372 Notes and Reflections (hiring a Tour : — 



covered with rye straw ; and cucumbers in the open garden, 

 without dung under them. 



We are not aware, indeed, that there is any cuhnary vege- 

 table in general culture about London that is not grown here, 

 imless we except sea-kale and tart rhubarb. Tarts enter 

 but little into French cookery, but sea-kale is a valuable 

 adjunct to asparagus. We wrote home for some seeds of it, 

 and also of an excellent variety of curled parsley, both given 

 gratis by Mr. Malcolm, which we have since learned was duly 

 received by Mr. Henderson, and distributed among the 

 principal gardeners. Had we waited till our arrival in Paris 

 this trouble would have been unnecessary, because we found 

 abundance of sea-kale seed, and as fine a variety of parsley as 

 any in the world at M. Vilmorin's. 



Standard apples, pears, plums, and cherries, were for the 

 most part planted in quarters by themselves ; vines and figs, 

 chiefly against houses. There were very few currants and 

 raspberries, still fewer gooseberries, and only the alpine straw- 

 berry. M. Berquier had scarcely any flowers, but we observed a 

 few good Brompton stocks, double white rockets, and violets. 



This garden had scarcely any thing that could be called a 

 walk or a fruit wall ; it was, however, richly manured, well 

 tilled, and the weeds, we think we may venture to state, were 

 not suffered to grow beyond the economic point. By the 

 economic point we mean when they are not suffered to become 

 so numerous, or to attain so large a size, as that the injury they 

 do the crop will exceed in value the expense of weeding. In 

 the gardens of private individuals, or wherever neatness and 

 order are primary considerations, no weeds should ever be 

 allowed to appear ; but it must be obvious that to attain this 

 degree of perfection, the ground must often be searched when 

 the expense of doing so will exceed in value the amount of 

 the injury done by the weeds. This we intend in future to 

 call weeding under the economic point; as weeding, when the 

 weeds left in the ground do more harm than the expense of 

 eradication, we intend to call weeding above it. In forming 

 the estimate for this nomenclature, the future injury weeds 

 may do by shedding their seeds, and the immediate good done 

 by stirring the soil, must be taken into account. 



Renard's Marl' et-Gar den was laid out with walks, and was 

 in better order than any we saw in Rouen. 



The Nursery of Prevost Jils is the finest in Rouen. M. Pre- 

 vost, whose father was proprietor of the same grounds, has had 

 a regular college education, is a scientific botanist, member of 

 various societies, and author of TiSsai sur V Education et la 

 Culture des Arbres fruitiers pyramidaux, vidgairement appeles 



