l.U HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



tusa tilled the stove with its fragrance. Among the rarest 

 plants may be mentioned Bauhinia racemosa, Zamia pun- 

 gens, and Arum grandiflorum. There is a fine specimen 

 of Myrtus Pimento; and Mespilus Japonica is cultivated 

 in one of the stoves, and trained against the wall, for the 

 sake of its fruit, called the Loquat. In a small reservoir 

 here, several pretty little tortoises, from Isle of France, are 

 kept : they are quite lively, constantly enjoying a tempera- 

 ture equal to that of their native island *. There is like- 

 wise a diminutive pond in one of the hot-houses, abound- 

 ing with gold and silver fishes ; and at one end of the 

 range, a small aviary for the singing birds of warm climates 

 is formed. 



A pine-apple pit seemed to be well managed ; the young 

 plants being healthy and clean, and the older plants shew- 

 ing fruit of considerable size. Poudrette, we understand, 

 enters into the compost here employed for the ananas. 

 Among the plants appeared a variety which was rather 

 new to us ; the fruit very long, being fifteen pips high, 

 but narrow. This is the first instance we have met with, 

 of the pine-apple being cultivated with due care and pro- 

 visional success, in the neighbourhood of Paris ; and we 

 believe it forms the most favourable example of this branch 

 of culture near the French capital. The demand for this 

 luscious fruit Is not such as to excite the industry of the 

 market-gardeners; even the noblesse contenting themselves 

 with such fruits as can be procured without the aid of glass. 

 In some of the principal Parisian fruit-shops, however, a 

 few flower-pots containing fruiting ananas may generally 

 be seen ; but the fruit is small, and there must evidently 

 be many chances against its possessing the flavour of matu- 



" Two of the same species may be seen in the hot-house of the Botanic 

 r »;iirl< ii at Glasgow. 



