56 



THE PARC MONCEAU. 



United States^ the Seaforttia^ and some others^ bear tlie 

 open air of snmmer mthont injury^ and add a very 

 striking and valuable aid to the scene. From tbe cross- 

 drive groups of YuccaSj rather thinly placed in masses of 

 dwarf flowers and plants^ a large specimen of the Angelica 

 tree in flower_, a mass of the Papyrus of the Nile^ and 

 tall specimens of Colocasia odorata^ are the most conspicuous 

 of the objects that approach the margin. 



Again_, commencing at the Boulevard Malesherbes en- 

 trancC; and this time turning to the left^ we meet with 

 masses of Musa rosacea,, Blechnum, Lomaria magellanica, 

 the older specimens with stems two feet high ; Nicotiana 

 wigandioides ; a tellings dark bronzy mass of Canna atro- 

 nigi^icanSj with some of the larger leaves two feet long, and 

 the stems nearly seven feet high ; groups of Latania plunged 

 in the grass ; and large leaved Begonias dotted amongst dense 

 masses of Tradescantia zebrina. These Begonias do not grow 

 well enough to warrant their being put out in our latitudes 

 except under the most favourable conditions. Next come 

 masses of Hibiscus, rather sparing of their great red flowers ; 

 numerous sj)ecimens of handsome plants isolated on the 

 grass, from double scarlet Pomegranates to Thuja aurea 

 and Clianthus Dampieri ; masses of india-rubber plants 

 with groundwork of mignonette, of Wigandia macrophylla 

 with groundwork of Coleus, of silvery Solanum marginatum 

 with groundwork of dwarf herbaceous Aster, of Tuj^idanthus 

 in carpet of Cuphea, and of variegated Arundo in one of 

 German Aster. A mass of Caladium bataviense, with 

 leaves three and a half feet long and dark stems, is very 

 imposing. As a foliage plant, it is second to no other 

 employed in Parisian gardens, though hitherto C. escu- 

 lentum has generally been considered to be the best. Here 

 there are large masses of both it and bataviense. Usually 

 C. bataviense makes ^eaves larger than C. esculentum, and 

 as a rule its leaves are the largest this year, but the 

 biggest specimens of the year were of esculentum, of which 

 the largest measured four feet seven inches long, bataviense 

 reaching four feet one inch. C. esculentum best withstands 

 the winds, the leaves of C. bataviense often getting broken 



