417 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ing was EVELYN'S translation of DE LA QUINTINYE'S great classic, 

 but before we consider this it will be well to return to French literature 

 and its progress from the days of DE SERRES. 



The seventeenth century marks the separation of horticultural 

 from agricultural literature. With a few exceptions, such as the work 

 of VENUTI above mentioned, nearly all the works published before 

 1600 were of the " Maison Rustique " type, dealing with all the occupa- 

 tions of the country. After OLIVIER DE SERRES a real gardening 

 literature began to spring up and give ample evidence of the interest 

 which was being felt in the art. It was the age of formalism, and in 

 the "Theatre des Plans et Jardinages " of CLAUDE MOLLET (1652) 

 we see the beginning of the style which was developed by LE NOTRE 

 in later years, and which still remains the dominant influence in 

 French gardens. The influence of such formalism was not without 

 its effect in the fruit garden, and it was at this time that the espalier 

 method of training came into great vogue. The author usually quoted 

 as the first to deal with this form of training is JACQUES BOYCEAU, 

 author of " Traite de Jardinage selon les raisons de la Nature et de 

 1'Art." This is, however, a mistake, as OLIVIER DE SERRES devotes a 

 whole chapter to this subject, and speaks of it as an ancient practice, 

 and its existence in the fifteenth century can be proved. There is 

 no doubt, however, that at this time fruit trees were subjected to the 

 most severe pruning in the rage for formal shapes, and they were often 

 trimmed into the devices now associated with the yew and box. 



But it was not long before a voice was raised against this unnatural 

 practice, and the importance of this movement in fruit culture makes 

 it necessary to give some prominence to LE GENDRE, whose little work, 

 " La Maniere de Cultiver les Arbres Frui tiers," was published at Paris 

 in 1652. Much has been written on the subject of the authorship 

 of this work. Some authorities consider the name of LE GENDRE to 

 be a pseudonym. Others allow LE GENDRE the credit of writing rough 

 notes which were worked up by others. Against these suggestions 

 there are certain facts. That such a person as LE GENDRE did exist 

 is undoubted, and it is on record that he was born at Vaudreuil, in 

 Evreux, in 1612. He occupied the joint post of almoner and super- 

 intendent of the Royal Gardens under Louis XIII. His cure was 

 at Henonville, in Normandy, and there he gathered together a collection 

 of rare fruits, flowers, and animals. That he was a man of education 

 seems evident from his friendship with CORNEILLE, and this great 

 poet has left verses commemorating the charm of the pastoral garden 

 and its owner, one verse of which may be quoted here : 



" Des arbres si beaux, 1'epaisse chevelure 

 Conserve la fralcheur d'unemolle verdure, 

 Ou divers animaux que je ne connais pas 

 Trouvent a se cacher et prendre leurs ebats. " 



CORNEILLE, however, discloses himself as no gardener, for the 

 " e"paisse chevelure " was the very thing that LE GENDRE set out to 

 combat. It is his special merit that he realized that the pruning of 



