Nurseries, Private Gardens. 229 



various departments of the trade, with the air of bustle and deep 

 occupation so evident with us. Any attempt at such a com- 

 parison in regard to the value, quantity, and variety of business, 

 between the respective countries, would be futile and even 

 absurd. 



Of the private collections of plants in or about Paris I can 

 say but little, having neither leisure nor opportunity for visiting 

 any ; but the taste in them appears to be, as in the city, for 

 showy plants, such as roses, &c., rather than for the more rare 

 and costly species, which are to be found almost exclusively at 

 the Jardin des Plantes. I visited the garden of M. Boursault, 

 which is situated at the extremity of the city, almost adjoining 

 the Barriere of Montmartre. Here I was much pleased with 

 finding a good collection of magnolias, rhododendrons, and 

 azaleas, and many other of what were to me interesting Ame- 

 rican species : but an extensive range of houses has been recently 

 pulled down to make room for a more domestic purpose, viz., a 

 vinery of the better description of grapes ; and the few remain- 

 ing plants are transferred to an obscure building, to which a 

 roof of glass has been adapted. Here I found the magnificent 

 specimen of Araucdria excelsa which you have given a drawing 

 of in Vol. IX, p. 147. ; but which is already condemned, as the 

 proprietor will not be at the expense of raising the roof; and it 

 is already too large for its situation. 



The most defective feature in the French gardens is the bad 

 state of their grass plots, which they affect to be very fond ot^ 

 but of the treatment of which they are either quite ignorant or 

 very careless ; as they totally neglect the only means of obtain- 

 ing or even preserving them. In most instances, the formation 

 of a grass plot or lawn is confined to sowing the surface with 

 perennial rye grass, and only in some instances a few other 

 varieties of selected grasses are intermixed ; this must, at all 

 times, in their dry warm climate, prove defective : added to 

 which, they entirely neglect frequent mowing ; and it is not at 

 all unusual to find a grass plot left for the advantage of cutting 

 the crop for hay, or as fodder for cattle. The gardeners are 

 not all ignorant of the cause of their failure, but attribute it 

 chiefly to the severity of their climate; though this might in 

 some measure be remedied by their attention to the best means 

 of obtaining an object which they all confess so desirable, and 

 by their bestowing on it the labour and attention which are ab- 

 solutely necessary to its maintenance and preservation. Having 

 thus briefly endeavoured to portray the leading features of the 

 system of culture pursued by our neighbours, I shall, in a future 

 communication, attempt to convey some idea of the spirit of their 

 horticultural enterprise as it affects their public gardens (among 

 which is the most perfect, in its extent and variety, of any in 



