80 



THE LUXEMBOURG GARDEN. 



quite refreshing at all times. The wreaths seem to fall 

 from the pillar-like stems of the Planes rather than to 

 grow from the space beneath them_, the bottom of the 

 lower wreath resting on the earth. An adoption of this 

 or a similar plan would add verdure and grace to many a 

 formal grove^ bare and naked-looking about the base. 



In these gardens the Oleander is grown into large bushes 

 like the orange-trees, and put out with them during the 

 summer months. They become perfect beds of flowers. 

 I have seen plants or rather trees of those oleanders in 

 flower here, quite ten feet across, and with the flowers as 

 thick upon them as on a bed of Pelargoniums. They are 

 simply treated like the orange-trees, the culture of which 

 is fully described elsewhere in this book. Doubtless the 

 plan would succeed in England, and it is worth a trial. 

 Even indoors the Oleander is not often flowered well with us, 

 though quite worth the trouble of cultivation. Probably 

 the complete rest during winter that the plants get in an 

 orangery, and the making of all their growth out of doors 

 in the full light and free air, are more conducive to their 

 well-being than the careful culture they receive in our 

 glass-houses. On the Continent they are abundantly grown. 

 M. Eiviere fils has obligingly written a short article on their 

 cultivation for me, which will be met with further on. 



On the 5th of July, 1867, the men were busily em- 

 ployed in these gardens moving large chestnut and plane 

 trees in full leaf. They take them up with immense balls 

 of earth, by powerful machinery, and very successfully, but 

 this system should not be pursued more than is barely 

 necessary in private gardens or public either. It may be 

 very desirable for Paris to move common trees of goodly 

 size to complete and rearrange straight avenues here and 

 there, but the plan is not worth the expense in any other 

 case. 



Numerous amateurs and others go to the Luxembourg to 

 hear M. Riviere, the superintendent, deliver his free lectures, 

 which are thoroughly practical, and illustrated by the aid 

 of living specimens and all the necessary material. The 

 lecturer goes through the theory and practice of the subject 



