THE GARDEN OP ACCLIMATIZATION. 



33 



Fig. 14. 



neat cross between the domestic and wild varieties, which 

 proved useless for the carriage, and kicked it and the harness 

 into " smithereens" when yoked, in consequence of the virus, 

 or what an Irishman would call the " divilment" of the exotic 

 parent predominating. I was not insensible to the claims of a 

 Russian dog, with a coat like a superannuated door-mat; I 

 laughed at a duck which had a velvet-looking head remark- 

 ably like a hunting-cap, and nearly as big, but with a body 

 no larger than a debilitated blackbird ; and was amazed to see 

 a Chinese dog having no hair except on the top of his head ; 

 but we must let all such curiosities pass, and confine our- 

 selves exclusively to vegetable life, now as always of great 

 importance, since Man first regaled himself upon fruits and 

 green-meat. 



Doubtless one of the first things that sagacious creature 

 pitched upon was the grape — at least, the best varieties of 

 grapes and the best varieties of men are supposed to have 

 originated in much the same 

 place. To-day the vine is more 

 important than ever, and the 

 garden here has a magnifi- 

 cent collection of 2000 varie- 

 ties ! This collection is the 

 famous one formed in the 

 gardens of the Luxembourg, 

 and fortunately saved from 

 destruction by M. Drouyn 

 de Lhuys, acting upon the 

 urgent request of a friend of 

 horticulture. The vines were 

 actually about to be thrown 

 away when the recent muti- 

 lation of the Luxembourg 

 garden took place. So by 



authority they were MW^^^jriinj'iriMWta. 

 to the gardens in the Bois de 



Boulogne, where, let us hope, they will be well looked after, 

 as it would be a great pity if a collection embracing, as far 

 as could be gathered, nearly all the varieties cultivated m 



