4l8 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



fruit trees must aim at a natural and not an artificial form. The 

 "chevelure" system of pmning with shears receives his special con- 

 demnation, and he will have only the knife. Furthermore, he realized 

 that different varieties, by their naturai habit, demand different 

 treatment in pruning. 



This little book can hardly be valued too highly. Greatly superior 

 to many works of numerous editions, it bears the imprint of the 

 worker and observer, and conveys to the reader the real love of 

 gardening more than any fruit book I can recall. His final counsels 

 are admirable. " It would be useless to have examined with so much 

 care the nature of fruit trees, to have given so many instructions for 

 their right culture, if I did not finish by advice which I esteem the 

 principal and most important of all : that one cannot have beautiful 

 trees without loving them. Neither goodness of soil, nor rich manure, 

 nor favourable situations will alone make them thrive, but it is the 

 gardener's affection which makes them strong and vigorous." 



A work which had a great popularity at this time was " Le Jardinier 

 Francois." The author, Nicholas de Bonnefonds, was, it is said, 

 valet -de chambre to the French King, but little more is known of him. 

 The first edition of his work was pubhshed in Paris in 1651, and 

 contains some very interesting early copper plates. The work covers 

 all the operations of the fruit garden, and includes some interesting 

 lists of fruits. Several editions rapidly followed, and in 1658 it was 

 translated into English as " The French Gardener, Instructing how 

 to Cultivate all sorts of Fruit Trees and Herbs for the Garden." The 

 translation was stated in the first edition to be by " Philokepos," 

 but Evelyn's name appeared in the second. Bound with this is 

 generally found " Les Delices de la Campagne," which follows the 

 fruits into the kitchen and deals with their treatment there. 



But the day for such homely works as these was passing, and the 

 literature of fruit culture was coming to a stage when copious and 

 magnificent volumes were published, works fully in keeping with the 

 age whose King " had enough in him to make four kings and one 

 honest man." Happily some part of this multiple personality was 

 devoted to the development of the garden, and the final result, 

 Versailles, has had a deep and lasting effect upon horticulture. 



Almost equal in fame to the great Le Notre in the formal 

 garden was La Quintinye in the " potager." Under his auspices 

 this domestic quarter of the garden reached an importance hitherto 

 unknown. 



La Quintinye was born in Angoumois in 1626, and died in 1688. 

 He studied at first for a legal career, but a journey to Italy turned his 

 thoughts to gardening, and he was called on his return by Louis XIV. 

 to create the fruit and vegetable gardens at Chantilly, Rambouillet, 

 and Versailles. For the royal table at Versailles every kind of fruit 

 was wanted in perfection, and Quintinye supphed this both in and 

 out of season, as forcing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers was largely 

 carried on. His great work " Instruction pour les Jardins potagers 



