800 



in company with M. Germain and two others, to the plain of La Va- 

 renne, a sandy flat forming the extremity of the peninsula of St. Maur, 

 partly woody or waste and partly cultivated. Here we got Polycne- 

 mum arvense and Trigonella monspeliaca. Thence proceeding to St. 

 Maur and entering the Bois de Vincennes, we find on the road to the 

 gate of Nogent, abundance of Carduus acanthoides of the French bo- 

 tanists, growing amongst a quantity of C. nutans and C. crispus (the 

 acanthoides of Smith), between which it seems to be a hybrid. In 

 the same neighbourhood, on the side of a road a little more to the 

 right, grow Brassica Cheiranthus, Malva Alcea and Verbascum Blat- 

 taria, and, a little further on, Lathyrus tuberosus. This part of the 

 w^ood is very beautiful, commanding views over the valley of the 

 Marne ; and it is the only part which is so. Thence, crossing the 

 wood to the gate of Fontenay, we take the road nearest to the w^all of 

 the wood leading to Vincennes, where we shall meet with Scutellaria 

 Columnae in abundance, Silene catholica, Cucubalus baccifer and 

 Tordylium maximum. The two first are supposed to have been sown 

 in this locality at some unknown period ; and there are two or three 

 other plants which I did not see, believed to be in the same predica- 

 ment. Here also I observed a plant of Ranunculus nemorum, but 

 whether there is more of it I do not know, for having gathered the 

 plant lately in a much better state at Blois, I did not pay much atten- 

 tion to it. This walk, if not very productive of rare plants which are 

 genuine natives, has the advantage of exhibiting a large portion of 

 those which are more common in the vicinity of Paris. The water- 

 side about Charenton, the dry slopes beyond, the sandy plain of La 

 Varennes, and the wood of Vincennes, furnishing all the usual varie- 

 ties of soil and situation. The botanist will meet with Senecio palu- 

 dosus. Delphinium Consolida, Nigella arvensis, Filago arvensis &c., 

 and later in the year w^ith Digitariae, Setariae &c. 



It seems hardly necessary to say anything of my Paris life, yet a 

 few words may not be useless to a brother botanist who visits that 

 city for the first time. I took up my lodgings at the Hotel des Etran- 

 gers, Rue Vivienne, where I paid three francs a-day for my room. 

 This I believe is the usual price for a single well-furnished room on 

 the second story or on the entresol, at the respectable inns in Paris. 

 You pay besides for a wax candle, one of which lasted me for a fort- 

 night ; and would have to pay for a fire if you wanted one, and you 

 are charged ten sous a-day for the servants. There are no other ex- 

 tras to make up a bill connected with the chamber, and the chambers 

 in Paris are always fitted up as sitting-rooms ; the bed occupying one 



