FARMERS' REGISTER 



45: 



Monday, 28lh. — This day, at an early hour, I 

 proceeded lo the garden, expeciing (o have all the 

 vines numbered and packed belbre the evening. 

 In this, however, I was disappointed. While ihe 

 workmen were ai dinner 1 spent an hour vvilh the 

 Prolessor, who showed me his Herbarium, which 

 appeared to me very extensive. Among others, 

 he opened out some New Holland plantt--, which 

 had been collected by Laballardiere, the botanist, 

 who had accompanied D'Entrecasteaux in his 

 voyage. In re|)iy to my inquiries respecting the 

 history of" the vines, the object to me ol' greatest 

 interest, he informed me, that about 12 or 15 years 

 ago, when Messrs. Chafital and liosc had lormed 

 the gardens of the Chartreuse, adjoining the gar- 

 dens ol' the Luxemburg, into an experimental gar- 

 den, s|)ecimeiis ol" the diHerenl varieties were also 

 sent to the Botanic Garden o(" Monipelier, but 

 many ol" these never succeeded. He told me that 

 he had found it very ddficull to obtain iiom the 

 chiel" gardener at Puris the diflierent varieties 

 which he required (o fill up the vacaticies occasion- 

 ed by those which liad failed; they always sent 

 €hasselas, chasselas, chasselas, though under ditler- 

 enl names. A great part o!" the collection had 

 therefore been Drought together tiy tiie Prolessor 

 himself; Mr. JDelisle told me that there was a 

 similar collection of vines at Versailles, and there 

 was also one at Genoa. 



All this day was employed in attaching the 

 tickets to the vines, and arranging ihem in bun- 

 dles, which, from many of them being very crook- 

 ed, was no easy task. From the 560 varieties I 

 could only make up 437. the remainder benig 

 either wanting in the original, or as identical with 

 some previous number. I had also employed the 

 master gardener to send a man on whose judg- 

 ment and honesty he could depend, lo make a col- 

 lection of all the vmes culiivated in the vineyards 

 round Montpelier. This man had, all his lilt;- 

 time, been employed in the vineyards; and as he 

 gave me a description of the qualities of each, I 

 had no doubt whatever that his collection might 

 be depended upon. Rejecting, from those he 

 brought me, such varieliss as I had previously 

 procured at Perpignan, I was now enabled lo car- 

 ry the collection of vines of Rousillon and Lan- 

 guedoc, or Pyrenees Orientales and Herault, to 38. 

 1 here again reduced the number of Mr. Durand's 

 vines, taking only 12 of each of them, as well as 

 of those cultivated in the neighborhood of Mont- 

 pelier. When I came to pay for their carriage from 

 Montpelier to Nismes, I had no reason lo regret 

 this reduction. 



fVednesday, SOlh November. — U was half past 

 iO this morning, when the packing of the vines 

 was finished, and at 11 o'clock I started with 

 them by the diligence lor Nismes. Before leaving 

 the garden, I paid a fi^rewell visit lo its liberal 

 director, Mr. Delisle. I now received from iiim 

 a letter addressed to Mr. Frazer, the colonial bo- 

 tanist, at Sydney, and also one lor myself! In both 

 he expressed his wish to maintain a correspondence 

 with Sydney, to reciprocate the exchange ofseeds 

 and plants. He also gave me an introductory 

 note to M. Audibert, the proprietor of a very ex- 

 tensive and celebrated nursery at Tarascon, a 

 small lown situated on the left bank of the Rhone, 

 which he strongly recommended me to visit. A 

 fourth paper contained hints about the best mode 

 of preserving the cuttings li-om frost and damp; 

 Vol. VIII.— 58 



t but on that subject he recommended me parti- 

 cularly to consult M. Audibert. Air. Delisle had 

 also waiting for me a packet ol" botanic seeds, 

 wliich he had put up for the garden at Sydney ; 

 and a packet of seeds of the more usel"ul trees. 

 &c. for myself. 



The Botanic Garden of Montpelier is only se- 

 cond in France to that of Paris. It appeared to 

 me to be kept in very high order. 



The weather has now become piercingly cold. 

 On Friday and Saturday I found it very unplea- 

 santly so in the garden, but on Sunday evening a 

 strong wind set in f"rom the norih, and next day 

 all Montpelier was wrapped in cloaks. Thesloping 

 glass rools and windows of the conservatories were 

 now all covered with straw mats, which were not 

 rolled up till the sun had attained a considerable 

 height. 



Theroad from Montpelier to Nismes lies through 

 a well cultivated country, producing chiefly vines 

 and olives. Tiie vines appear here to be cultivated 

 for wine lor the table more than for distillation. 

 Their size and strength were less remarkable than 

 on the other side of Montpelier; and although I 

 saw several parties hoeing in the vineyards, 1 

 could nowhere observe ihem digging in manure. 

 Here lor the first time 1 saw the mixed cultivation 

 of vines, olives, and corn, alternating in rows of 

 different widths ; and the vineyards are also very 

 generally planted with olive trees. This seems 

 to be the season lor gathering the fruit of the latter. 

 They place large ladders against the trees, and 

 ascend lo pull them, instead of beating them down 

 with poles, as is the practice in Spain. The wo- 

 men are very generally employed in this way, and 

 from all pans of the road are to be seen with small 

 baskets slung round their necks, either perched 

 upon a ladder, or mounted into the interior of the 

 tiees. Halfway from Monipelier to Nismes lies 

 the town ofLunel, which, wiih Fronligran, also in 

 the same neighborhood, is> famous for its sweet 

 wines. These 1 did not, however, wait lo visit, 

 being now satisfied that whatever may be the 

 case with regard lo the quality of dry wines, it re- 

 quires only a good grape, a hot sun. and a particu- 

 lar management, to make excellent sweet wines. 

 A gentleman in the diligence informed me that ihe 

 Luncl in only produced on one estate, but in this 

 1 think he was misinlormed. 



1st December. — The diligence for Tarascon not 

 starling till half past eleven, I had time to visit 

 many of" the beautiful and highly interesting re- 

 mains of Roman architecture which are to be 

 found in Nismes. The cold, last night and this 

 morning, has been excessive. I iiave seldom 

 found any thing more keen and penetrating than 

 the north wind out of doors, and the air of my 

 chamber was almost intolerable till a large fire 

 (for which the charge of two francs was made in 

 my bill) had been some time burning. Even 

 then, and with the assistance of a screen, it vvas 

 still dificult 10 keep off the cold. The tiled floors 

 are ill calculated lor the winter, however suitable 

 they may be for the summer temperature of" these 

 climates. In the morning the canal was frozen 

 over, and there were pieces of ice ol" six cubic in- 

 ches in thickness about the Ibuntains. 



1 arrived at Tarascon about half past I wo o'clock, 

 and having procured a guide, proceeded immedi- 

 diately lo ihe nursery of the Messrs. Audibert, 

 whom 1 found at home. The nursery is about a 



