4 2 HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM. 



nist ration were ready to give up such parts of 

 the ground as pertained to the city ; but the 

 monks could not sell the property of the abbey : 

 Buffon laboured to surmount this obstacle , and 

 succeeded in the following manner. 



Between the garden, the boulevard, and the 

 rue Polweau , was a vast enclosure , traversed 

 by the rivulet Bievre , and belonging , with the 

 buildings and improvements, to a single indi- 

 vidual : Buffon bought it in 1779, for the sum of 

 142,000 francs. He then proposed to the monks 

 of Saint- Victor, to exchange their lands for others 

 of the same value , forming a part of his recent 

 purchase : being assured of their consent , he 

 obtained for them the necessary authorisation 

 from the king. 



When in possession of the tract to be annexed 

 to the garden, he easily procured the purchase 

 of it by the government; and after indemni- 

 fying the former residents, he began his opera- 

 tions in 1782. In the fust place he demolished 

 the buildings which interfered with the regu- 

 larity of his plan , and laid out a street , parallel 

 to the great alley which bounded the garden on 

 the south. The inhabitants of that quarter gave 

 it the name of rue de Buffon , which was con- 

 firmed by the municipal body. A wall was raised 

 round that part of the garden which was not 



