Travel Notes: Rural England. 265 



England. The undergrowth was thick, and the lower story of 

 brackens luxuriant. 



Passing through the beautiful country of Hampshire we 

 entered Surrey and near Farnham had the opportunity of visit- 

 ing a large and old country seat. Here Cedars of Lebanon, yews 

 and oaks, known to have been planted late in the 16th century, 

 still guard the fine lawn. Willows line the stream at the foot 

 of the garden, where an under-shot water mill, working un- 

 ceasingly, pumps water for the house, and the lily pond now 

 well covered with Lemna. By the kitchen garden, high-walled 

 and well filled with fanuliar small fruits and vegetables, we 

 found several century plants, oddly out of keeping with the sur- 

 roundings, which the head gardener was patiently waiting to 

 see bloom. We remarked the small size of the holly and the 

 fact that we had not seen any mistletoe, and the gardener told 

 us that it did not occur naturally in that vicinity, but was cus- 

 tom.arilv planted for market. Our informant told us that the 

 seeds were placed in slits cut in the back of the small limbs of 

 fruit trecj, after which they were covered as a protection against 

 birds. No difficulty was experienced in getting the seeds to 

 sprout. It required two or three years after planting before the 

 plants were of sufficient size to use. The large place was owned 

 by a wealthy gentleman who leased it, and w'hen asked how the 

 grounds and the farms were so well cared for, we learned that the 

 chief caretakers, such as the head gardener and assistants were 

 in fact leased with the propert}- , and that some of them m.ay have 

 always lived on the estate, however many lessees there may have 

 been. Thus the planting of trees to take the place of others 

 which are older and in the course of years must disappear, and 

 the setting out of trees in "plantings," of which we had seen so 

 many, goes on automatically and with an affectionate care en- 

 tirely foreign to us in America. So, with the green fields, road- 

 side flowers and hedges of haw and alder, as an element in the 

 beauty of England, must be counted the trees which here find 

 congenial surroundings. We greatly enjoyed the large oaks, 

 maples, beeches, and elms, which are a familiar sight, but chiefly 

 the chestnuts which are especially beautiful in May and June 

 when in flower, and which are perhaps the trees most frequently 



