Gra?id Trianon, Petit Trianon. 11 



rooms are grown in any of the royal gardens near Paris ; be- 

 cause these are so abundantly produced in the stone quarries 

 about that capital, that a private gardener would no more think 

 of growing them in houses, or above ground, than a London 

 gardener would think of raising his own stock of winter pota- 

 toes. There are some fig trees against the walls ; and it sur- 

 prised us a little to learn that the branches are bent down to 

 the ground when the leaves drop off, and covered with earth, 

 as at Argenteuil. Their stems are about 1| in. thick; and 

 the reason M. Massey's foreman gave for their not breaking, 

 when so bent, was their being accustomed to it from their 

 infancy ! Notwithstanding the great number of fires at work 

 in this forcing-ground, there is little or no appearance of soot 

 or smoke ; and the reason is, that wood is used for fuel. For 

 this reason, also, 'i-inch earthen pipes are found sufficient as 

 flues ; the smoke of coal, in so small a quantity as would pass 

 along them, would not give out sufficient heat, and would, 

 besides, soon clog them up with soot. With the clear atmo- 

 sphere of a Parisian winter, wonders might be effected by 

 these pits if they were heated by hot water. 



Dec. 28. — The Grounds of the Graiid Trianon are dull and 

 flat : the best thing is a parterre ; and, for France, even that 

 is not good. 



The Petit Trianon adjoins the other ; and it is better worth 

 looking at, having some features which recall to mind the 

 scenery of nature, and the green turf of those happy climates 

 which, though they have fogs, have mild winters, and no burn- 

 ing summers. There is an imitation of a natural rill, which, 

 all things considered, is not amiss ; though any one disposed 

 to be severe might very well compare it to a string of sausages. 

 The grounds, taken altogether, however, are far before any 

 royal English garden of the same date ; and, as far as water 

 and ground are concerned, are greatly superior to the ponds 

 and mounds like ditch-banks recently formed in the grounds of 

 Buckingham Palace. The latter is, perhaps, richer in exotic 

 shrubs ; but the effect of these is so overbalanced by the pre- 

 valence of tall elm trees, that, even in this respect, we greatly 

 prefer the Petit Trianon. 



As the Gardens of Louis Philip of Orleans, as well as those 

 of Bagatelle, were private gardens when we saw them, we 

 shall not include them under this department of our tour; 

 and therefore we proceed, as proposed (Vol. VI. p. 1.), to 



Commercial Gardens. The principal nurseries in France, 

 for timber trees, hedge plants, and fruit trees, are at Orleans 

 about 90 miles, and Vitry about 5 miles, from Paris. The 

 growers are not, like the English nurserymen, a few individuals 



