MONTUEUIL. V17 



The interior walls are in general between nine and ten feet 

 high ; very slim, being only about fifteen inches in thick- 

 ness at the base, and tapering slightly upwards. They are 

 roughly built of small stones, with mortar made from the 

 garden-soil ; and they are plastered on both sides with gyp- 

 sum, which is found in the immediate neighbourhood. 

 The plaster soon becomes so very hard and firm, as suffi- 

 ciently to retain nails driven into it. The outer-walls are 

 not in general higher than those of the interior, but in some 

 cases they are a little higher. These inclosure-walls are 

 only rough-cast on the outside, but are plastered with gyp- 

 sum on the inside. The soil at Montreuil consists of a light 

 loam, incumbent on rock-marl, with which it is of course 

 intermixed. This we should not be inclined to consider as 

 a very favourable soil. 



We called at the house of M. Loriant, one of the peach- 

 growers. He was unluckily from home ; but his gar- 

 den was shewn to us. The trees are in general young 

 and small. They are trained fanwise, or " en V oiiverl*" 

 as it is here termed, with two main branches, and two 

 or three subordinate branches. The branches and twigs 

 are attached immediately to the wall, without the interven- 

 tion of any treillage. This mode of fixing the branches di- 

 rectly against the wall, although common in Scotland, we 

 have not before seen practised in Holland, Flanders, or 

 France. Shreds of woollen-cloth and nails are used, as 

 with us : the shreds are called loques or loquettes ; the 

 nails are of cast-iron, and made at Charleville. The trees 

 are placed at various distances from each other, eight, 

 twelve, or fifteen feet, according to the size of the plant ; a 

 few of the larger and spreading trees requiring nearly double* 

 those distances. In a garden where productiveness must 

 be the paramount consideration, we could easily find an a- 

 pology for irregularity in the size and appearance of the 



