ÏÏK '
plant in the ncighbouiliood of Tours, if cultivation it can be called, is curious, as affording
a striking proof of the peculiar excellence of the soil, the general mildness of its
winters, and the early warmth of its springs. After the seeds ni*e once sown, no other
cai-e is bestowed upon the beds but to keep them free from weeds. Every stock cut
throws up several, and continues to do so for many years, without renewal ot tJie
plants, or change of the beds ; and in tho winter they arc scarcely ever covered with
manm-c, as in England, cither to protect them from the effects of frost, or to hasten tftir
sprouting cm-ly in the spring. Green peas were plentiful in the market by the end of
April ; and I was assured by Enghsh persons who had resided many years in Tom-s,
that peas were late this ycai*.
288. Markets. In Fi-ance, as in other countries where nursencs arc not common,
or to be found in eveiy town or village, as they are in Britain, their produce, whether
trees, plants, roots, or seeds, is exposed for sale iu tho mai'kct-places. This is a bad^
practice, both for the seller and the purchaser ; and, in cveiy countiy, as tho facilities ot
communication ai-e increased, it must inevitably he abandoned. The produce of market-
gardens, being of immediate constimption, always has been, and always will be, exposed
publicly for sale, in quantities together, for tlie choice of the consumer.
289. The Paris market fo r trees and shrubs is held every Wednesday aud Saturday, on
the Quai dc la Cité. There are 200 stands. The nurserymen exposing trees for sale ai*e
obliged to he furaishcd ivith a certificate from the mayor of their district, that the articles
they offer arc all grown by themselves. (Annales d ’Horticulture, tome i. p. 106.)
290. The flower-markets o /P a m are numerous. Tho oldest, established in 1808, is
held every Wednesday and Satui'day, and occupies an open area of about two acres on
the Quai Dessaix ; and the stands of the different florists (324 in number) arc held
under four pai-allcl rows of the common and threc-thonied acacia : in the nudcUe and at
the extremities there are basins of Avatcr, for the purpose of watering the plants. Ih e
stands arc almost always kept hy the ivives or daughters of the growers ; and not, as in
London, by a distinct class, intcnnediatc between the gai'dener and the consumer. Ih o
place of each person is raai-kcd ; and each pays the town of Fai-is 25 cents (twopence
haHpcmiy) a day. Evciy thing connected with the stands is portable ; the pots and
plants ai-c, for the most part, set on the ground ; and only such as scU seeds, and cut
flowers, have small benches, on which they are placed. In summer, the attendant lady
sits in a chair, close hcliind which is a pole or rod, terminating in a hole, for the iiiser-
tion of au umbrella, which serves also as a parasol. In winter, she has a mat round the
chair, and straw upon a board, on wliich to place her feet. Some have small portable
houses, with a brazier of charcoal embci's. We visited this market ou September 13th,
and ou December 20th. (Gard. Mag., vol. vii. p. 130.) I t is necessary for each persoei
to prove that he cultivates a certain portion of land (25 acres) as a flower-garden, to be
entitled to a stand in this market. (An. d ’Hort., &c.) Besides tliis flowcr-markct there
are now fom* more of the same, and under tlie same regulations. The first is in the
Place de la Madelaine, and is held cveiy Tuesday and Friday ; the second is in the
Place Royale, and is held evciy Monday and Friday ; the tliird is on the Esplanade of
the Chateau d’Eau, aud is also held evciy Monday and Friday ; and the fonrtli, which
is ill the Place St. Sulpicc, is held cvciy Tuesday and Friday.
291. The fr u it and vegetable markets o f Paris arc numerous, and arc situated m different
parts of the town ; but the principal is the Marché des Jnnocens, which may be considered the
Covcnt Gai-den of Pai-is. The ai-ea of this market, which was established in 1788, exceeds
an acre ; and it is sm-ronndcd by a quadrangular range of sheds open on both sides, with
a walk in the ccnrtc. There aa-e vciy few close fruit-shops under these sheds, as in tlic
London market. In the open area, in the centre, potatoes, turnips, cai-i-ots, and the commoner
and more bulky vegetables, arc sold by wholesale. Under the sheds, these and_all
other vegetables and fruits, with some descriptions of flowers, ai-c sold by retail. Adjoinmg
tlie market are shops, in which ai-c sold pistachvas and other dried fhiits, oranges, nuts,
&c., bm-nt onions, burnt carrots, dried pears, plums, apples, and apricots. Iffie omons
and carrots arc chai-rcd, so as to become as black as ink : this effect is produced by baking
them slowly in an oven, and talcing them out at intervals, during several days. They
ai-c used in cookery for colouring soups. Sprigs of orange tree in blossom ai-c, we were
told, to bo found in this market throughout the yeai-. These are considered essential
accompaniments to the dress of bridal parties; and although artificial flowers perfumed
Avith orange water, arc sometimes employed by those who cæmot afford tho living
article, yet the latter is by flu- the most generally used. The chief mai-lcct for apples,
pears, and grapes, is on the Quai de la Tournelle. The supplies of every kind to these
markets are quite equal, and in some respects superior, to those of the London markets.
The Marché St. Honoré is also for all kinds of garden products ; it is of considerable extent,and is w d l
supplied. Besides these general markets, there arc several set aside for selling some of the m f t t usftul
vegetables by wholesale. Of these the potato market is the prmcipal. It is hold m t f t Eue dc la
Grande Friperie ; and, though it has not been established above fifty years, is now one of the rnost un-
portant in Paris. The market for peas and kidncybeans is also a very considerable one. It is held at
eight o’clock in tbe evening, in the Place St. Eustache. There are also separate markets for artichokes,
carrots, &c., and one exclusively for the sale of medicinal herbs. This last is held in the Hue dc la
Poterie, and is under the superintendence of a medical botanist, Avho is also charged with the examination
of all the mushrooms exposed for public sale. Nothing can exceed the order and excellent arrangement
of these markets. (Annales dc la Société d'Horticulture, t. ii. p. 32.) This market is remarkable for its
supply of early fruits and vegetables, which are only to be had here.
292. O f artists in gardening (artistes jardiniers, architectes des jardins), there are a
number in France, chiefly resident in Paris. Girardin, Morel, and Dclille may be
considered as having established the principles of gardening in France, as an art of
design and taste ; but it does not appear clear that the ai-tists in general have caught
thcii- principles.
SuBSBCT. 6. French Gatdening, as a Science, and as to the Authors it has produced.
293. The science o f gardening is well understood in France among the eminent gardeners
and professors ; perhaps better than in any other country, Quintinye and Du
Ilaincl applied all the physiological knoAvledgc of their day to the treatment of fruit
and forest trees ; and the theories of grafting, of healing Avounds, and of artificial
excitements to fruitfulness, were explained in their Avorks. Rozicr, Aubcrt du Petit
Thouai-s, Bose, and above all Professor Thouin, have brouglit the sciences of chemistry
and of botany to bear on the vai-ious parts of gardening and rural economy, which they
have treated of in various Avorks, but especially in the Nouveau Cours d’Agriculture (14
vols. 8vo), published in 1810. The art of heating hothouses by hot water was invented
in France by a physician of the name of Bonncmain, in 1777, and the liothouses in the
Ja rd in des Plantes, were heated in that manner in tlie time of Louis XVI., though it
was afterwards given up, in consequence of the first revolution. Herbaceous grafting
was first iiiA'cnted and extensively practised by the Baron de Tschoudy, in the neighbourhood
of Metz. (Ann. de I’Agr. Franç., tom. xxix.) Dutrochet, well known to the
scientific world, as connected Avith anatomical and physiological researches, has made
extensive discoveries in physiological botany, and illustrated the laAVg of vital motion in
plants. (Agent immédiat du Mouvement Vital, &c. ; and Gard. Mag., vol. iii, p. 78.) The
supposed influence o fth e moon on plants is shoAVn by M. A rago to be founded o n fact ;
and he explains its effects on the principles established by Dr, WeUs in Ms Treatise on
D cav, In clear moonlight nights, the unintcn-upted radiation ft-om the earth’s surface
does injxu-y by the cold it produces ; while cloudy nights, or those Avithout moonshine,
prevent radiation, and keep plants on tho surface of tho ground Avarra. (Gard. Mag.,
vol. iii, p. 464.)
294. The court and national gardeners have, for the last thirty years, been men
eminent for scientific and practical knoAvledge ; wlio have received a regular education,
and rank Avith other croAvn ofiiccrs. I t is not there as in England, Avhere too fr-cqucntly
the royal situations have been occupied by mere empirical practitioners, recommended
by some court favourite, or succeeding by the common chances of life.
295. The French authors on gardening ai-c very numerous : L a Quintinye, Schabol,
Du Ilamcl ; and afterwards, Thouin, Bose, Butrct, and Du Petit Thouars. But
Quintinye is their most original and meritorious Avritcr on horticulture, Du Ilamcl on
forest planting, Lelieur on frait trees, and Girardin and D’ArgciiA’ille on landscape-
gardening. Their Avorks on florists’ flowers, sucli as D’Ardènc, Traité des Tulipes, &c.,
are chiefly translations from tlie Dutch. Tlic best general AVork is Le Bon Jardinier, a
ncAv edition of Avliich is published annually Avith all the modern improvements.
Sect. IV. O fth e Rise, Progress, and present State o f Gardening in Germany.
296. The gardening o f Germany, as compared to that o f Britain, is, on the whole,
inferior in the splendom- of its productions ; but it is nevertheless pureued in Germany
Avith greater ardour, in proportion to the wealth of the inhabitants. If there arc no
gardens in Germany in the natural style equal to many of the parks of Britain, it is not
for Avant of skill on the part of the Germans in laying them out, but ratlicr OAving to tlie
obstacles throAAoi in their way by nature. The severity of the Avintcrs is not only adverse
to the growth of evergreens and turf, but good gravel is scarce, and the best substitutes
for it are too expensive for general use. The gardens of Munich, the public gardens
of Magdcbm-g, and the names of Sckcll and Lcnné, prove that both the principles of
landscape-gai-dening and their aiiplication ai-e better understood iu Gennany than they
are in Britain,
297. In arboriculture the Gennans arc in advance of the gardeners of Britain ;
because wood is, in most parts of Germany, the principal fuel, and because, in the
interior, all timber for the purpose of constractioii is supplied ft-om the ten-itory, and
not, as in Britain, imported by sea. The culture of hedges, hoAvcvcr, is not so far
adA-anced as in Britain ; because agriculture, in most parts, is not yet in such a state as