. yaa*: 5fritif-.*tS}6 dfesfjate laspect of our pleasure-grounds when 



* covered' wifti sno'w or Waten by the winter gales. 



I will therefore approach the subject from a purely horticul- 

 tural point of view, and will limit my remarks to a short account 

 of the climatic conditions of the French Eiviera, and to a review 

 of the principal kinds of flowers grown there for profit, with brief 

 remarks on the most approved varieties and on the most note- 

 worthy features of cultivation and disposal. 



My endeavour will be to give a faithful account of what is 

 being done in the present year (1898), as it must be borne in 

 mind that the production of, and the trade in, cut flowers are 

 undergoing frequent and material changes from one season 

 to the next. 



The mere difference in latitude cannot account sufficiently for 

 so large a discrepancy as exists between the coast of Kent or 

 Sussex and that of Provence. The climatic conditions peculiar 

 to the Riviera must be traced in a large proportion to the effect 

 of the sheltering hills and mountains which keep off the north 

 winds, turn away the currents of cold air, and radiate the heat 

 they receive from the sun on warm clear days. 



Sunshine, in fact, is the great boon of the district. It may be 

 very well said that the main difference between the climate of 

 Southern England and that of the Riviera is not so much in a 

 higher temperature as in a greater amount of sunlight. In fact, 

 the proportion of sunny to overcast days is nearly three times 

 greater in Cannes than it is in London, and although the total 

 rainfall is nearly the same at both places, the number of wet days 

 is about three times greater in England. 



The sea acts also as a moderator. Its deep waters never 

 sink, even in the middle of winter, to a lower temperature than 

 48 Fahrenheit. All the coast, and more especially the head- 

 lands which are nearly surrounded by the sea, derive a very 

 mild climate from the vast extent of almost tepid water round 

 them. The pretty island of St. Honorat, opposite Cannes, which 

 is only a hundred acres in extent, and scarcely rises twenty feet 

 above the level of the sea, is almost free from frost on that 

 account. 



Sharp and protracted frosts are seldom experienced on the 



