144 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
portance to be marked on the almanac amongst the fairs and 
markets of the month. At this season at least a score of 
merchants arrive and publicly announce the prices at which they 
are prepared to buy. They receive, weigh, pack, and despatch 
the fruit to Paris, or to the shipping ports for the North of 
Europe. In 1881 the price reached 140 francs for the 100 kilos., 
and left Bennecourt and the surrounding villages nearly 140,000 
francs richer. Twenty-four hours' longer ripening will often make 
a difference of as much as 20 francs per 100 kilos, to the value of 
the fruit. 
The Lyons Apricots are found plentifully enough in planta- 
tions on the slopes, hillsides, and fields in the Lyonnais 
district. In the neighbourhood of Lyons we find the varieties 
Hdtifdu Clos, d'OullinSi deJouy, Defarges, B^nd Precoce de Mon- 
plaisir, all good for export. The Apricot de Hollande is grown 
here under the name of d'Ampuis. In the Gironde department 
it is known as the Amande-douce Apricot. The Commun Apricot, 
grown amongst the vines in Bessenay, is well known to pre- 
servers. The Lyons market also receives consignments from the 
Saone-et-Loire and Is^re departments. The gardens of Vienne 
(Isere) provide more than 100,000 kilos, of the Luizct Apricot 
for export every year. 
TJie Saumur Apricots are sufficiently plentiful to cause a fall 
in the Paris market. They are grown in great quantities in the 
Saumurois department, and in the valley of the Loire from Tours 
to Angers. The country hero is rich in vineyards, and the 
department Maine-ct-Loirc alone exports yearly 20,000 kilos, 
of Apricots. 
Clermont Apricots. — The Puy-de-D6me Apricot plantations 
have for many years past had a great reputation on account of 
the celebrity of the pdtcs d'Ahricot made at Clermont. 
The plantations of Auvergne, in the neighbourhood of Cler- 
mont, Riom, ChiUclguyon, Saint-Hippolyte, and Marsac, arc 
composed almost entirely of the Commun Apricot. The fertile 
valley of the Veyro is rich in Apricot and Apple trees ; the 
special quality of the fruit grown hero is due to the volcanic soil, 
and the fruit growers are always sure of a good market for their 
produce, as the local confectioners use it for making the well- 
known ^9^1^cs de Clermont. Since 1879 six manufactories 
have utilised the produce for d'Abricot, exported annually 
