ANGERS. 



611 



import in sucli vast quantities from France in winter. In 

 the region around Paris this kind must be grown against 

 sunny walls. I need not add that it is folly to attempt its 

 culture in any other fashion in England. 



For three weeks before the date of my visit fifty work- 

 men had been employed in budding here. The fruit trees 

 are budded as we bud Roses, and those in which the 

 buds fail are grafted in spring. In this way a year is 

 gained. There is a splendid collection of pyramid trees 

 grafted on the Quince stock, many of them of great size 

 and perfect symmetry, the ground being rich and deep, and 

 suiting the Quince to perfection. Every kind of fruit sold 

 or recognised as a variety of any merit is grown here; 

 Pears to the amazing number of one thousand and twenty- 

 eight varieties ; Vines, five hundred and fifty distinct varie- 

 ties ; Apples, eight hundred ditto ; Peaches, two hundred 

 and fifty, including forty-five of the best American kinds ; 

 and so on. The Apple is planted to a considerable extent 

 as a horizontal cordon, and many varieties bear abundance 

 of fruit, some of the finer Russian kinds being gathered 

 before the date of my visit, 18th of July, 1868. The 

 following varieties were bearing abundantly as cordons : 

 Joanneting,Astrakan, Winter Pearmain, Archduchess Sophia, 

 Court Pendu Plat, President Dufoy, several kinds of Reinette, 

 several kinds of CalviUe, Transparent, and many others. It 

 is scarcely necessary to enumerate kinds, as nearly every 

 first-rate variety does well when trained in this way and 

 grafted on the true French Paradise stock. 



Of the 450 acres of nursery ground in M. A. Leroy's 

 establishment much is devoted to the culture of Conifers 

 and ornamental trees and shrubs, the peculiar feature of 

 the culture being that the Conifers when young are grown 

 in pots, for the sake of securing safe transport. The pots 

 are all plunged in the earth, and when the plants become 

 large they are placed in rough baskets and plunged in the 

 same manner. This is a better preparation than that of the 

 pot, secures safe carriage, and does not cause contortion of 

 the roots as pots do. These baskets are made in quantity by 



R R 2 



