF A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

626

Fm. 361.
South

 

 

 

 

 

 

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of Bourg-la-Rcine, 1

REFERENCES T0 Puma—A

Plan of Fruit Garden for the North of France,
Peach trees trained in the fan,

lsfs
UHOC
.1 1
n S
1% Wynne.“
1 ann
I 19......1
m Mme
u WF 7....
D 11D...
. NC a
J m 1“.
mamQLcmflm
..a}..mm.u
Dmlmad
1.0 f n
d It“
90.108
18V.Hn\8
1 fl1f
.mudmxcmxa
snx ix
0 llaecu
13880,
L to
Wbflymhv
‘- g]
omnilc
11.09
s“.dt
drrna
nrwaS
v.881m
omt
.0 fit
on
“In.
Law
Cm.

\.

Apples trained as horizontal cordons, planted tw

of Pom-s in the palmette form,

BOURG-LA-REINE. 627

gether into coalpit-like caves to see the mushroom culture.

FIG. 36?.

 

_//

Pear Tree shown at the Paris Exposition of 1867, by M. Croux, of Secaux.
All the points of the branches have been united by grafting.

011 mentioning to M. Durand my wish to have a plan of
what he would consider a good example of a fruit gar-

within the margin of the beds. E, Pear trees in the columnar form, planted
at ten feet apart. F, North wall with Cherry trees, planted at about sixteen feet
apart. G, lush Apples en the Paradise stock, planted at six feet apart. H,
l-Iast wall with winter Pears such as Easter Beurré, Crassane, and St. Germain.
I, South wall of Peach trees with five erect branches, planted eight feet asunder.
J, North wall with Cherries in the palmetto form, planted about sixteen feet
apart. K, “'est wall of summer and autumn Pears. L L, Interior walls of the
garden. M. Pyramidal Pears planted at twenty feet apart. N, East wall with
Apricots—horizontally trained trees planted twenty feet apart. 0, ‘Vest wall
with Plums, planted at twenty feet apart. P, Gooseberries. Q, Currants. It,
Raspberries. S, Boundary trellis, which may be covered with Vines, or Pears:
ifin a cold climate.
5 s 2

628 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR.

den in Northern France, he was so good as to design
one specially for me, and I have much pleasure in giving
it here.

Somme—In the same neighbourhood are nurseries be-
longing to M. Croux, and a very good school of fruit culture
apart from the large home nursery. It is nearly two acres
and a half in extent, and established about six years.
Many of the trees are trained into very curious forms. The
cordons here have grown too strongly, and every second
stem is severed. They had of course been previously firmly
grafted one to the other. Cydonia sinensis against walls
has fruit a foot long in favourable scasons,,but is simply a
curiosity. Several kinds of Ribes, including the goose-
berry, are grafted on the red currant, and there are various
other curiosities. The remarkable-looking specimen of
training seen in the preceding illustration was shown by
M. Croux at the Paris Exposition of 1867, and there
much admired. The plant nurseries of MM. Thibaut
and Kctelccr in the same neighbourhood are well worth
seeing.

CIIATILLON, FoNTEXAY AUX Roses—Visitors to Bourg—

la-Reinc or Sceaux may on the same day
1“““303- conveniently Visit the garden of M.
' Chardon in this village. The owner is
an amateur, and has a most interesting
little garden of fruit trees. In addi-
tion to the common and well-known
forms, he has many specimens trained
over walks and bowers, and altogether
the garden is well worth a call from
anybody visiting Paris who wishes to
see what may be done with fruit trees
by an amateur in his spare hours.
SUISNES (Brie-Comte-Robert).—The

 

Trellis over wall; covered . _
with ppm. TWA... nursery of M. Coehet here is an inte-

resting one for the fruit-grower, and
the owner is a very popular horticulturist. Apples, on the
horizontal cordon system, are planted here in large numbers,

SUISNES. 629

in places where before they used to have high box edgings.
They were among the best cordons I have

seen in France, some bearing as much fruit FIG-365'

as they seemed able to properly develope; yet N
M. Coehet considered it a. very thin crop, and
said they frequently have them almost as thick
as they can stand along the line. This was

FIG. 364.

 

j /i’.'.":

Pear Tree with horizontal branches, becoming shorter Mode or support-
towards the apex of the tree, and sup orted by slender mg stake for trees
galvanized wires stretched from a stalie at back of the tralned as 3113?”
tree to pegs or stones in the ground. liguirhle prece mg

the ease in 1867. Several walks are margined here with
two instead of one line of eordons, the inner line being
about three inches higher than the
outer one. Of course many varia-
tions may be made thus, but I have
as yet seen nothing to alter my
opinion that the single line, well
conducted and rather freely deve-
loped, is the best of all, though
there are many positions and cir-

Fio. 366.

 

Stakes for fixing the wires
shown in Fig. 364.

630' NOTES or A lIORTICULTURAL TOUR.

cumstances in which two lines, superimposed cordons or other
modifications, will prove desirable.

3

Flu. 367.

' l

Ill

a:
lil i‘

 

M. Cochet has planted

View of lispalier l’eur Trees and lines ot'Apples trained as L'urdens in M. NalIet’s garden at Brunoy, p. 633.

almost every good
variety of apple on
this principle, and
finds they all do
well on it. All are
grafted 011 the true
or French Paradise
stock. Some of
his fruit from three
year old plants was
remarkably fine,
and nothing could
look prettier than
the handsome apples
along the side of
the walks. Of
course a much more
regular and better

FIG. 368.

 

Plan of l‘lspalier in pre-
ceding figure at corner
ntlme.

effect could be obtained by lines of one kind only, and the
training and pruning of them also would be more likely to be
In nearly all parts of the

performed in the best manner.

SUISNES. 631

garden there was abundant evidence that the horizontal
cordon for Apples is the best improvement efi‘ccted in open-
air fruit culture for years.

A line of Pears
trained thus may also
be seen, but it is a
failure, although there
was a fine crop hang-
ing on one specimen
of the Belle Angcvinc.
\Vhen grown in this
way the Pear usually
manifests a disposition
to shoot up “gour-
mands,” or shoots very
like those of “'illows,
from the bend. On
walls where the sap
has room to spread,
this inconvenience is
of course not present.
The young Pear and
other trees here in
preparation for wall
and espalier culture
a 'e beautifully trained
in line by means of
tightly strained galva-
nized wires. By this
means trees fit to place
against walls imme-
diately, and without a
leaf or shoot out of
place, may be picked
out at any time. A
good many handsome
Palmettc and other trees are to be seen, but particu-
larly remarkable are those trained “ en fuseau,” or in What
is sometimes called the columnar form. This is simply a

See p. 634.

garden of M. Nallct, at Brunoy.

.' (39.

v
)

"in.

 

v

 

Monogram formed bv Peach and Pear Trees in the

 

632 NOTES or A IIORTICULTURAL TOUR.

tree trained to a single stem, or a vertical cordon, the top
being allowed to grow as high as it likes, and thus close
columns of leaves and fruits are formed as much as fifteen
feet high. Nothing could exceed the fine condition of many
of these trees, perfectly laden from top to bottom in many
cases, and in many more bending arched to the ground with
the weight of their fruit. They were not staked, but when
they are grown in a regular fruit garden it is the custom to
securely connect them near the top by a line of wire, so that
they cannot bend down with the weight of the fruit. Their
advantages are that fruit and leaves enjoy abundance of sun
and air. The fruit is said to be better flavoured than from

Fm. 370.

 

Portion of Self-supporting espalicr of l’ear Trees, formed of horizontal and verti-
cally trained trees, the points of the horizontally trained tree grafted by
approach to the outer branches only of the vertical ones.

the Pyramid tree, in which there is usually a good deal of
shade, while they are perhaps the easiest of all forms to
conduct, and a great many kinds may be grown on a small
space. Their drawback appears to be the great height to
which they attain; pruning, and the gathering of the fruit
are not so facile as is desirable.

In many French gardens a peculiarly simple and neat way of
t 'aining cspalier 1’ far trees may be seen (see Figs. on p. 629),
and there were good examples both here and in the next place
described. It consists of a stout stake for the main trunk of
the tree, and of wires running from this to stones or pegs

BRUNOY. 633

buried in the ground. That the roots of the tree may not
be hurt by a large stake, this is sometimes supported by
the stem, as shown by Fig. 365. Besides, the support for
the wires and younger branches is only required towards
the top of tree; hence another reason for not fixing the
stake in the ground. It is quite easy to project little
stakes from the stouter parts to the young growing branch-
lets of the tree, and thus keep the points perfectly trained
in the desired direction. On the first of November every
year, M. Forest, one of the many professors of fruit culture
in Paris, and a very popular and excellent one, gives and
illustrates here a lecture, which is attended by from three

FIG. 371. FIG. 372.

 

Espaliers of Pear Trees with the branches grafted by approach.

to four hundred gardeners from various parts in the neigh-
bourhood. I may add that about here the best workan
are paid 3f. 750. a day ; others less skilled or less able re-
ceive a franc or so less.

BRUNOY (SHINE ET MARNE).—There is here a very re-
markable fruit garden belonging to an amateur, M. Nallet—
a garden which will repay a visit at any time of the year.
It is only a few minutes’ walk from Brunoy station, passed
on the way to Fontainebleau, and within an easy distance
of Paris. It is an oblong piece of ground, walled in and
with a straight walk through the centre, bordered by two
lines of handsome pyramidal trees, cut off from the walk by

634 NOTES or A HORTICUL’I‘URAL TOUR.

long horizontal cordons, lines of tall trellis-work running
at right angles with the main walk, and accommodating an
infinite variety of trees—many fanciful, and many of the
best and most useful forms. Numbers of horizontal
cordons were in fair hearing, but the proprietor complained
that the crop was one of the worst he ever had. He
considered that, taking bad years with good, an average
of ten fruit per yard run of each line might be cal-
culated upon. The cordons are never protected, and, here
as elsewhere, furnish numerous places almost useless, and
which would otherwise not be occupied at all. It is
utterly impossible to give the
reader an idea of the variety
of form to be seen in the fruit
trees, therefore we will confine
ourselves to the most remarkable.
The garden offers recreation
to its amiable owner, and he,
while not neglecting the very
best forms, also amuses himself
occasionally by transforming one
or more trees into the monogram
of his wife’s name and his own.
The columnar form elsewhere
figured is very well developed here,
some of the specimens approaching
eighteen feet in height. They

 

” M are regularly staked, and high

A l’ear 'l‘ree from handsome Es- lines of “'er connect them 1')"
mlier trained to lin‘m the name "
.'.\1.I.1£'l‘. the tops, so that they are held

firmly together.

Numerous Palmetto trees occur here, and it is noticeable
that the lines which the trees are to follow are laid downI
at first with willow or other slender flexible rods. A Plum
tree, trained as a Palmetto V crrier, was very ornamental,
the lines of fruit darkening the long, neatly guided branches.
Nearly 1000 lbs. of galvanized wire have been used in
this garden. Curtains of Pear and other trees, trained on
slender trellises of this wire, are very well formed. The

BRUNOY. 630

Peach is grown to some extent against the walls, and success-
fully, some of the trees looking almost as well as those at
)‘Iontreuil, though the walls are not so high. A large
portion of the wall space is devoted to oblique cordons of the
Easter Beurré, and these were in excellent bearing; they had
been planted six years, were about twelve feet long, and bore
from ten to fifteen fruit each. Planted at twenty inches
apart, and confined to one stem, which is never cut back
at the point if the wood be ripe, they soon cover the wall,
and, the good fruit of this variety fetching a high price, a
quick return is afforded by the
trees. There can be no doubt that
this is the best phase of the cordon
system against walls, and, as the
same plan has been carried out on
all the walls of the new fruit garden
of the municipality of Paris in the
Bois de Vincennes, there must be
some good reasons in its favour.
Several small walled gardens are
being made in connexion with the
chief one of M. Nallet, and here
again the greater portion of the
wall surface is devoted to Easter
Beurré, the plantations being one .. 7
and two years old. Six years ago, pear Tree trained in the
the first trees in the garden were (1151105110 form: *9" f0“
. lurrh.

planted, and I doubt much if any D

fruit garden in existence better illustrates what may be done
with good management in a short time.

The practice of grafting by approach the branches of
the Pear trees is extensively employed here, as shown in
Figs. 370, 371, and 372. The figures will better explain
the mode of training and the aspect of the trees in the
garden than any description. I am much indebted to
M. Nallet for his kindness in sending me accurate sketches
of some of his most remarkable trees.

A distinct and apparently useful form of tree I met with
here for the first time. It is called the crinoline form, and

FIG. 374.

 

636 NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR IN FRANCE.

is made by taking eight branches from the base of the tree,
and bringing them outside a circular hoop, allowing one
main stem to ascend erect. The branches, after growing a
little above the hoop, which gives a desirable uniformity to
the base, ascend at regular inter-
vals to the top, where they are
neatly united to the erect shoot.
The figures will explain this form,
but the stake in Fig. 375 has been
made much too large by the en-
graver. It should be of iron. This
figure is in other respects a good
representation of a handsome speci—
men in M. Nallet’s garden. Each
branch being kept distinct, and the
tree being well opened up by this
system, the effect was very good
indeed, and the crops too, con-
sidering that they were a failure

Pro. 375.

   

Pear Tree in (‘rinoline form, Plan of Pear Tree, shown in Fig. 375.
seventeen feet high and six
feet in diameter.

throughout France during the past year. A specimen of thq
Duchessc d’Angouléme trained thus was one of the n10st
pleasing looking trees I have ever seen. The method has more
advantages than would appear at first sight—the long fruit-
ing branches being thoroughly exposed to the sun and light
from bottom to top, the branches being held firm, and the
tree being altogether a decided improvement upon the,
pyramid for important positions in gardens.

INDEX.

 

BYSSINIAN Musa, 55, S4
Acacia lophantha, 188
Acanthus latifolius, 96, 210
Agave americana, 187
Ailantus glandulosa, a valuable town
tree, 171
Andropogon squarrosum, 212
Angers, 610
Apartments, plant decoration of, 262
Apple, the, as a cordon, 323
Apples, selection of the finer kinds for
growing on the cordon system, 343
Aralia edulis, 212
,, japonica, 213
,, papyrifera, 187
,, papyrifera stored in caves under
the J ardin Fleuriste, 151
Aralia Sieboldi, 214
,, spinosa, 213
Argenteuil, asparagus culture at, 501
Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus) as a fine-
leaved plant, 65
Artichokes, varieties of, used in Paris,
516
Amndo conspicua, 215
,, Donax, 214
,, ,, versicolor, 214
Asparagus culture, 501
Asparagus, mode of forcing. 513
Asphalte, preparation of, 131
,, roads, 135
., used for the footways of the
Boulevards, 130
Asplenium nidus-avis, 189
Avenue de l’Empereur, 124
,, ,, l’Impératrice, 124
,, des Champs Elysées, 3

AMBOOS, hardy, 141, 215
Bamhusa viridis-glaucescens, 215
Barbe de Capucin, 499
Barometer employed by market gar-
deners of Paris, 470
Bassin de Latone at Versailles, 249
,, Neptune, 247

 

Bathing, 136
Bedding plants, excellent houses for, in
Jardin Fleuriste, 148
Beauty of form a want in our conser-
vatories, 282
Binette, the, 568
Bird feeding in the Tuileries gardens, 16
Bois de Boulogne, 18
,, Vincennes. 35
Borders in front of fruit walls planted
with cordons, 355
Bosquet des Bains d’ApoIlon at Ver-
sailles, 247
Bosquet du Roi at Versailles, 245
Boulevard Richard Lenoir, 122
Boulevards, architecture of, 113
,, origin of the, 118
,, roadways and footpaths of,
120, 129
Boulevards, the, 112
,, ,, under Louis XIV.,12O
Bourg-la-Reine, 623
Bracket, galvanized iron, for support-
ing temporary coping, 436
Breflit, Messrs. E., and Co., 599
Britons, intelligent, their keen appre-
ciation of a well-ordered city helps to
pay for improvements in Paris, 103
Brown, Messrs. J. B., and Co., 599
Brunoy, 633
Bur reed, the, 581

CAFES, stalls, &c., in public gar-

dens, 4

Caladium bataviense, 56

,, esculentum, 56, 189

Cannas, how they are stored in the
Jardin Fleuriste, 151

Cannas, the, 191

Calville Blane apple, how to grow it to
perfection in this country, 337

Calville Blane apple, mode of growing
it at Montreuil, 441

Cardoon, the, best sorts grown in
France, 516

638

Cardoon, the. culture of, 522

Carrot, small, of the Paris market,
culture of, 520

Catacombs, the, 111

Caucannier, M., his establishment for
forcing asparagus, 514

Cauliflower, kinds grown round Paris,
519

Cauliflower, forcing of the, 524

Caves for storing plants under the
J ardin Fleuriste, 151

Caves, mushroom, 472

Centaurea babylonica, 217

Cercis australis, 36

Chairs, garden, 563

Chamaerops excelsa, 219

Champignonnistes, 471

Champs Elysées, 1

Change, necessity for a radical one in
our city improvements, 116

Chasselas grape, long wall of, at Fon-
tainebleau, 252

Chatillon, 628

Chevallier, M., his garden at Mon-
treuil, 442

Chicory, improved variety of, 517

Chloride of calcium, use of, in fruit
room, 566

Church gardens and cemeteries, 104

City graveyards, gardening in, 106

Clianthus Dampieri, 142

Climates of Paris and London compared,
548

Climbers trained up the stems of trees,
57

Clipping trees a barbarism, 260

Cloche, its use in lettuce culture, 490
,, the, 596

,, where to obtain, 599

Cockchafer, ravages of, 618

Colonnade, the, at Versailles, 246

Columnar training, 391

Concert of the Champs Elysées. 5

Conservatory in Jardin d'Acclimatation,
34

Conservatories, wooden shading for,
586

Conservatories, frequently unsatisfac-
tory. both as regards contents and
design, 280

Contrast between the keeping of the

London, 37

mended for town planting, 117
Cordon, horizontal, admntages of, 350
,, mode of supporting the hori-
zontal, 336
Gordon, mode of supporting the hori-
zontal, 354

 

.INDEX.

Cordons, Mr. James Barnes, of Bicton,
on, 351

Cordons, Mr. J. A. Watson 011, 352

Cordon, pinching the shoots of the
horizontal, 341

Cordon, management of the, 339
,, spiral, the, 366
,, system, how it may be advan-
tageously adopted on fruit-wall bor-
ders, 352

Cordon system, objections to, answered,
34

Cordon system off ruit growing, 334
,, what is it i 334

Cordons, grafting to unite, 342, 348

,, more than five miles of, in

Imperial Gardens at Versailles, 432

Corn salad, 498

Courteliére, 254

Courtois-Gerard and Pavard. MM., 516

Covent Garden, 540

Crambe cordifolia, 220

Crinoline form, a good one for the
Pear, 635

Crowded streets and bad arrangements
not confined to the central parts of
London, 117

Cucumis perennis, 220

Cuscutas, the, in Jardin des Plantes, 75

Cyrtanthera carnea, 96

ATISCA cannabina, 220
Deciduous trees, reasons why they
succeed in cities, 161
Deciduous trees, the best for London,
161
Dijon, 609
Dimorphanthus manchuricus, 142
Doucin stock, 355
,, ,, description of, 357
Dracmnas for room decoration, 265, 275
,, the, 195

EASTER Beurré pear, double grafting,

of, 430

Easter Beurré pear grown on walls in
France, 322

Echeveria metallica, 195

, Edgings for parks, public gardens, Ste.
grass in the parks of Paris and ‘ I

593

, Edgings of ivy, how to make, 310
Copper beech, the, unwisely recom- ‘

Elm, large—leaved Weeping, a fine town
tree. 172

Elm, the, as a city tree, 170

Elymus arenarius, 221

Endives. used in Paris, best kinds of.
517

English cemeteries, 107

INDEX.

lirianthus Ravennze, 32
Erythrinas, 57
Espaliers in the Imperial Gardens at
Versailles, 425
Espaliers, protection for, 582
,, self-supporting. 333
,, mode of protecting, 430
Evergreen trees that flourish in cities,
177
Evergreen trees and shrubs destroyed
by London smut, 161

FAN palms, old specimens of, in

J ardin des Plantes, 75

Ferdinanda eminens, 196

Ferulas, the, 221

Fete of the gardeners, 31

Ficus elastica, 196

Fig culture in the neighbourhood of
Paris, 395

Fig trees buried in the earth to pre-
serve them from frost, 395, 399

Fig trees planted on sloping ground,
401

Floating baths on the Seine, 136

Fontainebleau, and the Gladiolus
grounds of M. Souchet, 251

Forcing, frames for, 568

Formal margins to clumps in bad
taste, 61

Fountains, large ones at Versailles and
at the Crystal Palace, hideous. 240

French apples, high price of, in London
fruit shops, 337

 

 

French writer, a, on the squares of ,

Paris and London, 86
Frépillon, mushroom culture at, 477
Fruit branches, the lines they are to
follow first marked on the walls, 444

Fruit buds, grafting of, on bare spaces, .

393

Fruit culture : how are we to improve?
312

Fruit culture, list of gardens where it
may be seen, 545

Fruit garden for northern France, plan
of, by M. J. Durand, 6'26

639

ARDEN of Acclimatization in the
Bois de Boulogne, 32

Gardens in which the more instructive
features of practical horticulture»
may be seen in and near Paris, 545

Ghastly result of using immortelles in
Parisian cemeteries, 108

Gladioli, list of choice, 257

Gladiolus culture at Fontainebleau, 253-

Glass houses, good arrangement of, in
Jardin Fleuriste, 142

Gourd, large variety used in Paris, 519

Grafting by approach to cover bare
stems, 384

Grafting wax, 565

Grape culture on walls quite practica-
ble in England, 412

Grapes, forcing of, at Thomery, 421
,, preservation of, without letting
them hang on the vines, 405

Grapes, successful keeping of, in dwell-
ing house, 410

Grin, M., his system, 369

Ground, market garden, price of, near
Paris, 462

Gynerium argenteum, 223

ALLES Centrales, 542
Hardy herbaceous plants, &c., for
subtropical gardens, list of, 237
Hardy subtropical plants that may be
raised from seed, 338
Hardy plants for the subtropical gar-
den, 210
Hardy plants noticed in the J ardin des
Plantes, 73
Haricots, kinds used in Paris, 519
Hawthorn family, the, 173
Helianthus orgyalis, 225
Heracleums, the, 225
Hibiscus roseus, 225
Horse chestnut, the, 167

f Hose on wheels, cost of, 41

,, on wheels for watering roads, 40
,, watering with, in market gardens,
465

, Hose, watering with perforated, 39

Fruit garden of the city of Paris in the 3

Bois de Vincennes, 433
Fruit rooms, drying, 566
,, shelves, improved, 566
:a
palier and wall training, 426

trees, improved forms of, for 65- '

Fruit trees, nurseries for, near Paris, ,

546

Fruit trees planted to a much greater ,

extent in France than in England,
614
Funkia sub-cordata, 57

HOtel Cluny, garden of. 102
,, de Ville, plant decorations at,
266

NCISIONS made to regulate the
growth of fruit trees, 381
Indigofera Dosua, 64
,, floribunda, 65
Isolated plants, 52
Ivy and its uses in Parisian gardens,
305

640

Ivy edgings, 307
,, in the Emperor's garden
”at the Tuileries, 13
Ivy, propagation of, for making edgings
in the public gardens, 158

JARDIN des Fleurs at Versailles,

250
J ardin des Plantes, 68
,, ,, collection of pear
trees in, 70
Jardin des Plantes, merits of, 69
,, ,, faults of, 11

n n smallness of grant
to, 76

Jardin Fleuriste, and the other public
nurseries of Paris, 139

Jardin Fleuriste, collections of plants
in. 153

Jurdin Fleuriste, trial ground in, 153

Juncus glaucus, used for tying plants
and fruit trees, 580

AND. dearness of, in London, no
real objection to extensive improve-

ments, 115

La Fosse Commune, 110

Lectures given in the Luxembourg
garden, 80

Lepére, M., his garden at Montreuil,
445

Lettuces, best kinds of, in the Paris
market, 517

Lettuce, Gotte, culture of, 497

,, Petite‘Noire, culture of, 493

,, the Passion, ,, ,, 498

,, Verte Maraichére, culture of,
496

Library in the Jardin Fleuriste, 155

Lilac, white, forcing of, 537

Lime tree. the worst of all trees for
cities, 169

Limnocharis HumbOIdtii, 73

Locust tree, the, 167

 

IN DEX.

A033, 498
Machines for transplanting trees
in Paris, their advantages, 558
Macleaya cordata, 227
Mange-tout, an excellent vegetable
worthy of general culture, 520
Manure employed in the market gar-
dens of Paris, 463
Maples, the, 17 9
Market, fruit, flower, and vegetable, a
good one required for London, 541
Market gardeners of Paris, their con-
dition, 469
Market gardens of Paris, 462
Markets, flower, fruit, and vegetable,
539
Markets, flower, of Paris, 543
Markets of Paris well arranged for the
convenience of the retail buyer, 539,
541
Mastic, l’Homme Lefort, 565
Medicinal and economical plants in the
J ardin des Plantes better arranged
than in British botanic gardens, 7 2
Melianthus major, 227
Melons of the Paris market, 518
Méry-sur-Oise, mushroom culture at,
477
Meudon, 260
Mixed beds in Parc Monceau, examples
of, 50
Molopospermum cicutarium, 22S
Monstera deliciosa, 197
Montrouge, mushroom culture at, 472
Musa Cavendishi, 55
,, Eusete, 55. 197
Mushroom cave, descent into a Parisian,
472
Mushroom cave, plan of, 497
,, culture, 4" 1 ‘3
., culture, depth at which it 15
can 1ed on, 484
Mushroom culture 1n cellars, 485
,, the open air, 48?

, Mushroom spawn, preparation of at

London graveyards needlessly muti- l

lated in converting them into gar-
dens, 106
London squares, 82
Longchamps, watering racecourse of,
39
Louvre, gardens of, 11
Luxembourg garden, 76
,, ,, fountain in, 79
,, system of floral
deco1ation1n,77
Lygeum Spartum, used for tying, 580
Lyons, 600
,, public garden at, 600

Méry, 4S2
Mushrooms, places vvhere they a1e
grown near Paris, 484

ALLl-ll‘, M., 6:33
Nantes, public garden at,

Napoleon peach tree the, 449
Nature‘s plan of a1rang1ng flowers,
Nax ct. kinds grow 11 in the Paris market

519
Necessity of public nuxseries for London

and our other great cities, 139
Nelumbium speciosum, 73
N ew Zealand Flax used for tying, 581

613 '

290

INDEX.

N icotiana macrophylla, 228
,, wigandioides, 199

Numéroteur, the, 572

Nursery for herbaceous plants used in
the public gardens, 157

Nursery for boulevard and avenue
trees, 155

Nursery for shrubs for the public parks
and gardens, 157

Nursery, public, for conifers and rhodo-
dendrons, 158

AKS, the, 179
Oidinm on the vine, mode of de-

stroying, 417

Oleanders in the gardens of the Luxem~
bourg, 80

Oleander, the, culture of, 528

Orange, the, culture of, 531

Orange tree, between 400 and 500
years old, 244

Orange trees, carriage for transporting,
561

Orange trees in tubs, a costly and use-
less fancy, 15

Orange trees in tubs, what to do with
them, 15

Orange trees, 8.20., tubs for, 563

Orchard culture improved, the remedy
for our badly supplied markets, 327

Orohanches in Jardin des Plantes, 75

Our cities, their condition disgraceful,
114 .

Our conservatories, how to improve
their aspect, 290

AILLASSON,
57o
Palais des Thermes, garden of, 102
Palais Royal, garden of, 100
Pall Mall Gazette, the, on the grass in
the London parks, 37'
l’almette Verrier, the, how to train,

,—.
643

Palms, 296
,, for room deccration, 273
,, in the Pan: Monceau, 55
,, list of kinds for stoves, 304
,, list of kinds that may be grown
in cool houses, 304
I’anicnm bulbosum, 229
I’anier, the, 34, 567
Paradise stock, 355 .
description of, 357
M. Carriere on, 356
Professor Koch, on, 356
propagation of, 345

frame for making,

 

 

raising the apple on, 34 5 ,

641

Parc des Buttes Chaumont, 59

n n n alpine Plants
in, 62

Pare Monceau, 48 '

,, ,, description of the plant-
ing in, 54

Parc Monceau, system of planting in, 48

Pare Monceau, variety in, 49

Paris and London, climates of, com~
pared, 550

Parisian squares, idea of them first taken
from those in London, 85

Parisian squares, regulations in, 104

Parks only a partial good if large
cities be not well opened up by airy
roads and small squares, 112

Paulownia imperialis, as a city and
boulevard tree. 170

Paving of the boulevards, 130

Peach gardens of Montreuil, 440
,, the, 325

as a cordon, 366

M. Lepére on,

7) 9’

3' 3’ 1)
368
Peach, the, may be cultivated in
England and Ireland as successfully
as near Paris, 460
Peach tree, disease of, from exposure to
cold, in spring, 442
Peach tree in the U form, 451
,, ,, how to train,
458
Peach tree, the French mode of manag-
ing distinct from ours, 440
Peach tree, young, protected by wooden
coping, 443
Pear, Chinese, 173
,, doing badly on quince stock in-
duced to emit its own roots, 622
Pear, the, as a cordon, 359
,, how to improve its culture,
312
Pear, the, regrafting of worthless sorts
with good varieties, 390
Pear tree, pyramidal training of, 378
,, proper mode of pinching the
shoots of, 394

4‘ Pears, bad kinds regrafted with good

ones, 323

Pears, bad varieties of,
destroyed, 3'23

Pears, best kinds of, for the cordon
system, 361

Pears, good varieties, selection of, 321
,, quantities imported from France,
313

should be

Pears, varieties that should be grown
against walls, 322

Pears, vast numbers of, propagated at
Angers, 610

T’l‘

642

Pears, winter. how to improve our cul-
ture of, 317

Pelargonium Endlicherianum, 70

Pendulous training, 388, 392

Permanent artistic planting the noblest
kind ofgardening, 22

Phormium tenax, 153, 200

Phytolacca decandra, 229

Pinching the summer shoots of fruit
trees, proper and improper modes of,
394

Pits and frames, mats for covering,

Place de la Concorde, 2
,, du Carrousel, 9
,, Napoleon III., gardens in, 9
,, Royale, 99

Plan of fruit garden for the north of
France, 434

Plane tree, the best for cities, 165

Plane trees, noble, in Berkeley-square,
160

Planera acuminata, 36

Planting in public gardens, suggestions
for, ‘25

Plants, bad effect of using those that are
too tender, 49

Plarts isolated on the grass, 52
,, used as food, good arrange-
ment of, in the Jardin des Planies,
72

Plough hoe, the, 568

Polygonum cuspidatum, 54, 229

Polymnia grandis, 199

,, pyramidalis, 199

Poor, the, business-like way of burying
them in Parisian cemeteries, 109

Poplar, the Lombardy, 172

Popular idea of the difficulty of growing
trees in London an erroneous one,
159

Potatoes, early, mode of raising, 527

Pré Catalan, the, 31

Propagating house in the Jardin Fleu-
riste, 145

Propagation of plants in the Jardin
Fleuriste, 146

Public bathing. increased facilities for,
much wanted, 137

Public bathing, suggestions towards
improved means of, 137

Public nurseries, advantages of, to a
city, 13:)

Public nurseries for trees, shrubs, and
hardy flowers, 155

Public nurseries of Paris, a great help
to its gardening, 139

Punch and Judy shows, 8

Pure air and light naturally the pro-
perty of all, 117

 

INDEX.

AIDISSEUR, the, 576

., simplest and best
form of, 578

Railway embankments, fruit growing
on, 332

Reform in the conservatory, 280

Restaurant in the Bois de Vincennes, 36

Restaurants, &c., in public gardens,
advantages of, 4

Rheum Emodi, 231

Rh6u0bésrb not grown by the French,

Rhus glabra laciniata, 231

Ricinus communis, 201

Roads, keeping moist, with deliquescent
salts, 45

Road-making, with cemetery headstones
five and six years old, 110

Robinias in North Italy, 168

Rockwerk in the Parc des Buttes
Cbaumont, 62

Room decoration in Paris, 272
,, for locomotion a great want in
our cities, 115

Rose order, flowering trees of, 173

Roses. showing of in France, 535

Rotation of crops in Parisian market
gardens, 468

Rouen, 614
,, public garden at, 616

Rush, common Hard, its use in tying,
580

ALADS, culture of, 489
Saulsaie, Ecole Régionale de la, 604

Scarolle, 500
Sceaux, 628
School of botany in Jardin des Plantes,

73
Screw used in transplanting, 560
Seaforthia elegans, 203
Seat with tent-like shade, 564

' Seats, garden, 563, 564

Si‘cateur, the, 574

Shoots of fruit trees, proper and im-
proper modes of cutting, 394

Short pinching system applied to the
peach, 369

Solanums, the. 203

Sophora japouica, 176 .

.. pendula, 173

Space well utilized in the houses in
the Jardin Fleuriste, 147

Sparganiuin ramosum used for tying
grafts and buds, 581

Spring vans for conveying plants to
the Hetel de Ville, 154

Spring vans for conveying bedding plants
from the Jardin Fleuriste, 154

INDEX.

Square de Belleville, 100
,, la Chapelle Expiatoire de
Louis XVI., 100
Square de Montrouge, 95
,, des Arts et Métiers, 98
,, des Batignolles, 91
list of trees,
shrubs, and flowers in, 94
Square des Innocents, 100
,, du Temple, 96
,, Louvois, 101
,, Montholon, 101
,, St. Clothilde, 105
,, St. Jacques, 82
,, de Vintimille, 103
Squares opened on the Parisian plan
only want to be tried to be generally
adopted in London, 90
Squares, places, church gardens, &c.,
82

Stalactite cave in the Parc des Buttes
Chaumont, 59

Stationers’ Hall Court, plane tree in,
160

St. Cloud, gardens at, 259

Stocks for the apple, 355

Straw mats, frame for making, 570

Street gardens in English cities, 164

Students in the Jardin Fleuriste, 155

Subterranean quarries devoted to mush-
room culture, 477

Subtropical plants, a list of 100 of the
best kinds, 208

Subtropical plants, a list of 24 of the
best kinds, 208

Subtropical plants that may be raised
from seed, 209

Subtropical plants for the flower garden,
182

Subtropical system, how far it is worthy
of adoption in England. 183

Subtropical system, what it has taught ‘

us, 152

Suburbs of London, bad arrangement of,
1 1 8

Suggestions towards making an orna-
mental promenade of a glass covered
way on the same plan as that between
the houses in the J ardin F leuriste,
144

Suisnes, 628

Sweet potato, the, 525

V ‘EMPORARY coping, a good one,
583
Thalia dealbata, 32
Tour, horticultural, through parts of
France in 1868, 600
Tour St. Jacques, the, 82

 

643

Training, 373
,, of pyramidal pear tree, 378
Transplanting, excellent mode of, 559
large trees, 651

Tree beauty, a French ideal of, 259

Trees and shrubs for cities, 8. selection
of the best, 165

Trees, fine sorts worthy of being more
generally planted, 178

Trees for city parks, avenues, gardens,
streets, etc, 159

Trees, large, results of experiments in
transplanting, 558

Trees may be grown better in London
than in Paris, 159

Trees of weeping habit, 172
., on the Boulevards, planting of,
127

Trees planted in summer, 60, 80

Treille (in Roi at Fontainebleau, 252

Trianous, Grand and Petit, 249

Triiomas, the, 232

Troyes, 619

Truck for tubs or large pots, 562

Tuileries, gardens of, 12

Tulip tree, the, 176

Tying plants, material for, 579

UHDEA bipinnatifida, 205

ARIETY, great advantage of, in
city gardens, 28
Variety, want of, in gardens, 23
Vegetable culture near Paris, list of
places where it may be seen, 547
Vegetables, insufficiency of, in London,
540
Vegetables in Paris market, tender and
good, no matter how hot the weather,
466
Vegetables of the Paris market, ob-
servations on some of the, 515
Verbascum vernale, 233
Verbesina gigantea, 206
Versailles, 239
,, gardens it,
taste, 241
Versailles, orangery at, 244
,, Imperial fruit and forcing
gardens at, 424
Ver blame, the, 255
Vilmorin, Andrieux, MM., and Co.,
516
Vine culture at Thomery, 412
Vine, mode of grafting, practised at
Thomery, 421
Vines, fine collection of,
d’Acclimatatiou, 32

in wretched

in J ardin

(L44

WAGES in market gardens of Paris,
470

Walks in French gardens frequently too

» much displayed, 64

Walks, widening of, to permit of chil-
dren using them as playgrounds, 91

Wall surface, more, wanted in our
gardens, 317

Walls, concrete, 317
,, for fruit growing made of earth,
602, 607

Walls, fruit, protection for. 582
,, for fruit trees should be white,
318

Walls for fruit trees, neglect of, 461

Water, advantages of an abundant sup-
ply of, in gardens, 466

Watering, cost of, 43

INDEX.

Watering in Parisian market gardens,
464

Watering the parks, gardens, roads,
etc.. 37

Watering with carts, 43

Waterworks and fountains of Versailles,
247

Wellingtonias in Bois de Vincennes, 37

Wigandia macrophylla, 206

Wire, attaching it to garden walls, 587
,, galvanized, its sizes and price, 591

Woodwardias in the Luxembourg gar-
den, 81

Workmen in market gardens of Paris,
470

 

UCCASthe234
{Y .,

THE END.

. LONDON!
SAVILL, EDWARDS AND (1)., PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,
COVENT GARDEN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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