FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDENS NEAR PARIS. 



227 



of the beds. These hedges are about 12 feet apart, and 9 feet 

 high, cut perpendicularly. They afford shade as well as shelter, 

 and American plants thrive very well between them. 



The severity of the winter had served to test the hardiness 

 of a number of seedling Rhododendrons, hybrids between the 

 R. arboreum and catawbiense. Some, having taken much of the 

 character of the arboreum, were injured ; but many, partaking 

 of the hardiness of the catawbiense, were, under the same cir- 

 cumstances, not affected. 



Montreuil. — Snow and sleet rendered the 10th of March un- 

 favourable for horticultural excursions. At night it appears the 

 thermometer in the Society's Garden at Chiswick was 25° 

 Fahrenheit below the freezing point, or within 7° of zero. What 

 the degree was at the same time at Paris, I had not the means 

 of ascertaining; and I believe they have not registering thermo- 

 meters in the Jardin cles Plantes. The windows, however, were 

 richly foliated with frost ; and when we went to Montreuil, oil 

 March 11, the thermometer there indicated as low as 20° Fah- 

 renheit in the morning. Towards noon, the difference between 

 the extremes of a keen frosty wind experienced on the north side 

 of the walls, and a hot sun beaming through a very clear sky, 

 reflected also from white walls with a southern exposure, was 

 remarkable. 



Montreuil is situated about 5 miles east from Paris ; but the 

 road to it from the Barriere de Montreuil lies in a north-east 

 direction. Between 1400 and 1500 acres of the Commune are 

 occupied by walled enclosures, chiefly for the growth of Peaches. 

 It appears a walled country, without houses or tall trees to in- 

 terrupt the view, apart from the village, which lies lower than 

 where the gardens extend. The gardens are generally parallelo- 

 grams, with cross walls, the latter about 30 feet apart, and from 

 8 to 10 feet in height. The walls are 40 centimetres, about 15^ 

 inches thick at bottom, and 30 centimetres, or 11| inches at top. 

 Three metres, about 9 feet 10 inches, is now considered a suitable 

 height ; but in England, particularly in the northern parts, the 

 walls cannot be too high ; for the higher the wall, the better the 

 peaches will ripen. The walls at Montreuil are generally plas- 

 tered on both sides, rather more than an inch thick. Instead of 

 tying the shoots to wooden trellising, the Montreuillois now 

 prefer training to the naked wall, driving the nails into the 

 plaster. The walls covered with this substance afford one pecu- 

 liar advantage ; they can be kept free from insects by frequent 

 whitewashings without being thereby disfigured. They have 

 permanent copings, projecting from 5 to 10 inches, according to 

 the height of the walls, or the fancy of the proprietor. For the 



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