58 FRENCH MARKET-GARDENING 



a visit should be paid about five o'clock in the morning. 

 Amongst horticultural produce, the vegetables seem 

 to be of far more importance here than either the 

 fruits or flowers. Most of the business in the vegetable 

 market is done by women, and row after row of stalls 

 are laden with produce sent in from the market-gardens 

 all round the city. 



" There is a general similarity between the Halles 

 Centrales and Co vent Garden, London, so far as noise, 

 bustle, and activity are concerned, but there is a great 

 difference in the produce displayed for sale. Vegetables 

 that one rarely sees in Co vent Garden, such as Au- 

 bergines, Butter Beans, Black Radishes, Haricots 

 Verts, Cantaloup Melons, etc., are greatly in evidence 

 in Paris, and it is evident that a flourishing trade is 

 done in produce that would probably fail to find a 

 customer in London. Salads always constitute a 

 large proportion of the vegetable market in Paris, 

 where, of course, the marketing is largely in the hands 

 of the mothers and daughters of the various families 

 who deal direct with the growers. 



" At the time of my last visit to the Central Markets 

 I was particularly struck with the large quantities of 

 Globe Artichokes on sale. They were on every stall, 

 and were selling for about 6d. to is. a dozen heads. 

 Mushrooms also were in fair abundance and were 

 realising about 8d. to gd. per pound. A rather long 

 tapering turnip known as ' Croissy ' was in great 

 abundance, and although it has been grown by Parisian 

 market-gardeners for several generations, it is still 

 considered one of the best all-round varieties. 

 Radishes, the small red varieties with white tips, were 

 of course in evidence everywhere, and they looked so 



