230 A Twelve Days' Tour 



gorgeous appearance. I could not help exclaiming, it was 

 worth a journey to Angers, if only to see this splendid plant. 

 A large quarter, about an acre in extent, of Magnolza grandi- 

 flora (Exmouth variety), the plants from 6 ft. to 12 ft. in 

 height, trained to single stems for avenues, was admirable 

 for their fine health and vigour. The price of the larger plants 

 was thirty francs ; certainly very cheap. We were next at- 

 tracted by a specimen of Paulo wm'a imperialis, about 12 ft. 

 high. This tree, with its large cordate leaves, had exactly the 

 appearance of a gigantic sunflower, lacking its terminal flower ; 

 in fact, when I returned, on observing a giant sunflower, about 

 8 ft. high, growing in my nursery, I could not help exclaim- 

 ing, " Voila Paulo wnia ! " 



This plant was an object of great interest in the nursery of 

 M. Leroy. Its leaves were 2 ft. in length, the same in breadth ; 

 petioles \^ ft. in length. It was growing, as I was assured by 

 the foreman, at the rate of 2 in. per diem. In this most favour- 

 able climate it will doubtless soon form a magnificent tree : still 

 I doubt if it will bear sharp frost ; for, in spite of the very hot 

 weather, its stem was exceedingly soft and herbaceous ; as much 

 so as Fuchsia corymbiflora turned out in a wet border in England. 

 We saw here fine standards of Acacia Julibrissin in full bloom. 

 They were propagating nearly all the hard-wooded greenhouse 

 plants by layering in small pots in the open air ; the surface of 

 the pots covered with moss. They appeared to succeed admi- 

 rably ; but the climate of Angers seems almost to be perfection, 

 as far as regards plant culture. The rose "Noisette Lamarque" 

 bears seed freely, and from it have been raised some splendid yellow 

 Noisette roses. All sorts of moss roses were covered with heps. 

 Melons were growing and ripening in the open borders. M. 

 Vibert, the eminent rose cultivator, has now turned his atten- 

 tion to the improvement of grapes, on which he has published a 

 small treatise. He pui'poses, by crossing, to obtain high-flavoured 

 muscat grapes as early as the sweetwater and other precocious 

 varieties. I observed a seedling black muscat, which had 

 apparently resulted from a cross with the black sweetwater, 

 nearly ripe on the open wall ; but it seemed to inherit the badly 

 setting qualities of the sweetwater, as many berries were small 

 and imperfect. Its flavour was rich and musky. As M. Vibert 

 is very persevering and scientific, he will doubtless make great 

 improvements in this branch of horticulture. I did not observe 

 at Angers any thing remarkable in their culture of pears : it 

 sounded rather oddly in this country of pears, to hear Williams's 

 Bon Chretien, or " Poire Guillaume," as they call it, extolled as 

 the finest pear known ; it is " magnifique, delicieuse. Monsieur 

 Rivers," exclaimed the foreman of M. Leroy. 



