The daily gazette., 1881-05-23
OUR PARIS LETTER.
PARIS. May 9, 1881.

Paris is strongly fortified city. 1t is
surrounded by wall twenty three miles
In length, thirty three feet thick and
about thirty fees In height. There is
also q wide ditch outside the wall. 1t
has about one hundred bastions and
seventeen detached forts, and before 1t
was captured by the Germans in 1871.
there were nearly three thousand can
non mounted on the walls and In the
forts.
A Railroad called the Ceinture, or
Girdle line, runs around the city Just in
side the walls, and connects with every
Railroad and every Avenue that enters
he city. To 60 around the city on this
road we take tickets from Paris to Paris,
and make the circuit IN two hours. by
this we are enabled to see the fenslrohs
which comprise the belt Of the market
gardens and the poverty stricken popula-
tion that hang on the skirts Of every
great city, as we'll as some other objects
of interest. T. fg
We have, of late, made several short
ex ursions to the gardens, orchards and
vineyards in the vicinity, and were
| greatly interested In their mode of cul-
ture, which differs, In many respects,
from that practiced in our country.
| Throughout France and the CONT
nent, SO far as we have observed, the
fruit trees, like the ioIcst trees, do not
attain the magnificent size of our--own.
A natural or standard fruit tree seldom
attains height of twenty feet, and the
efforts Of the fruit growers are directed
to dwarfing the growth OF the tree in or
der to increase the size of the fruit
From most OF the orchards the fruit may
be picked from every tree while standing
on the ground. Many Of the pear trees
are drawfed TO less than two feet in
height, the apple trees to four or five
feet, and the vines are informally pruned
down to about four feet, except when
trained to wall. 5s
Wall training Is favorite way of
growing grapes, pears, peaches and april
cots, and walls are built In many gardens
for the purpose. Fruit trees, as well as
vegetables, are planted very close
Dwarfs are about four or five feet apart.
Vines not more than three feet. Vege-
tables are made TO grow almost as thick
as they can stand. In the spring and
until the weather grows quite warm
they place giobular glasses, from six to
ten Inches In diameter, over all delicate
or transplanted plants, such as cabbages,
tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, &C., so
as 10 hasten growth and maturity. 1t Is
curious TO see fields of several acres coy-
cred with the rounds of glasses.
They are also generous in the use OF
water, and have conductors from the
roofs and Iroughs from the pumps %
convey the water into reservoirs in the
gardens, from which the plants are
daily copiously watered whenever the
ground Is at all dry. 5s4e=.+5
The Railroad passes on a level, for
most of the distance, higher than
Paris for the city is located in a kind
of basin, which isdrained by the Siene,
while the Road is ON the rim of the
basin and commands view of every
part. There are, however, a few tun-
nels through the higher parts, one OF
which passes directly under one of the
finest parks, while another burrows be,
meath the bottom of a cemetery. AS
we passed under the cemetery we fam
cied smell of the mouldering corpses
Perhaps iC was because we had Just
made visit to Pere Ia Chaise, where
we looked down into some open tomb,
that were almost as deep as wells, an6
arranged with shelves so as to make 3
series of stories from bottom to top
So soon as the floor is covered witt
collins, broad, fiat stones are laid ovel
them and sealed. These stones form
the floors for other coffins, and SO on tt
the very top. They are thus enabled
TO bury many bodies in small space
Even thus, they have not always beer
| able to find the required room, ant
burial was difficult and expensiv,
business until the grave yards wer,
emptied Of their contents into til,
Catecombs under the city, where th,
two hundred acres contain, piled up il
walls, three million of skulls
proceeding on our way we pass III,
Abattoir, or city slaughter houses, an,
the cattle market, the first of which oc
cupies space of sixty.seyen acres, an,
the cattle market of a square mile.--
l Sso@t W nho tho phoio VHlCl
are not, however the corn market
where every miller is obliged by law {,
have q portion Of his grain on storage
This was foundto be wise arrange
ment during the German serge, whel
, the city was enabled to hold out 70
, months In consequence OF this supply.
Paris has not, like London, New York
! and most other large cities q cluster O
!. villages ali around lt,whose houses grov
] thinner until they shade off into opel
country. So soon as you pass the barrier
you are In the county In earnest, in tn
midstof wheat and pasture fields and ami,
orchards and vineyards, ,except along tn
Seine and in the neighborhood of Noun
, Martre, where are suburban villas o
ginger bread houses and fruit and Howe
gardens with all their cockney belong
ings.
The gentry and the rich citizens hav,
chatteaus ON large farms remote from
the city. where they may hunt and fisi
upea their own premises and hold thei
+, courts during tile summer season ava
from the smoke of the factories and be
yond the sounds of trade.
A young mother must have some rest