256 



PONTAINEBLEAU, AND THE 



their ravages, thougli at great cost of time and raoney. 

 The ver blanc is simply the larva of the cockchafer. 



The damage done by these enemies to horticulture and 

 agriculture in France is almost incredible. They are pro- 

 ductive of far greater injuries than any that we are visited 

 with through insects ; and though their ravages are not so 

 noticeable in this country, it is very likely that they occa- 

 sionally do a good deal of damage perhaps trithout being 

 suspected. Where they happen to be plentiful in or near 

 gardens they are sure to be at mischievous work, and should 

 be watched accordingly. Gardens and fields and whole 

 districts are sometimes ruined by the ver blanc in France ; 

 and there are even places where it is impossible to cultivate 

 any kind of vegetable in consequence of the ravages of the 

 mole cricket. 



The soil is a very sandy, not a fluffy one, observe, but 

 one with some holding power, and yet when you get a dry 

 bit of a clod of it, and crumble it fine on a silk glove, you 

 find that most of it sinks through to the palm of your 

 hand, in the form of nearly impalpable sand. It is well 

 manured, and pretty rich and deep, from having been long 

 used as kitchen-garden ground. Horse manure is preferred, 

 and that as well rotted as possible. The time of planting 

 is, perhaps, one of the most important things to be acquainted 

 with, and they do it here from April till the early part of 

 June. The late planting is not often resorted to however. 

 They prefer the beginning of May for the general and the 

 safest planting. The medium-sized bulbs give the best 

 flowers as a rule, the biggest often breaking into several 

 stems instead of giving one good one. To plant at various 

 times of course will lead to a succession of bloom. The 

 seedlings flower in their third year. The time of taking up 

 is October, and, from the great quantity to be stored, this 

 process sometimes goes on to the beginning of November. 

 The plants are mostly in beds, about four feet wide, placed 

 in rows across the bed, from fifteen to eighteen inches apart. 

 The beds are all covered with short litter to keep the soil 

 moist. In very hot weather they are well watered. Each 

 kind is numbered, the scraps of lead on which the numbers 



