316 THE GARDENER. [July 



of old by the monks, who were at one time the owners of the property, and 

 which enjoys its own quiet course independent of the main river — the Test — for 

 several miles. This river is crossed by a neat foot-bridge, by which means access 

 is obtained to the large extent of lawn aud woodland on the other side. Especi- 

 ally noticeable, growing on its banks, are some enormous Box-trees, which are very 

 luxuriant here. The lawn surrounding the Abbey is studded with some noble 

 trees of great vigour and beauty, prominent among which are two enormous 

 specimens of the Oriental Plane, the largest of which has around its trunk a cir- 

 cumference of 32 feet, and breaks off into two huge stems, and measures, the oue 

 17 feet and the other 13 feet round. The entire circumference of the branches 

 is about 300 feet. Of the Abbey itself little information could be gathered, but 

 it is believed to have been built in the year 1100, and that the present building 

 constituted but one of the wings of the original edifice. To the archaeologist it 

 would, no doubt, prove a pleasing field of research, as it is scarcely possible to 

 dig on any part of the lawn without meeting with some portion of the ancient 

 foundations ; and but a few months since a fine human skeleton, much of which 

 was in a good state of preservation, was found in what seemed to have been an 

 old well. The present building has its principal fronts looking north and south, 

 and bears upon its external surface the marks of many years' exposure to our 

 uncertain climate. 



At the eastern extremity of the lawn is situate the flower-garden, which is 

 sheltered from the wind by a capital Box hedge. The beds are filled for the 

 summer decoration, and promise in their arrangement to produce a display at 

 once unique and effective. Two large round beds especially we noted, that will 

 make a sensation, each containing from 250 to 300 plants. The first had an 

 outer ring of the new Viola, Blue Perfection, inside of which was the dwarf 

 orange scarlet Pelargonium, Harry Hieover, and then a ring of a dark Coleus, a 

 band of which was also carried in the form of a cross through the centre of the 

 bed, thus leaving four spaces, that were filled with Mrs Pollock variegated Zonal 

 Pelargonium. The other bed had an outer circle of Mrs Pollock, next that 

 Purple King Verbena, then a ring and cross of the white-foliaged Ceataurea can- 

 dissima, the quarters being filled with the deep scarlet-flowering nosegay Pelar- 

 gonium Stella. Close by here is an ancient stone summer-house, a window in 

 which has each alternate pane filled with blue or buff coloured glass. The visi- 

 tor looking through the first sees all the ground covered with snow, and through 

 the latter bright summer sunshine. There is also an ancient stone coffin stand- 

 ing behind the arbour. 



We are now conducted across the park in a westerly direction to the kitchen- 

 garden and forcing-houses ; and as the special feature of this notice is to illustrate 

 early fruit-forcing, we will at once proceed to describe what is done in this 

 branch of horticulture by one of the most successful fruit-growers in the county 

 of Hants. 



Of course, in this department the Vine stands pre-eminent, and our introduc- 

 tion to it in its most advanced form of bearing is some pot Vines, growing in a 

 Pine-pit, each of which carries six or seven bunches of ripe fruit. To show how 

 speedily the Grape Vine can be made to yield produce, it will be sufficient to state 

 that these pot Vines were started from eyes in February of last year, and were 

 grown into a stout cane about 6 feet in length. These were again placed in heat 

 on the 1st of November, and were cut from in the middle of April last, a period 

 of fourteen months only. The kinds grown are Black Hamburg, Muscadine, 

 and Buckland Sweetwater. We now turn to the earliest house of Grapes, started 

 on the 1st of December last with heat. Here the Vines are loaded with bunches 



