744 



HORTlCL'Ll URAL APPLIANCES AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION. 



make of the actual planter a true painter. An artist in 

 landscape gardening must be a botanist, acquainted 

 with all the needs of culture, and he must be able to 

 foretell the tints, the growth and the relative effects of 

 the plants which are to complete and adorn his work. 



As to the horticultural library, it was not very com- 

 plete, but some firms had brought their principal publi- 

 cations on landscape gardening and horticultural meth- 

 ods, and these showed well how much chromo-litho- 

 graphy and engraving have been applied in instruction. 

 In these respects the French library is unsurpassed by 

 any foreign one, and from the most modest treatise to 

 the most artistic books, landscape gardening has re- 

 sources of all kinds. 



There is not a professor who has not published his 

 treatise on arboriculture, each one believing that he has 

 something new. Besides these, one occasionally sees 

 interesting works on palms, orchids and landscape gar- 

 dening. Horticultural societies multiply, and publish 

 bulletins in which may be found reproduced all that is 

 interesting in botany and arboriculture. 



I must not forget to mention the beautiful publications 

 of the firm of J. Rothschild, which had sent a collection 

 of works edited by themselves during the last few years. 



PUMPS AND APPARATUS FOR IRRIGATION. 



This section, unfortunately placed on the banks of the 

 Seine, did not draw many visitors. The principal ex- 

 hibitors had also been scattered about, and ail we can 

 do is to mention the fact that the apparatus in general 

 is ample to satisfy all the needs of horticulture. 



POTTERY, GARDENING AND ARTIFICIAL FRUIT. 



The class 78 this time had but few artistic vases. 

 One had to go to the class devoted to tile-kilns to see 

 these. But several firms from Paris and its vicinity ex- 

 hibited an improved line of pottery, commonly used in 

 gardens. The work is now done by machine, and very 

 smooth surfaces are obtained, which is desirable for 

 potting plants. The price of these articles has also de- 

 creased, so that now we can compete with other coun- 

 tries. 



We have no artificial fruits that equal those of Ger- 

 many or Italy. The collection of the Paris Society of 

 Horticulture is still the most perfect, but a worthy suc- 

 cessor of the lamented Mr. Buchetel, who is the author 

 of the Paris collection, has not yet been found. 



HORTICULTURAL CUTLERY AND HARDWARE. 



The cutlery of Paris has maintained its superiority 

 over that of the provinces, not for the price, but for the 

 quality of the work and the utility of the articles. Some 

 provincial cities, such as Vogent, Langres and Thiers, 

 manufacture at a very low price, but their goods are 

 almost always deficient in style and lightness. It is to 

 be regretted that more foreign exhibits in this line were 

 not made. 



Our knives and all other hand tools, with few excep- 

 tions, are what we saw in 1878, but some rakes and im- 



plements for transplanting and transporting trees have 

 been improved. Celluloid labels have been adopted in 

 some large nurseries, but for botanical gardens, one has 

 found nothing better than those which are used at Brus- 

 sells, viz : a small map of the world, showing by differ- 

 ent colors, and also by the usual names, the habitat and 

 origin of the plants, the latitude in which they grow and 

 the countries in which they have become acclimatized. 



SCREENS, TANKS AND STANDS FOR FLOWERS. 



The number of our manufactures of screens is con- 

 siderable, and very durable and solid shades are now 

 made at moderate prices ; but we are to-day seeking to 

 avoid the use of screens placed directly upon the glass. 

 In placing the covering from six to eight inches above 

 the glass, as with curtains, there is left, between the shel- 

 ter and the glass, a layer of air which produces an ex- 

 cellent effect. Mats are no longer employed, except by 

 market gardeners, on account of the price. 



The manufacture of stands and tanks for flowers has 

 also improved. Several provincial exhibitors displayed 

 excellent goods at very moderate prices. Some had 

 models of devices designed for the examination and re- 

 moval of plants in pots. This was accomplished by hav- 

 ing a movable panel on one side of the pot. 



I must also mention fruit carries of various kinds, fixed 

 and movable, which aid in the preservation and exami- 

 nation of fruit. Finally, since orchid culture has so 

 rapidly increased with us, some manufactories for spe- 

 cial holders, in open work of pitch pine, have been 

 erected, and these will satisfy all the needs of the culture. 



GROTTOS AND ROCKERIES. 



The gardens of the Trocadero enclose some very fine 

 examples of the art of the grotto-maker. For the imita- 

 tion of nature, resources of all kinds are at hand. First, 

 one can photograph sites from nature, and imitate them. 

 The material for the structure varies very much in ac- 

 cordance with the character of the country and the dura- 

 tion of the work. For temporary constructions like those 

 seen at the Champ de Mars, excellent results may be ob- 

 tained in imitating natural caverns by nailing wire trel- 

 lises to a wooden frame, from which projects cement or 

 colored plaster. Ruins may be easily imitated with or- 

 dinary stones in appropriately shaded localities. The 

 Trocadero this time showed some good examples of 

 rockeries and grottos near the pavilion of the woods. 

 One should guard against having too much of this kind 

 of decoration, and the result should always appear nat- 

 ural and in harmony with the surroundings. 



GARDEN FURNITURE, TENTS AND ARBORS. 



Garden furniture of iron, bamboo and rattan is new 

 made in Paris with exquisite taste ; and some exhibitors 

 had brought some interesting things both for the winter 

 garden and for places exposed to all weathers. For 

 the winter gardens, the style of China and Japan is still 

 imitated. Garden chairs are made remarkably cheap, 

 with iron for the parts requiring solidity, and wood for 

 the seat. 



