204 Annales de la Societe de Horticulture de Paris. 



fj'ing to our correspondent, and encourage her and others to take an 

 interest in such things, and render us similar services. 



Liv. XII. for August, 1828. 

 The semicircular Kitchen-garden of M. de\Rouvroy, of Lisle, with a plan, 

 {fig. 46.) — This garden is a parallelogram of between 500 and 600 ft. in 



length, and about half that extent in width. It is divided longitudinally 

 into two nearly equal parts. The one part is laid out in two divisions 

 separated by a vacant space in the middle (a), and these again subdivided 

 into regular compartments for the growth of vegetables {bed). The 

 other, and principal, part of the garden, is divided by brick walls 12 feet 

 high, into irregular slips. These v^alls are not straight, but more or less 

 curved, according to their respective positions {efg). The walls are all 

 sections of ellipses, each having proper foci, except the inner one (//) 

 which is a semicircle. There are four such walls ; the outer one embracing all 

 the others, and extending nearly the whole length of the garden. The pecu- 

 liar curvature of these fruit walls, is said to combine all the advantages of the 

 best aspects, and so to concentrate the sun's heat, that fruits ripen upon 

 them, and vegetables perfect in the borders in front of them, much 

 sooner than in right-lined walls or borders. The committee to which 

 this plan was referred admit the truth of the inventor's allegations, as far 

 as respects the concentration of heat, and therefore think that such walls 

 would be suitable for such fruits as the fig, the pomegranate, &c., and the 

 borders, for such vegetables as the pastick (Cucurbita Citridltis), the sweet 

 potato (Convolvulus Batatas), and the Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus); 

 but doubts are entertained whether, on light warm soils, the heat would 

 not be too much for the generality of our espalier fruits. The two north 

 angles of the parallelogram {i A) are filled up with fruit-tree nurseries. 

 Curvilinear fruit walls were in vogue many years since in Britain. They 

 were contrived for the purpose of obtaining a longer supply of wall Iruit, 

 by placing the same sorts of fruit trees on different aspects, and thereby 

 hastening or retarding the ripening : but they had not the desired effect ; 

 and in windy weather it was found that they generated such sweeping 

 gusts, that much damage occurred to the trees, and thus the plan fell into 

 disrepute. 



Note on the common Caterpillar. By M. Daudville. — This, from the 

 description, appears to be the ^ombyx dispar of Linnaeus. It breeds on 

 and devours^the leaves, flowers, and even the young shoots, of apple trees ; 



