THE STORY OF THE GINKGO 



interesting story is on record as related by M. Andre 

 Thouin, when delivering his annual Cours d'Agricul- 

 ture Pratique in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. In 

 1780 a Parisian amateur named M. Petigny voy- 

 aged to London in order to see the principal gardens 

 there. Among those he visited was that of a nur- 

 seryman who possessed five young Ginkgo plants, 

 all in one pot, raised from seeds received from Japan. 

 The plants were very rare and the nurseryman val- 

 ued them highly but after abundant hospitality, in 

 which wine was not omitted, he parted with them for 

 twenty-five guineas which the Frenchman promptly 

 paid, and lost no time in taking away his valuable 

 acquisition. Next morning the Englishman's gene- 

 rosity of spirit induced by the wine was replaced by a 

 keen sense of business acumen and he bewailed his loss 

 of the five Ginkgo plants. He sought out M. Pe- 

 tigny and tried to buy them back, finally oflFering 

 for a single one the twenty-five guineas he had 

 received for the five. The Frenchman refused and 

 carried the plants to France. His story of out- 

 witting a native of "perfidious Albion" was much 

 enjoyed in Paris, and, as each plant had cost him but 

 about 120 francs or 40 crowns, the tree was chris- 

 tened "Arbre aux quarante ecus !" Most of the older 

 trees in France are said to have been derived from the 

 above five, but Sir Joseph Banks, in 1788, gave to 



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