August i, 1888. 



Garden and Forest. 



267 



The Squares of Paris. 



^NE of the best features of the park system of Paris 

 __^ is the number of small squares scattered about in 

 the different quarters of the city. The parks themselves, 

 especially the larger ones, are at such great distances 

 from the crowded centres of population, that the working 

 classes, except on Sundays and holidays, seldom have a 

 chance to visit them, so that these squares admirabh' 

 serve the purpose of keeping the children out of the 

 streets, and of allowing the poorer people, in the tew 

 hours of leisure they have during the week, to get a 

 breath of fresh air and a glimpse of green. 



A stranger, on first entering one of them, marvels 

 as he sees how neatly they are kept while so thickly 

 crowded with visitors, reading, working or playing. In 

 plan they are usually quite simple, as the accompanying 

 diagram will show. A broad gravel walk, ten or twelve 

 feet wide, following near but separated from the bound- 

 ary by occasional shrubbery plantations, encloses a quiet 

 piece of lawn sufhcienlly open to get a glimpse through 

 to the O])posite end, but planted on the sides with trees, 

 shrubs and foliage plants. 



Plan (jf a Paris Square. 



There are few attempts at fancy gardening, but much 

 care has been taken to select hardy shrubs and plants ' 

 with the view of avoiding bare and empty beds during 

 the winter The condition of the turf is everywhere ex- 

 cellent, for water is freely used, and suitable small play- 

 grounds are provided for the children, which serve the 

 purpose of keeping them off the grass. These play- 

 grounds, which are an admirable feature, are generally 

 formed by simply widening the walks in the corners and 

 planting enough trees there to afford ample shade. There 

 are always one or two flower beds, which are kept bright 

 and attractive during the spring and summer by a con- 

 stant succession of showy flowering and foliage plants. 

 Permanent seats are provided, but not in sufficient num- 

 bers to accommodate every one, but for a very small 

 sum a chair for the whole morning or afternoon can be 

 hired and you can move it about at will. 



The only serious fault in all these squares is the stiff 

 and formal appearance of the shrubberies. Almost with- 

 out exception these plantations are in the form of regu- 

 lar figures — circles, ovals or ellipses — and they are alwa3's 

 planted on slight mounds. These two facts detract very 

 much from any effect of naturalness, and it seems a 

 great pity that, when it is so easy to give a varying 

 outline to the groups, it has not been done. It would 

 also be an improvement to plant the borders of these 

 beds with plants or shrubs of low, half trailing habit, 

 and thus, in a measure, hide the sharp, stiff outline be- 

 tween the turf and the dug ground of the bed. 



Of course, there are many variations from the typical 

 plan. The Square des Batignolles contains about three 

 acres and is one of the largest in Paris. It is situated 

 on sloping ground, with an open lawn in the centre, 

 through which runs a small winding stream, which 

 broadens out into an almost circular pond at the lower 

 end. The course of this stream, in order to make a 

 /ittle variety, is occasionally interrupted by a group of 



rocks, which cause it to widen out info small pools, the 

 margins of which are attractively planted 'with aquatic 

 plants. 



The Stpiarc des Arts-et-Metiers is on quite a different 

 plan. Here a broad walk runs down the middle, giving 

 a fine view of the building at the further end. It is sur- 

 rounded by a handsome stone balustrade, and following 

 this, on the inside is a strip of turf and shrubbery about eight 

 feet wide. All the rest of the surface, with the exception 

 of iwo fountain-basins, is of gravel, and is thoroughly 

 shaded by eight rows of large Horse-Chestnuts, whose 

 branches touch each other, and thus form a very dense 

 shade over the whole. Seats are provided here in plenty, 

 and as it is one of the most crowded parts of the city, 

 it is always full of people. 



The Square du Temple is one of the prettiest of all 

 the Paris squares, or would be if the attempt had not 

 been made to adorn it with statues. There are four 

 of them here, and they detract much from the quiet and 

 repose of the place. At the upper end there is a small 

 cascade falling over artificial rockwork into a rather too 

 formal pond. The trees in this square are exceptionally 

 good. 



These are a few of the more important squares, but by 

 no means all, for in Paris there are no less than seventy 

 breathing places, not counting the boulevards and 

 other tree-planted streets. They are usually most at- 

 tractive spots and teach a lesson which might very well 

 be copied in many of the crowded cities of our country. 

 Paris. Henry S. Cudinaii. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



AMONG the plants certificated at the last meeting of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society, the greatest nov- 

 elty, in my opinion, was the Japanese shrub, Casalpinia 

 Japonka, shown by Messrs. Veitch, and which has proved 

 quite hardy in Coombe Wood unprotected. It has leaves 

 about a foot long, divided into small pinna;, like a Mimosa 

 and very elegant. The flower spikes are borne at the 

 tips of the shoots, and are erect, about eight inches high, 

 carrying numerous flowers in a loose way. They are 

 about an inch across and of a brilliant yellow. The 

 whole spike so closely resembles that of one of the Cas- 

 sias (C. archira) that one could scarcely tell the difference 

 without close inspection. The flowers are so showy and 

 the foliage so elegant that the committee were unanimous 

 in awarding a first-class certificate, and every one looks 

 upon it as a valuable addition to hardy shrubs. Another 

 first rate, hardy, Japanese shrub, with evergreen foliage, 

 from INIessrs. Veitch, was certificated. This was Duphiii- 

 fjhyllum g/aucescens. It has a dense, bushy growth (about 

 three feet in height in the plant shown), with leaves re- 

 minding one of Rhododendron Catawhiensc, but larger and 

 thicker. They are pale green above, and of a glaucous 

 hue beneath. The specimen shown was not in flower, 

 but there are flowering plants of it at the Coombe Wood 

 nursery. The berries are said to be ornamental, but I 

 have rieither seen flowers nor fruit. I have seen the plant 

 for some years past growing in exposed places, and be- 

 lieve it will prove a valuable evergreen shrub here, and 

 probably it may be hardy on the coast and in warm districts 

 of the United States. 



A graceful variety of the grass Eulalia Japonka likewise 

 came from Messrs. Veitch, and received a certificate. It is 

 named gracillima, and most appropriately. The leaves 

 are very long, not more than one-sixth of an inch broad, 

 and elegantly recurve on all sides. The mid-rib is white, 

 as in the variety univiltata, though, perhaps, not so i-ro- 

 nounced. Tliere was but one opinion among the com- 

 mittee, and this was tlial the new grass was a real 

 acquisition. 



Only one Orchid received a certificate (a fact worthy of 

 note), and this was the ne^v Epidciidruiii alropurpurcum 



