UAIJNS .bKUM JUN'OWLEDU^ 215 



lily of the valley, or some other beautiful flower, 

 show a lovely mass of bloom just on the eve of a 

 great Saint's day. If the season be an early one he 

 must keep his plants back ; if it be a late one he 

 must force them on. In any case he must know 

 how to arrange things so that the flowers are neither 

 a day too late nor a day too early, but just at their 

 best the morning they are wanted. 



It would take too long to tell even some of 

 the ways in which the gardener makes himself 

 almost independent of the seasons. A few words 

 we must say, however, of his methods. By 

 centuries of striving the French gardener has 

 reached a level which his forefathers never even 

 dreamt of. 



He does not, of course, confine himself to flowers. 

 A great many of the early delicacies of the 

 Paris and also of the London markets are pro- 

 duced in his gardens. Early salads, early aspar- 

 agus, early peas, early strawberries, almost all 

 the fruits and vegetables that come out of their 

 season, and are therefore valuable, are grown round 

 Paris. 



The two essentials of the French methods are, 

 first, a very rich soil, and second, protection from 

 the weather, by means of glass frames or bell glasses. 

 The richness of the soil is produced by using 

 enormous amounts of manure, and so clever are the 



