FRUIT CULTURE IN FRANCE. 
143 
such fruit as is received from and cultivated in the departments 
of the Seine and Seine-et-Oise. The preservers in Paris receive 
a large part of their consignments from Triel (Seine-et-Oise), 
where the farmers cultivate the Pcc/z-e, Alherge, Blanc, and Boyal 
Apricots. The common kind is often sent to them in a green 
state for preserving, during which process the fruit will clear 
itself. 
The cultivation of Apricots on the banks of the Seine shows 
in places very considerable differences in the variety cultivated 
and in the method adopted. Thus the fruit-growers at Triel 
select the varieties Blanc or Common, Alberge, and Peche ; they 
grow tall standards, much trimmed and pruned, with the branches 
well thinned out. The grower himself picks the fruit, packs it, and 
takes it in the evening to the Paris market. A little further off 
at Bennecourt, including the villages Gloton and Tripleval, the 
fruit is sold on the spot. Here, until quite recently, the high 
banks, sloping steeply, were stone quarries supplying the macadam 
for the streets of Paris ; but now plantations of Apricot, Cherry, 
and Black Currant, with fields of Asparagus and Peas and other 
early vegetables, cover them with their shade and useful produc- 
tions, extending as far as La Roche-Guyon opposite the Bon- 
nieres station on the Normandy railway. The Boyal variety of 
Apricot predominates on these slopes ; it is more robust and pro- 
ductive than the others. Its fine early fruit fetches the large 
sum of 200 francs per 100 kilos.* Their old gold colour and 
their size (known as " four to the pound ") make them a greatly 
appreciated luxury. From eight to ten thousand trees are said 
to grow in the district of Bennecourt, the greater part of them 
being grafted on the Almond, on account of the nature of the 
soil. The tree is grown as a bush or half- standard, with a 
trained head, and in this way it throws itself more into the pro- 
duction of fruit than of wood growth. The crop is at its best 
towards the middle of July, and is considered of sufficient im- 
* For the convenience of the English reader, the following approximate 
equivalents of the weights and measures mentioned by Monsieur Baltet 
are given : — 
An Are = 4 square perches. 
A Centiare = 1 square yard* 
A Hectare = 2^ acres, nearly, 
A Hectolitre = 22 gallonSj or 2f 
bushels. 
A Kilo. ^ 2-} lbs. 
A Litre = If pints. 
A Metre 3^ feet. 
A Poingon = about 25 gallons. 
A Quintal = 100 lbs. 
b2 
