anil othenvise well managed. In tlie winter time forced flowers are exposed for sale,
and also sununer flowers, which have heen dried in stoves, and preserve their colours perfectly.
Tho same thing is done with aromatic herhs, and some pot-herbs, as pai-sley,
chervil, &c. The gardens of the commercial florists of Paris are numerous, but not
large. ’ Their produce is chiefly disposed of at the flower-markct of P a r is ; for the purchasers
of floAvcrs there have not leisure, as in England, to go in search of them among
the suburban gardens.
The garden of M. Fion is one of the first of a great number of this class in and about Paris. M. Fion
joins to a knowledge of botany and gardening, invention, enthusiasm, and taste ; and he has applied all
his energies in rendering an acre of ground brim-full of botanical and picturesque interest. He first
began tó’grow orange trees in 1813; and in 1828 his garden contained a number of houses and p its, m
which were not only an extensive stock of popular plants, such as camellias, ericas, pelargoniums,
oranges &c., b u t also some of the most rare hothouse and greenhouse plants to be found in P an s .
There were also some ornamental buildings; a small temple, containing a bust of Thouin (and it is paying
M. Fion no mean compliment to say, that he duly appreciates the character of this most scientific ot
French gardeners); rockwork, fountains, painted landscapes, as terminations to walks m the open air,
and also for completing the effect of certain compositions of rockwork, water, and succulent plants,
which M. Fion had formed within the houses. There was a wall covered with orange trees, which bore
abundantly, and had a fine appearance. Every part of M. Fion’s grounds was as neat and orderly as it
was tas te fu l: and, in short, there is no commercial flower-garden m P a n s that will so well repay the
visiter. (Gard. Mag., vol. vii. p. 132.) This garden was well kept up in 1840, and enriched by a jarffin
d ’hiver, or conservatory, the glass and frame of which were removed in summer; but since th a t period
M. Fioii is dead, aud the garden has been destroyed. . ^ ,
The garden o f M. Trivet le Blanc, Avenue de S reteuil, in 1840, was one of th e first m P a n s for hya-
cinths"tulips auriculas, carnations, and, in short, every description of florists’ flowers, as well as many
kinds of culinary vegetables and fruits- The family of Tripet has been celebrated for tulips for three
generations.
282. Market-gardens. There ai’e excellent market-gardens in the neighhourhooJ
of Paris, Avhcre, by force of manure and daily -waterings, the vegetables are brought
to a large size and very succulent quality. Figs, for the market, are groAvn by a particular
class of fruit-growers at Arg en tcu il; gi-apes, at Fontainebleau; peaches, at
Montreuil, aud cherries at various villages to the east of Pails. The mai-ket-gai-dcns of
Paris are numerous, generally of small extent, and cultivated by manual lab o u r; but a
fcAv of them may he designated farm-gardens, in which are used the plough and other
agi-icultural implements. As vegetables enter more into the cookery of France than tf ty
do into that of England, au immense quantity is consumed at the hospitals and similai-
institutions ; and, in consequence of this, the more extensive market-gardeners employ
their produce chiefly in executing contracts entered into with public bodies. With tlxis
exception, the produce of the Paris markct-gai’dens is sold in the vegetable markets, as
in Loudon. The point in wliich the Parisian market-gardeners chiefly excel those of
London is the culture of winter salading, especially cabbage lettuce. This is groAvn on
old melon beds, covered with glass, and heated by linings of dung, in the Dutch
manner ; or in favourable situations and dry soil, composed entirely of dung rotted into
a black mould, in the open garden. The demand for cabbage lettuce in the Paris
mai-ket, during tho whole winter, is vciy great, and it is abmidantly supphcd with an
cxceUent article.
283. The fig gardens at Argentcuil, a village about six miles from Paris, are intermixed
with the vineyards th e re ; and, at a short distance, only distinguished from them by the
larger size of the plants, and the deeper green of the foiiagc. The fig trees ai-e low
spreading bushes, none of them higher than six or seven feet, with the branches
proceeding fr-om the centre or stool in five or six clusters or bundle s; each bundle consisting
of three or four leading branches with their side shoots. The angle wliich the
bundle makes with the ground may be about 45°. The cause of the shoots being
in bundles, and of the obliquity of tliis angle, is, that the bundles are every winter
bent down to the ground, and cither held doAvn to it by stakes or stones, or partially or
Avholly buried in the earth. It is a mistake to suppose that a covering of earth is required
to protect them from the fro s t; pressing them to the surface of fte groimd, and
retaining them there, as done with the -vines in the south of Germany, is sufficient. It
is only because it is fpund the cheapest mode, laboiu- being less costly than either stones
or stakes, that the branches are most frequently partially bmied. An old man and his
wife described to us the manner in Avhich the trench for each bundle of branches was
dug o u t; and told us that the bundle was held down by one man, Avhile another covered
the extremities with about a foot of earth. The centre of the bush is sometimes enveloped
in s traw ; but this is considered too expensive to pay. Any leaves and umipe fr-uit which
may be on the branches are taken off when the latter ai-e laid down, to prevent their
rotting the young shoots. In spring, when the earth is removed, the bundles are un tied,
and the branches restored to thefr former position; the dead wood is then cut
out. Almost the only pinning is in June, when the points of all the young shoots arc
pinched off, to enlarge the size and hasten the growth of the fr-uit. Whenever a shoot
becomes too stiff to bend down, it is cut off close to the ground, and a young sucker is
allowed to take its place. The figs wliich proceed fi-om the wood of the past year ripen
n atu ra lly ; but those on the wood of the cuiTcnt year frequently do n >t ripen at aU, and
almost always requfre artificial aid. Tliis aid consists in dropping a little oil into the
eye or flower of the fruit. The woman mentioned was employed for this purpose, and
showed us how it was performed. She had a small phial of olive oil suspended from
her apron strings, and in her hand the upper part of a stalk of wheat, forming a tube
open at both ends, about five inches long. She inserted the small end of this tube iu
the phial ; and before taking it out, placed her thumb on its upper and broadest end, to
prevent, by intercepting the pressure of the atmosphere, the oil which had risen in the
tube from flowing out ; Avith the other hand she then turned toAvards her the eye of a
fuU-gi-own fig, and applying to it the small end of the straw tube, lifted h e r thumb from
the other end, just long enough to let a small drop of oil enter the orifice in the fig.
Before requiring a fresh supply of oü, she performed this operation to ten or twelve
figs. The object of this application, she told us, was to occasion a sort o f artificial
ripening, or easy separation (pom- les faire partir), of the fig from the shoot. I t certainly
renders them eatable ; but they are far from being equal to those which are
ripened natiu-ally,
284. The peach gardens o f Montreuil, a Affilage near Paris, are walled enclosures of
from half an acre to three acres each ; and M. Otto remarks, that if the walls were extended
in one line, they would reach to the distance of several miles. From these
gm-dens the private establishments of the principal proprietors in France axe furnished
Avith trained peach and nectarine trees, aud the Paris market Avith peaches. The soil
on which the trees are grown is on the secondary limestone common to the Paris basin ;
the exposiu-c to the south-east, Avith no shelter except what is given by the Avails, which
arc generally fr-om eight to eleven feet liigh ; and Mr. Thompson tells us that they are
covered with plaster on both sides rather more than an inch thick. Between 1400 and
_1500 acres are devoted in this Commime to the groAvth of peaches (Journ. Hort. Soc., vol.
ii. p. 227.). The gardens ai-e in square or parallelogram enclosures, the walls planted
on both sides, and the interior devoted to the culture of vines, for thefr fi-uit for the
dessert. The trees ai-e generally budded by the growers on almond, apricot, or plum
stocks ; they are planted, when budded one yeai*, against the walls, and made fast to
them, to prevent their being stolen, by iron hooks which pass through the Avail, and are
riveted on the other side. The mode of training may be described as an imperfect fan
manner ; tAvo leading branches, one on each side, being kept as the parents from which
all the others are to spring ; and these leading brandies are elevated or depressed, so as
to keep the wall equally covered Avith shoots, with the exception of the centre, wliich is
generally somewhat open. Tliis mode, known as that à la Montreuil, has been greatly
lauded iu France, and Avill he described at length Avhen treating of the peach tree.
285. The cherry gardens are chiefly to the cast of Paiis, and in the vale of Montmorency.
The cheiry trees are standards, planted among vines, and sometimes among
beds of straAvbeiries ; they receiAæ vei-y little culture or praning. The sorts ai-c for the
most part the medoc (om- May Duke), and the Kentish or Flemish. Cherries, indeed,
like apples and peai-s, ai-e common in all gardens in France. They ai-e more especially
excellent in Touraine, as apples are in Normandy, and pears in the north of Picai-dy.
The straAvherries wliich supply the Parisian mai-kets are chiefly grown at Fontenay aux
Roses, on the south of Pai-is.
286. The field marhet-gardcns o f Paris arenoAv all in what is called the Plaine de St.
Denis, which is the richest soil in the neighbourhood of the French metropolis.
287. The market-gardens and orchards o f Touraine have long been celebrated. Those
in the neighbourhood of Tours ai-e numerous, aud extend in some places to a considerable
distance from the toAAui ; most of them ai-e small, and they ai-c for the greatest part
cultivated by the proprietors. A very interesting description of these gardens is given
by Mr. Moggridge in the Gardener’s Magazine for 1831 (vol. Affi. p. 89. and p. 487.).
Eai-ly in spring, the almond, the apricot, the peach tree, the cheiTy, and the plum
beautifully chequer the scene Avith thefr blushing and delicate blossoms. They are
planted freely in the vineyards, as well as in the gai-dens ; are generally standard trees ;
and most years yield their respective fruits in great abundance and excellence. In the
market-gardens, not only do nearly all of the hardy and spring vegetables which we
cultivate find a place, but the cai-doon and many other plants (used chiefly for their
soups and salads, of Avhich wc know little, and cultivate less,) arc intermixed in almost
endless variety. Excellent and cheap, surprisingly so, are the vegetable productions of
these gardens ; and, in general, they are taken to market at least a month earlier than
the same articles are in the most favom-cd parts of England. On the 1st of April,
1830, asparagus was served up at table, and had been in the market a week before ; the
heads were sold on that day for a fi-anc (lOJ.) the botte, containing from seventy-five to
eighty Avell-grown asparagus shoots ; and by the 16th two larger bottes, of fr-om ninety to
100 stalks each, were to be had for one franc four sous, equal to a sliilling of our money.
Vast quantities of this excellent vegetable were by this time not only exposed for sale on
the market-day, but hawked about the streets daily. Tlie cultivation of the aspai-agus
I* .