(John de la), a celebrated French gardener, born at Poitiers in 1626. He was brought up to the law; and acquitted himself so well at the bar as to acquire the esteem of the chief magistrate. M. Tamboneau, president of the chamber of accounts, engaged him to undertake the preceptorship of his only son, which Quintinie executed entirely to his satisfaction; applying his leisure hours to the study of writers on agriculture, ancient and modern, to which he had a strong inclination. He gained new lights by attending his pupil to Italy; for all the gardens about Rome being open to him, he failed not to add practice to his theory. On his return to Paris, M. Tamboneau gave up the management of his garden entirely to him; and Quintinie applied so closely to it, that he became famous all over France. Louis XIV, erected a new office purposely for him, that of director of the royal fruit and kitchen gardens; and these gardens, while he lived, were the admiration of the curious. He lived to a good old age, though we learn not the time of his death; his Directions for the Management of Fruit and Kitchen Gardens are esteemed all over Europe.