in the North-vjcst of France. 
81 
land. Those who may carefully study the following pages will 
doubtless be struck, as I was, with these two facts: (1) That 
the market-ffardens in the districts which I have selected are on 
very poor land, judging it from an agricultural point of view ; 
and (2) that the quality of the land has much less to do with its 
productiveness than the available supply of water. Indeed, if one 
were to divide the market-gardens into separate orders, classes, 
or other divisions, as a naturalist divides animals or plants 
according to the differences between them, the result would be 
very much as follows : — 
1. Market-gardens with water under the soil. 
2. Market-gardens v/ith water on the soil. 
3. Market-gardens with water above the soil. 
In the order just mentioned it will, perhaps, be as well to 
take the three classes of market-gardens, namely, (1) those near 
Amiens on water-logged peat ; (2) those irrigated by sewage 
near Paris ; and (3) those near Paris watered by artificial 
means. In addition, some notes will be given on the methods 
of cultivation of certain plants, such as asparagus, dandelion, 
figs, and vines, which are pursued in certain localities in the 
north-west of France. 
One more word is necessary in explanation of a practice which 
is common to all descriptions of market-gardening in France. 
Englishmen will read with some astonishment the enormous 
amount of care bestowed across the Channel on the cultivation 
of salads, and the large proportion of garden-land occupied bv 
them. But it must be remembered that neither the dejeuner 
nor the dinner is in France considered complete without a well- 
made salad. The consumption of lettuces, endives, radishes, 
cresses, and things of that kind, is something enormous per 
head of the population ; and so discriminating is the public 
taste that each of these plants is divided and sub-divided into 
varieties, each one of which has its proper season and uses. 
All this care is not confined to the production of the plant ; it 
is continued into the kitchen, and is completed in the dining- 
room. Indeed, there are few French ladies who consider their 
daughters' education complete if they cannot make a salad in a 
manner which will at the same time satisfy the requirements of 
the artist, the savant, and the gourmet. But for this special 
feature of French living, it is doubtful whether the market- 
gardeners of Vaugirard, for example, could afford to pay half 
the rent that they now do. 
VOL. XVI. — S. S. 
a 
