VERSAILLES. 



245 



compared to one in the open air. The large collection of 

 Orange-trees is usually placed in the open air abou.t the 

 15th of May^, and under cover not later than the 15th of 

 October;, so that the trees only enjoy the free air and sun for 

 five months out of the twelve. In addition to the Orange- 

 trees^ a few other exotics were kept in this structure in 

 winter^, and submitted to the same treatment as the Orange- 

 trees at all other seasons. These are Justicia Adhatoda^ 

 Olea angustifolia, Jasminum azoricum^ and Edwardsia 

 grandiflora. They seemed to do remarkably well under the 

 treatment usually given to Orange-trees on the Continent^ 

 and the Justicia and J asminum, and perhaps the others, are 

 in my opinion more worthy of being thus grown than the 

 Orange, inasmuch as they display their fine flowers in the 

 open air in summer, and they are less costly than when 

 grown in stoves or conservatories. The specimens of the 

 Madeira Jasmine are the finest 1 ever saw; the rich green 

 shoots drooping gracefully and bearing abundance of flowers. 

 The Justicia and others were said to flower abundantly in 

 their seasons. This, considered in connexion with the 

 success which attends the culture of the Oleander and the 

 sweet-scented Pittosporum under like circumstances, and 

 even when preserved in cellars during the winter, would 

 seem to point to the desirability of adopting the system, or 

 a modification of it. It has not spread among us, but it cer- 

 tainly is as practicable in England as in many parts of the 

 Continent where it is seen. With us the nearest thing to it 

 is the practice of putting handsome evergreens in tubs for 

 placing in terrace gardens, &c. But surely it is scarcely 

 worth while doing this with things that we see in every 

 shrubbery ! If we do go to the expense of growing plants 

 thus, let us select those that will not bear the open air of 

 our winters, but which succeed well out of doors in summer. 



It is needless to describe the numberless gardens, foun- 

 tains, &c., of Versailles, and indeed impossible, unless one 

 could devote a book to the subject. Very few of the spots 

 indicated on the plan will please the visitor more than the 

 garden or Bosquet du Hoi, near the Orangery ; and simply 

 because the artificialness, the stonework, and want of 



