26 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[January, 



glades, whether through the intricate hedgerows of 

 Elvaston, the model village of Endsor, or the Derby 

 Arboretum ; providing it was anniversary day, 

 when the green sward is studded with the grave and 

 gay from all surroundings to take part in the hilar- 

 ity of the occasion. Sherwood forest also abounds 

 with places of much interest. Along the Ime of the 

 Nottingham and Mansfield railroad, the neat and 

 interesting gardening spots of Beeston, Papple- 

 wick, and Annesley loom up serenely from the ro- 

 mantic grounds of -'Bold Robin Hood and his 

 merry men." At Annesley Hall I first became ac- 

 quainted with "bothy " life and partook of its 

 pleasures and adversities as the varying circum- 

 stances would permit. There beside that vine 

 covered mansion, the ancestral home of the Mus- 

 ters family, lies the green sward on which the im- 

 mortal Byron was wont to play. An old doorway 

 that stands beneath an ivy clad terrace that leads 

 to a cavern underneath is closely perforated with 

 bullet holes, shot by the hands of the poet. A solid 

 oaken door was made by Mr. Young, the gardener 

 there, and the older one that served as a target for 

 authorof "Don Juan" was carefully bolted on as 

 a means of preserving so interestiug a relic. It 

 was there beneath the shady elms, in the calm se- 

 clusion of that picturesque habitation, the poet 

 wooed Mary Chaworth Musters, and Annesley 

 then had untold charms for him. Sharing, how- 

 ever, in thechangeful nature of less prominent mor- 

 tals, after the marriage of Mary whom he wooed so 

 vainly, he wrote: 



"Hills of Annesley. bleak .and barren, 

 Where my thoughtless childhood strayed, 



How the northern tempests warring, 

 Howl above thy tufted shade .' 



*' Now no more the hours beguiling, 



Former favorite haunts I see. 

 Now no more my Mary smiling, 



Make ye seem a heaven to me.'* 



The neighborhood around there is rich in historic 

 and classic interest. Newstead Abbey, where the poet 

 lived, lies in close propinquity ; of which he writes: 



"Through thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds 

 wliistle. 



Thou, the halls of my fathers, are gone to decay, 

 In thy once smiling garden, the hemlock and thistle. 



Have choked up the rose wliicrh late bloomed in the way." 



A few miles south of there, in the Hucknal Fork- 

 ard churchyard, the poet's remains lie beneath a 

 monument that bears the inscription of " Byron "in 

 that enclosure of the dead. 



It would bedifficult to find anywhere a district in 

 which so much enthusiasm is manifested in horti- 

 cultural pursuits by amateurs as in that region. 

 Every man is a florist no matter whether he works 

 in the coal pit or at the stocking-frame. Roses. 



pansies, dahlias, and hollyhocks they grow with 

 much success. With what pride they cherish a few 

 pansy seeds or a dahlia cutting, if told it surpassed 

 anything their neighbors had got, and would bring 

 them to perfection with wonderful precision for 

 most of the surrounding shows. I have known men 

 that worked in the coal mine all day to spend their 

 mornings and evenings in attending to their particu- 

 lar "'hobby " of gardening. In such work they live 

 and die and find pleasure in each recurring season. 

 The mining districts may suggest the idea of un- 

 couth scenes to many, but there are bright and hap- 

 py homesteads that are attended to by the miners 

 with such jealous care as to make them sweet 

 with the perfume of lilies, and gay with the sheen 

 of the rose. Torrington, Conn. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Old Botanic Garden of Bartram. — 

 About fifty of the descendants of John Bartram, 

 the botanist, assembled in the ancient Friends' 

 meeting-house in Darby recently, for the purpose 

 of arranging a family organization. The extreme 

 inclemency of the weather prevented a larger at- 

 tendance. Amos King, of Moorestown, N. J., 

 presided, and William D. Kelley, Jr., acted as 

 secretary. Mr. King stated to the meeting what 

 it is desired to accomplish. It is first proposed to 

 establish communication with all branches of the 

 Bartram family in various portions of the United 

 States. This being accomplished, the next move 

 will be to purchase, if possible, John Bartram's 

 homestead and gardens in West Philadelphia. 

 A grand family reunion and Bartram Centennial 

 will then be held. 



A few years ago some liberal gentlemen made 

 an offer to the estate owning the Gardens to buy 

 and present to the city, but the owners refused to 

 sell for this purpose; believing they could make 

 more by destroying its botanical associations, and 

 turning the whole into building lots. There was 

 no ground for such belief, as the citizens were 

 willing to give the full value of the ground. Since 

 then, Councilman Meehan's ordinance, passed by 

 the city last year under an act of the Assembly, 

 gives the city a right to take g«ound that may be 

 desired for public squares, and the value thereof 

 to be paid after assessment by a jury of award. 

 If therefore the Bartram heirs, or other Philadel- 

 phians interested in preserving this wonderful 

 memento of a grand old botanist, can collect a 

 sufficient fund, the heirs would in all probability 



