from June 28. to August 16. 1840. 



401 



lime trees, from which the garden is seen to very great advan- 

 tage. The interior of the square is laid out in four rectangular 

 figures, with a large square basin and fountain in the centre. 

 The rectangular figures have borders about 5 ft. broad, with 

 gravel walks about 3 ft. broad, within. The borders are planted 

 with perennial and annual herbaceous plants, in large, hand- 

 some, distinct bushy plants ; the greater part of which being in 

 full flower when we saw them, the effect was splendid. Among 

 the flowers which were most showy were, the common double 

 pot-marigoldj double feverfew. Petunia phoenicea and nycta- 

 giniflora, phloxes, Antirrhinum majus, 7beris umbellata alba 

 and violacea ; and we noticed besides, /Zesperis matronalis, Va- 

 leriana rubra, Aconitum variegatum, Hemerocallis flava, Calli- 

 stema siuense, y^lyssum saxatile, Veronica virginiana, Campanula 

 Medium, Paeonm officinalis, Dianthus barbatus, and a few others. 

 The shrubs were few, chiefly i/ibiscus syriacus, pruned into 

 regular shapes, and placed at distances of 20 or 30 feet apart. 

 Nothing which we saw in France, in the way of flowers, surpassed 

 the beauty of these borders. The interior of the compartments 

 is sown with Festiica ovina, without any mixture whatever of 

 other grasses or plants ; and, notwithstanding that the soil is a 

 very dry sand, and is never watered, the closeness and compact- 

 ness of the turf were, to us, truly astonishing. It was only 

 deficient in colour, which was brown rather than green. M. 

 Vilmorin informed us that he had sent specimens to London 

 some years ago, which were compared with the specimens in the 

 herbarium of Linnaeus, and found to be the true F. ovina. 



Among the lime trees which composed the double arcade on 

 the terrace, there is one which has the trunk 

 entirely deprived of its bark for the space of 

 about 2 ft., and which has been known to be 

 so for thirty years. It still continues to live, 

 though not so vigorous as the others. Fig. 51. 

 is a sketch of it made on the spot by M. 

 Poiteau, who, with the Inspector of the Forest, 

 M. Marrier de Bois d'Hyver, accounts for its 

 living by supposing the sap to ascend through 

 the interior of the trunk ; the only chance, in- 

 deed, by which it could ascend. 



There was formerly a large royal kitchen-garden here ; but 

 that is now much reduced. There remains, however, a wall (la 

 treille royale) covered with vines, to which an addition has 

 lately been made, so that the total length is now 702 toises, or 

 upwards of 4200 ft. Some part of the wall is 20 ft. high, and 

 the remainder about 12 ft. The vines are chiefly trained in the 

 manner of those at Thomery, described in one of our earlier 

 volumes. Nothing could exceed the health of the plants, or the 



D D 2 



Fig. 51. Bisbarked 

 Lime Tree. 



