CULZEAN 



this garden by the sea is the very scene of many 

 episodes of a blood feud which raged for more than 

 a hundred years, and cost many Scotsmen, gentle 

 and simple, their lives. 



The lofty bluff whereon the castle stands has 

 doubtless been a fortified position from prehistoric 

 times. It is inaccessible on the west, where the cliff 

 falls sheer to the sea, and the ground slopes sharply 

 away inland to the east, where a natural gully, 

 originally deepened for defensive purposes, has been 

 cast into a couple of walled terraces forming a delect- 

 able abode for many shrubs which cannot face an 

 inland winter. The peculiar conformation of the 

 ground affords that shelter from blustering winds 

 and salt-laden gales which so often neutralise the 

 genial influence of the sea side. At the foot of the 

 terraces is a broad, well-shaven lawn, with a fountain 

 and architectural basin in the centre, and plenty of 

 room for a couple of tennis courts besides. 



These tennis courts have become permanently 

 marked out in a curious manner which I have not 

 noted elsewhere. The lines drawn in whitewash during 

 several successive seasons have killed the grass, which 

 has been replaced by a strong growth of daisies. 

 The mowing machine of course prevents these from 

 flowering, but their flat shining leaves, darker than 

 the surrounding grass, distinctly show the limits of 

 the courts, so as to render unnecessary any fresh 

 measurement when the nets are set out in summer. 

 If it were possible to grow the aucuba-leaved daisy 



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