288 French Experimental Farm at Vaujours. 
market combined all the evils of proximity to Paris with the 
drawbacks of a wild, secluded spot. Under the influence of the 
adjacent forest the climate was cold and damp, and affected by 
fogs which seem to rival those of London ; but a yet worse mis- 
chief haunted the woods — those pests, the rabbits ! I shall have 
occasion to quote at length a very spirited letter on this head, 
which will doubtless excite much sympathy from English fellow- 
sufferers, and some surprise and wonder how such an evil can 
have survived, or revived after the clean sweep of feudal abuses 
■which was made in France under the First Revolution. Besides 
the command of water-carriage and the prospect of approaching 
railroads, there was little to balance these drawbacks but the 
advantage of having a liberal landlord, Mr. Smith, who under- 
took, when called upon, to provide money for roads, drains, 
&c., charging 6 per cent, on the outlay, to the amount of 
1200Z. 
The Canal de I'Ourcq, which intersects the farm in a bed 
nearly 9 yards below the level, was a work of the First Empire. 
The requirements of this canal for a supply of water led to the 
drainage of the property (which had been a swamp in winter), 
and paved the way for thorough drainage. 
In 1852, the Eastern Railroad came within 6 miles of the 
farm : recent improvements have led to the erection of a station 
at the distance of about 4^ miles; and in 1860 another line 
opened a station less than 2 miles off. 
It further appears that the depot for the night-soil of Paris, 
from the formation of new suburbs, will have to be removed 
from Bondy to the immediate neighbourhood of this land, 
so that about one mile of good metalled road is alone wanting 
to put this once secluded spot into direct contact with Paris, and 
with other towns in which sugar-refineries and distilleries are in 
full play. These are important elements of future success. 
The benefits to be anticipated from the extension of the 
railroads were, however, for a while attended with serious draw- 
backs. The construction of the Northern line interposed between 
the engine-house and its field of operation, necessitating the 
removal of the former, and consequently the suspension of irriga- 
tion by pipes until June, 1860. It likewise so interfered with 
the drainage outfall as to call for new main-drains and the 
deepening of the tunnel which passed under the canal in dan- 
gerous proximity to the reservoir. These works were begun in 
the autumn, w ith disastrous results ; the contractor failed, yet 
the worl^ had to be carried out at all hazard and any sacrifice, 
amidst rain and frost; hardships and danger to the workmen, 
and with haulage destructive to tbe teams of the farm. The 
work cost 200/. instead of 80/., the sum contracted for. 
