200 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ September, 
I firmly believe that confining the roots of the Vine to the soil of the 
border, is in accordance with Nature, and do not approve the plan adopted 
by some, of laying under the roots of Vines tiles and open drains, through 
which heat is circulated, and through which the roots are allowed to 
penetrate. Eoots suspended in these hollow cavities are worthless, being 
exposed to alternations of temperature and moisture which must impair the 
vigour of the Vine. 
Witley Court. Geo. Westland. 
GARDENING IN FRANCE. 
’HEY manage these things better in France : so at least w r as the 
popular notion as to many of the matters of every-day life ; but we 
have scarcely been prepared to admit as much in so far as regards 
the pursuit of horticulture. Nevertheless, there are many hints to 
be gleaned from the French practice of gardening as carried out at 
the present day, and Mr. Robinson’s recent book* has made us acquainted 
with such of these as particularly presented themselves to his notice, in the 
course of a residence of several months in Paris during the Great Exhi¬ 
bition of 1867. We propose to gather up now and hereafter, a few of these 
gleanings, accompanied by illustrative figures, for which we are indebted 
to the author, and notice first the Horizontal Cordon, a mode of training 
particularly adapted for Apples grown against the lower parts of walls and 
buildings. Cordon is a term applied in France to trees confined to a single 
rope-like stem, that being furnished with fruiting spurs or fruiting branches, 
according to the kind of tree. An Apple trained as shown in the figure 
annexed is a bilateral cordon, and this form of tree Mr. Robinson strongly 
recommends to fill up bare spaces at the base of fruit walls, the front 
of pits, or on any low naked wall with a warm exposure. “ As in many 
cases the lower parts of walls in gardens are quite naked, this form of 
cordon offers,” he observes, “ an opportunity for covering them with what 
* Gleanings from French Gardens. By W. Robinson, F.L.S. "With numerous illustra¬ 
tions. London: F. "Wame & Co . A usefully suggestive book, noting the leading points of 
French practice in relation to Subtropical Gardening and the arrangement of the Flower 
Garden, Oleander culture, Orange culture, the Cordon system of Fruit culture, Asparagus 
culture, Salad culture in winter and spring, Public Parks and Gardens of Paris, and a variety 
of other subjects. 
