French Gardening or Intensive Cultivation 207 



and salads may be obtained at a rental of 2 to 4 per acre not many miles 

 even from London. The French tna/raicher, however, has to pay from 

 30 to 50 per acre rent to the man who "owns" the ground. To start 

 with, the rent question alone puts the French gardener at a tremendous 

 disadvantage. 



Site and Aspect. The best site for a French garden is one not too 

 far from a supply of good stable manure; where water can be obtained in 

 abundance either from a company on reasonable terms, or by means of 

 a well, stream, or pond; and where the ground is of fairly good natural 

 texture with a gentle slope between the south-east and south-west. The 

 site should be protected by low fences, hedges, or walls on the northern and 

 eastern sides. It should also be sheltered from south-westerly gales, as 

 these may do much damage in lifting the lights and cloches in tempestuous 

 weather. A position some little distance away from the sea should be 

 chosen in any case, otherwise the winds carrying salt spray are likely to 

 do much injury to the tender foliage of the various crops. So far as shape 

 is concerned a square or rectangular piece of ground is most suitable, as the 

 beds are made in parallelograms running east and west, and the intersecting 

 pathways are at right angles to them with the waterpipes beneath. 



If wooden fences or walls surround the garden they may be utilized 

 for the cultivation of Peaches and Nectarines on the south aspect, and 

 Apples, Pears, or Plums on the east and west. The borders all round 

 the fences are very useful for different succession crops, owing to the 

 varying aspects, and the main pathways are useful to enable the produce 

 to be brought from the frames or beds without too much circumambula- 

 tion. If funds permit, it will pay to have a light railway put down on 

 these, with a turntable at each main junction. Over such light railway, 

 trolleys holding large quantities of produce can be trundled along readily 

 from the frames, cloches, or beds to the packing shed, and will save a good 

 deal of time and labour and consequently money. 



Requisites for a French Garden. It is impossible to run a garden 

 on the lines laid down by French maraichers without a good supply of: 

 (1) good stable manure; (2) frames and lights; (3) cloches or bell 

 glasses; (4) water; (5) mats. And to these must be added the personal 

 qualities of cultural skill and dexterity, intelligence, and business ability 

 and application, and of course a fair amount of capital. These are all cogs 

 in one big wheel, which if worked as a whole lead to success, but if worked 

 as units and without due regard to their bearing or influence on each other 

 are almost sure to lead to disaster. 



Manure. This should be the best manure from stables, and a good 

 supply should be readily obtainable. Cow manure, pig manure, &c., are 

 valuable in small quantities mixed with stable manure, and so also are the 

 leaves of Oaks, Beeches, Sweet Chestnuts, and Elms, as they generate and 

 retain heat for a considerable period. 



The quantity of manure required annually will depend largely upon 

 the number of frames and cloches used, and the first year will be more 



