SUNDEKLAND HALL 



fine sward under foot. There are also retaining 

 walls of stone, one of the delightful features 

 which remain in memory being a fine specimen 

 of the Austrian copper rose, whereof the brilliant 

 garlands were charmingly set off by the grey masonry 

 to which the plant is trained. It is a cruel mis- 

 nomer that this fine briar is called "copper," for 

 there is nothing metallic in the intense, yet velvety, 

 glow of the petals. It is a rose unmatched in colour 

 by any other, and would be far more commonly 

 grown had not fashion decreed that persons of 

 position (and others) must spend the sweet o' the 

 year in sun-baked streets, thereby stimulating florists 

 to the production of late-flowering varieties. It would 

 be impossible to have clipped yew in better con- 

 dition than those under charge of Mr. Harvey, the 

 head gardener ; and, forasmuch as experts differ as 

 to the best seasons for clipping evergreens, persons 

 whom it may concern may care to note that it is 

 his practice to clip them in August. In the kitchen 

 ground there is a feature which I have not seen 

 elsewhere, namely, apple-trees closely planted and 

 trained into an arch over-head, forming a long pergola. 

 This must be a charming object when the trees are 

 in blossom, for the boughs form their own support, 

 and there is none of that too obtrusive structure 

 which mars the effect of many a pergola. Whether 

 this method of training is culturally to be commended 

 for the production of fruit, the present deponent 

 cannot affirm ; but perhaps that is of little account 



141 



