with the arrangement of the vineries, peach houses, greenhouses, &c.

There are two vineries 103 ft. long by 15 ft. wide, and other vineries of smaller dimensions; peach houses 50 ft. long by 14 ft. wide; and two large lofty greenhouses, one at each end of the

range.

The whole range of glass erected on this wall is upwards of 940 ft. long. All the houses are fitted up in such a manner, both as regards neatness and utility, as, in my humble opinion, does the manufacturers, Messrs. Clark and Jones, of Lionel Street, Birmingham, very great credit.

I may

The pine stoves, Mr. Fraser informed us, are to be erected. upon the open gutter and tank principle. I have no doubt the principle is a good one, if properly managed; but I must state that the best pines that I have ever seen were grown upon the old one, viz. the plants in pots plunged in a bed of tan. as well say where I have seen pines grown upon the old principle. The first was at Bicton, under the management of Mr. Barnes; and the second was at Prestwould Hall, in Leicestershire, the seat of C. W. Packe, Esq., M. P., under the management of Mr. Brown.

I was much pleased with the composition of the vine borders. The front walls of the houses are built on arches, and the vines are planted inside. There is an excellent contrivance for giving air to the houses: it will save much time, and no doubt will save glass. All of the houses are heated by hot water, if I recollect properly, by Mr. Bailey of High Holborn. I was much pleased with the furnaces and boilers: they will save a great deal of fuel.

The whole arrangements in the back sheds are excellent, as far as we saw them. No expense is spared to effect the desired object.

In the centre of the range of forcing-houses, there is a beautiful house, built for Mr. Ingram as I understood, two rooms in which are fitted up for the use of Her Majesty and Prince Albert.

There is a small strip of flower-garden laid out in front of the forcing-houses, and extending the whole length of them, with a carriage drive through it.

The young trees on the walls are doing well for the short time they have been planted. Every thing here seems to be conducted in a very spirited manner; and I have no doubt, that, in the course of a few years, the royal kitchen-gardens will be well worth any gardener's while to come a great distance to

see.

We called at the Duchess of Kent's place; and were fortunate in finding the gardener at home, who kindly showed us round.

Every thing appeared to us in good order. There are some fine specimens of trees, but our time was too limited to make notes of them; among them was a fine Taxòdium dístichum. There is a very fine piece of water; but it was dirty and green. In my opinion, if one third of the wood were judiciously thinned out, the place would look much better. The castle is almost entirely hidden from view.

There is a lofty old-fashioned vinery, with flues; and there was a tolerable crop of grapes, but not of the first quality. There is a good collection of the commoner kinds of greenhouse plants, in good order.

East Hampstead Park, the Marquess of Downshire, is situated between the town of Oakingham and the village of Bracknell; three miles from the former, and two from the latter; thirty miles from London, twelve from Windsor, ten from Reading, and seven miles from the Twyford station.

The park may be entered by two approaches, connected with the Bracknell and Oakingham roads; the latter may be considered the principal road, being in a direct line to the railway station. The lodge at this entrance is about a mile from the house. It is a very handsome structure in the Swiss style, and is, I was informed, the design of the present Marchioness of Downshire.

The park itself is an area of 400 acres, and it is beautifully adorned with groups of forest trees; amongst which are some noble specimens of oak, beech, and Scotch fir. There are many of the oaks which contain from 300 ft. to 500 ft. of wood.

The mansion, which is a building of considerable magnitude, was once a favourite hunting-seat of King James I.; and some of the apartments trod by that monarch are still preserved. The house has recently undergone extensive alterations by the present noble proprietor, who spares no expense in improving the house and the park at large.

The shrubberies, lawn, &c., which are substantially enclosed by iron fencing, contain 14 acres, and are very tastefully laid out. In this department the American plants are the finest I have seen for some years: nothing can surpass the rich green hue of the whole mass of foliage.

The largest oak in this neighbourhood stands about 50 yards from the mansion; its circumference, at 1 ft. from the ground, is 38 ft.; at 4 ft. from the ground, 26 ft.; the length of the trunk is about 12 ft. The enormous limbs branch out in regular rotation, forming almost a perfect circle. When measured some years ago, its contents were between 500 ft. and 600 ft. of wood; and it is still in a growing state. The area, or space, covered by its noble branches is 768 square yards.

The flower-garden is situated on the south-west front of the

house. It is laid out in the geometrical style, and is a very fine one of its sort. It was well filled with choice annuals; and there was a good collection of verbenas, which always have a beautiful effect when planted in small beds. The flower-garden was full of flowers when I called. It is kept in the very best order, and is one of the best flower-gardens I have seen this season. The kitchen-garden is walled in, and it contains two acres. The soil is of a strong, stiff, loamy texture; but naturally productive. There are also slips laid out round the garden walls and fenced in, so that both sides of the walls are brought into use the slips may contain about an acre.

A good range of hothouses has recently been erected on the system of the late Mr. Penn. It is divided into three compartments: one plant house and two vineries, heated by one boiler. The vines have been two years planted last spring, and have borne a beautiful crop of grapes. I have never seen finer grapes, or more of them, on vines so young. I am glad to hear that these grapes have carried off the first and second prizes at the Royal Windsor and Eaton show. The plants are well grown: they chiefly consist of the new and most choice kinds of geraniums and fuchsias; some good orange trees; and also a small but choice collection of heaths, in robust health, showing dense masses of foliage and flower.

There is an excellent gardener's house here. I was truly astonished to find these gardens in such good order; as they are, in my opinion, very short of help. The whole gardens and grounds do Mr. MacLean very great credit.

About 1300 acres have recently been planted; and, although formerly a barren heath, the trees seem to thrive wonderfully. The agricultural departments are carried on in a spirited manner under the able management of Mr. May, His Lordship's experienced farmer and agent. Considerable portions of the farm are already thoroughly drained on the Deanston system. Mr. Smith of Deanston's object is, to render the soil more open and porous by drawing off the surface water, and breaking up the hard subsoil with the subsoil-plough, in order to enable the top or rain water to find ready access to the drains. While here, Mr. MacLean was kind enough to take me to see a field of His Lordship's then undergoing the process of draining. The drains are 18 ft. apart, and 30 in. deep; which, by drying the upper and under soil, will make the sced-time and harvest earlier. And here let it be borne in mind, that this system enables the farmer to lay his land down quite flat; the furrows, in fact, being no longer wanted, as the water will find ready access underneath the ground from drain to drain. Over the tiles is laid 1 ft. of heath, and the soil is returned in the

usual manner. The increase of produce per acre will soon repay the cultivator for the expense of draining, and will give him a greater certainty of crops. Mr. Smith, near Stoneham and Ipswich, Suffolk, manufactures tiles with soles, or bottoms, in one piece, for 11. 1s. per thousand. The machine for making them costs 87.

Lowther Castle Gardens, Westmoreland, Nov. 4. 1843.

ART. IV. Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management, in a Series of Letters to the Conductor. By JAMES BARNES, Gardener to the Right Honourable Lady Rolle.

(Continued from p. 657.)

LETTER XXV. Cultivation of the Parsley.

THERE is no herb or vegetable grown in the garden so much sought for, in most noblemen's and gentlemen's families, as the parsley; for it is in general request every day in the year. Its use in the kitchen is turned to account in so many different ways, that, in my humble opinion, its culture should stand before that of any other herb. Still it is to be observed that this much sought for and useful herb is, in very many instances, much neglected and very badly cultivated. Oftentimes it is to be observed sown thickly together as an edging to a quarter or back walk, a back border, useless corner, or an outside slip in the kitchen-garden. It very rarely meets with much attention in cultivation, either by thinning, hoeing, &c., or in any way encouraging its growth by stirring and loosening the earth about it, to give it a little room to grow. Thus, being subjected to such treatment, the branches produced are naturally small, and, through autumn frosts and wet weather, it is very apt to get cankered; the consequence of which is, as winter approaches, parsley is short and scarce, and for two or three months at the beginning of the year scarcely any is to be found in some gardens. Supposing that it does escape the canker, its produce is so poor and meagre, that, in winter, it takes more time to search for and collect it every day than it would have taken to hoe it ten times in summer and autumn, which would, to a great extent, have been the means of preventing its cankering, and of encouraging its growth tenfold.

I will here endeavour briefly to state my own method of cultivating and producing plentifully this useful herb throughout the year.

I choose a nice, wholesome, healthy piece of ground, that has

been trenched and manured, and laid up in rough ridges for some time to allow the atmosphere to penetrate it; and if the ridges have been forked over once or twice on a frosty morning, so much the better; of course, a rather sheltered situation is preferred for winter purposes. On a fine day, any time between the first week in March and the beginning of April, (the criterion to go by is, the ground being in good condition,) I prepare shallow drills 1 ft. apart, and sow the best curled variety of parsley that can be procured. By sowing earlier, I find, through the coldness of the earth, the seed lies long, and at last comes weak, and the plants never thrive so well afterwards. As soon as the plants are up, and the rows can be seen, with a suitable Dutch hoe I cut through the earth's surface, between each row; then with a rake, carefully drawn across the rows once, I break the surface. The plants are now at liberty to grow, and they will grow vigorously; for in a few days they will have made two leaves besides the seed leaves. Then, with a 3-inch crane-necked hoe, one in each hand, sharp, and in good condition, I cut through the rows and between the plants, right and left, leaving them single and clear of each other in the row. When the above operation is over, a suitable Dutch hoe should be passed again up and between the rows, leaving the whole surface loosened and broken; and so continue breaking the earth's surface all through the season. When the plants are finally and permanently thinned they should stand 1 ft. apart each way. It is in making a healthy preparation, and taking advantage of a fine day for committing either the seeds or plants to the earth, that I find the most successful practice: not to sow on a certain day of the month, because I hear somebody's grandfather always did, and because I have heard parsley seed should lie in the ground nine weeks before coming up, &c.

Now I would recommend the hoe, and its frequent use, to be adopted as a principle; not for the sake of destroying weeds, but to break the earth's surface, which has so many beneficial advantages. The most general and greatest advantage is, giving an opportunity for the elements of the atmosphere to penetrate into and circulate through the earth, keeping it pure and wholesome, and combining with the bases and elements of the soil in preparing the food by decomposition. When so prepared, the fibrous roots of the growing vegetation eagerly seek after the most natural portion for their most natural purposes. The most stimulating portion is given off by evaporation from the earth, for vegetation to breathe. Thus, if a large portion of the best prepared and richest manure is applied to a piece of sour undrained land, or to land that has become livery, steely, and unkind, by being poached with cattle, or otherwise, through