82 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
tree avenues, the Medici Fountain, and the Avenue of the 
Observatory, created a charming impression. ‘lhe gardens 
of the ‘l'uileries, designed by Le Notre in 1665, were in good 
condition. Flower beds of large dimensions contained admura- 
ble groupings of herbaceous perennials instead of the usual 
summer bedding material. ‘lhe spacious avenues, the large 
pools, the fine trees and shrubbery plantings, and the numer- 
ous statues made these gardens fine examples of French gar- 
dening at its best. Previous to the summer of 1919, the spa- 
cious gardens surrounding and beneath the Kiffel Tower were 
given over to the parking of hundreds of French automobile 
trucks and trailers used in supply trains, but in 1919 they 
were in their original state and much admired. 
Traveling southwest from Paris toward the Touraine 
Valley the first stop of importance is Blois. To the architect, 
the chateau of Blois, one of the most splendid in France, is a 
masterpiece affording good examples of the various periods of 
the Renaissance and earlier work. The landscape architect, 
however, finds little of interest, as there is hardly a trace of 
the chateau gardens which once existed. Walled portions still 
remain, but all evidence of the design has vanished. The 
Avenue Victor Hugo leading from the railroad station to the 
center of town curves around a charming little public garden 
with a fountain. In this garden a fine specimen of the Cedar 
of Lebanon (Cedrus Inbani) and a California redwood 
(Sequoia) frame a beautiful view of the elaborate north 
facade of the chateau. 
Leaving Blois, the journey carries one to Amboise, famous 
for its fine chateau perched on a rock above the village. Here, 
too, as at Blois, are remnants of gardens, but the original 
design is lost. Numerous standard roses border the walks, 
and a portion of the courtyard is covered with a canopy of 
clipped trees beneath which ferns grow luxuriantly. 
Fine roads lead through the extensive forest of Amboise to 
Chenonceaux, a distance of nine miles. The village lies in the 
valley of the Cher River on the edge of the forest of Amboise. 
From the park gates, the chateau is approached through a 
stately avenue of plane trees, half a mile long. Two granite 
sphinxes at the opposite end of this avenue guard the 
entrance to a formal garden enclosed by low walls, brilliant 
with flowers. A watch-tower on the right of the garden whose 
walls, mellowed with age, are partly covered with vines, be- 
longs to an earlier castle. As the whole of the chateau stands 
in the Cher River there are two draw-bridges which connect 
it with the banks. The castle, with its galleried bridge ex- 
tending across the river, is unique in construction, and its 
