18S IlOU TILT LTU UAL TOUR. 



the heats of August, the odour exhaled from the melon. 

 stalls was sickening and offensive. The kinds were chiefly 

 the following : the Maraicher, a large netted melon, so call- 

 ed from being cultivated in the marais or sale-gardens ; the 

 Melon de Honfleur, of great size, often weighing from 20 to 

 30 lb. ; and the Coulombier, a coarse fruit, raised chiefly 

 at the village of that name. These were almost the only sorts 

 of melon sold in Paris, till our countryman Blaikie, about 

 forty-five years ago, introduced the Rock Canteloup and 

 Early Romana. I may notice, that melons of all kinds, even 

 the best canteloups, are here raised in the open ground, 

 with the aid of hand-glasses only, to protect the young plants 

 in the early part of the season. In Covent-Garden market 

 a great many small melons, chiefly of the green-fleshed and 

 white-fleshed varieties, appeared ; but they were uniformly 

 high-priced, though not proportionally dearer than the Pari- 

 sian canteloups, considering that they had all been raised on 

 hot-beds under glass-frames. — Mulberries were much more 

 plentiful at Paris than at London. — At Paris, fresh or re- 

 ccnt Jigs were, at this time, very common and very cheap ; 

 it was, indeed, the height of the fig-season, and they daily 

 arrived in great quantities from Argcnteuil. The round 

 white fig seems to be the only kind cultivated ; at least it 

 was the only kind that came to market. No fresh figs can 

 be expected in Covent-Garden till the end of August, 

 and then only small parcels. To make amends, the Lon- 

 don market was supplied with fine gooseberries in profu- 

 sion, while not one of good quality was to be seen at 

 Paris. The same thing may be said of raspberries and 

 currants, which are in a great measure neglected in 

 France, or used only by confectioners. The Parisians 

 bare never seen these fruits in perfection, and it is there- 

 fore no wonder that, in the midst of a profuse sup- 

 ply of peaches, reine claudes, figs, and pears, they should 



