Paris. 359 



guished botanical cultivators of their day, to the mountains 

 of Switzerland, in search of rare alpine plants ; and that it 

 was he who sent home all those Swiss rarities marked in 

 the Kew Catalogue as communicated by those eminent 

 physicians. Dr Fothergill for many years maintained a 

 rich botanic garden at his seat at Upton in Essex ; and in 

 this garden, we may remark, one of the Society's deputa- 

 tion (Mr Hay) spent a year, in the early part of his career 

 as a gardener. Dr Pitcairn had also a valuable collection in 

 his garden near London. In the course of 1776, Mr Blaikic 

 formed the plan of following his profession in France *; and 

 his first employment was the laying out of an extensive gar- 

 den for Count Lauriguy, at Mont Canissee,bet ween Harfleur 

 and Havre-de-Grace. In 1778 he settled near Paris. At 

 this period there was no nursery about Paris, from whence 

 select ornamental trees or shrubs could be got. The form- 

 ing a collection of these was then a business of great diffi- 

 culty and labour. At Vitry, fruit-trees of pretty good 

 quality were to be procured ; also avenue-trees, or arbres 

 (Palignement, such as elms, limes, and horse-chesnuts ; but 

 none of the rarer evergreens were to be purchased. In 

 the following year, 1779, he was employed in forming the 

 princely villa of Bagatelle for the Compte d'Artois. M. 

 Bellanger, a French artist, managed the arrangement of 

 the parterres and shrubberies immediately around the 

 house, and finished them completely in the French style, 

 with abundance of architectural ornaments. Mr Blaikie 

 was intrusted with the fonnation of the more extended 



* In the Quarterly Review, vol. xxiv. p. 410, Blaikie is said to have been 

 sent by the Earl of Egremont to the Duke of Orleans, to cultivate pine- 

 apples for him ; but this statement must be founded on some mistake. 

 Houtson, an Englishman, had for some years the charge of the Duke's 

 pinery, and may probably be the individual referred to. 



