THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— September 10,1856. 400 
when wanted, but in a general way it kept well. But 
as years rolled on, the fashionable ingredient, salt, was 
called into use, and salted ice, like salted beef, was said 
to last longer than fresh, and several parties tried this, 
with, however, an unsatisfactory result, and it was 
abandoned, and some improvements in the build of ice¬ 
houses were thought to be a grand acquisition, Mr. 
Fortune’s return from China having confirmed the fact 
that ice-houses need not be under-ground, as be told us 
ice was kept in that warm country under a thick coat of 
thatch quite above-ground. Hence an old plan of stack¬ 
ing it up was revived, and stacks of ice were common 
about 1840 and after; but the number of failures in 
keeping it that way far out-numbered those of a contrary 
kind, and the old plan of keeping it in ice-houses was re¬ 
sorted to, only some parties near towu left off filling their 
houses for a year or two, foreign ice of a much superior 
quality being attainable at a reasonable rate. Subse¬ 
quently, however, shipping became otherwise employed, 
and we have had less of the “ Wenham Lake ice” than 
before, and a return to the old-fashioned mode of keep¬ 
ing it became necessary, and, with more or less success, 
has continue^ ever since. 
As the season is fast advancing in which alterations 
to ice-houses ought to be made, I should feel obliged for 
any information bearing on the case alluded to. That I 
have a sort of opinion of what may have been the cause 
of the ice melting, as well as a sort of remedy for it, I 
will not deny; but I am far from certain that I am 
right, and would more willingly act as others describe 
their experience to have been ; besides which the public 
would be benefited by being put in possession of the 
best mode of building ice houses; and the increasing 
demand there has been of late years for luxuries of all 
kinds has likewise extended to this article; and though 
chemical science has proved that ice may be manu¬ 
factured at any time by any one possessing the in¬ 
gredients and apparatus for doing so, yet the expense is 
such as must render such ice more a novelty than one 
that can be made subservient to the wants of every¬ 
day life. J. Robson. 
NOTES FROM PARIS. 
Among other improvements lately made in the Garden of 
Plants may be mentioned the formation of a rockwork on 
the summit of the mound, and the removal of the old, high, 
and unsightly hedges leading to it. This alteration has a 
very good effect so far, as the adjoining grounds are more 
easily seen; but, unfortunately, the banks have been filled 
exclusively with young Yew-trees, which have not a very 
lively appearance, and are but little in keeping with the 
rockwork or the herbaceous plants with which it is studded. 
The mound is about fifty feet above the general level of the 
garden, and from the handsome kiosque at the top a good 
view of all Paris may be obtained; but some of the trees 
in the vicinity have, of late years, grown so much, that they 
begin to diminish this facility considerably, and it were 
desirable to raise the ground some six or eight feet more. 
This part of the garden, chiefly filled with Coniferm and 
other ornamental trees, is in excellent order at present. 
The herbaceous department, too, is in all its splendour, and 
some of the clumps are filled with variegated plants of the 
most brilliant colours. Among the conservatory plants at 
present out of doors are some remarkably large Orange- 
trees, and several beautiful specimens of the Pomegranate- 
tree, the latter from fifteen to twenty feet high, and pro¬ 
fusely flowered. The stems of the Pomegranate, it would 
appear, always assume a twisted manner of growth after a 
certain number of years. One of the largest and finest 
examples of Sophora Japonica which I have ever seen is in 
this garden, near the Gallery of Geology. Its trunk is 
about two feet in diameter near the base, and I should say 
it was at least fifty feet high. 
It is, perhaps, worthy of note, in speaking of trees, that 
the tall and majestic white Poplar, so essential in an 
English garden or landscape, is very rare here. Except in 
a small private garden near the Rue Turgot, in the minia 
ture square of the Cite Trevise, and one or two spots near 
the river, I do not recollect seeing it anywhere, certainly not 
on any of the Boulevards, where there is no want of variety. 
It may be said that the Poplar is not the most suitable for 
affording shade; but there are plenty of places where it 
would have a more agreeable effect than any other sort*, 
without either diminishing the shade or obstructing the 
view. The effect of the few trees growing by the Seine is 
all that could be wished, and a better example than that in 
the private garden alluded to is not often seen. 
But, after all, it is not quite correct to say that the 
Poplar is not adapted for shade; for, planted at short 
distances and in double rows like a narrow avenue, it is the 
most complete shade of all. Even in a single line, and 
- planted in a particular direction to the sun, at a certain time 
1 of the day Poplars give a better shade than any other tree. 
The directors of the Garden of Plants* have lately erected, 
near the Library and in the front of the Gallery of Geology, 
a handsome, full-sized marble statue of Michel Adansou, 
one of the first and most celebrated of French naturalists 
of the modern school. The statue has been executed with 
much skill by Etex, and represents the great philosopher 
robed, and in a standing attitude of deep study, with his 
right hand raised to his chin, and his elbow resting on the 
trunk of a tree. In his left hand he holds some specimen 
of natural history, apparently a mineral. 
Michel Adanson t was born in 1727, at Aix, in Provence, 
| now called Haute Vienne, one of the southern departments 
of France. His ancestors were originally from Scotland, 
and had been distinguished for their devotion to the House 
of Stuart. They came to France among the followers of 
Charles II., and finally settled here. Michel made his 
studies at the College of St. Barbe, much renowned at the 
time. He astonished all by his persevering study, and took 
j the first prizes in every department of learning. After 
| leaving college, he resolved on travelling in Africa, and in 
1 1748 he sailed for Senegal and the Canary Islands, with 
I the view of prosecuting his researches in natural history in 
] all its branches. While in Africa he continually sent home 
1 collections of plants, fossils, insects, shells, and other 
! specimens to the French Academy, the Garden of Plants, 
and the Garden of Louis XV., at Trianon, near Versailles. 
He returned hbme after an absence of five years, having 
; collected, during that time, more than 30,000 new species, 
which, added to 33,000 which he knew before, made the 
incredible number of 63,000 species known to him. In the 
various departments of natural science, Adanson appears to 
have had a mind much too active and comprehensive to be 
satisfied with the study of any particular science. He 
aimed at acquiring the greatest possible knowledge of every 
science, and uniting them into one. He studied all that had 
been known before, and, by a sharp analysis, detected every 
hidden error in old systems and theories. The natural 
result was a desire to construct them afresh, and add the 
treasures of his vast experience and research. He was 
ambitious to display the sciences, for the benefit of mankind, 
like a vast tableau , in which the nicest divergences of one to 
another, as well as the proofs by which the principles 
were established, should be clearly indicated. He calculated 
that twenty-seven volumes would be required, besides several 
volumes of plates, and it was his habit to work at least 
eighteen hours every day. 
The plan of his work, with what he had published of it, 
was submitted to the Academy in 1774, and all were 
astonished at the great knowledge of the author, which, how¬ 
ever, as is proved by the sequel, was much too vast for the 
labours of any one human existence. 
About the time just mentioned Adanson delivered lectures 
in his own house and elsewhere on natural philosophy, not 
only with the view of instructing others, but also of finding 
* Before the first revolution this was called Le Jurdin du Roi. Under 
the republic the name was changed to Le Jardin des Plantes , and by 
this name it is generally known at the present day, though the correct 
title is now the Museum d’Histoire Nuturelle, which applies to the whole 
establishment, including the garden and plant-houses. 
t It is very probable that the real family name was Adamson, and that 
the m was replaced by an n in order to render the pronunciation more 
in unison with the French language. This supposition is supported bv 
the fact, that Adamson is not an uncommon name on the other side of 
the Tweed. 
