e there in the _Tuileries_ gardens, which I afterwards saw, any
remarkable plants.

I bought very large peaches in the markets at 30 _sous_ each, the
ordinary ones were at 10 _sols_. The melons (which are brought to market
in waggons, piled up like turnips in England) were all of the netted
sort, and of so little flavor, that they would not be worth cultivating,
were it not for the sake of cooling the mouth in hot weather; they were
sold at 15 or 20 sous each. Strawberries were still plentiful (second
week in August.) _Cerneaux_, which are the kernel of green walnuts, were
just coming into season.

I had now no opportunity of acquiring any more knowledge of the plants
in France, and shall only add, that I passed the winter of 1783 and
1784, at _Marseille_ and at _Hieres_; and that besides oranges, lemons,
cedras,[14] pistachios, pomegranates, and a few date palm trees, I
found several species of _geranium_, myrtles, and _cactus opuntia_,
(Indian fig) growing in the soil, and likewise the _mimosa farnesiana_,
sweet scented sponge tree, or fragrant acacia, the flowers of which are
there called _fleurs de cassier_; these flowers, together with those of
the jasmine, and those which fall from the orange and lemon trees, are
sold to the perfumers of _Provence_ and _Languedoc_.

[Note 14: These trees are planted as close together as possible,
hardly eight feet asunder, and no room is left for any walks, so that
these gardens are, properly speaking, orange orchards. The oranges were
then sold at the rate of ten for a penny English.]

Among the small plants, the _arum arisarum_, (friar's cowl) and the
_ruscus aculeatus_ (butcher's broom) were the most conspicuous, this
latter is a pretty ever-green shrub, and the berries were there as large
as those of a common _solanum pseudo capsicum_, (Pliny's _amomum_, or
winter cherry) and of a bright scarlet colour, issuing from the middle
of the under surface of the leaves; I never saw any of these berries any
where else. _Parkinson_, in his _Theater of Plants_, 1640, says, after
describing three or four species of this genus, "They scarse beare
flower, much lesse fruite, in our land." Perhaps the berries might
ripen in our hot-houses.

Many _arbutus_, or strawberry-trees, grow here, but they are not equal
in size and beauty to many which I saw both in Portugal and in Ireland.

In 1784, _M. J. J. de St. Germain_, a nurseryman in the _Fauxbourg St.
Antoine_, published a book in 8vo o