226 



REPORT ON THE 



mains in the soil till absorbed by the roots " (Turner's 1 Che- 

 mistry,' p. 1256). It is impossible to say how much water the 

 beds of peat soil may have received in the course of the summer, 

 neither is the proportion of sulphate of lime which it holds in 

 solution accurately known. For an approximate calculation it 

 may, however, be assumed that the quantity supplied would not 

 be less than that of rain which would fall on an equal surface 

 out of doors, say two inches in depth per month, or six inches in 

 three months : this, during the latter period, would give 9350 lbs. 

 for a bed 50 feet by 6 feet. If we, then, estimate the proportion 

 of sulphate in the water to be only one two-thousandth part, we 

 shall have in the above quantity of water upwards of four pounds 

 and a half, which would fix double the quantity of ammonia 

 applied to wheat crops in the garden of* the Society, and which 

 produced the remarkably dark green, luxuriant foliage which 

 many will recollect having there seen in successive seasons for 

 some years past. Ammonia, however, in any form, in solution 

 with water, produces luxuriant dark green foliage. 



From what has been stated it appears evident that the large 

 Meudon pines feed chiefly on the products of decomposition, 

 supplied by fermenting materials in a capacious vault below the 

 peat soil, in which they are planted. 



The Peach-trees at Meudon are trained on the same principle 

 as the Vines at Thomery, the shoots being trained upright 

 from the upper sides only of the horizontal branches. Each tree 

 has two such branches, extending, one right, the other left. The 

 distance of the tiers formed by the horizontal branches of the 

 different trees is about 2\ feet. The young shoots, trained up- 

 right in summer, are shortened to less than a foot in length at 

 the winter pruning ; and whilst they bear fruit in the following 

 summer, a shoot for succession is trained from the base of each ; 

 or, if a shoot spring still closer to the horizontal, it is preferred. 

 The trees are planted 4 feet apart ; and are furnished with ex- 

 cellent bearing wood. 



From Meudon we went to the Palace of Versailles, having 

 only seen the Fruit and Kitchen Gardens there on the previous day. 



The Nurseries of the Petit Trianon, under the management 

 of M. Briot, are chiefly occupied by American plants, and other 

 ornamental trees and shrubs. Grafts of an apple called the 

 Reinette de Trianon were obtained for the Society. Some young 

 Apricots were observed which had been budded on the Myrobalan, 

 on which stock, it is said, the Apricot-tree is not apt to gum. 



There are here a number of Arbor-vitae hedges, chiefly the 

 Thuja orientalis. The T. occidentalis can be kept thinner than 

 the other ; but its roots are found to extend more into the soil 



