194 Sketch of the Botany, fyc., 



scoparia, Pistacia Terebinthus and Lentiscus, Daphne Gni- 

 dium, Myrtus communis, Cytisus spinosus, &c. 



Perhaps the richest herborisation in the neighbourhood of 

 Hyeres is that comprised in the salt marshes of the peninsula 

 of Giens, which is connected with the mainland by a narrow 

 band of sand, less than twenty yards in breadth, and nearly 

 two miles long, upon which we met with a number of inte- 

 resting plants, amongst which were, Matthiola tricuspidata, 

 Echin6phora spinosa, Salsola S6da, Limbarda crithmoides, 

 Sonchus maritimus, Medicago marina, Diotis maritima, 

 Silene nicaeensis and quinquevulnera, Salicornia macro- 

 stachya, Convolvulus Soldanella, A'triplex portulacbides, 

 A'ster Tripolium, and Poa littoralis. The dry and arid parts 

 of the peninsula furnished us with Zacintha verrucosa, Cru- 

 cianella angustifolia, Juncus ericetorum, Paronychia imbricata, 

 Polycarpon tetraphyllum, Buphthalmum aquaticum, Heli- 

 anthemum guttatum, Polycnemum arvense, and Tolpis bar- 

 bata: whilst the lower and more humid parts repaid us for 

 our researches with Euphorbia pilosa, Thalictrum angusti- 

 folium, Ranunculus Philonotis, Scirpus Savi, CEnanthe glo- 

 b6sa, A v pium graveolens, Triglochin Barrelieri, Tamarix gai- 

 Jica, Lotus angustissimus, Convolvulus althaebides, Dorycnium 

 herbaceum, Lythrum hyssopifolium, and a crowd of other in- 

 teresting plants. 



But it is not the spontaneous productions alone of Nature 

 that attract the attention of the naturalist in this highly fa- 

 voured spot. The hand of man has transplanted from its 

 native clime the golden-fruited orange tree ; and, from the 

 Var to the Pyrenees, Hyeres is the only town where the 

 cultivation of this delicious fruit has been successfully at- 

 tempted. The gardens of MM. Filhe and Beauregard are the 

 principal depositories of this tree : the former of them is now 

 cultivated by M. Rautonnet, from whom, without any other 

 introduction than that of being engaged in the study of 

 botany, we received every attention possible, and, through 

 his kindness, were allowed the novelty of tasting the highly 

 sugared fruit of the Mespilus japonica, which ripened in the 

 open ground under his care. Within the space of two arpents 

 are contained upwards of 1 5,000 orange trees, which average 

 an annual receipt of 35,000 francs (1400/.). Before the 

 disastrous winter of 1820, during which all the trees were 

 cut down to the root, their number was 18,000, and the annual 

 receipts proportionally increased. The orange trees are 

 planted so close as to touch one another : the largest of them 

 is 20 ft. high, and bore, in 1835, 1200 oranges. They are 

 watered by means of channels, through which water is con- 



