534 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



1 December 16, 1375. 



for a charitable purpose and had put down their names for various 

 sums. Sir John, who was attired in a threadbare coat and 

 was unknown, rose from his seat and said, " I have ridden four 

 and twenty miles on one horse to attend this meeting with 

 £50 in my pocket, with the intention of giving it in this good 

 cause; but when I see upon the subscription list which has 

 been handed round the names of noble lords and wealthy gen- 

 tlemen with such paltry sums attached to them, I fear I should 

 be shocking their feelings were I to carry my intentions into 

 effect ; and am therefore constrained to replace in my pocket 

 the greater part of it, which I shall reserve until some future 

 occasion, when a spirit of liberality may be more prevalent 

 among them." All eyes were directed to the speaker, and be- 

 fore the general inquiry of " Who is he?" could be answered, 

 he was again on his horse and off to Eolleston. 

 In due course the late baronet, Sir Oswald Mosley, D.C.L., 



ifcc, succeeded to the estates; he was a gentleman of great 

 literary attainments, and was an accomplished botanist and 

 naturaUst. His history of the fauna and flora of Stafford- 

 shire betokens great knowledge and research, and the 

 botanical garden which he established at Eolleston was 

 unusually extensive and complete. He also wrote the family 

 memoirs, and a few lines from its admirable preface will testify 

 to the high character of the author. Sir Oswald says to his 

 children that he " writes not to fill their minds with arrogant 

 notions of high descent, but with the humble hope that by 

 recording the virtues and faiUngs of their ancestors they may 

 imitate the one and avoid the other, and under all circum- 

 stances trusts that they will take, as the only one test and 

 guide, the word of God." 



Sir Oswald died in 1871, and was succeeded by the present 

 baronet, Sir Tonman Mosley, a true specimen of the English 



Fig. 112.— r.OLLESIOX HALL— CONSEaVATOEV AND GROCNDS. 



gentleman, and under no previous owner have the mansion, 

 grounds, and gardens at Eolleston had greater and more taste- 

 ful additions made to them. 



The Mansion. — Immediately on his accession to the baronet- 

 age the present owner commenced making great additions to 

 the mansion, but the fire, before alluded to, occurring in the 

 same year, was so extensive as to necessitate the erection of 

 an entirely new structure. This was completed in 1874, on 

 the site of the old hall. The structure is sqnai-e and com- 

 modious, being built of stone, and ornamented with stone 

 balustrades. It occupies just an acre of ground, and is fitted 

 with every modern convenience, including an hydraulic lift. 

 The rooms are spacious and richly furnished, and contain 

 pictures by eminent ancient and modem artists, including 

 a fine presentation portrait by the tenantry of Sir Oswald 

 Mosley. The Ubrary is extensive and choice. The oak stair- 

 case is very elaborate. In the drawing-room are splendid 

 cabinets and vases which were removed from France during 

 the Revolution, and which had been the property of Louis 

 Phillipe. The front hall is decorated with ancient oak furni- 

 ture, armour, pedestals, vases, bronzes, and civic paraphernalia. 

 Adjoining the mansion is the 



CoNSEP.vATORV. — This is a very fine structure with a central 

 circular roof, and ridge-and-furrow side roofs, supported by 

 light iron columns. It communicates with the mansion by 



i large glass doors, one entering the ball room, another the 

 corridor, with access also to one of the side rooms. Thus one 

 side and end of the building is in connection with the mansion, 



' the other side and end facing the grounds and receiving light. 



1 The building is 70 feet in length by 50 in width, and about 40 

 in height. Gas globes are suspended from the roof, and the 

 structure is lighted on special occasions, open tubes ascending 



! from the globes, through the roof, which prevents the slightest 

 injury ensuing to the plants. In the centre of the building 

 is a handsome white marble fountain set in a basin of the same 

 material, in which gold fish will be placed. There are broad 

 central and cross paths with a path round the building, but 

 2 to 3 feet from the sides and ends ; that space on the light 



' side is occupied by a flat stage covered with gravel for pot 

 plants, and on the wall side by a border for trained and climb- 

 ing plants. The body of the building is occupied by four beds, 

 the two on the dark side having as central occupants a splendid 

 pair of Dicksonias, the others being planted with Camelhas. 

 At the corners are nice plants of variegated Yuccas, and on each 

 side the ball-room door are a fiue pair of green Dracienas matched 

 by a smaller pair of Araucaria excelsa at the opposite or garden 



, entrance. The roof and columns are being draped with 



; climbers — Passifloras, Clematises, Lapagerias, red and white ; 

 Tacsonia Van-Volxemi, Bougainvilleas, Acacias, Habrothamnus, 

 Abntilons,andBhyncospermums. The above are the permanent 



