238 THE TARKS AND GARDENS OF TAIUS. [Chap. XVI. 



its slow growth with us prevents it from being more frequently- 

 seen in our gardens. The remarkable and well-managed fruit- 

 garden here is alhided to in another part of this hook. 



An unhappy feature is a formal margin of stones around the 

 ^Yater, somewhat similar to, hut smaller than, that which now dis- 

 figures a part of the ornamental water in the Kegent's Park. The 

 individual who causes a neat little barricade of stone to be built 

 around a piece of ornamental water may have genius, but certainly 

 not for landscape-gardening. The very line of beauty, so to say, 

 where the turf might slope easily down to kiss the water, or the 

 wavelets play amongst a fringe of Forget-me-nots or Arrow-heads, 

 finished oif like a manure-tank ! It is too bad. The line of kerb- 

 stones placed along the margin of the Serpentine, is another 

 " improvement " of the same type. As a protection to the edge 

 from the action of the water, such things are never of any real 

 use, and, in the case of the Serpentine, the water is frequently 

 below the kerbstones. The best margins for artificial water are 

 sand or turf, and, if these are disturbed by the action of the 

 wavelets, they will certainly be more appropriate in their worst 

 condition than cement, bricks, flints, or kerb-stones. 



Baroness Rothschild's garden at Boulogne is too extensive and 

 remarkable to be passed over. From a landscape-gardening point 

 of view the grounds at both sides of the house are more than 

 usually well disposed, there being plenty of open lawns and a 

 variety of good views, particularly on what is called the English 

 side, where there is a considerable space devoted to lawns, water, 

 and shady groves. On this English side there is a terrace-garden 

 against the house, which, though needless perhaps in its position, 

 has the merit of not being overdone or jjrolonged into the green 

 garden to its detriment. On this terrace, strange to say, there 

 are no flower-beds — simply grass and walks — what flowers there 

 are l)eing in jardinieres or vases. From each end of this terrace 

 extends one of those formal shady groves so common in France, 

 The water is well formed and adorned in one part with little 

 rocky islets very naturally constructed, and over which scramble 

 briars and other trailing and wild plants. A beautiful scene 

 is formed in one part of the gardens by the rich tropical vegetation 

 of the stoves grouped in picturesque masses under trees, the 

 plants coni})rising Tree-ferns, Giant Cacti, numerous handsome 



