210 £LV ASTON CASTLE. 



produced a pnrtrrre with colors so coiilrastcd as to rivet the ovo ; this was readily 

 accomplished iiy every iiiiaji'iiKible shade, even surpassirif:: any lloral arraiificiiient. 



For example, take a half circle or crescent, and jilant the disk with dark, iip- 

 riijht, sombre Yew or Juniper, and tlie concave with variegated ))lants such as 

 reriwinkic, Thyme, and Santolina; you will have at once a winter bouquet. I 

 give you the outline, and leave you and your readers to form the picture. The 

 gilding of the statuary — to mc, questionable taste — the elaborate work of the 

 baskets surrounding some cherished novelty, the feathered declivity of the embank- 

 ments, the terraces, and the slopes, the plains and the mounts, circular and square, 

 oval and angular, all exhibit an artistic skill fascinating in the extreme. "What 

 is this surrounded with such bea>itiful wicker-work ?" " Libocedrus chiliensis ; a 

 groat acquisition; it looks like a Silver Arbor-vitiva." "Oh yes, you may call it 

 Thuja Chiliensis." " There is another cxcpiisitc plant !" " That is Biota aurca." 

 " Ah ! very like a Thuja, too." " Yes, Thuja aurea." " What i)eculiar shaped Pine 

 is that ?" " A Douglas Fir." "Ah! you have been using the knife on it." "Yes, 

 and on many others, freely. I exploded the idea that Evergreens will not liear 

 pruning. Do it at the proper time, and judiciously ; they are, with few excep- 

 tions, perfectly under control." "I thought Douglas Fir was an exception, and 

 that it was only handsome from seed?" "Of all the magnificent specimens on 

 the place, there are only about half a dozen of seedlings." " What is the object 

 of those pieces of paper at regular distances along the top of that Y''ew iiedge ?" 

 AVith a smile : " They are to cover the grafts of the Golden Yew that I put in a 

 few days ago." " What ! graft at this season of the year — July ?" " All those 

 trees have been grafted in the same way, by what, you know, is called herbaceous 

 grafting, taking the soft young wood of this season's growth, and inserting it into 

 the shoot of the same age on the stock, and they unite in a few hours !" MuLe a 

 note of that. 



From the east front of the house, the east avenue extends ten miles in a straight, 

 uninterrupted view, which is not used as an entrance, but merely as a prospect. A 

 walk of about thirty feet wide extends half a mile, or as far as the ha-ha ; within 

 this space, the majestic Ilorse-Chestnut has been replaced by the Araucaria, Cryp- 

 tomeria, Taxodium sempervirens, Deodars, Cedars of Lebanon, and Ficea pinsaj)o, 

 disposed with a gracefully waved outline. As you enter this amazing vista, you 

 have, en your right and left, specimens of Picea nobilis, each twelve feet high, 

 and about the largest in England, of the most symmetrical form, and without a 

 fault, surpassing in beauty the famed Araucaria excelsa (Norfolk Island Pine), 

 and grown from cuttings planted out when only three inches high. Onward, are 

 magnificent trees of Araucaria imbricata, thirty-five feet high, planted on mounds, 

 and clothed to the ground with their distinct and unique foliage. These trees 

 have been eighteen years planted, so that their average growth has been about 

 two feet a year. Onward was the Cryptomeria, with its graceful, airy form, and 

 pendulous branches, contrasting with the stifl" habit and upright mien of the Arau- 

 caria. How grand, how expansive the view ! What will those new features attain ? 

 Shall I see it again in twenty years ! 



To the left of this prospect, and entirely obscured Ijy mounds and planting, is 

 the tame sheet of water of 1831, now a magical lake, interspersed with islands, 

 peninsulas, promontories, and steeps, of the most verdant grass, artificial rock- 

 work, palisades, and geological formations, all having been brought many miles 

 to adorn this magical spot, to which you are gently drawn by the musical whisper- 

 ings of a secluded waterfall. In your search, you cast your eye on a view called 

 the " Vista of Spondon," being a church, with its towering spire, three miles 

 across the lake, forming the termination of this picturesque view. At your 



