Fobruavy 26, 166J. J 



JODHNAL OF HORriOULTDRB MD OOX'^IAqHS! GAllUKNEB. 



m 



never seen the Chiiuonftnthufl froRrftUB do well except agiiinat 

 a wall." In Pevoneliire, ft few miles below Torquay, 1 lifivo 

 seen it as a IiubU doiuR lumarlialily well, aud in tlie winter 

 flowering beautifully. — Alkeki Buujiels. 



MARKET GARDENING ABOUT LONDON AND 

 PAIUS.— No. fi, 



OENEIUIi MANAliEMENT Of CHOPS. 



Are the French market gardeners superior to the English ? 

 is ft nueetiou that has beou much debated of lato ; it is cue to 

 whioh different replies are given accordini,' to the prejndioes, 

 and, indeed, I may say the ignorance of the persons by whom 

 the question is put or the answer given ; and it is one to whi.'h 

 I have endeavoured iu the course of tho.se papers to give a fair 

 and rational answer. I have, therefore, thought it worth while, 

 before passing on to consider the much-agitated fruit question, 

 to say a few words on the different methods of cultivation 

 pursued by the French and Entjlish market gardener, and 

 whether — for after all that is the main question — one gets more 

 ont of the ground than the other. As to the value of trench- 

 ing, deep digging, and manuring the ground, there is equal 

 importance assigned to it in both couutrits ; and us iu London, 

 BO in Paris, the omnibus and cab yards afford the great supplies 

 of manure whioh are needed alike in both. I do not, however, 

 think that the Frenchman works his ground so much as the 

 Englishman, his method of culture necessitating less of this 

 hard labour than ours, while a large portion of his time is 

 taken np iu the watering that his warmer and drier climate 

 renders necessary. Here let me say that much unnecessary 

 Lard hitting has been made on this very subject of climate ; 

 it is very true, as I have already said, that the average summer 

 heat of Paris is not more than 2 iu excess of that of London, 

 but sea what that does, combined, as it is, with greater sunlight 

 and dryness. One of the commonest out-of-door crops in the 

 market gai-dens about Paris is the Cantaloupe Melon ; and 

 what measure of success should we bo likely to have it we 

 attempted this in England? Or, again, take Tomatoes. We 

 cannot grow these in our warmest seasons except near to or 

 against a south wall, paling, or bank; while about Paris they 

 require no such adventitious aid. So that, although I do not 

 claim for the French the enjoyment of a paradisaical climate, 

 I do maintain that they have one which in many respects, and 

 most decidedly in that of fruit-growing, gives them an advan- 

 tage. I do not say that it helps them so much in vegetables ; 

 indeed, it makes the production of many crops a very laborious 

 matter, as the watering pot has to be constantly going. 



As far as I could see, the great aim of the French market 

 gardener is always to have a crop on the ground which is mar- 

 ketable. Well, people may smila and say, " We all desire 

 that." But what I mean is just this : If you go into a market 

 garden, say Mr. Myatt's at Deptford, or Mr. Bagley's at Fulham, 

 you may see whole quarters planted with yonug Cabbages, and 

 it mast be some weeks before these become marketable ; when 

 they do, they are rapidly cleared off, aud the ground is then 

 filled with another crop. So, again, you will see perhaps half 

 an aore of lladishes ; they are soon marketable, the ground is 

 cleared, aud immediately another crop is put in — perhaps Let- 

 tuces, to be worked off iu the same way, and then to be suo- 

 ceeded by Celery, the ground between each o|)eration being 

 well worked. Now, the French market gai'deuer does not act 

 thus. He grows two half crops on the ground, one of which he 

 is sending to market while the other id coming on ; not iu the 

 way of mixed crops, as some people will persist still iu doing, 

 sowing Lettuces with Onions, and thereby spoiling the growth 

 of the latter, hut in regular lines. Thus, for instance, a bed 

 ■i feet wide is marked out by cross-lines ; the lines themselves 

 are planted, we wiU say, with Ldttuce, and the spaces with 

 Onions. The Lettuces are coming in for market while the 

 Onions are growing ; and as soon as the Lettuce is olf Chicory 

 will be planted in the lines, the Onions will be pulled, aud 

 another crop planted. Thus whole quarters are not cleared off 

 at once as with us, aud the ground generally appears cropped j 

 but, as I have said, it is after all two half crops instead of one 

 whole one, and I think it is very questionable whether this 

 after all does give as good a return to the grower as the English 

 system. 



Watering forms a large item iu the expense of a French 

 market garden, aud the appliances for it are ■^ry cleverly 

 arranged. There is a large well in each garden, whence the 

 water is drawn up into a tank, aud from thence distributed in 



pipes over the garden. In various parts there are large tubs 

 sunk in the ground, into which the water flows, and these are 

 kept full. Early in the afternoon of oncli day when the weather 

 is dry, the men set to work ; they take off their sabuls, tuck 

 their trowsers up to their knoen, take two water cans, one in 

 each hand, and set to work with a will. Now, those clumsy- 

 looking water cans are apt to excite a smile, and I must own 

 to having myself laughed at them ; but it was not until I saw 

 thoin used at Dapont's tliat I found how exactly they are, in 

 shape ut least, suited for their purpose. Here is a rough sketch 

 of one. When Fram/ois or Auguste go to the tank they lay 

 hold of the top of the handle, dip their cans into the water, liU 

 them, and hurry off to the bed to be watered ; tliey then very 

 cleverly give the can a sort of lift, let go their hold of the top 

 of the hHiidle, and seize it lower down ; this, of course, throws 

 the can downwai'ds, and so they empty it without ever placing 

 it on the ground, and they water away with both hands at 

 once. There is great economy of time in this, so that, clumsy 

 as the article appears, I believe a man could water a piece oJ 

 ground iu much less time than wo could do. 



.**'* :-' 



Another point on which the French gardeners seem to me to 

 lay great stress is the use of frames. I'tiese are not neat, well- 

 put-together affairs, but simply rough, unplaued boards with a 

 light. Under these the Melons are placed, and when fear of 

 frost is over the lights are taken off:. These frames are also 

 used for forwarding plants of Chicory, Lettuces, &c. ; and some- 

 times when the Melon fails, whioli it occasionally does. Lettuces 

 are regularly planted, and owing to the quantity of manure 

 come on very quickly, and are very crisp and juicy. 



There are some market gardeners, for example, Fromert 

 at Montrouge, who are called " jiriinrnr.<," for they give them- 

 selves up entirely to forcing both fiuits and vegetables. Their 

 places are very interesting, but <do not, I think, call for any 

 separate notice. The Aspiiragus is forced, not, as with us, hy 

 taking up roots and bringing them into a house or pit, but by 

 placing frames over the beds with an inclination towards the 

 south, using large qimntities of stable manure between each 

 bed, and covering the beds to keep out frost wheu it is severe. 



I must say in another paper something on the culture of the 

 Mushroom, especially those wonderful beds in the subterranean 

 excavations of Montrouge, aud then I must pass oa to the 

 qnast'w vexata of fruit culture, of which, as I have no precon- 

 ceived opinions, I hope to be able to treat impartially, and to 

 place the matter in a clearer light before those who, not having 

 seen, may desire to know something of the merits of the case. 

 — D., Deal. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, E.G., President of the 

 Royal Horticultural Socif.ty, hasnamed H.S.H. Prince Teek, 

 Lieut.-Geueral Hon. C. Grey, Mr. W. Wilson Saunders, F.B.S., 

 and Mr. James Bateman, F.Il.S., as Vice-Presidents foe tfie 

 present year. • . • 



We have received from Mr. Meredith, of The Vineyardf, 



Garston, near Liverpool, two photographs of some noble 

 bunches of Grapes he had the honour of exhibiting before 

 Her Majesty, the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, and 

 other member of the Fioyal F.-imily at O.sborne. There were in 

 all twenty-one bunches of Muscats, Alicante, Gros Guillaume and 

 others. The largest bunches of Gros Guillaume weighed from 

 8 to 10 lbs., the Alicante 3 J lbs., and Hie Muscats from 3 to 4 lbs. 

 It was at the expressed wish of Her Majesty that these should 

 be photographed, and those here referred to are the copies 

 that were taken. The groups are certainly very fine . 



We regret having to record the death of Mr., Geoboe 



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