254 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTURB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( Mavch 80, 1876. 



reach the lawn, and the singular beauty of the place ia at once 

 apparent. 



We firBt pause to admire the bold mounds, densely clothed 

 with Ivy and St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycinum), the 

 Eummite planted with evergreens, and their Bides dotted with 

 clumps of Pampas Grass. These extensive mounds suggest the 

 incomparable value of the ground plants named for covering 

 surfaces in sun or in shade. Emerging from between these 

 richly clothed mounds the extensive lawn is spread before us, 

 and on this lawn, not formally or closely disposed, are many 

 exceedingly fine Conifers and other trees. Cedars of Le- 

 banon and Evergreen Oaks are of noble proportions ; and not 

 less majestic is a Douglas Fir, its stem being quite 4 feet in 

 diameter, the tree being in exuberant health and coning 

 freely. Its top has been broken off, so that it is not more 

 than 40 feet high, but it is Pp7 yards in circumference where its 

 branches sweep the lawn. Other noticeable Conifers are Pinus 

 insignis and P. Morinda, each 40 feet in height and having 

 trunks 2 feet 6 inches in diameter — truly grand specimens, and 

 equally large and perfect is P. pinsapo. Cupressus Lawsoniana 

 is 30 feet in height, and of the same size is Thuja gigantea — a 

 splendid cone ; and in pleasing contrast is Abies Clanbrazili- 

 ana, a dense close hedgehog-like bush 5 feet high and through. 

 Nearer the mansion is a Tulip Tree, large almost as the largest 

 of ancestral Elms, and is a splendid object when in full bloom. 

 At the north side of the mansion is a high and steep grassed 

 terrace, the walk on the summit leading to the south side, 

 where a semicircular conservatory adjoins the mansion, at the 

 front of which is a small Itahan flower garden. 



The conservatory is not large but is highly attractive. The 

 roof is supported by four pillars, up which are trained Cobea 

 Ecandens variegata, which is conducted round the circular 

 framework of the roof, and thence descending almost to the 

 ground forms au elegant fringe. In the centre is a handsome 

 white marble vase flanked by a pair of Chinese vases of great 

 value, one of these containing a plant of Seaforthia elegans, the 

 other a fine specimen of Platycerium alcicome. At the base 

 of the vases are plants of Maranta zebrina. The two beds of 

 the conservatory are occupied by Camellias in pots, and are 

 fringed with forced shrubs and flowers. Opposite the door is 

 a gallery of Palms, &o., which completes the adornments of 

 the structure. From the terrace looking northwards we can 

 appreciate the full beauty of the grand lawn, and on the 

 opposite — the carriage frontage — the effect is not less impos- 

 ing. The mansion, which is a magnificent pile, is partly 

 clothed with Magnolias, and is ornamented with marble 

 columns and statuary, and in summer Orange trees are placed 

 on the terrace to complete the ideal Italian picture. It is 

 Italy on one side, England on the other. 



We are now on a capacious and perfect plateau of gravel, 

 and rising from our feet and receding in a bold sweep is an 

 equally capacious lawn leading to the forest of Rhododendrons. 

 The effect of this abrupt yet smoothly rising lawn is one of 

 dignity. Consummate boldness of design are here apparent. 

 There is no sense of restriction, no cramping or crowding, 

 but a noble freedom in landscape effect. 



From this point we traverse a winding walk which skirts the 

 wood out of which the pleasure grounds have been formed. On 

 the left is the almost precipitous lawn, here and there broken 

 by beds of Rhododendrons and now and then a towering 

 Conifer — a Cryptomeria or Araucaria, which crown this bold 

 bank of verdure. Cryptomerias are 40 feet high, Pinus cepha- 

 lonica is still taller, and P. Strobus is about 50 feet from the 

 walk to its summit. On the right of this walk the scene is 

 totally different, deep dells of Rhododendrons spreading at 

 our feet, affording the visitor a " bird's-eye view" of their rich 

 and undulating masses of foliage and flowers. Passing on the 

 gardenesque gradually merges into the wood ; the Conifers 

 are less prominent, but they are good. We find Sciadopytis 

 verticillata with its distinct terminal whorls quite a foot in 

 diameter, and excellent specimens of Pinuses lasiocarpa, 

 grandis, &c., relieved by beds of Acer negundo and grafted 

 Acacias. 



We now arrive at a newly formed glade which leads to the 

 crest of the wooded hill, and below stretches Chart Park 

 belonging to the estate. Here is to be noted some noble 

 timber — Oriental Planes 70 to 80 feet in height, and Cedars of 

 Lebanon perfectly gigantic. These Cedars alone are worth a 

 long journey to see. Some are straight as ship's masts and as 

 high, others are gaunt and spreading, their trunks girthing 

 from 20 to Sj feet. One venerable monarch has a clear stem 

 of 7 or 8 feet, from which rise a dozen branches, each almost 



a tree in itself. This tree seems matchless of its kind. But 

 we must hasten on. 



Regaining the summit of the hill we enter a fine avenue of 

 Limes, in the centre of which is a temple ornamented with 

 antique hieroplyphical characters. The view from this temple 

 is splendid. The bold beauty of Deepdene here reaches its 

 climax. On one side is the picturesque vale of Sussex, and on 

 the other the " dene " — the great natural dell which has given 

 to the place its uame^" Deepdene." The temple is at the 

 head of this dell, and from the place on which we are standing 

 a steep and dangerous-looking flight of three hundred stone 

 steps leads to the grassy chasm below. The body of the dell 

 is a smooth lawn fringed with irregular groups of evergreens, 

 from which rise, like two rows of sentinels, tall thin pyramids 

 of Spruce Fir. In this dell are the caves above mentioned, 

 numerous antique marbles — treasures of old Rome — and other 

 strange relics, amongst which the archseologist might revel, 

 but which the ordinary gardener can scarcely appreciate. 

 He can, however, appreciate the Bamboo (Bambusa arundi- 

 naria), growing as if in its Indian home, its hundred canes 

 rising to a height of 15 feet. Here also are fine examples of 

 the " Smoke Tree" or Sumach (Rhus Cotinus), and a fino 

 specimen, bearing cones, of Abies Alberta. Parallel with this 

 dell, and many feet above it, is a fine contrasting feature — a 

 grove of Beeches, their clean trunks rising from a carpet of 

 dense green moss, a striking change and pleasing. 



Nothing has been said of the acres of Rhododendrons, which 

 compose the undergrowth of the wood and are the staple 

 evergreens of this fine place. It is not too much to say that 

 there are millions of them in the greatest luxuriance. The 

 seedlings come up thick as grass, and are counted as of little 

 more value than the most common herbage. The soil is sandy 

 loam, rich in vegetable matter by decayed leaves, and rests on 

 a subsoil of greensand — soil which no peat can equal for grow- 

 ing these finest of all evergreens in sumptuous luxuriance. 



Nothing has been said of the rosery embowered in the wood, 

 of the thriving j'oung pinetum, and many other points and 

 features of interest. These must be passed over, as also must 

 the kitchen garden and glass structures in one general sentence. 

 The kitchen garden is six acres in extent, is good and well 

 cropped, and the houses are filled with table and other decora- 

 tive plants ; also Vines and Peaches, which produce good crops 

 of fruit. 'These departments are quite overshadowed by the 

 great natural beauties of Deepdene, beauties which are being 

 ever increased by the undoubted high taste of Mrs. Hops and 

 the equally undoubted ability of her gardener, Mr. Burnett. 



This -is a mere casual glance — a condensed account — of 

 these attractive grounds, which afford scenes which haunt the 

 memory — the lawns, the trees, the mounds, and the striking 

 dells of Deendene. — J. W. 



DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA IN TASMANIA. 



As a reader of your Journal in Tasmania, I was struck when 

 perusing an ai-ticle in your issue of June 24th, 1875, upon 

 " Tree Ferns," and could not help noticing the great difference 

 between those grown in England and those growing wild in 

 Tasmania. At the time of reading the article above referred 

 to, I had just returned from a journey into the bush, taken 

 for the purpose of seeing the tree Fern in its natural state. 

 After traveUing about twelve miles through a Mimosa and 

 Cassuarina scrub, we came to the river Piper, crossing which 

 our route lay through a valley which for upwards of a mile 

 was a beautiful natural fernery, in which were many of the 

 commoner varieties of Ferns, principally Adiantum,Blechnum, 

 Gleichenia, Doodia, and Pteris ; scattered about in tingle 

 specimens and in clumps were to be seen the beautiful Dick- 

 sonia antarotica with very good effect, as the dark background 

 of the scrub contrasted favourably with the dark brown trunks 

 and their green fronds. 



Upon leaving our track we entered a steep-sided gully, and 

 here a grand sight awaited us. We were surrounded on all 

 sides with Dicksonias. Upon going higher up the gully where 

 the Ferns had escaped the bush fires, the fronds were so close 

 that we could not see the sky in any direction. We took the 

 dimensions of a few of the larger plants and found them 

 25 feet high from the ground to the lowest fronds ; circum- 

 ference at 2 feet from the ground 7 feet 4 inches; length of 

 the fronds 12 feet. Many of the large trunks were covered 

 with a small species of HymenophyUum with very transparent 

 frouls giving them a very pretty appearance. There were 

 many old trunks lying upon the ground, which had been 



