80 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



December 9, 1897. 



and flowers point out the objects of inter- 

 est in the surrounding country. We will 

 stroll first to the highest point and ascend 

 a spiral staixway to the top of what 

 was called the "lookout," a wooden 

 structure of modest height yet elevated 

 enough to give us a commanding view for 

 many miles around. To the west we 

 look upon what appears an emlless forest 

 with here and there an opening showing 

 some well cultivated farm, or perhaps we 

 are attracted Ijy some stately house with 

 a background of forest. They are the 

 homes of well-to-do people, some landed 

 proprielors, some only renting these 

 pretty homes. The large white house is 

 the residence of Lady Napier, the widow 

 of Sir Charles, the Hero of the .Sikh war. 

 But I must not stop to tell you of all the 

 people who make their homes in these 

 pretty places or I shall never reach the 

 flow'er garden. 



While we have been looking at the dis- 

 tant wooded scenery we have looked 

 completel}' over as pretty- a miniature 

 lake as ever swan rode upon, and.it is 

 within a few hundred yards of where we 

 stand, and all in the pleasure .sjround 

 proper. It is not so stnall bvit what there 

 is an island in this lake, where an old 

 garden hand has reared a family and cul- 

 tivated a small garden plot. A full- 

 rigged man of war, and a schooner, each 

 about thirty feet long, rode at anchor 

 from spring to fall. More animated was 

 a pair of swans, who truly deserve to be 

 called "majestic," except when they are 

 busy with domestic matters. Look out, 

 small boy in a boat, for an old he-swan if 

 his missus is sitting on the nest or shield- 

 ing her pair of young. Mr. Swan will 

 break your little arm with a flap of his 

 powerful wing, so do your fishing and 

 boating in another part of the lake, and 

 let his swanship be lord of all he surveys 

 for (to him) that very interesting season 

 of the year. This little lake of four 

 or five acres with its bays and coves 

 was surrounded with groups of shrubs 

 and here and there an open glade 

 of velvety lawn. The rhododendron, ar- 

 butus, sweet bay, Portugal laurel, com- 

 mon laurel, holly, and numberless other 

 evergreens in groups and belts, made a 

 pretty margin to this tiny piece of water. 



The proprietor of the estate had spent 

 many years of his young life in China, 

 being attached to the British embassy to 

 China at the end of the last and begiiming 

 of this centurj'. So he had surrounded 

 this lake, in nooks where they looked at 

 home, with imitations of Chinese build- 

 ings. There were Chinese boat-houses, 

 Chinese pagodas, bell-houses, temples, 

 Chinese bridges, and other remembrances 

 of the land he knew so well. 



We will look to the north and there 

 again the oak forests almost fill the eye, 

 but within half a mile is a straggling vil- 

 lage, for whose beauty and picturesque- 

 ness I have nothing to say, for it had 

 little of either. Several of its inhabitants 

 worked in the garden, and one oldru,gged 

 giant, who had brought up a faniilv too 

 large for his income, had fought in the 

 battle of Trafalgar, t.ypsies of the genu- 

 ine sort were as common there as tramps 

 are here, and far more interesting. There 

 was the village "common," where all 

 alike have a right to turn out to graze 



their ponj', pig, goose, or that long-suf- 

 fering animal, the donkey, or any other 

 live stock they were lucky enough to 

 own. More conspicuous to the view, at 

 the crossing of the roads on the hill, was 

 the village inn 



Where graybeard mirth and smiling toil re- 

 tired. 



Whei-e village statesmen talUed with looks pro- 

 found. 



And news much older than ihe ale went round. 



We cannot see it, for it is in a little val- 

 ley, but half a mile farther is a much 

 prettier village. Near it are huge blocks 

 of concrete, the remains most likely of a 

 Roman wall or stronghold. In the ages 

 that this village's name has been handed 

 down it has been corrupted from "Ro- 

 mans" to "Rowlands" castle. Here is a 

 village green as j'ou woidd expect to see 

 it, and where the sweet lines of Gold- 

 smith may be again quoted: 



And many a gaiitiol fr licUed o'er the ground. 

 And sleights ot art and feats of strength went 

 round. 



Near the end of the village, to the 

 north, began one of those magnificent 

 avenues that can be seen only in a coun- 

 try that has long been devoting her leisure 

 hours to planting, rot for her present sons 

 but for future generations. This avenue 

 starts within a few feet of the boundary 

 line between the counties of Hampshire 

 and Sussex, and is perhaps eighty yards 

 wiile and considerably more than a mile 

 in length. It is bordered on both sides 

 by gigantic beech trees. The avenue 

 is grass kept nibbled short by South Down 

 sheep, assisted by thousands of rabbits, 

 .'^t the north end of the avenue stands the 

 stately pile of Stanstead House, for many 

 years the property and home of Mrs. 

 Dixon, and where for twentv years the 

 superb garden was in charge of Mr. George 

 Thompson. As good there might have 

 been, but no better all-round gardener 

 ever lived than George Thompson. He 

 has since been superintendent of the Crys- 

 tal Palace, Sydenham, and although an 

 old man now, I hope he lives to enjoy 

 the fruits of his labor. 



I cannot tell you who lives in that large 

 red brick castle-like house, because you 

 are not interested. If you could see that 

 little town just due north about ten miles, 

 it is Petersfield, long the residence of 

 Gibbon, the historian. If you could see 

 still a few miles to the east of Petersfield 

 you would discern that most ancient little 

 town of Midhurst, a few miles south of 

 which Richard Cobden lived and died. 

 Richard Cobden, who with John Bright, 

 fought so hard to give the British work- 

 men cheap bread, and won the fight, and 

 incidentally while winning the fight did 

 not hurt the American farmer. To show 

 the antiquity of Midhurst I noticed 

 when there twelve jears ago a sign over 

 a butcher's shop reading: "Established 

 1626." 



Many places of interest could I point 

 out to you but you will be weary. I must 

 try and point out Dang,steen, once fa- 

 mous for a most wonderful collection of 

 rare and choice plants. Lady Dorothy 

 Neville was an enthusiast in her da^-, 

 and was ably assisted by her studious 

 gardener, Mr. James Vair, brother to 

 Mr. George Vair, of Toronto. It would 

 not be proper to leave this lovely neigh- 



borhood where so many pretty places are 

 nestling among the chalk hills of the 

 South Downs without telling you that in 

 a little village full of good gardens 

 between Midhurst and Chichester called 

 Westdean, Fred and Sammy Goldring 

 first saw the light, and first in a garden 

 "did delve." Their father, an excellent 

 gardener and worthy man, lived and died 

 there. 



Look East and you will see in the dis- 

 tance the tall spire of Chichester cathe- 

 dral, which dwarfs all surrounding build- 

 ings. But three miles farther to the 

 northeast is the far famed Goodwood, 

 famed for the glorious weeks' racing on 

 its downs, the home of the Duke of Rich- 

 mond and Gordon. 



I have kept you from viewing the south 

 becau.se it is the mo.st interesting. There 

 is more here that everybody has heard of. 

 Looking straight south from our perch 

 up aloft, the farthest land you see is the 

 far-famed and beautiful Isle of Wight. 

 It is the eastern end you see and the sea 

 on this side of it, or the channel between 

 the mainland and the island, is known as- 

 Spithead, where last summer rode at 

 anchor I he mi.ghtiest fleet the world ever 

 saw. There is always a fleet riding there. 

 The writer stood on the same spot in 1856- 

 and saw the wooden fleet illuminated 

 shortly after the close of the Crimean 

 war. What would those wooden walls 

 do now ! One armored gunboat would' 

 sink that majestic looking fleet of '56. 



The Isle of Wight is twenty-one miles 

 long and fourteen miles wide at its broad- 

 est part. The climate of the southtrn 

 part of it is so mild that our connnon 

 zonale geraniums grow trained to the 

 walls as we grow clematis, fuchsias ( such 

 kinds as " Rose of Castile " make shrubs). 

 Camellias grow and blossom the year 

 round, planted out as we woidd a hardy 

 shrub. Following west the nearest coast 

 line of the island we come to the pretty 

 town of Ryde, where with all its beauty 

 the hack driver and hotel keeper subdues 

 his reverence for the beautiful and charges 

 for services a la Niagara. A few miles 

 more to the west is the point where the 

 mainland and island nearest meet, and 

 where " Her Gracious Majesty " makes a 

 short cut across to one of her favorite 

 homes, Osborn House, famous for its grand 

 garden A few miles from Gsborn is the 

 town of Cowes, more intimately connected 

 with yacht building and racing than any 

 other town in the world. If our eye 

 could reach to the western end of the 

 island we would see in that narrow strip- 

 of water between the island and the En- 

 glish coast those peaks of jagged rock that 

 stand in the way of the mariner, "The 

 needles," through which our American 

 liners, the St. Paul and the St. Louis 

 weekly wend their way to their dock at 

 Southampton. 



While admiring the beauty of t,his fair 

 island in the English channel we have 

 not noticed the great town of Portsmouth 

 with its dock yards, its barracks, its forts- 

 and its thousands of Tommy ( not Fred ) 

 ."Vtkins. The old wooden ship lying but 

 a short distance from the shore is the 

 "Victorj-." Where Nelson was shot is 

 marked on the deck. Where he died, 

 down in the cockpit, is also shown you. 

 The battle was over and victory won,. 



