find it in such moments indulged in its most exquisite feelings. Two hundred years after his exertions, let me do honour to his memory; he was an excellent farmer and a true patriot, and would not have been fixed on by Henry IV. as his chief agent in the great project of introducing the culture of silk in France, if he had not possessed a considerable reputation; a reputation well earned since posterity has confirmed it. The period of his practice is too remote to gain any thing more than a general outline of what may now be supposed to have been his farm. The basis of it is limestone; there is a great oak wood near the Château, and many vines, with plenty of mulberries, some apparently old enough to have been planted by the hand of the venerable genius that has rendered the ground classic. The estate of Pradel belongs at present to the Marquis of Mirabel, who inherits it in right of his wife, as the descendant of De Serres. Arthur Young, Travels in France,' August 1789.

CE

E sont les Jardinages, qui fournissent à l'ornement utile de nostre Mesnage, innumerables especes de racines, d'herbes, de fleurs, de fruit avec beaucoup de merveille. Aussi merveilleux en est le Createur, donnant à l'homme tant de sortes de viandes differentes en matière, figure, capacité, couleur, saveur, propriété, qu'impossible est de les pouvoir toutes discerner ni comprendre... Le Jardin excelle toute autre partie de terre labourable, mesmes en cette particulière propriété, qu'il rend du fruit chacun an et à toutes heures: là ou en quelque autre endroit que ce soit, le fonds ne rapporte qu'une seule fois l'annee; ou si deux, c'est tant rarement, que cela ne doit estre mis en ligne de compte. . .

A l'imitation de telles Nations, des plus excellentes du monde toutes sortes de gens ont honoré les jardinages. Empereurs Rois, princes et autres grands seigneurs ont esté veus travailler à ordonner de leurs propres mains, leurs jardinages, eslisans telles peines pour soulagement en leurs grandes affaires. Leurs noms qu'ils ont engravés en plusieurs herbes et fruicts, pour en perpétuer la mémoire monstrent combien agréables leur ont esté tels exercises. Nous les lisons en l'herbe dicte lysimachie, du roi Lysimachus: en la gentiane, du Gentius, roi d'Illyrie: en l'armoise, d'Artemisia, roine de Carie: en l'achilleia, d'Achilles : en l'eupatoire, du roi Eupator: en scordium, autrement dicte l'herbe mithridates, de Mithridates roi de Pont et de Bithinie, et en plusieurs autres. Dont est venu, qu'aujourd'hui les jardinages

sont en autant grand credit que jamais part oute l'Europe mesme en France, Alemagne, Angleterre, Italie, Espaigne, sont-ils cultivé avec beaucoup d'art et de diligence. . .

Le jardinage se distingue en quatre espèces, assavoir, en potager, bouquetier, médecinal fruictier. Le Potager fournit toutes sortes de racines, herbes, fruicts rempans sur terre destinés à la cuisine, et autrement bons à manger, cruds et cuits. Le bouquetier est composé de toutes sortes de plantes, herbes, fleurs, arbustes, ageancés par compartiments ès parterres, et eslevés en vouceures et cabinets, selon les inventions et fantasies des seigneurs, plus pour plaisir que pour profit. Pour la necessité est inventé le médecinal, encores que plusieurs herbes et racines pour remède aux maladies se cueillent indifféremment sur toutes sortes de possessions. . . . Le fruictier, autrement appellé, verger, est celui qui estant complanté de toutes sortes d'arbres, rapporte richement avec grande délectation, des fruicts d'infinies espèces. . . . Tous lesquels jardins, contigus et mis ensemble, seront enfermés dans un clos, entr'eux divisés par allées descouvertes ou couvertes en treillages, plats ou voutoyés, ou autrement, ainsi qu'on les voudra disposer. . . . Plus grand sera le seul jardin potager que les bouquetier et médicinal ensemble, estant en cet endroit plus requis le profit, que la simple délectation. . . . En sa figure n'y a aucune subjection car toutes sont agréables, pourveu que le jardin soit profitable: voire la plus bigearre (bizarre) est la plus souhaittable pour le plaisir comme ceux qui estans en pente, et retenus par bancs et murailles traversantes, sont fort prisés, ainsi qu'avec beaucoup de lustre, paroissent les jardins du roi à SainctGermain en Laie. . . . Le bouquetier se taillera aux revenus et plaisirs du seigneur, car puisqu'il est destiné pour le seul contentement, est raisonnable que ce soyent ces deux là, que y plantent les limites.

Et à ce que la Jardinier n'aille rechercher loin des desseins pour ses Parterres, j'ai mis ici quelque nombre de Compartiments de diverses façons d'entre lesquels, y en a de ceux que la Roi a fait faire à Sainct-Germain en Laie et en ses nouveaux Jardins des Tuilleries, et de Fontainebleau au dresser desquels M. Claude

Mollet, Jardinier de sa Majesté, a fait preuve de sa dexterité.1Le Théâtre d'Agriculture.

1600.

1 Claude Mollet, Head Gardener to Henri IV. and Louis XIII,-predecessor of Le Nôtre and de la Quintinye-was son of the Chief Gardener of Château d'Anet, where he collected rare flowers and medical herbs and enjoyed the confidence of its owner the Duc d'Aumale.

Claude Mollet was the first, in 1582, in France to create the 'parterres à compartiments et broderie,' after the designs of the Sieur du Perac, architect to the King, of which Olivier de Serres gives examples.

In 1595, he laid out the gardens of Saint Germain-en-Laye,1 of Monceaux and of Fontainebleau, where by 1607 he had planted 7000 feet of fruit trees, bearing fruit existing half a century later. In the Tuileries he made fine plantations of Cypresses, destroyed in the winter of 1608, when the hardier box and yew were substituted.

His work 'Théâtre des Plans et Jardinages' appeared in 1652 at Paris, with twenty-two plates of designs of parterres, bosquets, labyrinths and palisades, invented by himself and his sons André, Jacques and Noel, and was several times re-printed and translated at Stockholm and London. The translation is sometimes attributed to his son André, who helped him. Mollet was the first to apply meteorology, which he calls 'Astrology,' to gardening. Near the Hôtel de Matignon, where Claude Mollet lived, behind St Thomas of the Louvre, he had raised white Mulberries, producing in 1606 12 lbs of silk, which he sold at 4 crowns (40 francs) the lb.

1 See Illustration in Appendix.

CHAPTER IV

ELIZABETHAN AND STUART GARDENS

JOHN

Educated as a surgeon-superintended Lord Burghley's garden for twenty GERARDE years-lived in Holborn, where he had a large physic garden-in his youth (1545-1607). took a voyage to the Baltic-he drew up letter for Lord Burleigh to University of Cambridge, recommending that a physic garden be established there, with himself at its head, to encourage the facultie of simpling.' 1596, published catalogue of his garden in Holborn, and in 1597, his ' Herbal,' the woodcuts from Frankfurt, having served for the Kreuterbuch' of Tabernæmontanus (folio, 1588).1

AMONG the manifold creatures of God (right Honorable and

my singular good Lord) that have in all ages diversly entertained many excellent wits, and drawen them to the contemplation of the divine wisedome, none hath provoked mens studies more, or satisfied their desires so much, as plants have done, and that upon just and woorthie causes: For if delight may provoke mens labour, what greater delight is there than to behold the earth apparelled with plants, as with a robe of imbroidered worke, set with orient pearles, and garnished with great diversitie of rare and costlie jewels? If this varietie and perfection of colours may affect the eie, it is such in herbes and flowers, that no Apelles, no Zeuxis ever could by any art expresse the like: if odours, or if taste may worke satisfaction, they are both so soveraigne in plants, and so comfortable, that no confection of the Apothecaries can equall their excellent vertue. But these delights are in the outward senses the principal delight is in the minde, singularly enriched with the knowledge of these visible things, setting foorth to us the invisible wisedome and admirable workmanship of almightie God. The delight is great, but the use greater, and joyned often

1 See Illustration in Appendix.

with necessitie. In the first ages of the world they were the ordinarie meate of men, and have continued ever since of necessarie use both for meates to maintaine life, and for medicine to recover health. The hidden vertue of them is such, that (as Plinie noteth)1 the very brute beasts have found it out: and (which is another use that he observeth) from thence the Diars took the beginning of their art.

Furthermore, the necessarie use of these fruits of the Earth doth plainly appeere by the great charge and care of almost all men in planting and maintaining of gardens, not as ornaments onely, but as a necessarie provision also to their houses. And here beside the fruit, to speake againe in a word of delight; gardens, especially such as your Honor hath, furnished with many rare simples, do singularly delight, when in them a man doth behold a flourishing shew of sommer beauties in the middest of winters force, and a goodly spring of Flowers, when abroade a leafe is not to be seene.

Beside these and other causes, there are many examples of those that have honored this science: for to passe by a multitude of the philosophers, it may please your Honor to call to remembrance that which you knowe of some noble Princes that have joyned this studie with their most important matters of state : Mithridates the great was famous for his knowledge herein, as Plutarch noteth: Euan also king of Arabia, the happie garden of the world for principall simples, wrote of this argument, as Plinie sheweth Diocletian might he have his praise, had he not drowned all his honor in the blood of his persecution. To conclude this point, the example of Salomon is before the rest and greater, whose wisedome and knowledge was such, that he was able to set out the nature of all plantes, from the highest Cedar to the lowest Mosse.-The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, gathered by John Gerarde of London, Master in Chirurgie. 1597. (Dedication to Sir William Cecill Knight, Baron of Burgleih.)

1 Pliny, lib. 8, cap. 27; and lib. 22, cap. 2.