NANTES. 613 



in the future. Here, again, the horizontal cordons were in 

 good bearing, though scarcely more than a year old. 



I was much indebted to M. Anatole Leroy, of the nur- 

 series in the Route de Paris, for his valuable assistance in 

 enabling me conveniently to see the horticulture of this 

 neighbourhood, on the interest of which I have barely 

 touched. 



Nantes. — The Jardin des Plantes here is quite a change 

 from what we are accustomed to see in French towns, and 

 is well worthy of a visit and of imitation. It is a beautiful 

 garden, in the highest sense, while it is instructive at the 

 same time, and quite a credit to the town for the way in 

 which it is kept. It is distinguished from the old style of 

 French public garden by the almost total absence of straight 

 lines, being varied in all its parts, and well and tastefully 

 planted on that style for which the best name is the 

 "natural." It is embellished by one of the finest groves 

 of standard Magnolias (grandiflora) in Europe, if not the 

 finest, and their noble flowers perfume the whole place. 

 The planting is very tastefully done on the grouping system, 

 while along some of the walks alternate beds of Camellias 

 and Azaleas are placed, each bed being edged with Hepa- 

 ticas. The grass was as green and as freely dotted with 

 daisies as could be desired — the London parks at the same 

 date being as brown and parched as the desert. This 

 results from the excellent system of watering everywhere 

 adopted in French gardens. Fine-leaved plants, Cannas, 

 Ricinus, and the like, are abundantly used, and effect a 

 noble improvement, as they everywhere do. 



A particularly noticeable feature in the garden at Nantes 

 is the way the rockwork is managed. It is not suitable for 

 true rock plants, nor capable of being embellished by them, 

 but its artistic effect is good, because natural, and there is a 

 good deal of it. The principle adopted is that of letting 

 the rock suggest itself, rather than piling it up in wall-like 

 masses ; solitary rocks peep out of the grass here and there 

 by the margin of the water, and presently a group appears, 

 the whole being intertwined by creeping and trailing shrubs 

 in a way agreeable to the eye of taste. The water is not 



