86 



NEW ENGl.AND FARMER; 



Aug. 17, 1831. 



NOTES AND REFLECTIONS 



Made dutinc a Tour Ihrough pari of France and Germany, in the 

 auiunin nt ihe year 1SS8. By J. C. Loudm. 



The Market Gardens of Paris (les Jardins Marais) 

 are numerous, generally of small extent, and cul- 

 tivated liy manual labor ; l)ut a few of tliem may 

 be designated Farm Gardens, in wliicli are used 

 the plough and other agricultural implements. As 

 vegetables enter more into the cookery of France 

 than they do into that of England, an immense 

 quantity is consumed at the hos|iitals and similar 

 institutions; and, in consequence of this, the more 

 extensive market-gardeners employ their jiroduce 

 chiefly in executing contracts entered into with 

 public bodie.s. With this exception, the |)roduce 

 of the Paris market-gardens is sold in the vegeta- 

 ble markets, as in London. There are several of 

 these, but none so decidedly superior to all the 

 others as to be compared to Covent Garden Mar- 

 ket. The Marclie des Innocens appeared to ns 

 one of (ho largest. We visited it twice, on Sep- 

 tember 13th, and December 20, and shall note 

 what we saw in it on those days, with the conclu- 

 sions which we drew. 



La Marchi des Innocens. — Sept. 13. The area 

 exceeds an acre, and is surrounded by a quadran- 

 gular range of sheds, open on both sides, with a 

 walk in the centre. In the inclosed area, potatoes 

 and other roots are sold, as in the area of Covent 

 Garden Market. We shall compare the supplies 

 of the two markets about the same season of the 

 year. 



The Cabbage Tribe. — An abundant supply, but the 

 variety not great, and the kinds coarse and not well head 

 ed. Very large Savoys, some red cabbapcs and fielil- 

 cabbages, and also some broccoli and cauliflower. On 

 the whole, the markets of London, Edinburgh, and Slras- 

 burgh, which we have seen at the same season (Edin- 

 burgh in 1803, andStrasburgb in 1819,) were rntber bet- 

 ter supplied than the Marcbc des Innocens. The deti- 

 ciency appeared to be in the quality of the kinds of cab- 

 bage and broccoli. 



Legumes. — Ripe pods of kidney bean«, but none green, 

 and no common peas in pods. Decidedly inferior to Bri- 

 tish markets. 



Tubers and Roots. — .Vbundanre of potatoes, but the 

 sorts not such as would be considered good in Britain. — 

 Quantities of Jerusalem artichoke, scorzonera, black rad- 

 ishes, Teltow turnip, solid celery, carrots, parsncps, suc- 

 cory roots, and others. The variety much greater than 

 in Britain, and the quality of every article, except the 

 potatoes and carrots, equal, if not superior. 



The Onion Tribe. — .'i.n abundant supply of both 

 onions and leeks, and also a quantity of shallots aud g.n- 

 lic. The leeks smaller than in Britain. 



Asparaginous Plants, Salads. &c. — A few artichokes, 

 and some balf-blanchcd celery, lettuce, endive, lamb's 

 lettuce, and other salads. The variety greater than in 

 Britain, the supply more abundant, and the quality supe- 

 rior. 



Pot and Sweet Herbs. — Abundance of parsley of a 

 coarse sort, tarragon and all our other aromatic herbs, 

 capsicums in quantities, tomatoes, and egg-fruit. The 

 variety and supply both greater than in Britain. 



Fungi. — Abundance of niushi'ooins, and some truffles. 



Fruits for Tarts and Pickling. — Large quantities of 

 white cucumbers (concombres,) of pickling cucumbers 

 (cornichons.) gourds, and pumpkins, in great variety, ol 

 all sizes, but ne did not observe the vegetable marrow. 

 On a par with British markets. 



Fruits. — Aliundance of apples, chiefly Colvilles; and 

 of pears, chiefly bon Chretiens and berganiots ; rock aud 

 Cantaloup melons, Chassekis grapes, peaches, figs, and 

 ])luins ; pear-shaped sorbs, sold at about a sous each ; 

 and a great quantity of very excellent alpine strawber- 

 ries. The last article is the only one in which this mar- 

 ket excelled that of Covent Garden; in all the other 

 frgits it was much inferior. 



Adjoining the market are shops;, in which are 

 sold pistachios and other dried fruits, oranges, 

 nuts, &c, carrots, dried pears, plums, apples, 

 and apricots. The onions and carrots are charred 



so as to become as black as ink : this eflect is pro- 

 duced by baking them slowly in an oven, and ta- 

 king them out at intervals during several days. 

 Tlipy are used in cookery for coloring soups. 



Sprigs of orange tree in blossom are, we were 

 told, to be found in this market throughout the 

 year. These are considered essential accompani- 

 ments to the dress of bridal parties ; and although 

 artitioial flowers, perfumed with orange-water are 

 sometimes employed by those who cannot aflford 

 the living article, yet the latter is by far the most 

 generally used. 



On the whole, the supplies of the Paris vegeta- 

 ble markets are inferior in point of excellence to 

 those of London. The quality and variety of fruits 

 are greatly inferior, and also the dryness and flavor 

 of potatoes, and the succulency of turnips, cab- 

 bages, and the other common culinary vej:etahles ; 

 but the Paris markets approach to equality with 

 those of London, in nmshrooms, salad.=, and aro- 

 matic herbs, during suintner, aud surpass us in 

 those articles during winter. 



December 20. Observed a great quantity of ex- 

 cellent cauliflowers ; endive and chiccory, blanched 

 In difTerent degrees : lamb's lettuce, scorzonera, 

 Teltow turnips, solid celery, common white turnips, 

 very long leeks : onions, rather small ; excellent 

 field cabbage, in immense quantities ; savoys, large 

 heaps of mushrooms, and, to the best of our 

 juilgment at the lime, every vegetable seen in the 

 London markets about the same season, with the 

 cxco|-,tinn of broccoli, seakale, asparagus, and forc- 

 ed rhubarb. The fruits were Chasselas grapes, 

 Colville and reinette grise apples, a few indifferent 

 pears, different kinds of service, cornel berries, 

 walnuts and filberts, and sprigs of orange-blossoms, 

 as in September. It is but fair to mention that we 

 failed ill being at the market sufficiently early in 

 the morning to see things in their best state. We 

 shall now glance at some of the market gar- 

 dens. 



The Field Market- Garden of M. Cadet de Mars, 



at .lubervilliers Oct. 4. Auhervilliers is a small 



village, about a league from Paris, and M. Cadet 

 de Mars' grounds occupy 50 or 60 acres round it. 

 This gardener iiasbcen repeatedly mayor of his vil- 

 lage, and he is unquestionably at the bead of field 

 marker-gardeners in the neighborhood of Paris, 

 lie was, as he told us, a peasant ; but it is im- 

 possible to see his imposing matdy figure and open 

 generous countenance without feeling that he is 

 noble by nature. He is upwards of seventy ; and 

 he began the world without a penny, and without 

 education ;but he is now proprietor ofthe grounds 

 which he cultivates, besides houses and other 

 property. He has Ititely ceded his grotinils, with 

 the exception of a lew acres for his own amuse- 

 ment, to his children ; and lives quietly with his 

 wife, an excellent woman, about twenty years 

 younger than himself. This old man is full of 

 gayety and spirits, content with his past life, and 

 apparently happy. He has always had the greate.st 

 curiosity respecting other countries, and this still 

 breaks out every time he sees a foreigner. He 

 told us that he would travel ihrough England, 

 provided his wife wouhl accompany him. He 

 once went as f;ir as Havre with a friend who was 

 going to England, for the .sake of seeing the sea, 

 and he speaks with raptures of the visit. He takes I 

 au interest in all that is passing in the world, and 

 spoke much of America ; the government of which 

 he admires beyond that of all other countries, and 

 which he hopes that France will one day adopt as 



a model. He spoke much of the first revolution, 

 of which he had witnessed many of the most in- 

 teresting scenes. In ptditics and morals, indeed, 

 he is far beyond his contemporaries ; anil is, in 

 short, as far as an unlettered man can be, all that 

 Jefferson or Lafayette could wish him to be. He 

 made his fortune chiefly by taking large contracts 

 to supply the hospitals. The largest contracts he 

 ever had were made with the Hospice Salpetri6re ; 

 for which on gounl-day, i. e. the day on which the 

 vegetable used in the soup served to the inmates 

 is the pumpkin or the gourd, he used to supply 

 6000 lbs. He has had a fruit of the mammoth 

 gotnd which weighed 195 lbs. He had also large 

 contracts with the manufacturers of sugar from the 

 beet root ; especially during the years 1S12 and 

 1S13, when the price of sugar in Paris was 5f. 

 jier lb. These companies failed, for the most part, 

 in 1814 and 1815, when sugar fell to 14 sous per 

 lb. His sons still cultivate large (|uantities of 

 mangold-wurtzel for feeiling cows ; ami it deserves 

 to be remarked, that these cultivators, and also 

 others in their neighborhood, who formerly used 

 to gather a part of the leaves to .sell as fodder 

 while the plants were growing, have now left oflT 

 the practice, from finding that it lessens the size of 

 the roots. 



In the field-garden culture practised here, and 

 in other field-gardens in the neighborhood of 

 Paris, the soil is ploughed for the cro|> with a 

 two-wheeled plough ; hut all the operations of 

 cleaniiiff tmd gtitberiiig the crop are performed by 

 manual labor. Irrigation, either by manual labor 

 or by channels on the surface, is seldom resorted 

 to. There is no regidar rotation of cro|)s : but in 

 general, after three or four crops of vegetables, a 

 crop of wheat i.s taken, or the land is sown with 

 lucerne, under which it remains frotn two to five 

 years. Turnips are seldom sown in the spring 

 because the drought and insects destroy them ; but 

 in .August, after the crop of peas, wheat, or rye is 

 removed, they are sown with success. Onions 

 and leeks are sown together in February: neither 

 grows large. The onions are removed early in 

 September, and the leeks reinain to be taken up 

 as wanted. Small leeks are preferred in the Paris 

 market, as having more flavor ; and the same as 

 to onions and asparagus. Where the soil is deep, 

 soft, and inclineil to moisture, the marshmallovv is 

 cultivated for the apothecaries, and found to pay 

 well, because suitable ground fi)r this plant is rare 

 on secondary limestone. Asparagus is grown in 

 single rows along the bottom of shallow trenches, 

 and, instead of covering the plants during winter 

 as we do in England, their crov/ns or buds are 

 laid almost bare, so as to receive the first influence 

 of the sun in spring. As the plants begin to |)ush, 

 they are earthed up. A part of the grounds is 

 [ilanted with vines, in rows about 3 ft. apart, be- 

 tween each row of which is a row of asparagus ; 

 and in the rows of vines are asparagus plants, 

 which alternate with the vines. When the vines 

 are in fruit, the stalks of the asparagus are tied 

 together in bundles, to admit morn air to the 

 vines. On expressing our surprise at the practice 

 of laying bare the buds of asparagus during the 

 winter, M. Cadet de Mars acknowledged that 

 highly succulent varieties of asparagus, grown in- 

 deep richly manured .soil, such as might be seen 

 in some private gardens, and particularly in that of 

 the king at Versailles, wotild suffer from this prac- 

 tice ; but that field-asparagus, such as that before 

 us, was nearer a state of nature, and suffered no 



