316 THE PARKS AND GARDENS OP PARIS. [Chap. XIX. 



months, was in France accepted as a great boon. One of the best 

 examples of what can be done in a private place is to be found in 

 the gardens of Ferrieres, the country seat of Baron Eothschild. 

 Here is constructed, in addition to very fine and well-filled fruit- 

 rooms, a Grrape-room, which is filled with stands thickly hung 

 from top to bottom with all kinds of Grapes M. Bergman, the 

 manager, by cutting down all his Grapes in harvest fashion, is 

 thus enabled in a few weeks, in fact as soon as the Grapes in the 

 latest houses are ripe, to do as he pleases with the crop of his 

 many and well-managed Vineries. He can allow the wood 

 to ripen, prune and clean the Vines, or utilise the cleared space 

 of the houses for any purpose that may be convenient, not fearing 

 as we used to do in England, to spill a drop of water or make full 

 use of the house. 



The Grapes are cut with a considerable portion of the shoot 

 attached, much as if one were pruning the Vine ; the shoot is 

 inserted in a narrow-necked and small bottle containing water, 

 and these little bottles are fixed firmly in a row, so that the 

 bunches hang just clear of each other. In the first instance 

 two strong uprights are erected, each supported on three legs. 

 Then from one to the other of these uprights, on both sides alter- 

 nately, are nailed sets of strong laths, two for each line of bottles. 

 These laths are kept an inch and a half or so apart by a piece of 

 wood at each end ; in the inner one are made incisions, into which 

 the bottom of each little bottle fits, and then the outer lath has a 

 concave incision in which the side of the bottle rests, so that, 

 caught in the inner and leaning firmly on the outer lath, it holds 

 the stem and stout bunch quite firmly. Walking space was left 

 between the walls of Grapes ; for six or seven rows were arranged 

 one above another on both sides of each support. 



Animal charcoal is mixed with water, allowed to stand for some 

 time, and then the water is strained off to fill the bottles. But 

 there can be no doubt that to put a pinch of animal charcoal in 

 each bottle would prove a better plan of guarding the water from 

 any impurity from the slight deposit of organic matter that might 

 be expected ; at least, it does not seem very clear how charcoal 

 removed from the water before the Vine-stem is put in can have 

 much effect in keeping it pure. However, this is not an important 

 matter, and it is certain that a pinch of animal charcoal, which is 



