76 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Mar. 



EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE FARMER. 

 A RAMBLE IN PARIS. 



New Year Holidays in the French Capital — The Revolution — 

 Louis Napoleon — The Jardin des Plants, audits collection 

 of Trees, Slurubs, SfC. — Jardin d' hiuer 



Paris, January 5, 1849. 

 The change that has recently occurred in the 

 political affairs of France, seems to have had no effect 

 whatever in Paris. It continues to be the same splen- 

 did city — the great resort of science, fashion, and 

 taste. The fearful conflicts and bloody struggles, at 

 which we shuddered in America, but a few months 

 ago, are, in the main, entirely forgotten, and Paris 

 seems as beautiful, polite, and gay as ever. Her 

 glittering shops and cafes are fitted out with a taste 

 you will find nowhere else. The theatres, promenades, 

 and other places of amusement, are still thronged with 

 gay and fashionable pleasure seekers. I have spent 

 the Christmas and New Year Holidays here; and 

 have had an opportunity of seeing nearly the whole 

 population of Paris in the streets and promenades — a 

 mode of enjoyment that we rarely see in America. 

 The fine trees that were unmercifully hewn down 

 along the boulevards, are replaced by others. 



The only thing that forces the remembrace of war 

 or revolution upon one's mind, is the army of soldiery 

 that are stationed in every nook and corner of the city, 

 making it, throughout, a complete barracks. In every 

 shop and cafe, you will see soldiers; in all the public 

 squares companies are being reviewed; in the suburbs 

 of the city, juvenile bands are practicing their music; 

 and every public building is not only guarded but 

 surrounded with soldiery. I believe it is estimated 

 that the guard in this city alone nearly equals in num- 

 bers the immense standing army of Great Britain. 

 How France can bear such a weight beside so many 

 other great public institutions of arts, science, charity, 

 &c, is a problem for her most sagacious politicians 

 to solve. 



Louis Napoleon is fairly installed as first President 

 of the Republic; and the National Assembly is quietly 

 and industriously pursuing its legislative affairs. 

 Very little is said of politics, except by mere politi- 

 cians. How long matters may continue peaceable as 

 at present, no one can say. The French are an un- 

 certain people ; and Louis Napoleon may, in six 

 months, find himself as unpopular as any man in 

 France. He has not selected for his cabinet such 

 men as it was expected he would. He has given the 

 preference to men no way prominent in State affairs. 

 Perhaps in this he was wise. 



Guizot has just published a small work on " De- 

 mocracy in France," that meets with a good deal of 

 approbation. 



Among the multitude of attractions presented to 

 the stranger here, the Jardin des Plants, has been to 

 me the most interesting. 



The immense collection of trees, plants, and ani- 

 mals here has been accumulating for upwards of a 

 century — since the days of Louis XIII. I spent a 

 day in it; and I could have spent a week delightfully. 

 Indeed, I had but a passing glimpse at the vari- 

 ous departments. I have visited no botanic garden 

 so satisfactory to the student or visitor as this. In 

 those of England they usually aim too much at pro- 

 ducing a fine landscape, instead of arranging plants 

 in such a way as to be readily seen and examined by 

 all. Here each family of plants occupies a separate 



bed or compartment ; and all are legibly labelled. 

 The original plantation of trees occupies a beautiful 

 hill, commanding a prospect of the whole houses and 

 gardens of the institution, and the adjacent parts of 

 the city. Here is a noble cedar of Lebanon, planted 

 by Jassieu, in 1735 ; it is about 12 feet in circumfer- 

 ence. There are also many young ones, ten or fif- 

 teen years old, that are very fine. I also saw many 

 fine specimens of the new and rare pines, such as ex- 

 celsa, sabiniana, &c; also a beautiful tree of the new 

 and much-admired taxodian sempervirens — one of the 

 most elegant evergreen trees I have seen. The lar- 

 gest and oldest Pawlonia in Europe is here. It is 

 now twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, and cov- 

 ered with blossom buds. I noticed, also, fine speci- 

 mens of several of our American oaks — of our White 

 Pine, Buttonwood, Hemlock, &tc. I saw a Weeping 

 Sophoro here that is remarkably graceful, and must 

 occupy a prominent place among such elegant pen- 

 dulous trees as the Ash, Willow, Birch, fee; and, by 

 the way, I have seen a new Weeping Birch, Weep- 

 ing Willow, Black Weeping Thorn, Weeping Euony- 

 mus, and some others that will give us a most inte- 

 resting collection of trees of this habit. In the Con- 

 servatory and Green House of the Jardin des Plants, 

 are fine specimens of rare Palms, &tc; but I had lit- 

 tle time to see them': and cannot now give you a de- 

 tailed account of them. In the fruit department I 

 was much pleased with the pear garden. Indeed, the 

 pear trees are famous all over France and England, 

 amongst cultivators, as being the best managed spe- 

 cimens known. The superintendant of this depart- 

 ment, M. Cappe, has had the honor of managing his 

 pear trees, as pyramids, better than any other in Eu- 

 rope ; but I have seen better managed trees than his, 

 and shall speak of them in future. 



These are, certainly, beautiful models, and cannot 

 fail to please all who see them. They are just what 

 all garden pear trees should be in shape. They are 

 planted in rows ten feet apart, and eight feet apart in 

 the rows ; between each drill is a small plot of straw- 

 berries ; and between each bed is a walk of three 

 feet ; so that the bed itself is about six feet wide. 

 The trees are, perhaps, eight or ten years old ; about 

 a foot in diameter ; most of them ten to twelve feet 

 high. The first tier of branches are within a foot or 

 less of the ground ; the next, two or three inches 

 above it ; and so on, forming a symmetrical pyramid. 

 They are all on quince stocks. Another of the lux- 

 urious and delightful places of public amusement, is 

 the Jardin <f hiver, an immense structure of glass, 

 over 300 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 54 feet high. 

 It is filled with fine plants. The largest Norfolk Isl- 

 and Pine in Europe is here, brought from the Jardin 

 des Plants. It is now about forty feet high. Con- 

 nected with this is a fine collection of paintings ; and 

 concerts are held in it once a week, to which the ad- 

 mission is very moderate. 



Of the flower market, and many other things, I 

 must tell you at a future time. P. B. 



Report of the Ohio Nurserymen anh Fruit 

 Grower's Convention. — We are indebted to M. B. 

 Bateham, Esq., Editor of the Ohio Cultivator, for 

 the above. It is a pamphlet of 64 pages, and con- 

 tains much practical information. It is the most 

 complete pomological report that has been published 

 in this country, and Mr. Elliott deserves much 

 credit for the industry and skill displayed in com- 

 piling it. 



