A TRANSLATION OF CH. JOLY'S "RAPPORT SUR LES SERRES ET LE MATERIEL DE L'HORTICULTURE".

IN 1878 the horticultural exhibits were scattered over the Champ-de-Mars, filling up such places as the industries saw fit to leave vacant.

In 1889 Mr. Alphand, assisted by Messrs. Belgrand and Hausmann, reserved almost the entire Trocadero for horticultural purposes. At the Trocadero plantations of ornamental shrubs and fruit trees had been made in advance, in order to adorn the larger vegetation which already existed. The products for class 78 had been placed -

1. In the two wings of the Trocadera.

2. In two vast tents, parallel to the fountains.

3. Upon barges of the Seine, where the irrigating apparatus was placed.

4. The greenhouses and the kiosques were scattered everywhere along the walks and in the shrubberies.

As a general observation, the horticultural material did not show, in 1889, much progress. The greenhouses were ordinary structures. One would have wished to see a great winter garden for large vegetation, as in 1867, or at least a house devoted to Victoria regia, as a departure from the ordinary form3.

Finally, the almost entire absence of foreign exhibits rendered the horticultural material less interesting than in 1878.

The following are reviews of each of the sections of class 78:

Plans Of Gardens And The Horticultural Library

Framed in elegant trelliess, which were fastened along the walls of the Trocadero, the Plans of Gardens were certainly among the principal attractions of the class 78. Twenty-two exhibitors showed us designs which plainly indicated what transformations a private park can undergo. I should like to have something definite upon which one can base an accurate judgment of the value of the work of a landscape gardener. I mean to say:

1. The plan of the ground given him.

2. The advantage he has taken of it.

3. What he has spent.

I should have liked to see, also, as at other exhibitions, plans of cemeteries, such as they happily give in the United States. Among the plans for public parks we notice several for the Park of Liberty, at Lisbon; also various transformations of fortifications of cities, or of a public promenade, such as Ed. Andre has carried out in Luxembourg. Mr. Andre also showed his designs representing the gardens of Monto Carlo, the works in which he had directed ; his plans of a new city at Bagnoles and his last work on landscape gar. dening, with the plans, on a small scale, of the porches and gardens which he had superintended from 1878 to 1889.

The art of landscape gardening consists especially in hiding, by plantations, that which should not be seen; in bringing out points of view by suitable openings ; in artificially enlarging the size of the grounds; in a word, using only what there is beautiful in nature. Certain sites are sometimes photographed and then imitated in appropriate places.

It is not always easy to judge landscape gardeners by their plans, but in their hands the style of landscape adapted to-day produces the most happy effects. And the park of Trocadero, under the skilful hand of Mr. Laforcade, was an exquisite model, showing all that is light and joyful in a landscape.

To-day this art is no longer limited, as formerly, to the rather uniform and small foliage of our native plants, so noticeable to all who have seen tropical vegetation. We have imported a host of plants with ornamental foliage, with bright and varied colors, which make of the actual planter a true painter. An artist in landscape gardening must be a botanist, acquainted with all the needs of culture, and he must be able to foretell the tints, the growth and the relative effects of the plants which are to complete and adorn his work.

As to the horticultural library, it was not very complete, but some firms had brought their principal publications on landscape gardening and horticultural methods, and these showed well how much chromo-litho-graphy and engraving have been applied in instruction. In these respects the French library is unsurpassed by any foreign one, and from the most modest treatise to the most artistic books, landscape gardening has resources of all kinds.

There is not a professor who has not published his treatise on arboriculture, each one believing that he has something new. Besides these, one occasionally sees interesting works on palms, orchids and landscape gardening. Horticultural societies multiply, and publish bulletins in which may be found reproduced all that is interesting in botany and arboriculture.

I must not forget to mention the beautiful publications of the firm of J. Rothschild, which had sent a collection of works edited by themselves during the last few years.

Pumps And Apparatus For Irrigation

This section, unfortunately placed on the banks of the Seine, did not draw many visitors. The principal exhibitors had also been scattered about, and all we can do is to mention the fact that the apparatus in general is ample to satisfy all the needs of horticulture.

Pottery, Gardening And Artificial Fruit

The class 78 this time had but few artistic vases. One had to go to the class devoted to tile-kilns to see these. But several firms from Paris and its vicinity exhibited an improved line of pottery, commonly used in gardens. The work is now done by machine, and very smooth surfaces are obtained, which is desirable for potting plants. The price of these articles has also decreased, so that now we can compete with other countries.

We have no artificial fruits that equal those of Germany or Italy. The collection of the Paris Society of Horticulture is still the most perfect, but a worthy successor of the lamented Mr. Buchetel, who is the author of the Paris collection, has not yet been found.

Horticultural Cutlery And Hardware

The cutlery of Paris has maintained its superiority over that of the provinces, not for the price, but for the quality of the work and the utility of the articles. Some provincial cities, such as Vogent, Langres and Thiers, manufacture at a very low price, but their goods are almost always deficient in style and lightness. It is to be regretted that more foreign exhibits in this line were not made.

Our knives and all other hand tools, with few exceptions, are what we saw in 1878, but some rakes and implements for transplanting and transporting trees have been improved. Celluloid labels have been adopted in some large nurseries, but for botanical gardens, one has found nothing better than those which are used at Brus-sells, viz : a small map of the world, showing by different colors, and also by the usual names, the habitat and origin of the plants, the latitude in which they grow and the countries in which they have become acclimatized.