l'ecole regionaee de la saulsaie. 605 



small departmental schools established with a view to spread 

 a knowledge of rural pursuits in Prance — this is one of a 

 few establishments with a more extended aim. It is si- 

 tuated in the department of Ain, a couple of hours' journey- 

 by rail and carriage from Lyons, and is principally an ex- 

 tensive school of agriculture. M. Verrier, after whom the 

 form of tree known as the Palmette Verrier was named by 

 Professor Du Breuil, was chief of the fruit-growing depart- 

 ment ; but at the time of my visit he had been dead for 

 more than a year. The first sight of this, and indeed most 

 similar places in France, is not assuring ; there is a want of 

 the finish which we Britons are in the habit of putting on 

 country seats, farms, and gardens, and, if I may so speak, a 

 hungry look about the place. However, a garden is to me 

 interesting and worthy of notice according to what it teaches 

 or suggests, and, as great men have not been above accepting 

 lessons from very humble ones, we must not conclude that 

 because a place, from want of funds or other causes, is not 

 so perfect as we had been led to expect, that it is therefore 

 unworthy of inspection. 



The first thing observable in the fruit garden was an 

 almost total failure of the Pear crop — cold rains at the time 

 of flowering had accomplished it. What a " paradisiacal 

 climate \" The situation here is somewhat elevated, and 

 thoroughly exposed, in consequence of being flat and not 

 surrounded by sheltering woods or forests, and, although 

 much further south than Paris, there can be little doubt 

 that many parts of England are far more favourable to the 

 production of fruit. Apples were a better crop, but they 

 too, strange to say, were a failure — in consequence of the 

 very strong sun. In any case, they had fallen off to a great 

 extent. The original specimens of the Palmette Verrier are 

 to be seen here, and very fine some of them are. A marked 

 difference existed between the Easter Beurre Pear against 

 walls and the same variety grown away from their shelter and 

 protection. Away from the wall and without protection the 

 trees were a total failure, or in cases where they bore fruit 

 it was diseased and useless. Against walls, where the trees 

 had been efficiently protected in spring, the trees and fruit 



