223. The, chateau de Meudon is a small palace which was destined for the children of the crown. The view from the terrace over Paris on one side, and to the wood of St. Cloud on the right, is remarkably fine. There is scarcely any flower garden, but there is an extensive natural wood of Quercus sessiliflora pierced with narrow shady alleys in all directions, with some broad open avenues. Along one of these has been a hedge of spruce fir, which has been thinned out, and plants left at regular distances to take the form of trees; these have all shot out several leaders at the same height from the ground, and have now rather a singular appearance, which may be compared to branched candlesticks. The orangery is an immense vaulted apartment under the terrace, in the manner of that at Versailles; and, like it, it preserves the orange trees through the winter without the aid of artificial heat. Pine-apples are grown during summer on dung beds in the open garden, and there is a pit entirely devoted to the culture of the dwarf Musas.
