Agriculture of the Environs of* Paris. 9 



into the idea of a house. And what would a dwelling-house 

 be without the appearance of chimneys ? Possibly very hand- 

 some as an architectural composition, but certainly deficient 

 in good taste, because it would not appear to be what it is. It 

 is to be regretted that the architects of England have their 

 attention so much directed to churches, public buildings, 

 palaces, and villas, while the taste of every-day objects in 

 architecture is left to chance. The true remedy for this evil 

 will be found in the high cultivation of the taste of the mid- 

 dling and lower orders of society. If every young person 

 were taught to draw, and persevered in drawing and in read- 

 ing on the subject of pictorial composition, we should soon 

 have a reform in street and cottage architecture. There must 

 always be a demand before there can be a supply. In excuse 

 for having gone so much into detail on the subject of roofs 

 and chimney tops, we submit that it is by incidental discussions 

 of this kind, directed to single points, that the young working 

 gardener, for whom we chiefly write, and whose mind has not 

 undergone a regular training, is made to comprehend and 

 apply general principles. 



The agriculture of the environs of Paris differs from that of 

 the vale of London, in being almost entirely in aration, whereas 

 with us it is almost entirely in grass. A greater portion of the 

 surface for twenty miles round Paris is under wood, than is the 

 case for the same distance round London ; because in France, 

 generally, wood as a territorial product is of more importance 

 than in England. A part of the surface is covered with 

 vines ; but this part, the market-gardens, the nurseries, and 

 the orchards, bear nothing like the same proportion to the 

 general surface, that gardens, orchards, and nurseries do in 

 the neighbourhood of London. The farms in the neighbour- 

 hood of Paris are small, generally under 50 acres, and the 

 culture various, including coppice wood, corn, pulse, lucern, 

 roots, and vines ; those in the neighbourhood of London are 

 considerably larger, from 50 to 300 acres, and the culture 

 limited to very few objects, chiefly corn, grass, and roots. 

 In both tracts there are farm gardens, in which the culture of 

 culinary vegetables is carried on by the aid of horses or cattle, 

 and combined with the raising of common farm produce ; but 

 the number, as well as the size, of these is much greater round 

 London than round Paris. 



The personal character of gardeners and farmers in the 

 neighbourhoods of the two capitals remains to be compared. 

 With the exception of a few individuals in Paris who have 

 been regularly educated, and who, if they can be equalled, 

 can at least not be surpassed in scientific attainments, by any 



