604 



NOTES or A HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



the various kinds of buds in winter as well as in spring. The 

 walls of earth cost about a franc fifty centimes a metre ; of 

 stone^ five francs. The earth walls^ when well made^ last for a 

 couple of centuries. I saw a house near at hand constructed 

 in the same way, which had been erected one hundred years. 

 An important point in M. Morels culture, is that he does not 

 stop the leading shoots, except when one happens to be 

 weak. The main branches are left at a distance of about 

 twenty-two inches apart. As to the state of fruit growing 

 about here, it is still in want of much improvement. It is 

 not easy, as M. Morel remarked, to get a new idea into the 

 heads of the humbler classes of people; but a considerable 

 advance has been made during the past generation. Thirty 

 years ago, said M. Morel, a small Pear, of moderate 

 quality, was sold for three sous — now it is worth about one. 

 This good result has been brought about by the populariza- 

 tion of really good varieties. 



I was much disappointed in the departmental school of 

 fruit culture here. The aspect on entering was most doleful, 

 and the walls in some places wretchedly covered. This, 

 however, was explained by the fact that ver blanc had nearly 

 destroyed the garden. This is a pest which we are spared 

 in England, and of its destructive nature English cultivators 

 can have no idea. Some Peaches against the walls looked 

 veiy well, but many had perished from the ravages of the 

 dreaded grub, as had numbers of Pears, Apples, and all 

 sorts of fruit trees. I learnt nothing in this garden, but 

 from its upper part the beautifully diversified nature of the 

 environs of Lyons may be seen, everywhere dotted by well- 

 built villas, and in the distance a ruined arch — one of the 

 many traces of the great aqueduct constructed by the Romans 

 to convey water to the city from the distant mountains. 

 Hereabouts are also traces of the great Roman roads which 

 radiated from hence to the Pyrenees, the Rhine, the Atlantic, 

 and Marseilles. What a mighty gi^asp these old Romans 

 had of the world ! The efi'orts of modern conquerors seem 

 puny compared to those of the civilizers of the olden 

 time. 



L^EcoLE Regionale de la Saxjlsaie. — There are many 



