THE FRUIT GARDENS NEAR PARIS. 



549 



mulching. Watering trees thai hare been 

 transplanted every day or two for a month 

 or six weeks afterwards, as I have seen 

 many do, is a matter of no small labor and 

 cost. It helps to kill the tret-, I am satis- 

 fied ; if not by the constant and violent al- 

 ternations of wet ami dry, which the tree 

 suffers in this climate, then with the hard- 

 ening and baking of the ground which it 

 causes. On the other hand, the tree once 

 planted, it can be mulched (if the materi- 

 als are at hand,) in five minutes; and from 

 that time forth it demands no more atten- 

 tion — no carrying of water — no stirring of 

 the ground. The ground is also kept in 

 that state of steady moisture and coolness 

 most favorable to the growth of new roots ; 

 and if there is any vital power in the tree, 

 it is sure to show itself in this way. 



As to the importance of preventing the 

 soil from parching up in the summer, espe- 

 cially when you are raising somewhat deli- 

 cate plants, every one can see it for him- 

 self, without demonstration. I have found 

 it easy to cultivate some garden favorites 

 in this way, that gave me a good deal of 



trouble before I tried it. Indeed, so great 

 is its efficacy that some German agricultu- 

 ral writers, as you are dot ware, 



have not hesitated to take the j round, that 

 covering the ground with a coat of straw 

 acts more beneficially upon a crop than 

 giving it a coat of manure of any descrip- 

 tion. Although I am not prepared to take 

 this extreme ground, I am confident that 

 mulching, especially to the fruit and orna- 

 mental tree-grower, is a practice of great 

 value, and much too little understood by 

 most persons. Yours, 



A Constant Reader. 



Dutchess county, N. V., May, 1650. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent is not a 

 stronger advocate of the advantages of 

 mulching than we are. Indeed, we have, 

 for the sake of experiment, covered a piece 

 of ground with straw in the German man- 

 ner, in a small vineyard of about an acre in 

 our own premises, in order to notice il 

 there is any other value in the application 

 than that arising from maintaining the soil 

 in the best condition for growth. Ed. 



REPORT ON THE FRUIT GARDENS NEAR PARIS. 



BY ROBERT THOMPSON, OF THE HORT. GARDEN, LONDON. 



[From a long and valuable report, made to 

 the Horticultural Society of London {Jour- 

 nal Hart. Soc.,) by Mr. Thompson, the able 

 superintendent, we extract the following 

 pages, which will be found exceedingly in- 

 teresting to all growers of choice fruit trees. 

 The theory and practice of pruning fruit 

 trees are better understood in France than 

 in any other part of the world ; and if prac- 

 tical lectures, like those given by M. Har- 

 dy, in the Luxembourg gardens, could be 



delivered in some agricultural or horticultu- 

 ral school in this country, they would be of 

 incredible advantage to the progress of sci- 

 entific fruit culture. Ed.] 



The garden committee having considered 

 it desirable that I should proceed to France 

 for the purpose of reporting to the council 

 what I might observe most worthy of notice 

 in the fruit and kitchen gardens there, it 

 was deemed expedient that I should pro- 

 ceed thither early in the spring, on account 

 of seeing the operations of pruning and 



