in Brittany and Normandy. 231 



I noticed in the rose nurseries here the eifect of increased 

 light and heat on the petals of some China roses. In this 

 family are some varieties originating in a semidouble rose, well 

 known to amateurs as chameleon, or i?6sa indica mntabilis: 

 Archduke Charles, Etna, and Rubens are the finest of these 

 changeable roses. In England these are, on their first opening, 

 a pale rose, then deep rose, and the second day, if the weather 

 is dry, crimson, more or less deep. At Angers, the weather 

 warm and dry, their flowers in the third stage were nearly 

 black. I was much interested with the melanye of black, red, 

 and blush roses on the same bush ; this peculiarity in those few 

 varieties is the more remarkable, as it is quite the reverse of 

 what takes place in the generality of roses ; the brilliancy of 

 their colouring, in almost all cases, fading under bright sun- 

 shine. 



Camellias are cultivated very extensively here. I visited the 

 nursery of M. Cachot, most delightfully situated on the " Pro- 

 menades du Champ de Mars," a spacious parallelogram with 

 fine avenues on each side. His culture is confined to camellias : 

 the stock was in the best condition. I should calculate that I saw 

 fifty thousand plants of various sizes, all in the finest jDossible 

 health. Here again was the beautiful Bignon/a grandiflora, 

 enlivening the walls and borders with its splendour : it seems a 

 general favourite at Angers. 



Le Mans, July 27. — We arrived here from Angers, travelling 

 on one of the routes royales, macadamised, broad, and admi- 

 rably kept. I observed it was divided into sections by tin or 

 iron plates, fixed on posts and numbered; the labourers had 

 their hats with corresponding numbers fixed on plates of tin to 

 them : each labourer had the portion of road between each post 

 under his care ; they were even sweeping the dust from the 

 road, so careful did they seem of it. The country was in fine 

 cultivation, the wheat all harvested. We passed through La 

 Fleche, a large market town, the hedges in the vicinity of which 

 were lined with Quercus Tauzin. I observed also a few of the 

 common oak amongst them. The former were absolutely laden 

 with acorns. If these are more nutritive than those of the 

 common oak, they must form abundant food for pigs and other 

 stock. Numerous walnut trees were also by the road side ; the 

 fruit equalling in abundance that of the Quercus Tauzin. This 

 part of the country seemed indeed highly fruitful. Le Mans is 

 a spacious and ancient city, with a population of 25,000. The 

 cathedral is well wortliy a visit. I visited the garden of M. 

 Foulard, a first-rate amateur of horticulture, and was much in- 

 terested by his collection. Apricots were here growing in the 

 open quarters on dwarf bushes; the large early, or gros precoce. 



